South Beauty Restaurant

Location: My husband took us here last saturday for our lunch at South Beauty Restaurant a fabulous Sichuan Chinese cuisine. Well...You probably already know about T.V celebrity Xiǎo S and Da S also know as Barbie Hsu. South Beauty restaurant is located at 4-floor of the recently renovated former New York New York building, now renamed ATT 4 Fun in Xinyi District. It is near to the Taipe 101 building and well linked with other mega shopping like the Mitsukoshi etc.

Decor: The restaurant is brought to life with the LED lights and moving water effects are projected onto the wall, great lampshades and oversized sofas and it wasn't a typical Chinese style. It has a sleek and lavish decor and elegant table settings.

Food: First up is the cold tea-smoked chicken with spicy sauce it was devoured in a twinkling of an eye and beautifully prepared as well with this tiny tea cups.

Now its time for my favorite Chinese soup is the hot and sour soup it was hot! very hot is rich and velvety, decently tangy with vinegar.

Conpoy and shrimp glutinous rice wrapped by lotus leaf was surprisingly good,,,really good!

Sweet and sour lotus root stuffed wit pork were nice and crispy. I love the light sweet and sour sauce which is very similar to the Thai chili sauce and they look fantastic.

We also had the hot and spicy male crab which was stir fried with a fragrant blend of ginger and spring onion. This place charges by weight and had cost us around more than NT$2,200.

We also try the Mongolian style lamb chops it was very tender and like all other dishes, it is served really hot.

Spicy eggplant was cooked nicely though it was a bit greasy, hot and spicy!

Dan dan noodles 

Pan-fried bun with  chive they come stuffed to the brim with hot savory juices and a meat fatty but less in fat.

Pan-fried dumplings stuffed with pork, was an unexpected surprise, this wasn't too greasy, and the minced pork filling was juicy. 

Sichuan dumplings

Sichuan wanton soup

Deep fry pumpkin cake for the finale. After we finished the meal, we mistakenly believed it was expensive because we were deceived by the beautiful decor and prices on the menu. The dumplings and noodle it's not a large portion and it came in mini bowl. The star dishes of the table had got to be the crab, glutinous rice, tea smoked chicken, lotus root stuffed with pork, pan fried bun & dumplings. The rest it was ok, the service was amazing, the staff was professional and friendly. Well then If you have NT$ burning a hole in your pocket and want to be in a lavish place, this is the place for you.

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South Beauty Restaurant
台北市信義區松壽路12號
6 Floor, ATT 4 FUN, No.12, Songshou Road, Taipei
Tel No: 2-2725-2288, 02-2725-5588
http://www.southbeauty.com/

Jean-Paul Hèvin Taipei 101

Located at 4-5 floor of Taipei 101 Mall, Jean Paul Hèvin Chocolatier is a French manufacturer of high-end chocolate in Paris. The small restaurant and shop is decorated with a modern blend of dark wood tables, cabinetry and leathers sofas. An open area ideal for those who want to see and be seen sorrounded by expensive premium luxury brand.

Arranged in an elegant tiered tray, the special set for 2 person include tea of your choice.

Top tier: We were served a 2 chocolate cake, 2 macarons, 2 fruit salads that is refreshing & looks beautiful in a mini glass.

The middle layer of sweets was a millefeuille, mont blanc, 2 canele and another piece of cake and it was almost too nice to eat.

The last level of the three-tiered was a egg, chicken and cucumber sandwiches with a touch of mustard, soft creamy cheese and fresh thinly sliced tomatoes.

The black tea it was incredibly fragrant and simultaneously soothing for a sensation.

They give us a free sample with this piece of chocolate.

My husband favorite part is the chocolate macaron with chocolate ganache inside was just magnificent. Over all, the experience at Jean-Paul Hèvin is quite good, but a little bit expensive being told that their macarons in store are imported from Paris.

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Jean Paul Hèvin Chocolatier

Taipei 101 Mall, 4-5 floor Xinyi District Taipei.
CLOSED

8utter Cafe

Situated on the Solas Hotel at Liyu Road Puli Township, Nantou County is beautiful reflection on the lake water teaming with life - fish, turtles, ducks, etc.

We would like to eat someplace nice and perhaps get good food  and have a good dinner before going home. It is the coffee restaurant offers a mix culinary food has been tailored for a Western palate. We went through 8utter coffee, the restaurant has a very rustic and country feel, yet it’s still contemporary and somewhat you may feel romantic I guess.

Here’s what we found out. There were set menu include soup, salad, main course, drinks and no desserts. On the table: We started off with this mushroon soup a slightly creamy exposition of mushroom flavor, it was good thou!

Next came the salads and anti-pasto: Mix vegetables drizzled in creamy blueberry dressing.

Caesar salad with smoked chicken

Grilled abalone mushroom.

For the main course: I ordered the roasted barbecue pork ribs serve with boiled vegetables and rice, flavor in Taiwan aboriginal rice dumplings or tongzhi. I was greatly disappointed, the ribs did not taste tender. 

Provencal roasted lamb chops with rosemary sauce for my daughter. It was very hard and chewy as it seemed it had been  in the fridge for many years.

Spaghetti carbonara

Linguine pesto with toasted pine nuts. 

Last but not least we have a variety of drinks and I always go for hot fruit tea it was delicious but a little bit too sweet for me. Overall, nothing remarkable about the food but the salad, mushroom soup and pasta was ok. The rest of the main course it was disaster if you know how to cook your own meat dishes.

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8utter Cafe-Solas Hotel

Tianquan Hot Springs Hall Liyu Road 37-1, Puli Township, Nantou County, Taiwan

天泉溫泉會館 南投縣埔里鎮鯉魚路37-1號