Taipei: Modern Toilet Restaurant

After travelling to Taipei all these years, it was the first time that I got down to the main branch at Ximending to try out the famed toilet-themed restaurant (便所主题餐厅）.

Click on the above restaurant name to be directed to their site.  It's best to make a reservation lest you be disappointed to find out the venue is fully booked (for dinner).  I made our reservation a few days before on their Message Board.

Usually I don't hang out at Ximending because of the crowd and overpriced goods,  so I wasn't familiar with the area and had a little difficulty trying to find this place.

I know many Singaporeans have already been to this place but I still wanted to give a shot anyway.  On our way up, a big family was just leaving.  We could tell they were Singaporeans from their accent (dead giveaway).

From all the media coverage the restaurant received, I'd expected the place to be a lot bigger and "grander", but it wasn't.  It's a cute cafe located on the second floor, adorned with bathtubs, showerheads and toilet bowls.  

Lovely wallpaper to whet your appetite :D

Even the light bulbs come in shapes of poop. Lol.

Our dining menu was reusable and creative, you just write what you want on it and it's erasable (like a whiteboard).  I was interested in a beverage with an attractive name:

Loosely translated as Shit Pee Fly Fruit Tea

While waiting, Sis and I walked around to check out the place a bit.  On the other side of the second level is where the cashier was. We were seated nearer to the toilet (the real one).

It was only after we ordered and paid that I realized almost all the other teenagers in the cafe were eating Milky Hotpot.  As it turns out, that was their best seller and people usually come here for that. Oh well.

What we had:

I thought my baked rice was rather adorable being served in a bathtub, and my Shit Pee Fly Fruit Tea served in a standing urinal.

The rice was so-so, and the drink was pretty nasty (too sour x sweet). 0.0!

Mudder's hotpot

 She was quite peeved about the whole eating from toilet bowl thing. Lol.

We ordered an extra fries to share, which was surprisingly good (Sis ate everything).

I got a bit confused when I went to the washroom, coz' i wasn't sure if I used the REAL one. Hahaha. I had to double check with the flush.

This wasn't the real toilet bowl, it's the wash basin. See what I mean?

Last but not least, we had a bit of dessert:

Chocolate ice-cream! Hahaha. I didn't like it at all.

Overall, I found the furniture was really cute, but the food was below average.  Maybe the waitress could have told us earlier that the milky hotpot was recommended. 

Modern Toilet Restaurant
便所主题餐厅

Address:
2F, No. 7, Lane 50,  Xining South Road, Tapei City
108 台北市万华区宁南路50巷7号2楼

Phone:
(02)23118822

Business Hours:
11.30am - 10pm

Average Meal:
NT$300 

The nearest metro station is 西门 (Ximen) Station, take exit 6 and walk along Chengdu Road.

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A380 In-Flight Kitchen Restaurant

This is super backdated but I've been wanting to blog about some of the places that I went to in Taipei earlier this March.

I didn't really want to go back to the same places again because I like to try new stuff, so I brought my family to a novelty restaurant -- A380 In-Flight Kitchen Restaurant （A380 空中厨房）.

The restaurant was to model after the largest passenger aircraft - A380. However, I can't say the same for the service. The "steward" and "stewardesses" were very unattentive, I had to pick up some food myself or walk up to them to let them know we needed something.

It's a very interesting concept though, for customers to have an A380 dining experience.  Check out these seats and walls:

I like how the restaurant paid attention to the little details, such that the seat belt and no smoking lights signs were also part of the decor.

There was a wide range of western food to choose from.  Sis and I chose lunch sets with different combinations, while my parents chose something from the ala carte menu.  The lunch sets came with salad, soup of the day, bread and butter, main course and a dessert.

I chose the salad with vinaigrette sauce, Sis chose the thousand island one

The soup's pretty nice and I love the butter buns!

My egg custard (yums!) and sis's not-so-nice chocolate mousse cake

Mom's baked rice (too cheesy!) and dad's nicely roasted chicken

Here's a short video clip of how the restaurant looks like:




There was a private room available, behind an automatic glass doors, my guess is it's reserved for private parties/functions/events.

We went on a weekday afternoon where only one other table was occupied other than ourselves. I guess business ain't that good for them, considering that the food is on the pricier side (in Taipei).
 

Address: 168, Dingzhou Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市汀州路三段168號)
Telephone: (02) 2367-3928
Open: Daily from 11:30am to 10pm
Average meal: NT$500
Details: Chinese and English menu; credit cards accepted

Information taken from TaipeiTimes.

The nearest train station is Gongguan. Take Exit 1 and walk for about 3-5 mins and you'll see the signboard.

A380 In-Flight Kitchen is the sort of restaurant where you'll visit once just for the novelty sake, but not enticing enough to make you go back for more.

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