Where are Threads on Fine(r) Dining?

It’s always nice to see new burger joints or cafes or pub grub style restaurants open up in Taiwan so we have choices when we want to be frugal or just grab a quick (non-Chinese) bite. I went to these places quite often in Taiwan because they served comfort food, and we could dine at places where we could read the menus and eat stuff from “home.”

However, I could only have so many vegie burgers or French fries, nachos, house salads before it became old.

What I don’t see on this board anymore are reviews on nice restaurants that are not like a Chili’s, TGIF, chain restaurants, or individual food stands, bars, pubs, diners.

There used to be a few people who posted on hotel restaurants or places that were >NTD $1000 pp. Where are these people and have they stopped posting or stopped dining out? Or are there no higher end restaurants in Taiwan that are still in operation anymore? Or do these restaurants just suck so bad and are out of business?

Why is Subway such a hot item on Forumosa? (Ok, I know why, comfort food, familiarity of home, “western.”) Why does everyone get excited over a burger? (Ok, I know why - beef is tasty - but I’m a pescatarian so what do I know.) Why do most food forum posters hate on Taiwanese food and yet, a burger gets raves?

fred smith got booted.

I think it’s the flobographic. More boys so more boyfood (pizza, burgers, etc) reviews.

Yes, I agree with the original poster. I think the Subway obsession is slightly bizarre.
I’ll start then. IN the last few weeks, I have been to

Nonzero - fusion/med/tapas type place - recently reviewed in taiwanfun magazine - pretty decent food, nice atmosphere and great decor www.nonzero.com.tw , no 5 alley 4, lane 27, sec 4 Ren Ai Rd, (in an alley opposite side to hospital ) near intersection of fuxing and Renai

In the same area, I like the Italian restaurant La Giara 352 Fuxing south road.

Went to Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse as well, but didn’t think it was worth the outlay of such a lot of cash (two people with wine came to well over 10,000)

Saffron (Indian restaurant) in Tienmu is excellent and affordable -

In general, I think my taste is changing though. About six or seven years ago, I couldn’t understand why the Taiwanese raved about their food so much. Now I completely get it! The food here is so good - not necessarily Taiwanese food, but the standard of Asian food in general. I love the Korean BBQ type places, Teppanyaki, Shao Long Bao restaurantes, and of course Dim Sum / Peking Duck restaurants.

The next restaurant I want to try is El Toro , A Tapas Restaurant - Anyone been, it’s on zhong xiao east road, section 5, no 508. I’ve heard good things.

If I’m looking for a review, I usually go to this blog which is pretty good.
hungryintaipei.blogspot.com

Hope some of you will write in with some “fine dining” suggestions

I dine in HK now 914. Nice noodle shops around Wan Chai remind me of Ipoh… good stuff.

A lot of people are tightening their belts, 914. The economy here is down the toilet and many people are really feeling it now. That might have something to do with it.
Also, if I’m going to go to a good restaurant, I want to know there’s at least the CHANCE I’ll get to see someone licking a piece of bacon. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Well, Cosi o Cosi is a fairly decent italian place and there’s a swedish style restaurant called Flavors which serves up very different food from your average place here without being stupidly expensive, but still over the 1k mark.
I also went to a really nice and fancy japanese restaurant I can’t remember the name of right now, not too far from capones, best japanese food I’ve ever had.
I think the problem is that most people here aren’t on expat packages or working for well paying MNCs, so we’re limited to going to these places once a month at the most, or at special occasions and that’s why people rave about the cheaper places where people can afford to go a couple of times a month.

Oh, waiter! There’s a thread on my food!

Yes and no. The original poster correctly pointed out that there used to be more reviews of more expensive restaurants than now. Sandman is also correct in pointing out belt-tightening in tougher economic times. But, IMO, the decline in reviews of pricier places began over two years ago as the reduction in the number of non-teaching expats sped up. This coincided with an increase in F.com’s popularity with ‘teachers and students’ whose motive for posting was price. The demographic of the site has shifted as has that of Taiwan’s foreigner population. The new demographic is essentially ‘cheaper’. The abundance of reviews of burgers et al discourages diners of better/pricier places to post as they feel that this site is not for them (anymore).

914, you are always welcome to pop down here and we can go to a couple of really good places for dinner. Lots of quality seafood.

BroonAssesses

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. It’s a fact the demographics on F.com changed and possibly one day it will be like how it was back in 2004-2006, when there were more reviews on fine® dining.

I do enjoy reading reviews on the burger/individual stands/pub grub joints, but it would also be nice to hear what people have to say about other restaurants, whether they be NTD $1000 or NTD $500. I would like to know which restaurants to check out when I’m in town and not have to go to the same old places, Chinese or not.

I don’t know if I buy the English teachers can’t afford good food excuse. They get paid pretty well and can afford to support these burger/pub joints (which aren’t even all that cheap, considering how often a typical English teacher frequents it).

So food eaters, please post reviews on any ol’ new discovery you come across! Just because most of the posters on F.com might be in the burger joint demographics, there are probably just as many who lurk who are not in that same demographic.

Sandman - I found chocolate covered bacon! Holy schmoly! I didn’t try it though. But I did buy it for my vegan friend cuz she’s more hardcore than I am with the bacon. At least my food can touch bacon. She can only scratch 'n sniff it.

BroonAle - thanks for that! I know I made a snarky remark a while back regarding your observation of almost the same thing. So thanks for your response.

Americans are weird.

Well, I have a few reviews on my site, if you can call them that, but I’ve been lazy in updating it over the past few weeks, but I should add more places shortly. It’s whatever places I’ve been to, so some might be fancier than others.
But I agree with you, I wish there were more NT$500-1000 places on here, as sometimes you want to eat something a bit nicer, but have no idea where to go…

Rilly? Chocolate covered bacon? Rilly? You are joking, no? Or a chicken mole sort of thing?

Yes, BA, I was a teacher in Taiwan. Not ‘rich’ but had absolutely stacks of disposable income, as I was not buxibanning to pay for my education/offspring/peculiar hobbies and whatnot. Don’t label us! We are all individuals! (I did seem to end up in some weirdy expat bar, eating bread and cheese for breakfast fairly often, though. )

Professionally qualified pedagogues such as your goodself were intended to to be excluded from my sweeping generalization; apologies if I omitted to make the distinction.

BroonApology

You call it fine dining when they let snails get on the food? When they give you a bottle of wine that’s so old it’s got dust on it? They expect you to eat with three forks? A stupid guy pours a tiny bit of wine in your glass and just stands there like he wants to make sure you don’t slurp it?
Not me.

:runaway:

Short list of flobbers who take great pleasure in food that have left Taiwan in the last couple of years and contributed to the quality of dining info:

914
BroonAle
Fred Smith
Jack Burton
Elegua
Yellow Cartman
Lord Lucan
Huang Guang Chen
dablindfrog

Look at the list of the regulars at the FredFests and you will see almost everyone has left except for Tigerman, spook, Jaboney, fee, and me. Chewy and Nama have also left and jdsmith is MIA.

I know citizen k, Lost Swede, and Belgian Pie appreciate good food but they don’t post many reviews.

I don’t post many restaurant reviews anymore because I just got tired of very few responses to any restaurant that is over $750 per person.

Back in the day it was great to banter and I really looked forward to having a weekly chat with Mr. BrownBeer. Now it seems the only people I can bore with foodie talk are the chief and Jonathon at the big C. Somehow it just isn’t the same anymore.

Nonzero (914 you would love it) has a great atmosphere but the food, while tasty, hasn’t quite reached the potential of what they could do. But still a solid 8.5 or above. A fantastic date place.

Saffron: agreed. Excellent.

Also agree “hungryintaipei” is the best source of English restaurant info in Taiwan. I wish she posted more on here.

The very best website for food in Taiwan that I have found is http://blog.yam.com/peray1/ but it is mostly in Chinese. His site is awesome.

Check this review. The photos should say it for you.

Well, hungrygirl’s blog is good, it covers a wide range of places and she takes pictures of everything I eat, something I haven’t done as yet, as I feel silly taking pictures of the food I eat…

I’ll try to write some better reviews in the future, it’s just a matter of getting around to doing it :sunglasses:

thanks for the pics elektronisk, I’m heading out to try it towards the end of the month.

Also, anyone else hear that Cosmopolitan Grill are doing some two for one kind of deal on their premium aged Angus Steaks till the end of the month…might be worth a try!

Yeah, it’s on their site cosmo.com.tw/events/indexeng … bgodNW6H5w
Dunno if it’s any good, but kinda wanted to try it out cause of the deal :smiley: