Taiwan Eateries We Love

I may be a vegetarian but one of my pet hates is vegetarian restaurants. They’re just not necessary. Plus I had a very bad experience with one in Paris years ago which involved my meal being a plate with a mountain of grated carrot and not much else. Could have been worse. My guest’s plate was a mountain of grated turnip. Since then and for a number of reasons I’ve avoided vegetarian restaurants but in Taipei recently I found myself in a Buddhist place called Easy House. There are several branches but we were in the one in an area near Chong Xiao East Road which is a super cute neighbourhood of narrow, chic lanes filled with cute cafes and shops, more akin to what you see in the back streets of the cool areas of Tokyo than in Taiwan which is more typically about large shopping malls. So Easy House was a great discovery because it took me into this very nice neighbourhood and also fed us beautifully in a wonderful, modern Zen setting. The Japanese salad and the vegetable and fruit juice shake were the highlights (remember it is Buddhist so if you want a drink maybe visit a bar afterwards). Highly recommended.

Easy House, 9, Tianmu West Rd, Taipei. + (02) 2874 5967