Salt & Spice — Restaurant in Taipei

I have not been excited about food in Taipei for such a long time but the food at Salt and Spice changed that. I had the Mediterranean set. It was divine, generously portioned, and priced well!

The concept is brilliant. A menu is tacked to the wall. You can choose between Arabic, Indian, or Mexican sets and the servers create your “thali-like” sets on beautiful brass trays.

I chose Arabic. I e lived here for 22 years years and have eaten at many places - I can honestly say that the hummus was one of the best I have had in Taipei. Simple, rich and creamy. I could taste the tahini. Tahini is so expensive and the fact that you could taste it reveals that they are not price pinching when creating their dishes.

The chickpeas in the chickpea salad - were the wonderful large variety - not the tiny, tasteless one you find in cans. So that means they are very particular about their ingredients.

Beautiful fresh made pita - the pita maker cooks them outside the store which is a lovely design touch.

The chicken that came with the set was seasoned to perfection. The falafel was gorgeous. Honestly. Wow.

The salsa was a standout on its own - perfect balance between sweetness and acidity and an unusual cut on the tomatoes.

You’ll have to turn a blind eye to the lack of proper restaurant cleanliness - there is dust on the light fittings, a grubby curtain to the bathroom, and an overflowing trash can that diners have to put their dinner trash in.

There is a curtain separating the serving area from the kitchen and a quick glance in shows that it’s probably not clean.

The cashier helped out when it got busy and she handled money without gloves, then helped with food serving. The kitchen staff don’t wear gloves either.

However - the restaurant was packed - the diners were so diverse. That was so interesting to see.

The cooks did an amazing job - they hail from India and the Middle East - young, humble men.

I pray that they don’t price gouge in the future as have other restaurants in taipei that serve similar food. Keep it simple and people will keep flowing through your doors.

Full confession: I got out of bed this morning and went directly to the fridge to devour my...

I can understand the appeal of a set meal at such a low price point, but for me it wasn’t worth it. With the exception of a pasta salad, the sides were not seasoned at all; that may make them healthier, but certainly not tastier. The cucumber, onion, and tomato were fresh, so that is good, but they were dry and unseasoned. I can only speak to the flavor of the fish curry, but I found the gravy bland, flat, under-seasoned, and boring. There were no layers of flavor. The fish in the curry seemed likewise to be unseasoned. I didn’t enjoy any part of the meal; I left a good part of it uneaten and walked away hungry. Conceptually, this restaurant could work—it’s bright and colorful and hot food out fairly quickly, but the way it is now, I’m not interested in going back. (It would also be helpful to have copies of the menu for customers in line so they don’t need to wait until they get close enough to read the single menu taped...

Maybe the best indian food I've had in Taiwan, so delicious and lots of flavour and the price is really reasonable, such a great deal. It certainly isn't service with a smile but surely the quality of the food is more important at the...