There are two good Greek restaurants in Taipei: Opa! Greek Taverna, formerly in a fantastic space near Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (now in the brightly-lit and utterly soulless ATT 4 Fun), and Yiamas Greek Taverna just off Anhe Road across from Far Eastern Shangri La Hotel (where Toast used to be - I'm sad that place closed, I liked their ceviche, but happy to be within walking distance of a Greek restaurant).
I want to review and rank these two places based on their actual food, but honestly, the food is about the same. A few notes:
Hummus: used to be fantastic at Opa!, now merely good. It is also good at Yiamas but my homemade hummus is still better. It was silkier at the old Opa!, but something has changed at the new one...mostly related to texture but it could use more of a kick generally. I'm wondering if locals didn't like the old recipe.
Lemon chicken: I haven't tried this at Yiamas yet but at Opa! it's as good as ever, and a huge serving.
Moussaka: Very good at both restaurants, but my husband says it was better when Opa! was still in its old location. It was like heaven, he said, and when we went to ATT 4 Fun, it was still good but had an air of microwave about it. Not surprising as they must have a much smaller kitchen.
Htipiti (or roasted red bell pepper and feta dip): excellent at both restaurants.
Lamb ribs: excellent at both restaurants. You get more lamb for your money at Yiamas, but the ribs at the old Opa! were more tender and less chewy. No idea how they are at the new Opa!
Desserts: more or less identical at both restaurants.
They are literally almost like two copies of each other. The menus are virtually identical and prices similar, to the point where I wonder if one didn't steal the other's. So you could really go to either and get a similar food experience.
This is where ambiance comes in. Opa! used to be in a neat space decorated with murals inspired by Grecian scenery. I happen to like street-level restaurants in atmospheric side lanes in bustling neighborhoods with vibrant street life. I am less a fan of large shopping malls (that is to say, I hate them, especially in Taiwan where the ceilings are low, the aisles are narrow, the teenyboppers walk around like they couldn't ever be in anyone's way, and the music is blasting and usually terrible). I also hate what they do to street life: walking down a lane crammed with boutiques, restaurants, cafes, tea shops and vendors is interesting. Walking by shopping malls, giant monolithic buildings and apartment complexes without street-level retail space is not interesting (even when they have street-level space it often lacks atmosphere and liveliness). For this reason Xinyi is my idea of Hell: wide roads full of cars and slow traffic lights racing between hulking shopping malls with almost nothing of interest going on at street level (I do not think the shops along the pedestrian walkways between the department store buildings are particularly interesting: I want to see local businesses, not Crocs and Krispy Kreme).
I do not like the mallification of Taipei.
I do not like it in any way.
I do not like it in a tree, I do not like it in Xinyi.
I do not like it on the road, I do not like it with a toad.
I do not like it in my hood, I do not like it, it's no good.
It's not just no good, it's destroying the city. If I wanted to flit between hideous monoliths crowded with teenagers playing terrible music, while the streets are dead to pedestrians, merely conveyances for cars and scooters, I'd have moved to fucking Beijing. YUCK.
And now Opa! is in one of those monstrosities. It is brightly lit, overly white, noisy and modern, and completely soulless. It sucks the joy out of the food. I didn't realize how much I valued being able to walk in from the street, open an actual door, maybe pass by a front garden with some plants or at least walk through a neighborhood with some liveliness to it to get to dinner in a comfortably lit, comfortably decorated space that isn't too hard-edged or bright and jarring...but I do care about these things.
Plus, if every restaurant is in a freakin' shopping mall, how are they going to have kitchens big enough to make quality food, and how are we supposed to enjoy eating outside on the few nice days we get in Taipei?
The Diner is in ATT 4 Fun too, though at least it has its own entrance. But I liked the Diner on Dunhua S. Road, where I had a shot at having brunch outsideand now it's closed, so I rarely go to the Diner anymore. (The one on Rui'an St. should still be there, but they once told me they didn't take reservations only for me to show up and be asked if I had a reservation, so screw them).
Anyway, enough of my rant. Yiamas is in a street-level space with moody lighting and a comfortable feel. It's not too bright, and it's not white at all. They have a full-sized, not mall-sized, kitchen. I don't feel like I'm a mannequin on display there, I feel like a person having a romantic birthday dinner with her husband. My glass of wine doesn't look like grape juice under the bright LEDs, it looks like delicious, murky wine. I want to eat the food there, because the atmosphere makes me want it.
So, in a head to head of the two Greek restaurants in Taipei...
Sorry Opa! - I really liked you once. Get a real location, not some ugly white box in a shopping mall, and I may like you again.
The match goes to Yiamas.
Showing posts with label middle_eastern_food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label middle_eastern_food. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Persian food! In Taipei! Yum!
Corner of Nanjing and Guangfu Roads (southeast side)
Taipei
We ate at Persian Heaven today, after both of us passed it on buses (at two different times) and made a note to the effect of "we have to eat there!" (Only later did I realize it was reviewed by the Taipei Times in 2010). Persian food in Taipei? I'm there!
As someone of Armenian descent alongside the Polish, the food of my mother's family resembles Iranian food in a lot of important ways - especially where kebabs are concerned (my mother's family also used to apparently have a house in Iran before they got kicked out of Turkey in 1915-1922 - we're not sure whatever happened to that).
With this culinary knowledge, I used to cook all sorts of delicacies with my friend M. back home (name shortened because it's unique enough that if you search for just her first name, you only get two posts, and she's a lawyer so she can't have random stuff about her bopping about the Internet) - while we were in college we'd make ghorme sabze, kebabs, babaghanoush, hummus, lahmajoun, tabbouleh, dolma (most people know it as stuffed grape leaves, I know dolma as stuffed vegetables), sarma (stuffed grape leaves), pomegranate salad, feta with mint sauce, kofta, mint tea, yoghurt, cucumber-tomato salad...and pick up a pint of milk, saffron or rose Iranian kulfi (ice cream) to finish it off.
We'd douse it all with the right blend of citrus, salt and sumac (yes, sumac like the plant - the powder made from it is actually quite tasty and used as a seasoning in the Near and Middle East) Then we'd invite all our friends to my apartment or the rooftop deck of her dorm to eat the lot of it, and they'd be forever in our debt.
I'm used to having to cook Armenian and Iranian food in Taipei stuff by myself - I usually stick with the easy stuff - the salads, the mint tea, the hummus and babaghanoush. I haven't tried to make a full on shishkebab, lahmajoun, dolma or ghorme sabze in years. Some things are just too hard to do right in a Taiwanese kitchen. I'm sorry, but it's true.
So imagine my delight when I noticed this restaurant. We had to eat there. We just had to.
My short, personal review? Delicious. I had the korbideh kebab set with yoghurt soup (delish), the chicken roll (really nice, though I don't quite get why there was a maraschino cherry on top), the feta salad (loved the tangy herbal dressing) and the halwa. Brendan had a stew with lamb and eggplant, the tomato-cucumber salad (just right), the yoghurt soup and the rice pudding.
The lot of it was awesome. The only let-down was the bread, but I prefer my kebabs with bread, so whatreyagonnado?
I did rather like the Iranian techno music playing, and the place looks like it turns into a hookah bar after hours, so we'll definitely check that out (no, we don't smoke hookahs normally - once every five years or so, to be honest - but it is something of my heritage and I've been really getting into family culture these days). There have been hookah bars that have come and gone in Taipei - a rather horrid place in Ximen, The Bed2 (now out of business) and a place that no longer exists in Shi-da. This place seems like your best bet if you're into good Iranian fare and a nice nargileh.
The color-changing neon disco lights under the bar made me feel like the place was run by these guys:
(from South Park Studios - the Persians take over in South Park's parody of 300)
OK, OK that wasn't nice, but dude, check out the disco light under the bar. That's all I'm sayin'.
By the way, for all of you who want to know how to make that deliciously simple tomato cucumber salad?
Easy.
Peel and dice one large cucumber and 3-5 mid-size very ripe tomatoes (make sure to cut out the entirety of the tough part around the stem). Try to make the cubes small and equal in size. Sliver half an onion into very small slivers and add that. Douse in lemon juice and salt and a touch of black pepper. You can add some finely chopped fresh mint *or* (not and - or) parsley, too. Allow to sit for an hour or so to let the flavors mingle. Done. I've been making that salad since I was 12.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
It's Biriyani-Pilaf Fusion Night!
I'm working on two fairly long posts on two tough topics: cultural appropriation and sexism in the workplace for female expats - but it's going to be another week at least before either is published. I'm thinkin' I might actually do a 2nd draft of each, which will be a big change from my usual habit of "blurble on and on following my thoughts and hit 'Publish'." :)
In the meantime, enjoy this awesome recipe for fusion brown rice biriyani-pilaf - one of the many foreign dishes I routinely cook in Taipei with ingredients available locally.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1.5 cups brown rice, pref. organic
6 dates, pitted if possible
A cup of nuts (cashews are best but almonds or peanuts would do)
One large carrot
Small chunks or slivers of pre-cooked meat (cured pepper beef or ham, pre-cooked beef liver or pan-cooked mutton or chicken in spices would all do - I totally used the last nub of cured pepper ham in our fridge) - optional
2 heaping teaspoons ground flaxseed
Finely sliced and grated orange peel
1 tbsp ginger, cut into coins or crushed
As much garlic as you can stand
olive oil
Sesame oil (optional)
salt
ground cumin, black pepper, turmeric, coriander seed, paprika, allspice (about 1 tsp each, give or take for taste and freshness) - all available at Trinity Superstores near City Hall MRT or at Jason's or even Wellcome - you don't need all of these spices, it's really to your taste. You only really need the cumin, pepper and turmeric
Salt to taste
A dash of cinnamon (optional)
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
lemon juice to taste (about 1/5 cup for me)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
Method:
Begin the cooking of your brown rice (this takes time - for every cup of rice use 2.5 cups water and a dash of salt) - You can use white or basmati rice but I try to be healthy with the brown
Julienne your carrot - I have a julienne peeler that I got as a Christmas gift and love so YAY - including the skin
Chop up your dates
Chop up your optional meat
Put nuts, dates, carrot and meat (already cooked if not cured) into a bowl and set aside
Sliver or crush your garlic
Measure out your spices
Coin or crush your ginger
Sliver or grind your orange peel
Put as much olive oil as you think you'll need into your pan - I use a wok because I'm awesome. You don't need extra virgin olive oil as the flavors in that cook off most of the time - but you can drizzle a little extra virgin over it when it's done.
Add dry spices, ginger, garlic, orange peel, turn on low heat and cook until lightly roasted and it smells awesome.
Add lemon juice, allow to heat up a bit and then dump in the carrot/nut/meat/date mixture, cook gently on low-medium heat until it smells good and looks just lightly cooked (you don't want it getting too soggy)
Add brown rice which should have already been cooked and mix together stir-fry style. When everything is well mixed and colored with the spices (should be yellow from the turmeric), add a tiny bit of sesame oil (good for you!) and monter a buerre (bad for you but oh so good) with the butter. Mix in flaxseed quickly (very very good for you) and serve hot.
If you want to do even better, substitute 1/3 of the rice with cooked yellow lentils, mixed right in (or just add lentils) - don't overcook them to soup consistency; you want them cooked so that they retain some structure and cohesion but of course soft enough that they are pleasant to eat, and lentils taste great with the spices in this recipe!
You can also customize this recipe with vegetables you like by adding or substituting: bell peppers, tomatoes, well-chopped spinach, cauliflower, onions and mushrooms all work a treat.
In the meantime, enjoy this awesome recipe for fusion brown rice biriyani-pilaf - one of the many foreign dishes I routinely cook in Taipei with ingredients available locally.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1.5 cups brown rice, pref. organic
6 dates, pitted if possible
A cup of nuts (cashews are best but almonds or peanuts would do)
One large carrot
Small chunks or slivers of pre-cooked meat (cured pepper beef or ham, pre-cooked beef liver or pan-cooked mutton or chicken in spices would all do - I totally used the last nub of cured pepper ham in our fridge) - optional
2 heaping teaspoons ground flaxseed
Finely sliced and grated orange peel
1 tbsp ginger, cut into coins or crushed
As much garlic as you can stand
olive oil
Sesame oil (optional)
salt
ground cumin, black pepper, turmeric, coriander seed, paprika, allspice (about 1 tsp each, give or take for taste and freshness) - all available at Trinity Superstores near City Hall MRT or at Jason's or even Wellcome - you don't need all of these spices, it's really to your taste. You only really need the cumin, pepper and turmeric
Salt to taste
A dash of cinnamon (optional)
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
lemon juice to taste (about 1/5 cup for me)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
Method:
Begin the cooking of your brown rice (this takes time - for every cup of rice use 2.5 cups water and a dash of salt) - You can use white or basmati rice but I try to be healthy with the brown
Julienne your carrot - I have a julienne peeler that I got as a Christmas gift and love so YAY - including the skin
Chop up your dates
Chop up your optional meat
Put nuts, dates, carrot and meat (already cooked if not cured) into a bowl and set aside
Sliver or crush your garlic
Measure out your spices
Coin or crush your ginger
Sliver or grind your orange peel
Put as much olive oil as you think you'll need into your pan - I use a wok because I'm awesome. You don't need extra virgin olive oil as the flavors in that cook off most of the time - but you can drizzle a little extra virgin over it when it's done.
Add dry spices, ginger, garlic, orange peel, turn on low heat and cook until lightly roasted and it smells awesome.
Add lemon juice, allow to heat up a bit and then dump in the carrot/nut/meat/date mixture, cook gently on low-medium heat until it smells good and looks just lightly cooked (you don't want it getting too soggy)
Add brown rice which should have already been cooked and mix together stir-fry style. When everything is well mixed and colored with the spices (should be yellow from the turmeric), add a tiny bit of sesame oil (good for you!) and monter a buerre (bad for you but oh so good) with the butter. Mix in flaxseed quickly (very very good for you) and serve hot.
If you want to do even better, substitute 1/3 of the rice with cooked yellow lentils, mixed right in (or just add lentils) - don't overcook them to soup consistency; you want them cooked so that they retain some structure and cohesion but of course soft enough that they are pleasant to eat, and lentils taste great with the spices in this recipe!
You can also customize this recipe with vegetables you like by adding or substituting: bell peppers, tomatoes, well-chopped spinach, cauliflower, onions and mushrooms all work a treat.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Kunming Islamic Restaurant (昆明園)
#26 Lane 81 Fuxing N. Road Taipei Taiwan
台北市復興北路81巷26號
02-2751-6776
GO HERE!
Seriously. Just go. Don't wait. Go. Now. I'll wait.
(tick tick tick)
Back? So...wasn't that great?! I mean, YUM! I know. I KNOW. Sooo good.
In case you didn't obey my instructions and did not just run out and eat there right now, let me just say that this place is gooooood.
We had:
Coconut chicken: good
Channa Masala: great
Chili Shrimp: Amazing
Chapatis: pretty damn good
Indian Masala Tea: good, needed more cardamom
Plain lassi: Sooooo good
Samosas with yoghurt and coriander chutney: MMmmmmmmMMMMmmmmMmMm!
Biriyani rice: Taaasty!
Gulab jamun: may have been from a can but was served in a very nice sugar syrup (*may* have been homemade from a mix, not sure) and hot the way I like it.
Moussaka (eggplant and beef): except for green peppers, yummmmy
No beer though. Boo on that. Fortunately the plain lassi was quenching enough that we barely noticed.
So yeah, for serious, go here. Eat all the food. It's a really interesting mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Southeast Asian and Chinese - we stuck mostly with the Indian but there was other stuff on offer.
GO HERE!
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