The Whale — Restaurant in Da'an District

This is a very nice and niche brunch cafe located in downtown Taipei city. I have been travelling around Asia for the past month and visiting different cafes, bars, and restaurants in various cities, and "The Whale" stands out from the others for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere (not to mention the food/menu that they are willing to tailor for individual customer's needs). For examples, I have been on ketogenic diet for over 6 months; it is not that difficult to eat out in North America as people tend to understand your needs, but it is harder in Asia as most restaurants include carb in their meal/combo (rice, noodles, potato, or bread). That being said, the staffs in "The Whale" was okay to substitute the potato that I cannot have with some roasted mushrooms instead (thank you very much for that). Some people may argue that the price is a little high compare to the other breakfast shops/stands, but I personally think they are targeting different groups. Specifically, The Whale is a nice cafe for family to enjoy a relaxing weekend brunch, or for business people to sit down and have a decent meal during their lunch break. Most importantly, I think the staffs are well trained for listening to the suggestions from their customers; if you are not happy about your services, they would try to improve by asking your suggestions. Overall, I think eating at The Whale was a nice little encounter for me during my trip to...

The two stars go to the nice blue and white elements and quiet some whale decoration in the shop. I visited this brunch place after reading many compliments on the local blogs, but personally I feel this it is over rated here. The set meal (with one drink) price is almost on par to famous brunch restaurant chains, such as the Second Floor, but the quality, quality, service, comfort of seats, etc, are all way behind. My friend ordered the poached eggs with avocado, but the eggs are overly cooked that she had to disregard the hard boiled egg yolks. The blueberry chicken is plain and tasteless. The boiled chicken breast has an annoying grassy taste. The croissants are also disappointing, and lack of the buttery smells and fluffy textures. Paying NTD160 for a small dish like this is not worth it. The place is very crowded, with seats too close to one another. The white chairs and tables are so hard that you simply wanna get out of it as soon as you finish the pathetic dish. They also specify no wifi is available, which is odd for brunch places at this...

THE WHALE is a brunch shop for everyone, your friends, loves, families, and buddies(pets). You could either take a 5-min walk from Daan MRT station or Daan Forest Park MRT Station to get there. Unlike many other brunch shop, this one is NOT smelly, you won’t need to spray additional perfume after getting out of there.

The meal is served with expertise, the coffee is free for refill(one time), and there’s still a lot caffeine-free choices. My choice is Avocado Milk, +NT$110 to upgrade with The Whale Big Breakfast, and to be honest, after having this around 10am in the morning, I feel super full till dinner time without eating anything.

If you are a meat lover as I do, you’ll love their menu to have egg, bacon, sausage, chicken leg in just one dish, and the hash brown should be one of the BEST in town! It’s crispy but still with potato flavor, tanned but not oily.

In general, THE WHALE is highly recommended! If you are around or going to Jianguo Holiday Flower and Jade Market, this place must be in your visiting...