Month: September 2008

And we're back…

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Sorry about the big gap in posts, but I’ve had a lot on and not really been in the writing mood. Anyhow, I’ve posted two new burger places to the list of eateries in Taipei and they’ve both got their own pros and cons, so make sure you check them out. The yearly Swedish crafish party (kräftskiva) was delayed from last weekend to Friday night thanks to typhoon Sinlaku that decided to stop by for quite a while and which produced a downpour of about 1.8m.

It was packed last night, but the scary thing is that since last year, I only knew about 5 or 6 people, which shows what a big turn-around of foreginers there is here. It doesn’t seem like most people come here for the long term, although considering the huge ammount of English teachers and what appears to be a big influx of University students, at least from Sweden, I guess it’s not so strange that there’s a bit turnover.

I’m going to try to get my finger out and update the site more regularly, as it seems like I have a fair few readers, despite the fact that it’s not updated on regular basis. If anyone has suggestions of places that we should go and eat at, please send me an email, you can find my email address in the contract me section at the top of the page.

Forkers

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Forkers is another fairly recent burger place in Taipei and although it’s a fair bit bigger than KGB, it seems to be just as busy and if you’re not going in a group, you better call ahead and book a table most nights of the week between 19.00 and 20.30. Forkers feels more like a restaurant than KGB and the selection of food is also bigger. Forkers has an interesting system, as you select the type of burger you want out of a list of 50 or so options, then select the type of patty you want, be it beef, chicken, veggie, kobe beef, fish or pork.

In other words, it doesn’t really matter what your dietary requirements are, you’re likely to find something that tingles your tastebuds. They also do a selection of sallads and a few other alternatives like fried fish, quesadillas and a few wraps. All burgers comes with two sides from a selection of eight and there are some other sides that costs extra as well. You also get a drink with you meal and for an extra NT$30 you get unlimited refills.

I bumped into a couple of friends as we were there so we all shared a table. I went for the Mexican burger with a beef patty and apart from the fact I didn’t read the menu properly and missed the fact that it had a ton of sauteed peppers on it, it was a tasty burger. Brenda went for the Three Cheesy with a kobe beef patty. She also ordered the classic Poutine, which was fries with gravy and melted cheese ontop. One of my friend ordered the same fries, but with an Aussie burger sans beetroot and his girlfriend went for the Hack burger with kobe beef. The Hack burger has bacon, cheese and chicken strips on it…

The burger buns at Forkers are odd, they’re not like any burger buns I’ve ever had. They’re dark brown and has loads of mixed seeds ontop and I can’t say I was super keen on them. The garlic fries I ordered were dry and the spice mix didn’t stick att all and was all in a corner on my plate. Apart from that it was quite tasty. Our meal came up to NT$610 which isn’t bad for two people overall.

Forkers is located at No. 8, Alley 10, Lane 223 Chung Xiao East Rd. Sec. 4 and you can call them on 02-2771-9285. There’s a full menu on their website which you can find here.

Update: This place closed back in 2015.

KGB

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KGB is short for Kiwi Gourmet Burger and they’re located on the left hand side of Shida Road if you’re coming from the Taipower MRT station. They have a pretty decent selection of burgers and everything is cooked fresh as you order it. I’ve only had the classic cheese burger there so far, but they offer a wide range of more exotic options. This is also a good place for vegetarians, as they have a big selection of veggie burgers and they also have a selection of chicken burgers.

They also have a good selection of side orders and desserts. Milkshakes are also on the menu and they have a special selection of imported beer and cider from South Africa, despite the New Zealand theme. Most stuff on the menu seems to be going for between NT$250-300, but as they don’t have a website as yet and I didn’t memorize the menu, I can’t say for sure. I would definitely recommend KGB if you’re in the mood for a tasty burger with a difference.

The address is No 5, Lane 114, Shida Road and their phone number is 02-2363-6015. The place isn’t huge, so if you’re planning on going on a Friday or Weekend night, I’d suggest you call ahead. You can find more details on their Facebook page.

2019 Update: Unlike so many other places I’ve written about here, KGB is still going strong and they still serve up very decent burgers and the prices haven’t gone up by much since the original review in 2008. If anything, they’ve expanded their menu and even managed to survive a Burger King opening almost next door (which closed a year or so ago).

Biff’s Pita

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Some stuff is hard to find in Taiwan, at least if you want something a little bit different and stuff inside a pita bread or a wrap is usually not that easy to find here. Thankfully one lad decided to start up his own eatery here and although he started out very low key, business grew and these days there’s a pretty good selection of tasty food at Biffs. His recipes might not be traditional stuff that you normally find inside a pita, not that I’m going to say that I’m very unhappy about that, as he’s come up with some rather fitting stuff.

Biffs is located along Shida Road which is famous for its affordable eateries and Biffs holds true to that. You can get two pitas for a mere NT$120 (or NT$65 each) and the burritos which are bigger, come in at NT$79 or NT$89. Originally he only had a selection of three fillings and although I tried one back then, I wasn’t really taken by the food. However, I went back to the new place recently and boy was it tasty, juicy, tender meat, loads of jalapeno and really good sauces and marinades. I had the Tex-Mex pita and a Refried Beans & Mexican Cheese burrito, while Brenda went for the Xinjiang Cumin pita. Everything was prepared there and then and tasted just fabulous, it couldn’t compare to the early days of the business.

The selection of Pita’s include Marsala Curry, Xinjiang Cumin, Tex-Mex, Thai Tom Yum, Thai Yellow Curry and Yunnan Fermented Tofu (although I won’t be trying the last one) and the cheaper burrito is the Salsa & Chicken, although I’d suggest to add the extra NT$10 for the Refried Beans & Mexican Cheese, as I have a feeling it’s the same burrito, just with more tasty stuff in it. They also serve potato wedges starting at NT$39 although the fancier toppings you want, the more expensive it gets, all the way up to NT$65. Fried rice sets you back NT$79 and a fried rice pita goes for NT$49. Oh, and if you don’t like Pita’s, then you can have the same tasty fillings in a sub.

They’ve also got a deal with the Malaysian tea stand next to them where you can get a discount on a bag of tea (yes, you drink it out of a bag). The only downer is that there are only four seats available and two inconsiderate people had sat them selves in the two middle seats, so we couldn’t have a seat when we went there. Either which way, this is a place I will be going back to more often as the new menu has made it the best and cheapest place to get a pita or a burrito in Taipei.

You can find Biffs at Shida Road Alley 49, No. 9 and they’re open from 11.30 to 23.00 most days of the week. They also have a website here on which you can find the menu.

Update: Sadly Biffs closed its door on the 21st of February 2009 due to slow business among other things. They might be back with a restaurant sometime in the future, fingers crossed.