MIO PASTA

26, Lane 134, ZhongXiao East Road, Sec. 2
(02) 2393-9003
Hours:11 am-10 pm
Credit cards not accepted.
No service charge

A. The walls and pillar are amusingly painted with white stripes, inspired by spaghetti.
B. Squid Ink Spaghetti (NT$200) is a great appetizer for summer. Baked Potato (NT$45) is also highly recommended.

The colour scheme here is green apple supported with red and white, the colours of Italy's flag. Clearly, this place offers Italian food, but serves it in an unorthodox way. All food, whether take-away or eaten at the restaurant, is packed in boxes designed by the owner and graphic designer Leo Wong. They are modern, yet cheeky and cute. All the plastic boxes can endure high heat and are microwaveable. Besides creative utensils, MIO insists on quality food, as Leo's goal for himself is "cheap but noble". He brought in a chef from XiHua Restaurant, which has great prestige, to design the menu. There are 15 kinds of pastas and baked cheese dishes to choose from so far, with three new dishes added monthly. The variety of salads is rich. The drinks are also very special, especially the popular Raspberry Sawa.

--By Yan Chen, translated by Sho Huang