International House is a foundation promoting cooperation between Japanese people and other countries. Its headquarter is a hotel, catering to international scholars, a conference center, and houses a lounge and a restaurant. The building, dating back to 1955 with a major expansion taking place in 1976, was built in harmony with the surrounding Japanese garden and is a remarkable place.
The visit
The building hosts both a lounge, called The Garden, and a full-fledged restaurant called Sakura. I went for an afternoon tea.
It was a Sunday afternoon of Christmas Week and the place was pretty busy. The public seemed to be mature (in stark contrast with the coffee shops at the National Art Center that I had visited earlier that seemed to attract a younger audience).
The lounge overlooked the scenic garden (unfortunately I was unable to get a decent photo of the view).
I chose the tea and cake set and I was presented with samples of the available cakes. I went for the pudding.
The tea was offered in a teapot.
The check
The tea and cake set cost me 968 yen (around 9 USD) and I must say that I found it very reasonable, especially considered the nice environment.
Once I tried the Little Cook Cafe in Chiang Mai. I saw the place mentioned by expats several times and I thought it was a Thai diner. Actually it turned out to be more of a pasta and burger place.
The visit
The venue is “open-air”, located in an alley not far away from the Northern Gate night market. Sadly, there were a lot of mosquitoes (March 2020).
I went for their burger… double (I believe 150 gram each patty). It came in a nice set up with some chips and a piece of watermelon. I had mushrooms added (you can choose a number of extra toppings). The meat was reasonably firm and the sauces not too intrusive. Very tasty burger! The normal one would have been enough.
The check
The burger with the extra topping was 400 THB (in total 420 with water, or around 13 USD). Not expensive, but in line with other burgers in Chiang Mai. The only things that would keep me back is the open-air settings.
Where in Chiang Mai: 244 Manee Nopparat Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai.
Baan Mon Muan is a resort in the mountains in Mae Rim, north of Chiang Mai. Its restaurant and cafe gained them a mention in the Thailand 2020 Michelin Guide.
The visit
There are a few sets of stairs to climb…
I passed through a store with some cheeky products.
Above a peek into the restaurant dining rooms.
The cafe area was one level up on top of what looked like a fortress.
So went to the roof top for a dessert.
The view across the mountains was indeed beautiful.
I had a tea and a dessert that were good.
The check
The check for my dessert was 275 THB (8.5 USD), not that cheap. This was not much to comment on their full menu, but the place gave me a good first impression in terms of service and overall quality. I would have no problems coming back for a full meal.
North of Chiang Mai city, in Mae Rim, there is a luxurious Four Season resort. I tried their Thai restaurant for lunch one day during my early 2020 stint in Chiang Mai.
The visit
My driver escorted me to the Four Season resort. It is a 20-30 minute ride from Chiang Mai Nimman area where I was staying.
I descended a staircase to get to the restaurant.
I walked along a long patio to the entrance of the restaurant.
This is also the restaurant where the resort guests have breakfast. On weekends there is a brunch buffet.
Ultimately I settled for a table outside the air-conditioned dining room to enjoy the view.
The resort villas are semi-hidden in the lush vegetation.
The restaurant is Thai, but for lunch they also had a menu with Western dishes. I guess the guests, mostly wealthy American and Japanese, cannot live without a burger time to time.
I had a healthy salad with big pieces of Tasmanian salmon.
And I had a classic Thai dish, pad Thai with prawns.
It came with various sauces and spices.
The two dishes were very good… but… (brace yourself for the next section).
The check
These two dishes and a tea cost me 1647 THB (51 USD). And I am not even counting the transportation costs (other 500-600 THB).
It was simply overpriced. Just good for the wealthy vacationers choosing to spend their time inside the resort. In terms of cost opportunity, it really does not make sense to spend that kind of money for a couple of good but ordinary dishes.
For around that money you can have an afternoon tea for two.
Where in Mae Rim: 502 MOO 1, MAE RIM-SAMOENG OLD ROAD.
Palette is the Western restaurant of the 137 Pillars resort in Chiang Mai.
137 Pillars House is just a beautiful place. I would call it a urban resort as it is located in a central area of Chiang Mai.
The visit
Upon my arrival a kind receptionist escorted through the maze of mini villas to the restaurant building. Palette is located on the upper floor of a reconverted old building that used to be the headquarters of a trading company.
The dining room was extremely intimate with just five tables.
They had a tasting menu that looked interesting, but I noticed it only after my meal.
There was a complimentary bread basket.
I had a Thai Iced Tea. Better than water that was just overpriced.
There was an amuse bouche, a piece of slow-cooked chicken.
My first dish was their signature smoked salmon roll. The salmon was filled with cream cheese. A very tasty dish.
My main was a tuna steak. These was a proper tuna steak, rare inside. And it was a reasonably-sized portion. All the condiments – mash, carrots, tomatoes – were delicious.
Then I asked to have my dessert in the Jack Bain’s Bar on the same floor. It was a very classy bar with a vintage style.
The dessert was a coconut creme brulee served with biscotti.
The dinner was above my expectations. The menu including a little bit of everything, from pasta to pizza and burgers, did not seem very promising. But there were some gems on the menu and the three dishes I had were all winners.
The check
Final check was 1,271 THB (40.5 USD). A reasonable check if you take into account the refined dining environment.
The service was handled by two young guys. They were ver friendly and I even left a tip, but they were not able to explain the dishes in English. Not a big deal, but I would have expected the hotel to staff their flagship restaurant with professionals that could deal with the overwhelmingly foreign audience.
A little bit too many mosquitoes, but overall recommended for a diversion from Thai food in Chiang Mai.
Online you find references to the Westin and more recently to The Regis hotel as the best weekend buffets in Shanghai. Bullshit. These are very noisy, crowded, and the food is so so. (The Westin is a nice place to see expats getting drunken if it is your fetish, though).
The Kitchen Studios’ restaurant of the Andaz Hotel in Xintiandi does an excellent job in putting together a well-managed Sunday buffet (only on Sundays from noon) with quality food and at a reasonable price point.
I have been a big fun for a long time. I still remember a couple of years ago when they were launching their weekend brunch and I was among the few diners taking advantage of their promotion at the time. Now the news is out and it is almost sold out, but still, in my latest visit in November 2019, I did not feel the pressure of the crowd and there were no shortages of food. It remains a pleasant experience.
The visit
Let me take you around the buffet.
There are two spacious dining rooms around the buffet area, with both sofas and normal chairs. The decor is modern. Even if the rooms got pretty soon almost full, I did not overwhelmed.
One of the main attraction is the sushi and sashimi boat. They have tuna, salmon, and amberjack.
More seafood: lobster claws and…
… and imported prawns and crab legs.
It was hairy crab season and they were available (not a fan here).
There was an oyster station.
They would provide three oysters per order (brought to your table). I usually have at least 6, so I kept ordering, no problem.
There were various dishes that could be ordered as many times as you wish. The foie gras quite good.
Every diner could order one lobster dish.
I had the egg benedict with lobster and caviar. Nothing special, but a nice way to get my Sunday eggs. The half lobster with cheese was preferred by my friends, but had too much dish in my opinion.
Since it was almost Thanksgiving, a big turkey was available at the roast meat station along with beef.
They also had Chinese food. I tried the lobster wonton soup. Again, nothing exceptional, but I appreciated the effort.
Another dish made on demand was the Shanghai pancakes. I would not recommend it as it is super-filling and you can have it around town for 2 USD or so. But again, I appreciate the effort to have some local food.
Some dim sum dishes were available.
Many more dishes I am not posting were available, including lamb meat, pork, and vegetables. I could not try them all!
The dessert station included many treats including freshly made waffles and ice cream.
They paid homage to the local milk candy called White Rabbit with a cake made from the same milk. (White Rabbit company was on a diversification spree at the time of this posting… perhaps it was a marketing initiative.)
Soft drinks and some wine were also included and freely available.
The check
The check was picked up by a friend so I do not have a picture to post. The price per person was 446 RMB (63 USD), way less than similar buffets on the Bund. I was extremely pleased by the efficiency of the operations (even during the first hectic half an hour after opening the service was pretty good and fast) and the quality of the food.
PS: for a luxury semi-buffet, my favorite remains the Cathay Room.
Where in Shanghai: 2F of Andaz Hotel 88 Songshan Lu. In Chinese: 嵩山路88号.
Stop reading if you do not like chocolate or sugar is not your thing. Also, I urge moderation. But if you have a sweet tooth, these three desserts are to die for.
1. Le Bec’s chocolate cream pudding
Épicerie & Caviste 62 Le Bec sells some great sweets. My personal favorite is their chocolate pudding: I am not sure what chocolate they use (probably milk), but the result is a delicious pudding with chocolate flavor emerging at any bite. Check: 35 RMB (5 USD).
Where in Shanghai: 62 Xinhua Lu, by Panyu Lu.
2. Yuzu and chocolate cake from Baker & Spice
Baker & Spice is a popular bakery and cafe chain in Shanghai. All of their cakes are pretty good, but the yuzu and chocolate cake is a stunner. The yuzu offers a nice counterbalance to the chocolate natural bitterness. Check: 35 RMB (5 USD).
Where in Shanghai: 195 Anfu Rd, Xuhui and many more locations.
3. Valrhona chocolate cake from 325 Roof
Valrhona is a French premium chocolate manufacturer and is a premium ingredient for pastry. Roof 325, the rooftop restaurant perched on top of the Shanghai Museum, has an outstanding cake made from Valrhona chocolate. One of the interesting things is that the cake has two layers with two distinct textures. The restaurant location on top of what used to be the Race Club House is another highlight. Check: 68 RMB (around 10 USD).
Where in Shanghai: Shanghai History Museum, 5/F, 325 Nanjing Xi Lu
Hayashi Department Store is a characteristic five-story retail venue originally opened in 1932 in Tainan during Japanese rule. After decades of abandonment, it was refurbished and reopened in 2014. It is today a big touristic attraction in Tainan. The Japanese influence on the building is apparent; notably there is a restored Shinto shrine on the rooftop.
The visit
The building has such an old-times charm that I keep visiting it every time I am in Tainan, even if I am not particularly interested in the merchandising they sell (even if it includes many quality products from local makers).
Food can be found on the first (ground) floor and in two cafes, on the fourth and fifth floor. Let’s start from the top (the elevator stops only on the ground floor and the fifth floor by the way).
The fifth floor cafeteria
The fifth floor cafeteria (“Delicious Tainan”) is a good place where to relax and have a light meal.
The menu is based on Chinese comfort food, sweet soups, and milk tea.
I tried their Dan Zai noodles (a specialty from Tainan) and I found them bland as compared to the one that I had in another traditional restaurant.
On the other hand, their cold tofu pudding with red beans and peanuts was very good and refreshing. On the menu, they have several variations of this dish.
I spent 235 NTD (7.75 USD) for two sets of noodles and two bowls of tofu (I was with a friend). Very affordable.
The fourth floor cafe
On the fourth floor (one level down) there is the namesake Hayashi cafe mostly catering to cakes, smoothies, tea, and coffee.
I had their chocolate smoothie that was excellent, even if it probably shortened my lifespan.
It cost 180 NTD (6 USD). In this cafe prices are a higher than upstairs.
The first floor shopping area
The first floor of the Department Store is dedicated to cakes and traditional snacks (it is called Tainan Feast, 台南好客廳). These make very welcomed gifts.
One of the signature snacks was the Hayashi’s sweet cake (filled with red beans) made in a century-old bakery in Tainan. Each cake bears the Hayashi seal (back in the day, this was a big innovation). They were popular with women after giving birth, as a dietary supplement.
Brown sugar maltose crackers sandwiches were recommended as a complement for tea time.
Pineapple cake (another classic from Taiwan) was available in many formats.
The most affordable snack was this popped rice crispy cakes made by a bakery in Tainan with natural ingredients: one, individually packaged, could be bought for 40 NTD (a little over 1 USD).
This is just a small selection of the goods available that include mango cakes, dried fruit, and teas.
Where in Tainan: No. 63, Section 2, Zhongyi Road, West Central District. Website: http://www.hayashi.com.tw.
In Tainan there is a marvelous space. It is a cafe, cum art gallery, cum event hall, and much more. I had the pleasure to visit it upon a friend’s invitation. It was supposed to be a simple coffee meeting, but it turned out to be marvelously more.
The visit
As I noticed for other nice cafes in Tainan, The Marvelous Space is hidden in a non-descript building. The entrance is on a side alley. You can see the sign above in Chinese (飛石樓). It is perched on the 8th floor.
Entering the shop, you are welcomed in a very spacious room.
A massive wooden table extends for most of the room. What is really impressive is that every corner of the space is dotted by artworks: prints, paintings, statues, furniture. Every single piece has a story.
The baristas have been training for years with a famous coffee master from Taipei and my friend immensely enjoyed his coffee. I had an equally satisfying Oolong tea with cookies.
Some of the teas, tea-ware, and even some of the artworks in the shop are for sale.
The owner kindly walked me and my friend around his studio showing his collection of rare prints and paintings from Zao Wou-Ki, a renown contemporary Chinese-French painter (he passed away in 2013). He had specimens both from his early “Paul Klee” phase and his subsequent more abstract period.
But they also had some more affordable design objects.
In the adjacent room, there is a space sometimes used for events and equipped with a state of the art audio system.
The check
I was kindly treated to this coffee, so I cannot comment on prices. But quality come at a price.
The Marvelous Space is a testament of the well-developed aesthetic sense you can find in Taiwan where tasting an outstanding coffee or tea surrounded by the beauty of hand-picked artwork is not out of the realm of possibilities.
Room A was introduced to me by a friend during a weekend visit to Tainan in October 2019. Hidden on the third floor of a non-descript building, it was a pleasant surprise. It is a paradise for a bookworm. The owner used to run a second-hand bookstore.
The visit
The cafe shares the entrance with a bed and breakfast.
From the sign, my understanding is that from 10am to 1pm the place operates as a breakfast cafe. Then from 1pm onwards the format changes.
On the door, a sign says “Have a seat & read a book”. It sounds like a plan.
The place has a vintage feeling and, in my opinion, it is beautiful. On one side there is the kitchen behind a big counter and books are everywhere. Books can be taken and read freely. I think the book inventory is all in Chinese. I indulged on a photography magazine.
It was quite busy. And people were really reading books. Obviously, no talking! Customers were advised to keep quiet. I whispered with my friend over lunch.
A number of dishes are available through the day.
I had a burger with egg and bacon.
My friend had a chicken sandwich. In both cases, the bread was nicely toasted and there were no dripping sauces. The food was good and healthy.
Drinks, tea and coffee were included in the usage fee (see below).
They also have a lovely terrace.
The check
The food cost 180 NTD (6 USD).
In addition to the food, there is a usage fee: 1 NTD for every minute inside the cafe. This is an interesting business model. One hour would cost you 60 NTD (arund 2 USD) that is very reasonable if you consider that you can enjoy complimentary coffee and tea. I do not have the final receipt as it was taken care by my friend.
I really liked the place and the format. If I was living in Tainan I would be a regular. I like to think of it as the Tainan’s answer to Starbucks.
