Friday, December 16, 2011

C'mon ladies, I'm Chinese...

I have to start this one out by saying the staff was great - they really were a lot of fun!  When I walked in, there were plum wine martinis all the way around waiting for us at a table tucked in the back so we wouldn't disrupt the entire restaurant for a few hours.  Whoever suggested that, smart move! 

So I have a weakness for sushi - Maki, Sashimi, hand rolls, whatever.  All I want for Christmas is a sushi boat...  anyway,  we grabbed a bit to start with - a sashimi sampler (for those of you who don't eat it, its just the raw fish, no rice, no fun rolls, just raw fish and I love it), a Fire Roll, a Dragon Roll, and a TaiPei Maki Roll at the suggestion of the assistant manager.  All were good.  My friend (we'll call her Nonsense from here on out because she's partial vegetarian, but I can't follow her perameters - she ate raw fish) stands by her choice of the Fire Roll as the winner, she actually ordered one as an entree because she liked it so much.  And I'll agree, it was excellent, good texture, right amount of spicy.  But I'll declare the TaiPei Maki Roll the winner, I liked it so much, that I ordered another one for an entree. It had just the right mix of stuff - spicy tuna, crab, avocado, salmon, tobiko, sauces - yum!!

Other starter on the table worth mentioning - the Tuna Tartare.  It was different than most tuna tartare I've eaten, and very, very good.  Spring Rolls, Dumplings, Wonton & Egg Drop soups were on the table - all very typical, nothing to really suggest or avoid. 

For dinner, the popular choice was the Amazing Chicken.  Breaded & fried, in sauce, it was good!  I heard the Dried Sauteed Sting Beans were good too.  Szechuan style crispy prawns were recommended to us, and Onion-hater (yes, she hates them, be prepared for food to be sent back if the raw onions find their way in) ordered it.  Lacking - bland and not living up to the hype.  And then Vegahimsa's fried tofu in sesame sauce, I forgot to try.  Sorry, don't know how I missed that.  She says it was good, and I'm no tofu expert.

Taipei to me is a good chinese joint.  I think some of the Asian options on the east side are just as good and some better.   If you're in the area and craving some sushi or chinese food, you won't be disappointed, but as Onion-hater says, I won't be running back.

Who: Me & the Dining Team
Where:  Taipei
What: Me - Sashimi & Tai Pei Maki Roll *winner
           Nonsense - Fire Roll  *close second
           Vegahimsa - Taro Cakes & Fried Tofu in Sesame Sauce
           Onion-hater - Tuna Tartare, Egg Drop Soup, Crispy Prawns Szechuan Style
           Steamy - Dragon Roll, Fire Roll
           EasyD - Spring Roll, Wonton Soup, Chicken Lo Mein, Dried Sauteed String Beans
           Willtry - Spring Roll, Wonton Soup, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Amazing Chicken
           Chickie - Fried Dumplings, Wonton Soup, Amazing Chicken

Oh, and I can't get through all this without mentioning the Crispies (fried wontons according to Chickie).  I believe we knocked down 8 bowls.  8.  We also came up with creative references to duck sauce, but I'll keep that for another venue.

When I venture out with the Dining Team, we're loud, we laugh, we play games, and sometimes facebook friend the "bus boy"...  Good thing they put us in the back.  Keep the plum wine martninis coming!

TAIPEI on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. Omg. Cracking up!!!! Nonsense, duck sauce bwahahaha. Love it

    ReplyDelete