4ever Discovering

It isn’t every day where you run into real, authentic western food here in Taipei.  Sure, they have McDonald’s and Pizza Hut, but to be able to find some Canadian dishes like a poutine or a roast beef dinner seemed out of the question.  Boy, were we in for a treat when we found out there was a Canadian Pub and Restaurant in the city!  It is called Whalen’s, and it is opened 24/7.  That means it is a great place to pick up a bite to eat after a night out.  It may not be the same as Smoke’s Poutinerie, but Whalen’s makes for some stiff competition!

 

Our first trip to Whalen’s was for a traditional Sunday Roast Beef Dinner being offered.  The great thing about this restaurant is how they are always trying to attract more customers by hosting events.  Emily and I decided we needed to treat ourselves to a nice, home-cooked meal one weekend, so we reserved our table for two and had a Sunday roast.  We put down our chopsticks and grabbed our forks (which was probably the first time since we arrived in August).  With a pub-style atmosphere, we ate our meal at Whalen’s and felt like we were at home.  We paid a set price for the three course meal, and were not let down when it was served to us.  We started with a homemade cream of mushroom soup, had roast beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and yorkshire pudding for our main course, and ended with an apple pie tart.  It tasted just like Grandma’s cooking on a Sunday night; all it was missing was my family sitting around the table with me.

 

The food at Whalen’s is fantastic; on several occasions Emily and I have went for some poutines.  What better way to comfort yourself around the holidays than to eat what you love!  We are trying to get our Taiwanese friends to try poutine, but for some reason, they don’t see it as appetizing!  They thought peanut butter on banana was crazy!  Whalen’s offers over 10 different flavours of poutine; my personal favourite is the Mexican one.  It is just like loaded fries but has buffalo chicken added on top.  I’m sure one day I will try them all, but for know, I’m sticking to what I know I love.  

 

Along with the food, Whalen’s has drink specials each night as well.  Now, when you think of a Canadian pub, you probably figure they sell Canadian beer and drinks.  You are correct; Moosehead is the beer of choice there and can be purchased in a bucket to save you some money.  Unfortunately, they don’t have any beer on draught; however, they serve something that is even better than that: CAESARS.  Alas, I have found my precious caesar in Taipei and victory has never tasted to good!  Although it isn’t served with a spicy bean, the caesars at Whalen’s are just perfect for someone who is missing a little clamato juice in their life (like me).  That selling point alone is enough to get me to keep going back, and let me tell you, it’s working!

 

Whalen’s has a very relaxing atmosphere where you can go to grab a quite bite to eat, or catch a game on TV.  One of their fun selling points is the Pub Quiz offered once every month.  This event is a blast!  You make a team of 4-6 people and prepare yourself for a couple of hours of random facts and fun.  You get to see who has the most general knowledge of a list of different topics, and the team with the most points at the end of three rounds is crowned the winner.  The first time we went to the Pub Quiz, luck was not on our side.  You never really know what questions to expect; they can range anywhere from art, music, sports, or geography.  I thought our team would be decent, but turns out we were better at drinking the beer than answering the questions.  Go figure.

 

The next time we went to the Pub Quiz, we added a recruit to our team who, thankfully, knew a lot of the answers.  Our friend, Rebecca, has a lot of general knowledge and was able to carry the team throughout the night.  At the end of the second round, we were in third place and feeling pretty confident.  Unfortunately for us, the third round was a bust and we ended up tied for last place.  It is kind of played like Final Jeopardy where you bet on the last question.  Silly us bet all of our points and got the answer wrong; next time we are going to bet everything but five points and hopefully won’t end up dead last if we answer incorrectly!

Whalen’s is an awesome place to hang out for all ages; it is great to see the different cultures being assimilated into Taipei.  It is also reassuring to know that when we do crave our western food, we don’t have to fly back to Canada to get our fix!  I think trying new foods is one of the best things about travelling; I love to try every country’s cultural dishes and specialties.  However, I also like to eat a good burger or poutine every now and then as well.  Whalen’s is THE place to go for your Canadian cravings and to try a caesar every now and again.  I know Emily and I will definitely be back and have our turn at redemption in the next Pub Quiz.  We need to show Taiwan what these Canadians are made of!  We will also be going to Whalen’s for our Christmas dinner; they are serving a traditional turkey meal!  The countdown is on, just made the reservations!