I Love Taipei (The Last Hurrah)

My time in Taipei has reached a bittersweet end so this will be my last post on food/restaurant in Taipei. I spent the last few days eating some of my favorite foods:

 

Beef Noodle Soup 半肉半筋牛肉麵

 

 

Truffle XLB 松露小籠包

 

 

Vegetable & Pork Wonton w/ Spicy Sauce 菜肉紅油抄手

 

 

Thousand Year Old Egg and Tofu 皮蛋豆腐

 

 

Shrimp Wontons 鮮蝦大餛飩

 

 

Shaved Ice 雪花冰

 

 

Tofu with Peanut

 

Chicken Soup with Lotus Flower

 

 

Honey Toast 蜜糖土司

 

 

Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐

 

 

Despite my relocation, I will not stop posting! I can’t wait for my next culinary destination!

Xian Ding Wei 鮮定味

Name:
Xian Ding Wei Seafood Stirfry Restaurant
鮮定味生猛活海鮮餐廳

Address:
No. 67, ChangAn East Rd. Sect. 1, ZhongShan District, Taipei City
台北市中山區長安東路一段67號

Hours:
Mon-Sun    5:30pm~2:00am

Make reservations if you have a big group or going there on the weekends. 02-2567-3331

 

 

One of the big ones on the street full of Taiwanese Rechaos

 

 

Something for everyone!

 

 

Hakka stir-fry     客家小炒     (100NT)

 

 

Spicy chicken     辣子雞丁     (100NT)

Don’t worry, it’s not that spicy! 

 

 

Bitter melon (bitter gourd) with salted egg     鹹蛋山苦瓜     (100NT)

It is not for everyone. A lot of people dislike the slightest taste of bitter melon. Personally, it’s one of my favorites and I get it every time. 

Salted egg is a preserved egg that has been soaked in water with salt (brine). Read more about it here! 

 

 

Mixed sashimi pieces     綜合肚生魚片     (200NT)

 

 

Deep Fried Egg Tofu     老皮嫩肉     (100NT)

It is egg tofu which has been fried only until the skin turns brown, which leaves the inside extremely tender. Another personal favorite of mine. 

KiKi Restaurant does it the best! Click here! Then again, KiKi’s dish is twice the price. 

 

 

Kung-pao chicken     宮保雞丁     (100NT)

The standard dish to get! But it’s not extraordinary here. 

 

 

Grilled miso fish     香烤味噌魚     (150NT)

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Rechao (熱炒, “hot fry”) is a casual Taiwanese restaurant to eat and drink inexpensively with your friends. If you notice, most of the dishes are 100NT.

There are many other famous rechao restaurants on ChangAn East Rd.

Fu Hang Dou Jiang

Name:
Fu Hang Dou Jiang
阜杭豆漿

Address:
No. 108, 2F-28, ZhongXiao E. Rd. Sect. 1, ZhongZheng District, Taipei City (located on 2nd floor of HuaShan Market)
台北市中正區忠孝東路一段108號2樓之28(華山市場二樓)

Hours:
Tues-Sun     5:30am~12:30pm
Closed on Mondays

 

 

Woke up REAAAAL early for this local favorite.

I guess not early enough! ALL these people are more dedicated patrons than me. 

 

 

A little window into where the magic happens.

 

 

They speak Chinese and Japanese! Apparently this dou jiang shop has made it onto Japanese guidebooks of Taipei!

 

 

This will probably last me two meals. 

 

 

Dan Bing 蛋餅 (28NT)

It’s cheaper and larger than a usual dan bing. Unfortunately you can’t add corn, cheese or ham to it. =D

 

 

Cold Soymilk 冰豆漿 (22NT)

Yes, the traditional way of drinking soymilk! From a bowl!
FYI, the warm soymilk is 2NT cheaper than the cold soymilk. 

 

 

Thick “Bing” Flatbread with egg and “Youtiao” Chinese Donut 厚餅蛋加油條 (60NT)

The name of the dish is extremely difficult to translate into English. 
This doujiang joint is most famous for their Thick “Bing” Flatbread, so it’s a must-eat here! It’s definitely worth the wait.
This monster of a breakfast is definitely quite heavy for the morning but it is quite delectable once in a while.
Fu Hang also serves a thin version of the flatbread, which is flakier. 

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Definitely worth a visit!!

But personally for me, waiting for the MRT is the only waiting I want to do in the morning.

18 CAFÉ

Name:
18 CAFÉ

Address:
No.55 AnHe Rd. Sect. 1, DaAn District, Taipei City
台北市大安區安和路一段55號

Hours:
Mon-Fri     11:30am~12:00am
Sat-Sun      10:00am~12:00am

Near Renai Circle!

 

 

Special invitations! heee

 

 

Still interior decorating (it’s completed finished now)

 

 

Award-winning beef noodle soup     冠軍牛肉麵     (250NT)

So many good things to say about this bowl of beef noodle soup. Starting with the soup, it had a lot of flavor but not over seasoned. The noodles were chewy, probably handmade. The beef pieces and tendons were so soft that they melt in your mouth. My particular bowl had an abundant amount of meat and vegetables (bang for your buck). Not to mention, the chef added a MEATBALL on top of everything else. This was quite a unique twist to this traditional dish. If you were wondering, yes, the meatball was scrumptious. 

It is indeed quite expensive for a bowl of noodle soup. Average bowl is around 100-120NT. 

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Before 18 Cafe, you can only order this at Barcode. Can you imagine all the dressed up people with their fancy drinks and I am sitting in the corner eating this bowl of noodles? It was not a pretty sight.

It is an award winning bowl of noodles and not a self-proclaimed title. The title was given to them at the 2011 Beef Noodle Soup Festival (Beef noodle soup is taken quite seriously in Taiwan). They posted the award on their FB page!

Pig & Pepper

Name:
Pig & Pepper

Address:
No. 15, Lane 295, FuXing S. Rd., DaAn District, Taipei City 106
台北市106大安區復興南路一段295巷15號

Hours:
Tues-Sun     11:00am~10:00pm

 

Finally back in Taipei ingesting scene and so many new places have opened while I was gone!

Big yellow door…

Informative!

 

Fried Chickpeas with Chorizo, Croutons and Sweet Basil (250NT)

Why so much $$$ for such a small amount?! I must say this is the first time I had fried chickpeas. 

The croutons sucked up all the oil like a sponge. Overall, a little bit too greasy. 

 

 

Pulled Pork Sandwich (360NT)

Not going to lie, I was expecting the pulled pork to be spilling out of the buns. But the pork had good flavor. This sandwich was the most flavored dish I had that night.

 

 

Bacon Mac N’ Cheese (180NT)

Most disappointing dish of the night! This is one of the most American dishes on the menu so I had a certain expectation. How can bacon PLUS cheese have no flavor?! Almost unfathomable.
It tasted better when I added some pepper and salt.

 

 

Sticky Fig Toffee with Peanut Ice Cream (220NT)

 

One word: redeeming. This is the one dish that’s worth coming back for. 
I thought the ice cream was very nice but my Taiwanese friend said it was too sweet. =O
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I wanted to like this restaurant. Hearing the chef hailed from LA, I thought I would be able to taste a piece of home. The flavors could have been toned down for the local palate but my Taiwanese friend thought the food was a little bit bland as well.

The staff were friendly and attentive. The decor is very warm and welcoming.