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Top Ten Taipei Tucks…
Posted in Chinese on March 27th, 2007 by mei| | 14 Comments.
…on a shoestring budget.
“Small eats” or å°åƒ are what Taiwan does best. Growing up in Bangkok where awesome Chinese restaurants abound, I tend to find big lazy-suzan type banquet restaurants in Taipei… blah. Lucky for us Taipei-rens, sampling the local specialties is truly quite affordable. This list is definitely not a comprehensive list of the foods I like but more of a local snacking guide. Taiwanese food that I pine for.
1. Xiao Long Bao å°é¾åŒ…
There’s more to xiao long baos than Ding Tai Fengs (鼑泰è±). I am no iconoclast of this well established dumpling diner but I find that one could do better costwise elsewhere. My personal favorite place to go for xiao long baos would be Golden Chicken Garden (金雞園). As a friend once put it, it’s where you’d go for “the OG of xiao long baos” in Taipei. Werd.
The xiao long boas are a must but I almost always order the “crab roe dumplings” (蟹黃å°åŒ…）. They are actually just xiao long baos with crab roe added to the meat stuffing. For a more interesting description of these crustacean egg dumplings check out a picture in my previous post.
There are two branches. One in Yongkang Street (walking distance from the flagship Ding Tai Feng hint hint!) and another in Gongguan.
Golden Chicken Garden 金雞園
No. 28-1, Yongkang Street
02 2341 6980
永康街28之1號
No. 3-1, Alley 8, Lane 316, Roosevelt Road, Section 3
02 2368 0698
ç¾…æ–¯ç¦è·¯ä¸‰æ®µ316å··8弄3-1號
2. Shaved Ice　ㄘㄨㄚˋ冰
Move over Ice Monster　(冰館). My favorite shaved ice place is Xin Fa Ting （辛發äºï¼‰in the Shilin Night Market　（士林夜市）. Winter or summer, come rain or shine this place is always packed. What makes the ice here so special is that the store actually makes the ice out of condensed milk. Xin Fa Ting has be around for a long time. Thirty years, so says their business card. I even recall chancing upon this little gem when I was back in Taipei for the first time for the “Love Boat” program. Anyhow, let’s not digress…
Xin Fa Ting 辛發äº
No. 1, Anping Street, Shilin
(Alley next to the Yangming Cinemas in the Shilin Night Market)
12:00pm – 12:00am
士林å€å®‰å¹³è¡—1號 (陽明戲院æ—å°å··å…§)
3. Beef Noodle Soup　牛肉麵
I have to say I strongly disagree with the verdict of 2006’s Taipei Beef Noodle Competition. The Minsheng West Road franchise of Lau Dong （è€è‘£ï¼‰was crowned the winner. I was so eager to try the famed noodles and broth and was bugging my friends to go but when I got there I found their package a complete let down. High expectations? I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve had better.
Lin Dong Fang　（林æ±èŠ³ï¼‰, near where a good friend of mine lives, makes awwwweeeesome beef noodle soup. The noodles have that homemade feel to them, the broth divine, and the meat and tendons stewed to perfection. So easy to chew. I especially love to order the “half meat half tendon” noodle soup. At 210nt for a large bowl and 180nt for a small one, it’s still cheaper than those of the aforementioned beef noodle powerhouse. The chili paste that the store offers is also really good for those who like extra spice. What’s also really awesome about this place is that it opens from 11:00am all the way till 6:30am! Perfect for lunch, dinner and for your pre or post partying muchie moods.
Lin Dong Fang Beef Noodle Soup　林æ±èŠ³ç‰›è‚‰éºµ
No. 274, Pateh Road, Section 2
(by the Central Newspaper Building. Walkable from the Breeze Center)
02 2752 2556
八德路二段274號（ä¸å¤®æ—¥å ±æ—）
For all you vegetarians out there, allow me to recommend the veggie version at the Three Six Nine Vegetarian Snack Shop (三å…ä¹ç´ 食點心之家） out in Shipai　（石牌）. Yeah, it’s far but it’s soooo gooood. I love the wide homemade noodles. Very satisfying. The broth is very robust and flavorful, quite surprising coming from a vegetarian joint. No meat but the tofu chunks are chewy, substantial and well spiced. I have to say I didn’t care for much else on their menu though.
Three Six Nine Vegetarian Snacks　三å…ä¹ç´ 食點心之家
No. 16, Yumin Street (within walking distance from Shipai MRT)
02 2821 4864
裕民路16號（石牌æ·é‹ç«™é™„近）
4. Beef Flatbread Wraps 大餅牛肉æ²
More meat. Wrapped in a chewy doughy savory pancake with plum sauce, scallions and garlic chives. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of these that I didn’t like but on the top of my head here are a few places I like to go…
The Noodle House (yes, their noodles are good as well)
No. 103, Xinyi Road, Secion 3 (by the intersection of Chien Guo, near the Daan Post Office)
信義路三段103號(建國å—è·¯å£ï¼Œå¤§å®‰éƒµå±€æ—é‚Š)
02　2704-9087
I actually went to their Neihu branch but if the Xinyi branch has the same menu and is consistent in quality I’d say the place won’t disappoint.
Zhu Chi 朱記餡餅粥店
No. 106, Renai Road, Section 3
02 2702 9411
ä»æ„›è·¯ä¸‰æ®µ106號
5. Pan-fried Stuffed Pastries 餡餅
If you could read Chinese you might recognize the characters for stuffed pastries in the name of the last aforementioned restaurant. These are round, palm-sized pastries stuffed with “xian” (餡) which simply means “stuffing.” What kind of stuffings? Anything really. But the norm would be either beef, pork, chicken and shredded radish for savory ones and taro or red bean for the sweet variety. These pastries are fried on large pans till piping hot, served piping hot and should be eaten piping hot. The temperature really makes a difference IMHO. Just one caveat. Beware of squirting oil.
My favorite place to go for these stuffed pastries is at a store aptly called “Stuffed Pastry” 餡餅 (name in Chinese only) across from the Teachers College near by the intersection of Fushing South and Heping. There’s usually a long queue leading to the store so you can’t miss it. They usually start selling a bit before noon and sell out by around 6pm. I recommend the beef.
Stuffed Pastry Store 餡餅
No. 315, Heping East Road, Section 2
和平æ±è·¯äºŒæ®µ315號
6. Vegetarian Buffet ç´ é£Ÿ
I’m an omnivore. With a veggie penchant. Okay, “vegetarian buffet” does not quite fit in under the category of “small eats” here but these are the kind of joints one can dine in a wholesome manner cheaply. And contrary to what some people may think, the food can be quite tasty as well. I personally enjoy all sorts of veggies and yourstruly will usually tuck into a huge pile of dark leafy greens as well as brasied or fried tofu pieces, mushrooms, sweet potato, ad infinitum. Soup of the day (usually, miso or hot and sour) is usually free as is the sweet mung bean soup. I usually go for the unpolished multi-grain （五穀飯) instead of white rice although the latter is an option. Rice porridge with sweet potato is available at some joints as well. For dessert, if I bore of mung bean soup, I choose dreamy “snowcakes” (also called Malaiya cakes) (雪糕/馬來亞糕）. These are soft melt-in-your-mouth confections covered lightly in desicated coconut. Very highly recommended.
Most veggie buffet places are about the same but here’s one I usually frequent:
Minder Vegetarian æ˜Žå¾·ç´ é£Ÿåœ’
No. 47, Alley 63, Dunhua South Road, Section 2
02 2325 5695
敦化å—路二段63å··47號
7. Shrimp Stew with Vermicelli è¦ä»ç¾¹ç±³ç²‰
This is increasingly hard to find these days in Taipei. Even harder to find places that makes it well. I don’t care for any of the other vermicelli soups or stews (say, squid or pork) that are ubiquitious in most night markets. The shrimps are de-shelled and are coated with a light fish-ball-type batter and are cooked in a garlicky julienned bamboo shoot stew. You can have the stew as is but I do prefer to have it with rice vermicelli to make it a complete meal. Corriander fiends should remember to tell the server to omit this latter accoutrement but personally I love it. Don’t forget to add a good splash of dark vinegar and a pinch of white pepper.
Locations. Ugh. There really aren’t many places left. I recall having an awesome shrimp vermicelli stew in the Gongguan night market. Unfortunately I don’t have the address on hand. There’s only one place there and I believe it’s the only item the store sells. There’s another place I stumbled upon in an alley across from the Brothers Hotel by the Nanking MRT. You’d recognize if from the shaved ice toppings that the store owners set out in front of the store. A bowl of the delicious stew and rice noodles costs 60nt.
The Tasteful Store 美味å°èˆ– (Name in Chinese only)
No. 14, Lane 81, Fushing North Road
02 2731 4237
復興北路81巷14號
8. Knife-sliced noodles 刀削麵
Especially for those on a carb fest. Some of you might have seen a middle aged Taiwanese men taking orders at a noodle shop whilst slicing long wedge shaped noodles from a block of dough with a thin piece of metal into a large wok of boiling water – and all this without losing the ash from the end of his cigarette. The chunky noodles are either served in soup (say, beef noodle style) or stir-fried. I prefer the latter.
Supposedly, these are noodles from the mainland but I think that they do it pretty well here.
Niou Lau Da Knife-sliced Noodles 牛è€å¤§åˆ€å‰Šéºµ
No. 42, Long Quan Street (in the Shida nightmarket)
02 23695591
é¾æ³‰è¡—42號 (師大夜市內）
9. Traditional sweetened Tofu 傳統豆花
I like this stuff straight up. With brown sugar syrup (and or ginger syrup in winter) and that’s it. No peanuts or other nonsense. I don’t think I’ve had a traditional tofu I didn’t like but just be sure to not get its gelatinous imposter – the pudding tofu （布ä¸è±†èŠ±ï¼‰.
10. Red bean soup 紅豆湯
Yours truly has bad circulation. When winter rolls around I can’t help but crave a good bowl of red bean soup – “to feed the blood” so suggests my Chinese doc. I like to add taro and sweet potato nuggets （芋圓和地瓜圓）to this delicious dessert soup. I also like to add cooked pearl barley (å°éº¥) to the mix. Don’t mistake pearl barley for its larger twin, job’s tears, although they do look alike.
Whoa. That’s it? Looks like I’ll have have to write a Top Twenty (or Thirty?) Taipei Tucks post soon. But until then I remain, yours truly.
14 Responses to ' Top Ten Taipei Tucks… '
Leave a reply
on March 30th, 2007 at 2:52 am
oh this list is so fantastic, thanks for sharing! Don’t forget the fruit, we used to go as kids and I packed on the pounds with fruit. I’ve never had a tastier guava in my life.
Also, I’ve only had them in nightmarkets, but what is the porkchop with the fried egg on top of it? It’s been over 10 years since I had it last, but I dream of those porkchops.
on March 30th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
yumsugar, of course i haven’t forgotten about fruit. there will have a tome of a post (or posts?) on that alone.
pork chop with fried egg? i think you are talking about the pork chops or steaks on the sizzling plates… oft times with noodles on the side. i don’t know if there’s really a name for those things but prolly something like éµç›¤è±¬æŽ’… and yes, i’ve only seen them in nightmarkets (they are still around!).
on April 2nd, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Great list – hard to come up with only ten!
I would add 1) dou jiang & shaobing youtiao (deep fried dough, flat bread with soybean milk) 2) liang mian (taiwanese cold noodles) 3) oh-ah jian (oyster pancakes)
soozy
on April 3rd, 2007 at 1:55 am
Soozy – Yes! I love love love Chinese breadfast items such as soy bean milk and shaobing youtiao but that’s exactly why I didn’t enumerate them on my top ten list becase there’s simply not enough room to list them all. I did mention my some of my fave Chinese b-fast items on my earlier posts tho’.
I’m quite impartial to liang mian (涼麵). Noodles are the focus and I find it quite peturbing that almost all the places that serve liang mian use the mass produced squiggly nonsense. What ever happened to HAND MADE noodles?! If you know of any place that serves liang mian with freshly made noodles, LET ME KNOW!!!
No offense, Soozy, but I am so not with you on the last one. I am not a fan of the gooey oysters that are used on oh-ah jian. I can’t stand them in the other kinda famous oyster dish – the oyster and intestine noodles…*shudder*. Now, if there are places that would use fresh firm oysters fried in an equally non-gelatinous egg pancake batter…
on April 11th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
yoyo.. I like this one!!
totally agree on the most of the thing and u missed one big point – alot of taiwanese don’t actually know how to cook. especially girls, which surprises me 
on April 11th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Minus yours truly, thank-you-very-much.
However, it’s probably true that most Taipei-rens don’t bother and/or don’t know how to cook anymore (see my “The Essentials of a Taipei Pantry” on why).
on April 15th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
fyodor,
why cook when they can simply step out their door and get any of the foods mentioned on this list and more? I can completely understand why a lot of taiwanese (especially the ladies) don’t even bother.
on May 5th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
[...] under personal omertà to not disclose where to go for intemperate living but I can tell you where to go for a classic soup and xiaolongbao hangover remedy. Check out the menu on the [...]
on May 26th, 2007 at 1:12 am
[...] that Jules had originally aimed for could only be… well, the one I had bashed in an earlier post. And, yeah, it really isn’t any good. Mr. Beef-Noodle-Espouser really wasn’t [...]
on June 27th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Dunno if you’ve tried Chang Chun Vegetarian Buffet, but I frequent it for brunch (it’s cheaper that way at $250), and it’s quite good. Xinsheng and Chang Chun…
Though I also find Lao Dong to be pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever had, which was actually in the Dallas area of Texas, but the broth is good. And it’s not more expensive than your selection ($130 for regular, $200 for tendon), though not worth it in my book. I have yet to have beef noodle soup that makes me feel like it was worth $200NT.
on December 19th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I read your Taipei food blog and hit up a few that are close to where my parent’s house is, and I have to say you have great taste in food. I went to the 餡餅 shop on 和平æ±è·¯äºŒæ®µ315號 this evening ordered the beef (really good!) and the radish one (the stuffing is too salty even for me), and it is indeed the best I have had since arriving in Taiwan in Aug. I hope to read more of your food recommendations for my next trip to Taiwan.
on December 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
*Smiles*
I haven’t had the radish one at the 餡餅 shop but intuition tells me that it’s probably not what I’m after.
Glad to have a fan! :>
on December 21st, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Try this place for really superb Xiao Long Bao (å°é¾åŒ…), which is started by a chef out of Ding Tai Fung. The cost is also a little cheaper and it actually has more “soup” in each delicate little steamed bao. I tried a bunch of Xiao Long Bao places in Taipei during this trip, and I think this one is the best. The potsticker place down the street is also most excellent.
鼎太元 – 106å°åŒ—市大安å€åŸºéš†è·¯2段156號
02-27386068.
on December 22nd, 2007 at 4:44 am
Hahahahahahah! I live very close to this place and it’s one of the several xiaolongbao places that I think is awesome! I concur.
Potsticker place? I’d have to try that…