Restaurant Review: Melange Café

Hidden away in the alleys of the ZhongShan District (中山區) is the bustling little coffee shop, Melange Café 米郎琪咖啡館.  Opened - allegedly - in 1996, this establishment is definitely one of the more actually impressive cafés I have visited in Taipei.

Upon first glance, I would have just brushed it off as another trap for the idle and hungry youths of Taipei who actively participate in the hobby of "afternooning", with the doll-like uniforms of the servers and GOLIATH line waiting outside. As someone with very an appetite that flares up quicker than her temper - which is already considerably quick - I have no patience for waiting long hours in line to snack on light foods such as sandwiches and salads. So before I sing praises for this restaurant, I must warn you, the wait is very long, and the selections for food are not fit for an actual meal if you care about food as much as I do.

Also, word of advice here, I suggest if you do decide to brave the minimum hour-long wait (I am not exaggerating), that you come in groups smaller than 4, preferably on a week day, and that you not be hungry. What we did was pick up a number first, and then ate at another restaurant in the area with just enough stomach left for dessert and some coffee and then came back and waited.

Having said all that, we can now begin.

A creative and, slightly, hard to read menu.

First impression: The general ambiance, lighting, and decor of the restaurant actually reminds me of cafés in France. The servers were friendly and patient in explaining the multitudes of blends and flavors of coffee that they had, and were knowledgable enough to make detailed suggestions if asked for one. The seats had deceptively full-looking cushions that had a little more give than I expected (this stuff actually matters to me), but the sofas lining the walls seemed to be rather comfortable, and the tables are a good height in correlation to the chairs.

You mock me now for actually taking note of this stuff, but trust me, when your elbows cannot rest comfortably against the table and you feel like you did back when you had family dinners and you could barely see what was being served, it doesn't matter how perfectly tender that steak is or how fantastically al dente that pasta is.

The menu boasts the names of the products in Traditional Chinese, English, and Japanese, but the descriptions of the beverages are only in Mandarin so bring along a fluent reader/speaker if you plan to explore the coffee options here.

Food options are a little disappointing, offering only salads, sandwiches, waffles, desserts, breads, three kinds of quiche (one of which contains figs, which I am allergic to) and three breakfast platters (with HEINOUSLY slaughtered French spelling and syntax) - which I guess is suitable for the delicate stomachs of the constantly dieting local girls, but I have been thoroughly spoiled by the likes of Le Pain Quotidien and Au Bon Pain, so this just wasn't really cutting it for me.

I cannot claim to be an expert on coffee, but I was thoroughly impressed with the various options presented to us on the menu. You have a choice of blend coffees, espressos (I didn't have it, but I've heard it's not the best), flavored coffee, and iced coffee. There were coffee beans from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica... and the list goes on. Different grades and different strains with different flavors and roasts, offering a sour tang with the finishing scent of sweet orange and lilies or what have you.

It was a little overwhelming.

In the end, I decided to order myself a Costa Rica La Minita Coffee. I cannot say for sure what exactly drew me to this particular blend, but it seemed to be the most conservative of the exotic coffees the place had to offer, which apparently was what I craved. 

Speaking of cravings, let's put a pause on this coffee talk and backtrack a little to when I first walked into the restaurant.

I have allergies right now - thank you, spring time - and my nose is always constantly at least slightly congested. EW THAT'S GROSS HOW DOES THAT MATTER? Well, it matters because in this particular state, my usually extremely acute sense of smell is severely dimmed. But the first smell that I DID smell when walking into this café? 

Waffles.

I had originally planned on ordering waffles with strawberries and cream, but the waitress informed me that the only selections that come with maple syrup are the original waffles and the fresh seasonal fruit waffles, so I went with the latter. 

I mean, what are waffles without maple syrup? Strawberries and cream are nice and all, but it's definitely all about the maple syrup.

Might I mention that this visit only happened because I accompanied my parents and their friends after a lunch gathering? Yeah, I'm not as cool as you would think.

One of my mother's friends - I have affectionately dubbed her Auntie Chubs - ordered a smoked chicken and cheese "pizza", which was basically just the fixins of a pizza on a piece of thick cut toast. For some reason thick cut toast is extremely popular in Taiwan, be it for dessert or for savory platters, and I really cannot understand why.

I did, however, order a foie gras brioche at the Meridien Midtown NYC once, and it was USD$40 well spent.

This particular dish wasn't too shabby either. The sides were a bit too tough, but the cheese was fantastically melty and the flavor of smoked chicken was healthily imbued with a kick of garlic as well. Not to mention the serving time was pretty quick considering the entire place was completely packed.

Very soon after the "pizza" arrived, my order of waffles with fresh seasonal fruits followed suit. I was a little disappointed in the bare minimum amount of maple syrup they gave me but was quickly appeased when I discovered the bowl of blueberry jam on the side.

Following are some close-ups and various angles of the waffles. AND a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too!

My coffee was accompanied by the most adorable tiniest single micro-shot of cream, which I didn't add until much later because I wanted to actually taste what this brew was all about. But before I had time to do that, I had to - of course I had to - get a few close ups of this adorable miniature pitcher.

It was just absolutely irresistible. I knew I was playing STRAIGHT into the marketing ploy that targeted female customers by alluding to their lost childhoods with dolls and barbies, but damnit I couldn't help myself.

I mean just LOOK AT IT.

Okay, sorry, I'm done.

Carol's mom ordered a café au lait, which arrived at our table with the most elaborate setup I have ever seen. After a quick warning about heat and a very brief "This one is full of hot milk, and this one contains coffee, here is some sugar cubes", the waitress was off, so our entire table was left to our own devices to ponder this arrangement.

Here's some very lovely china to go with the idea of a very elaborate coffee.

I guess the good thing about this is that you get to decide your own proportions, and the bad thing about this is that... well... you get to decide your own proportions. Also, there was considerably more milk present in the milk pot than there was coffee in the coffee pot. I mean it's only reasonable, since it is a café au lait, but that didn't stop my mother's friends from feeling rather cheated.

The waffle batter was delicious, and the blueberry jam and maple syrup were just sweet enough that you didn't need a whole lot to bring out the flavor.

While the outside was beautifully crunchy and airy, the inside was a little drier and flakier than I am used to, but I am rather particular about my waffles, so this really was not that bad at all. It was actually quite good, if I am frank, and definitely the best I've had in Taiwan.

My father ordered a fruit tea.

Here are some final shots of the mini milk pitcher.

There is, of course, me holding it to demonstrate that I am about to pour it and to just show you how ridiculously small this little contraption is.

And there it is.

Melange Café 米郎琪咖啡
1F, #23, Ln 16, Zhongshan N. Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市中山北路二段16巷23號1F
(02) 2567-3787
http://www.melangecafe.com.tw/

Average price: around NTD$160.
Hours (According to the Taipei Times): Open 7h30 - 22h weekdays, 7h30 - 23h Fridays, 10h30 - 22h weekends.
Child friendly: Yes.
Pets welcome: No.
Special notes: Maximum dining time is 2 hours.