• 4
• miacucina (tian mu)

what amazes me is how my taiwanese friend and her family (all omnivores) ate at this restaurant, enjoyed the food and didn't realise it was vegetarian till later on. indeed, unlike most other taiwanese vegetarian eateries, i didn't observe any overt "vegetarian" symbol on its storefront. as it was a treat from my friend's mum, i didn't protest against her suggestions of cheese-based dishes and hope genuinely vegetarian cheese is used here. three of us shared a mexican salad, triple-cheese pizza, garlic mushroom cream-based pasta and waffles. the pizza base was crispy and light. helpings are generous and i found the pasta a tad too heavy for my taste after a while, but my friend's mum enjoyed it thoroughly. as i don't have a sweet tooth, i tried only a bit of waffles - it was crispy yet soft. overall it was a delicious but very carb/dairy-based meal and i'd be happy to return to try other dishes. reservations are recommended. if it's a busy day, as it was when we went there for lunch, walk-in customers register their phone numbers and will be called when a table is available. to me, it's a good sign that mindsets are changing when a vegetarian restaurant is crowded when it's not the 1st or 15th of the lunar month. believe it or not, my mum's friend went back to miacucina the very next day - this time with a vegetarian relative.