月島文字燒

Location: 台北市忠孝東路四段126－13號 (MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing)
Telephone: 02-2721-5081
Hours: 11:00-15:00 & 17:00-22:00

If you have recently been in Osaka, Japan, you must know what I am talking about when I say Okonomiyaki and for those who have not been there, you can now experience one of Osaka's most famous cuisine here in Taipei!

The Okonomiyaki (大阪燒) here is really similar to the one you will taste in Osaka, except its a little less saltier with lighter sauce flavoring and it has more paste. Ranging from 200NT to 260NT per Okonomiyaki, its really good! 

The other selection available is the Monjayaki (文字燒) which has a totally different shape and way of eating it. Not as good as the Okonomiyaki, but I still recommend to try it out because that's exactly how they eat it in Osaka. The flavours are lighter than the Okonomiyaki and much runnier (more liquid composition) and it is eaten with a very cute metal spatula! This ranges from 200NT-300NT

I strongly recommend to order an Asashi beer to accompany them! Wish you have a very Osakan-meal if you ever plan to visit the place during lunch or dinner hours.  

Jolly Brewery + Restaurant | 泰食+手工釀啤酒

Location: 台北市松山區慶城街29號B室
Telephone: 02-2221-9337

Another brewery in town and this one is just not so jolly after all. When we think about beer, the first thing that comes to mind is pizza, chicken wings or even German sausage, yet Jolly pairs its freshly brewed beer with Thai food. Weird? Yes. 

I ordered the sample menu of craft beer to get a taste of everything. From Pilsener, Pale Ale, Stout to Scotch Ale, Weizen and Jolly's Special Brew. It was, okay. Definitely not the best beer I've tasted in Taiwan. 

We ordered some appetizers and the one below (which I forgot the name) was pretty good, but nothing special about it. I mean, the combination of mint leaves, shallots, tomato and seasoning will do all the dancing in the dish for you. 

The shrimp moon cake was crispy, shaped like fries, but seriously, how can fry food ever go wrong?

One of the most disappointing dishes of the day was this Thai curry with crab. There was practically no crab meat! Thai curries as supposed to be creamy as it is usually made from a curry paste with coconut milk or water and of course herbs to accent the taste. The texture of the sauce should somewhat look smooth or be in a homogeneous state, but this was just split. You could see the oil separating from the sauce and it was just not a nice dish to enjoy.

6 cups of beer for dinner and some nice appetizers, you see how my dinner time didn't end as jolly as Jolly planned it would be.