Monday, July 19, 2010

chinese/taiwanese: i recommend MIAO BANG CALLA LILY GARDEN



MIAO BANG CALLA LILY GARDEN
No.56-7, Zhuzihu Rd,
Yangmingshan, Beitou District, Taipei
(02) 2861-5419

website: chccd.com

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 4/17/2010



I'm always a little bit wary of restaurants once we wander too far out of Taipei. For some, it's an adventure to discover local tastes and dishes, but for me, I usually think of menus only in Chinese, winding roads of unfamiliar restaurants and squat toilets. I don't like squat toilets.

But at least I'm with relatives who also love food and have picked some good places in the past. On this occasion, they want to take me to Yangmingshan where you can walk the field of cally lilies next to the restaurant, take photos and even pick some to take home. It's kind of a nice retreat from the city and not as far as some of the other places we've gone, like the sheep farm or aboriginal village.



The relatives order a dizzying array of food and before we know it, the red plastic covered table is covered with dishes. While we wait, there is a sweet potato soup (NT$30/bowl) that comes first with huge chunks of sweet potato infused with a sweet ginger flavor from the soup it was boiled in.



Some of my favorite dishes from the night- a mushroom stir fry which has a generous bites of tender mushrooms, aromatic from the heavy accent of basil...



the steamed mantou (NT$100) which can be dipped in condensed milk. The pillowy, soft buns have different flavors- brown has a touch of brown sugar, purple for taro- but I'm unsure what the other ones are;



and the heaping plate of mian xian which are thin, wheat flour noodles that are surprisingly addicting, slippery with the rich sesame oil flavor and boiled to a soft, but not mushy bite.



So if you're looking for something different, you can find your way to Yang Ming Shan, enjoy the views and fresh air, and order away at this restaurant tucked in the mountainside.


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11 comments:

food je t'aime said...

I don't like squat toilets either!

Taufulou said...

aiks.. if you have blog earlier, then i can visit this place when i was at yang ming san..lovely place~

Download Ebook Gratis said...

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:@) said...

Looks DELICIOUS!!!!

The Philippines is beginning to come up with Taiwanese restaurants as well...

http://pigoutphilippines.blogspot.com/2010/07/mien-san-revisited-72610.html

FAR from Taiwan..but a good start..

Jamie-Lee Burns said...

oh my gosh all that food looks delicious!!

http://pagesixxx.blogspot.com/

Pandalicious said...

i haven't had a mantou in forever! salivating..

Michael Turton said...

What! Beitou is "outside Taipei."

Girl, you need to get out of town! Come down to Taichung and I'll scramble to find some good places for ya!

Michael

The Thirsty Pig said...

The pictures look really nice. I like the blurry backgrounds.

Houser said...

One simple question: how do I order food "to go" in chinese?

Dazu said...

Hi :)
I'm dazu :) Your blog is awesome!!!!!! I stayed in Taipei for about 6 months and I never got to experience as much as you !!! You are really good at exploring :)
Can u read Chinese or speak? I'm jp, i can read but understand and speak only really little....
Thank you for sharing!!!

wynee.adele said...

Hello! I came across this post and am really intrigued by this place you've recommended. It looks like a really cool place to experience delicious taiwanese food while admiring good scenery simultaneously. I'll be heading to taiwan this june with my parents and would really appreciate if you could give me some directions on getting to this place from xi men ding, if possible, or from yangmingshan, whichever works. Thank you so much!!

:)