Pizza Dome (林口區)

I went here to satisfy the pizza cravings that I've been having all week and luckily they didn't disappoint. The ordering process here is a kind of build-your-own type thing, there are a few pre-set pizzas but the price is the same I think so you're better off getting exactly what you want. My partner and I both stuck quite closely to the suggested menu, I ordered the veggie pizza (but without the Parmesan), and she ordered the pesto chicken. You can watch the staff preparing your food for you, first they put on the sauce, (our pizza was half tomato sauce and half pesto), next the load up the cheeses, then meats then vegetables. Then you pay at the end of the counter and wait whilst your pizza is cooked in the large oven. The pizza was ready after about 10 or 15 minutes and we went to collect it. I was really happy with mine, the base was crisp without being dry, the vegetables had good flavour. The only slight adjustments I'd make are for the cheese to be a little stronger tasting, and the same for the tomato sauce base.We also ordered a side of French fries which came in their own cute little deep-fat-fryer serving dish. Pizza Dome is definitely somewhere I'd come back to visit again.

兜味 (大同區)

We chose to go here for late 'brunch' with a dog on a Sunday afternoon and were seated without a reservation, (which was lucky as they got pretty busy later on).The menus were really cute little wooden boards with the paper pasted on. When we arrived we were asked if our dog is ok with other dogs and if she needs a dog nappy. As she's pretty well house trained and friendly she was allowed to run around where she wanted without having to suffer the indignity of wearing a nappy. The shop will give you one if you need it. Not all the dogs were so lucky, this poor little poodle didn't really enjoy her nappy. We both ordered lattes, they were really pleasant tasting, absolutely nothing to complain about here. I had the French toast with mushrooms and cheese. Actually the French toast here is garlic bread rather than the eggy bread that's sometimes called French toast and the cheese was something like half cream cheese and half butter but it was very tasty. The mushrooms had been cooked with a little honey so the flavour was different to anything I've tried before. As well as human food this place does dog dishes. I can't comment on the tastiness of this dish as our dog friend kept it all to herself, (except for the broccoli which she spat out).

I was really impressed with how friendly this place is and left feeling very happy after a leisurely couple of hours.

ENGLISH MENU: but as the staff are all quite young you'll probably be able to communicate.

善緣素食 (大同區)

We were hungry in the area and stopped here for a late lunch. This place seems a little different to a lot of the vegetarian places in that it has three soups on show and cooking away, normally they're not so visible. When we arrived the person running the shop was busy tasting them to make sure they were OK. Both of us chose the same soup, pumpkin soup with rice noodles. There was also a big pot of tofu and vegetables on the boil which we selected a few items from. The bowl of soup was very satisfying, each bowl came with a big square of tofu and plenty of white, very interestingly textured noodles. Normally rice noodles are s lot thinner but these thick ones felt texturally really good. The tofu cube was nicely spiced and reminded me a little of Bombay mix. I wasn't as keen on the vegetables we chose, (white radish, bitter melon and a vegeball), but that was more because I didn't really like the sauce. ENGLISH MENU:
But you could probably get by with pointing and/or minimal Chinese if you're polite.

琢手咖啡 (內湖區)

The first thing that you notice upon walking into this coffee bar is that a lot of attention went into creating the right look. It is beautifully, sparsely furnished in an industrial style which is softened by the clusters of plants up the metal staircase or against the unfinished walls. Combine the very hot style with the generous space given to each table (a cutaway section in the middle of the upper floor means that most of the place is just empty space), and the whole place just feels very cool. Lucky then that they're also serious about their coffee. I'm not really a coffee connoisseur, I merely know when I enjoy a cup, but an establishment which prioritises it's expensive drip coffee on the drinks list ahead of the (presumably) more popular standard coffee shop fare is a place that's serious about what it's doing. I stuck to my normal latte which tends to provide a good snapshot of how well a place prepares coffee and it really was lovely. The foam on the top was incredibly soft and creamy, like the size of the bubbles was smaller than usual. And underneath the lovely foam was a robust, well balanced cup. If I had been hungry I would have liked to sample the cakes - maybe another time.

素食紅燒拉麵 (三重區)

This is the second time I've been to this vegetarian shop on the corner. Both times I had hong shao mian (紅燒麵) and some fried tofu. The hong shao mian here is nicely seasoned, spicy but not too salty. This time the veg in the dish were these slightly strange curly-leafed things. I think it was a little different last time, perhaps it's seasonal. They also fill the soup with a lot of this fake meat. I like to have some but actually this shop puts A LOT in. We had two different types of tofu, fried tofu cube and fried tofu skin. I really liked the smooth softness of the tofu cube. After eating make sure to tidy away your bowls in the buns at the side of the stall.