If the queues out the door of this tiny Swanston Street spot are any indication, Melbourne can't get enough of Taiwanese at the moment. We carpe diem'd at a momentary lull and got the last table right away.
It sure is tiny inside, with tables just a hair's breadth apart. I don't mind eating like this if I'm in the mood - the busyness creates a real buzz, and the dark decor here adds to the sense of cosiness. The lanterns and wall art give a feel of winding through a busy Taipei backstreet in search of great eats.
Over gorgeous fresh soy milk and lemon tea, M broke it to me. He's joined the good guys - he's gone vegetarian. NOOOOOOO!!!! Where has my cartilage-chewing, bone-nibbling, stock-dribbling eating buddy gone? Sigh.......... It's cool. We can still be friends. Just... I can't do vegetarian ma po tofu. I just can't.
This Ma Po Tofu was yummy with cloud-like silky tofu pieces with a light sauce, tasty pork mince, lots of black pepper and chilli. The "thing" here, however, is the range of bento-type boxes with rice (dressed with a little pork mince), greens, fried egg and something fried to outrageously golden crispiness. I tried, I really did, but I just have to have some time away from batter. Those jeans aren't gonna shrink themselves.
The menu helpfully picks out the recommended dishes, but when you order one that doesn't have the little stamp of approval, it's with trepidation. These vegetarian noodles were one such unmarked. They were of good consistency and flavour but the total lack of wok hei made them a bit tedious.
Their pork dumplings, apparently a specialty, were merely acceptable. The mince was not very juicy and it was slightly grainy. Far better at Shanghai Street or next door Dumplings Plus.
Their vegetarian counterparts were quite horrid unfortunately, with muddy, underseasoned spinach and not much else.
At least we found some common omnivore ground in the spring onion pancake DMZ. This was great with a flaky, roti-like texture.
Taiwan Cafe isn't a very vego-friendly restaurant which constrained our ordering. I enjoyed the ma po tofu a lot and am keen to try the fried offerings when I'm out of elastic waistband territory. Taiwan Cafe is hot but a commitment in the face of all this deliciousness to karma-free eating is decidedly hotter - well done my friend.
Taiwan Cafe
273 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Phone: 9663 6663
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Ah c'mon, vegetarian Mapo Tofu is awesome! (... when the mince is properly replaced.) I welcome M to "the good guys". ;-)
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks on his behalf! The waiter told me in an ominous voice that the vegetarian option was "just tofu". We were talking about what would be best to replace it with? TVP? Some sort of eggplant dice?
DeleteThere's a vegetarian Taiwanese place in St Georges Road I thought looked worth checking out!
You're right on it - at home we use TVP soaked in fake beef stock, eating out we've tended to received finely diced eggplant or mixed vegetables. Lucy from Nourish Me has used crumbled tempeh, which I'd love to try for myself!
DeleteRe: St George's Taiwanese place, are you thinking of Veggie Kitchen perhaps? We've been there a couple of times (post here). The food is not very spicy but it's lovely and almost entirely hand made on site (including the mock meat, soy milk and tofu!).
Yum, Veggie Kitchen looks great! I want to try that vegetarian Buddhist place on Queen Street too. Eggplant and tofu ma po tofu sounds really yummy.
Deletehey I tried this place and didn't like it either. my review is here:http://newintstudents.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/taiwan-cafe.html
ReplyDeleteBummer! The silver thread bun looks good though. Lots of people were having the beef spring onion pancake wrap.
DeleteHi Lauren, thanks for another review - hearing about experiences of places that one sees is always appreciated ;) The mapo tofu looks nice ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure! I'm glad you don't mind city-based posts; sometimes I wonder if people only want 100% western suburbs. I love going into the city though and am always surprised by something new I find.
DeleteIts amazing how a place that can pull the queues provides such mediocre fare. Surely its not because of a captive audience? I wonder how authentically Taiwanese it is.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we gave them a really fair shot as we didn't have the special bento and had to order half vego stuff. I did like the ma po tofu and pancake and would go back to try more. All the reviews I have read online are indeed mediocre though. Is it because it's something different? Are most of the queues full of homesick Taiwanese students?
DeleteThere used to be a Taiwanese place in Little Bourke, just up from the ANZ Bank on the Swanston Street corner. I loved that place - I think it's a Japanese place now.
I had a somewhat 'meh' experience here as well, albeit without a vegetarian food companion (heaven forbid! :p). We had the signature beef noodle soup and found it underwhelming. Maybe Taiwanese food just isn't for me! :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder where else is there to try Taiwanese (apart from Veggie Kitchen)?
DeleteHey! Let me know if you go to that vegetarian Buddhist place on Queen St. I work right across the street! They have a meditation room that comes in handy...
ReplyDeleteBummer about the mediocrity. The scallion pancake and mapo tofu do look tempting, though. Then again I can hardly ever pass up any sort of pastry or pork!
Cool, I will! Meditation room sounds GREAT right about now.
DeleteOh I like the look of the spring onion pancake - looks delicious but agree with you that some of the other dishes seem disappointing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, bit ho hum, especially when surrounded by all the rest the CBD has to offer. Still, maybe the fried-y bento boxes are the way to go.
DeleteI'm confused by Taiwanese food, gotta admit I need to learn more. Any I've tried has left me less than impressed.
ReplyDeleteBummer!! It's hard as it's not exactly common, at least not in Melbourne.
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