Sunday, August 2, 2009

Good food in Taipei

This trip to Taipei, I had so much good food..

Apart from the errands I needed to run, I managed to make time to visit a few restaurants reccomended by a couple of the HK guidebooks, and a food program by TVBS Asia.

Here are some of my favourites:

肥前屋

Go here for Eel rice, Egg Roll, Sashimi and BBQ Eel Kidney (only available during lunch). I went during dinner alone, so was only able to have the eel rice and sashimi. But the egg rolls and most other stuff looks really good. Lots of customers were asking for the eel kidney too... so I reckon it must be good too.. but it is not available for dinner..

And oh, did I mention that the price here is also very reasonable?

Eel and Rice

Very Fresh Sashimi
Address: 台北市中山北路一段121巷3号
Opening Hours: 11:30~14:00 17:30~21:30
Note: It is in a small alley but you can spot the sign and queue rather easily.. There is a queue usually before even the shop opens for business.

鼎泰丰
They have this in Singapore.. but I really liked the 小笼汤包 they serve during weekends brunch in Taipei.. I have only been to the 忠孝 shop which I liked. Some friends mentioned that the quality is not consistent across all the shops.. but I never found the time to go to the other ones so I couldn't really compare..

The tiny 小笼汤包,each is less than 1 mouthful

Having it with vinegar and gingerHaving it with a spoonful of soup
There are 2 ways to eat the 小笼汤包, one way is to dip it in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar, with some fresh ginger shreds (like how you usually would eat 小笼包). The other way is to eat it with the soup that is provided. Each serving contains 20 little buns. I would suggest to eat it before it turns cold (which is pretty fast!) because it really taste MUCH better hot.

Address: 台北市大安区忠孝東路四段218号

度小月
This restaurant has an interesting story to it. At the beginning of each month, one usually get one's salary, right? And so it is squander time.. But towards the end of the month... it is usually time to tighten your belt and wait for the next payday. 度小月 refers to that time of the month, when you wait for your next payday.

This places serves up simple Taiwanese fair. I like the noodles and prawn roll I had. Yummy!

About 度小月
Minced Pork Noodles
Fried Prawn Rolls

良品牛肉面

My favourite beef noodles is from this shop called 大婆牛肉面 in Hong Kong. I liked the yummy soup and the noodles that soak it all up. Yumz! I used to think that no other shop can beat this place.

I'm still right, but 良品牛肉面, has noodles that is in a class of its own. I didn't think the beef and soup taste as fanastic as the one in Hong Kong (so beefy, so "I need to try one more mouth to figure out what is in the soup") but the handmade noodles were really good. It is think enough to have enough bite to it and is, as my Taiwanese friend would say, still "Q".

Handmade Beef Noodles
Address: 台北市中正区开封街一段10号
(Take the MRT to Taipei Train Station, Exit 6)

Night MarketsNight markets are my favourite in Taiwan. Usually though, I end up having lots of deep-fried stuff(Think dieter's nightmare - Fried Chicken, Fried Mushrooms) and lots of cold stuff (Mango Ice, bubble tea, Papaya with milk). This trip, a Taiwanese friend introduced me to fried quail eggs.. I like any type of eggs - poached, fried, scrambled, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, smoked (yes, I had them in HK, yummy) etc.. so this went well with me.

Fried Quail Eggs

Night markets can be a bit too hot during summer nights.. But worth a visit on an empty stomach to try out Taiwanese street snacks.

I like Shilin Night Market, Shida Night Market and Feng Chia Night Market (but this is in Taichung, not Taipei..)

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