Ask a Westerner what they look for in a restaurant and they probably mention price, service, food and atmosphere. Ask a Chinese person and you probably get food, food, food, and price.
Whenever you walk into a Chinese restaurant, therefore, do as the Chinese do and look to see how busy it is. That is the one sure-fire way to know if the restaurant has good food or not. Looking around the Grand Hotel Tea House, you can rest assured from the full tables, the food is going to be good!

The indirect lighting, subtly hued gray-green carpet and rustic antique Chinese furniture will appeal to Western sensibilities. No, you won't find any ceilings with plastic flower panels covering fluorescent lights, nor thank God, will you find any fake waterfalls or faux Roman statuery!

The Tea House has a wide selection of northern Chinese "snacks," although you will find these "snacks" do make a meal in and of themselves. A quick glance at the menu reveals a choice of northern Chinese "dim sum" style pastries, buns and steamed dumplings. Besides these, you can also choose from a variety of wonton or noodle soups, noodles and sauteed vegetables. Prices range from NT$150 to NT$300 per dish.

Why not start with the steamed pork buns at NT$180 for five. A good test for this type of Chinese cuisine is the pasta wrapper. Is it easy to pick up off the pad in the steamer or does it stick and tear? How thin is the wrapper? How juicy is the filling?

By any accounts, these definitely pass with flying colors. Pork bun wrappers, while not the thinnest you may have ever eaten, neither stick nor tear. And take a little advice, pop them into your mouth all in one go. They are not merely juicy, but abundantly so. If you must eat it in bites, do so carefully lest you "share" more of your meal with your dinner companions than desired!

Another good bit of advice is not to be a "know-it-all." Ask your restaurant wait person for suggestions. I was recommended the "four times lucky buns." A new addition to the menu, these buns are also visually attractive. A bit like a four leaf clover in appearance, with four separate "compartments," these buns combine chopped vegetable, crab meat, mushroom and ham into a full-flavored, well balanced dish.

After that it was shredded turnip pastry with sesame seeds. The pastry was appropriately flaky and the shredded turnip possessed a nice sauer krauty flavor. And to finish it all off, shredded lotus seed pastries for dessert. Now generally, Westerners will have a bit of trouble "acclimatizing" to Chinese desserts. You can say what you want, but in most people's books, red bean paste is not in the same category as chocolate! No way! No how!

Yet, these lotus seed pastries are more accessible to Western tastes. Filling is of an even consistency and the overall taste effect is similar to that of a marron or chestnut dessert.   Overall the price for two should be around NT$750 to NT$1,000 depending on how big your appetite is.