The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

Pittsburgh15217

A Touch of Taiwan at Rose Tea Cafe

It always starts with sausage.
It always starts with sausage.

How do you know if an ethnic restaurant is authentic? You look inside and see if people resembling that ethnicity are inside. Or, better yet, you let one of them take you there. At least that’s how it went down for me when a Taiwanese friend of mine invited me to Rose Tea Cafe in Squirrel Hill (supposedly the Oakland location isn’t as good) to get some Taiwanese food. Rose Tea Cafe isn’t just some tea house, it’s a full-on restaurant with almost too many options to choose. So we turned to my friend to figure out what to get.

Hot for Hotcakes at Pamela’s Diner

Hotcake rollups.
Hotcake rollups.

In addition to Primanti Brothers, Pittsburgh’s other claim to food fame is Pamela’s Diner, a spot that POTUS himself makes sure to hit up every time he’s in the steel city. Breaking away from the diner norm, Pamela’s specializes in a little something called Crepe Hotcakes and they are supposed to be the cat’s meow.

Too Much to Handle at Sun Penang

Points for visual aesthetics.
Points for visual aesthetics.

You know how some restaurants don’t seem to have an identity? You know, like Jack in the Box but in full restaurant form. Well, Sun Penang in Squirrel Hill is one of those restaurants. The only identity it really has is “Asian,” but Asian covers a lot of groups and so does Sun Penang. From Thai to Dim Sum to Malaysian, it is a hard place to choose a meal, but choose I did.