TAICHUNG: tapa's top

台中市政北一路1號4樓
No. 1, ShiZheng N 1st Rd, 4F
Hours: 11 am-2 am
Credit cards accepted. 10% service charge.
(04) 2258-0026

PRICE: $$ (approx. NT$500/person ~US$17/person)
RATING: YYYY (I strongly recommend this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Drive. =)
RESERVATIONS:
MUST GET: French-style beef salad, Two colors sausage and rice

TAICHUNG: 畢昂卡 7 街

(Biancha 7 vie）

台中市精誠七街12號
No. 12, Jing-Cheng 7th St.
04-23275919


PRICE: $$$$$ (approx. NT$500 for a 5 course meal)
RATING: YYYY (I strongly recommend this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Drive. =)
RESERVATIONS: I always go after work, so I've never needed one but I would assume they must be busy during the peak hours.
MUST GET: Their set meal.

TAICHUNG: 天外天

(TIAN WAI TIAN -- Heavenly Day)

台中南區公益路二段18號
No. 18, Sec. 2, Gong-Yi Road

PRICE: $$ (approx. NT$439/person ~US$14/person)
RATING: YYYY (I strongly recommend this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Drive. =)
RESERVATIONS: If you go in a big group during their peak hours (i.e. lunch/dinner), then yes. But if you are like me and you go after work at approx. 10PM, you're fine without them. a
MUST GET: Ma-la hot pot and of course Haagen-Daaz ice cream on a cone!

There's a lot of hot pot places in Taiwan, all of which offer a huge variety ranging from individual pots to family style, sour cabbage base to curry base, soup to "dry pots", individual orders to buffets, etc. etc. If they don't have it now, I'm sure someone will make it eventually-- just give them a month or two. And of course with such a huge variety comes a variety of prices, however this place is a great deal for your buck-- not just for the price, but also the food quality. I think their meats and vegetables are a lot fresher than other buffet places.

I always get their ma-la hot pot, of course. However, my friends seem to really like their tomato base. I hear the kimchi and curry one is alright too, but personally curry hot pot doesn't sound particularly appealing to me. The ma-la base comes with braised tofu and goose blood, so if you are faint of heart and not willing to try the latter stay away from the "black tofu." I personally love it; its much better than the pig's blood we get back in the States.

And since this place is a buffet, you can pick and choose what you want to add into your pot and how much of it you want to add which is great. I usually stick to pig's intestines (I'm Chinese!), beef, and load up on a variety of vegetables, especially cabbage. But for those of you who like yo tiao (fried dough) in your hot pot like I do, stay away from the ones here. They just aren't crispy enough which was a huge disappointment, but I can live without it.

Oh, don't forget to leave room for Haagen-Daaz! It's not a trip to 天外天 if you don't load up on ice cream (plus the cone!)!

LOS ANGELES: chosun

3330 W Olympic Blvd. (and S Manhattan Pl)
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323.734.3330

PRICE: $$$$$ ($50-$60)
RATING: YYYYY (I love this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Drive. =) There's valet parking in the back.
RESERVATIONS: Needed if you have a big group.
MUST GET: chosun kalbi, sam gyap sal, ke jang

I grew up eating Korean food (my dad's family grew up in Korea) so I think I'm a pretty good judge when it comes to kimchi, soondubu, sahlangtang, etc. etc. Chosun is my favorite place in America for Korean BBQ (I've only had better when I was in Seoul). In fact, for my last trip home to LA for Chinese New Year, this place was the first restaurant I went to once I got off the plane and the last restaurant I went to right before I go back on the plane to come back to Taiwan. (Korean food in Taiwan is awful!)

I always get the same key dishes whenever I go here: chosun kalbi, sam gyap sal, and ke jang. Sometimes those are surrounded by hae mool pajeon, eundaeku jiree, and/or yookejang. Chosun kalbi is short ribs marinated in their own special sauce. San gyap sal is basically bacon (fatty pork), so if you cringe at the sight and taste of fat obviously don't get it. If not, make sure you dip this thing in the salt, pepper, and sesame oil sauce before you put it on the lettuce wrap or your mouth. Ke jang is raw crab in spicy sauce. I love this dish despite how hard it is to de-shell these suckers, but it's definitely not meant for the mild hearted. I'm not the biggest fan of hae mool pajeon, but its one of the better ones i have had so if you're a fan its worth a shot. Eundaeku is black cod for those of you who are curious. If you love spicy food and fish, I highly recommend this dish. The meat just comes falling off, but its not soft to the point of mushy. The sauce is great, especially when mixed with rice but usually at this point I'm too full to eat more. And yookejang has got to be one of my favorite korean soup dishes ever, but if you sweat at the sight of jalapenos or anything red-- don't even bother. The dish is basically shredded beef and vegetables in a redddd broth.

I recommend sitting outside in their nicely decorated patio, but despite the ventilation you'll still come out of this place smelling like meat. Chosun is one of the nicest Korean restaurants I've been to. It has a simple, modern decor that despite the years and all its customers has remained spotless. It's a nice place to go to bring a date, family, and even clients.

NEW YORK: cafe habana

17 Prince St. (and Elizabeth St.)
New York, NY 10012

PRICE: $$ ($10-$20)
RATING: YYYYY (I love this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Take the 6 to Spring St. or the RW to Prince St.
RESERVATIONS: They don't take any, so have fun waiting for an hour+ if you go during their busy times... or get it to go, but the wait is worth it!
MUST GET: grilled corn, grilled steak, roast pork

I can't reiterate how much I love this restaurant. It's cheap, the food is great, and it has the best corn I've ever had-- need I say more? It's one of my favorite restaurants in New York. My mouth is watering and my stomach is rumbling just thinking about it-- no joke.

You can't come to this restaurant without ordering their corn, so I highly recommend you don't come here for your first date! The corn is served grilled smothered with cotija cheese and chili powder. It smells a bit funky when you first get it, but sprinkle some lime over it and take a bite. Two come per order, so split this starter with a friend unless you're really greedy. Their cuban sandwich used to be the only entree I ordered which is quite ironic since I'm not a fan of ham or cheese, but it tastes so great I overlooked it. It's roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, and pickles on pressed cuban bread. I usually got it without the pickles and smothered their habanero sauce (the green one!) all over it. After a few visits, I finally decided to venture out and try their other delicious dishes. I highly recommend their grilled steak and roast pork dishes. The grilled steak is really tender skirt steak while the roast pork is caribbean style shredded pork. They both come with rice and beans-- I recommend getting it with yellow rice and red beans. Their chuleta de puerco a la pimenton (grilled pork chop and goat cheese toast with wild mushroom and chipotle au poivre sauce) is good too, but with all the other great dishes here I don't think I'd get it again.. but heck you might be a huge fan goat cheese, so give it a shot. Their fish tacos aren't bad either (they sure gave me my fix when I started missing home and wahoos), but the fish tacos at five points are a closer match to what I used to get back in la. Also, for the price of their fish tacos you might as well get the grilled steak or roast pork. And finally, they are opened for brunch too. I got their huevos rancheros which isn't bad, but nothing to make my tummy rumble.

Cafe Habana is tiny. It's also always packed, so prepare for a tight squeeze. They don't take reservations, so have fun waiting but if you're incredibly impatient go next door (on the Elizabeth Street side) and grab it to go. They have a don't-fuck-with-me new york attitude when you put down your name, but the staff is always friendly... they're just damn busy. Plus, this place doesn't have AC! So make sure you grab a cold beer, Pacifico and Tecate are recommended-- where else can you get these in New York? All I have left to say is:

Whatever, it's worth it.

TAICHUNG: bollywood

NEW YORK: shanghai cafe

NEW YORK: awash

NEW YORK: angor on sixth

NEW YORK: flor de mayo

NEW YORK: bon chon