[Taipei 台北] (Cafe) Jia Dee ♦ 呷滴－Lynda's Taiwan-logue

***The establishment has relocated in May 2022, check out their FB for new address***

< Visited in Jul 2019 >

Founded by 2 guys (high school classmates) who wanted to fulfil their dream, Jia Dee 呷滴 is a cafe of modest size, specializing in cake and dessert. Part of the Shandao Temple MRT Station culinary roadmap in many local blogs, I was looking for an afternoon filler after lunch at Lang Lang Don't Cry 朗朗别哭. After a call to confirm there were still seats, I took a 15-minute stroll over.

Passing by the beautiful Zhongshan Presbyterian Church 中山基督长老教会 enroute.

Turning right after this church, Jia Dee 呷滴 is a very short distance away. Some fans of the cafe identifies its obscure shopfront by its more prominent neighbours.

⇩ A narrow stairway up to the 2F cafe.

Their logo is a 'plus' sign and a water droplet, a play on their name Jia Dee.

Checking out the day's desserts and beverages at the counter, before placing my order. I was quite torn by the variety of desserts, and restricted by the fact that I just finished lunch, and was travelling alone - would have ordered more if I had company.

A whimsical ambience in the cafe, which was packed that Friday afternoon.

A large projected screen shows films - caught a glimpse of Taiwanese movie "Dad's Suit 老大人", that I had caught in the theatre in March.

⇩ I have a penchant for window and corner seats, allowing me to space out, regardless of how rowdy my surroundings may be. The cafe was filled with happy chatter, but I was lost in my window view.

Despite being here with a full stomach, I couldn't resist having both sweet and savoury - picked a fresh mango (in season) tart (nicely named 芒里偷闲) NTD160 and a pickled radish egg tart (菜圃蛋塔) NTD35. Decided to give myself a surprise and went with 'I don't know what to drink 我不知道喝啥' NTD160, the first item on the beverage menu.

The fresh mango tart did not disappoint, the fruit being in season and a delicacy in Taiwan (my favourite!). The fresh cream was light and complemented the fruit and buttery base nicely.

I like the Chinese-style puff pastry base (like Portuguese egg tart), rather than the crumbly buttery crust type, for this item. To think that pickled radish (菜圃) and egg sound like a sure-win combination, especially in Chinese dishes (think pickled radish omette 菜圃蛋), somehow I haven't seen much of this in egg tarts. The egg custard had a tinge of sweetness, complementing the salty picked radish finely. It's a taste I remember even now.

The mystery beverage looked and tasted like Blackforest Latte (entirely my guess) - this was after the counter staff asked if I wanted something hot or iced, whether I took alcohol, and if I fancied something sour. Guess these helped her to concoct my drink, which wasn't too bad at all.