street eats: I strongly recommend SPRING ONION PANCAKE VENDOR

SPRING ONION PANCAKE VENDOR 

corner of Anhe Road, Sec. 1 and Lane 102

near Ben Teppanyaki

$ 

Kid friendliness: you will see a line of kids waiting their turn afterschool 

Visit reviewed: 3/2021

When ordering spring onion pancake from a street vendor in Taipei, you will have to make a series of decisions. First decide if you want a half sheet (NT$30) or whole sheet (NT$60), then decide with egg or without, then lastly with sauce or without and if you want it spicy or not. Don't take too long to put in your order, otherwise you might have to wait an extra 5-10 minutes if others put in their order first. 

This street vendor often has a gaggle of kids and parents patiently waiting while he griddles, flips and rolls out new batches of dough with his magic rolling pin. After he's done rolling the pancake flat, he pulls out thin wooden center to fold half of it over again, so when he has to lift it, he can just lift the whole thing rather than try to scrape it off, and stand the outside of the pin on its side so it doesn't roll away. Kind of genius. 

I love the spring onion pancake here because it's just the right amount of doughy, chewy, crispy and hey all those hungry kids spending their pocket change on their afternoon snack can't be wrong. 

korean/delivery: i strongly recommend CHEOGAJIP

CHEOGAJIP 起家雞
No. 26, Lane 290, GuangFu S. Road
台北市大安區光復南路290巷26號

(02) 2773-0737

MRT: SYS memorial Hall

hours: 11:30AM-10:30PM, Friday and Sat until 11PM

$$ (about NT$300 a person)

website: Cheogajip facebook page 

visit reviewed: 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE JUST come back from a trip to Seoul and had a lot of glorious eating of everything BUT Korean fried chicken (韓國炸雞 )? If you're me, you call Cheogajip for a couple of boxes to go and then dig up photos from your visit last year to finally throw up this post. A few years ago, when Korean soaps started to invade Taipei, I started to see cups of korean fried popcorn chicken pop up on my instagram feed from Chicken in Bok and Beer, Chimac 175, and in real life, at the now closed Mom's Chicken, at ATT4Fun and even oven baked versions from Oven Maru. 

Cheogajip is a two story shop near the SYS Memorial Hall MRT, near the alleys that house Wendel's, Mazendo, Brookhurst Seafood Bar. Most of the seating is upstairs, and suitable for big groups. 

Cheogajip's menu offers over a dozen different types of Korean fried chicken. Sweet, spicy, boneless or whole chicken with bone, it can be difficult to narrow down the options if you have never tried it and only want to order one. If you can only choose one, I would go with the Boneless Spicy Yung Nyeom ($410) which is both sweet and spicy, with some honey to balance out the spiciness. Even if you get the regular Yung Nyeom it still has a tiny tinge of spiciness, so it just depends on your tolerance. If you have zero tolerance for heat, then you can opt for a Half Half box which has plain original fried chicken and your choice for the other half. Be warned though, there isn't much else on the menu besides fried chicken besides side dishes like salad, fries, spicy rice cake and rice with seaweed, so don't come expecting a fuller Korean menu.

For my first visit, I rounded up a group of friends who were excited to have some chicken and beer with me, so we were able to try a variety of flavors. Sticky, spicy, sweet, crispy, crunchy 🍗🍗. If you've never had Korean fried chicken before, Cheogajip is a great place to start. Just make sure to bring enough friends to share. Thank you to Cheogajip for hosting us that first time. 

Cheogajip has four main flavors that you can choose to be spicy or non spicy. Plain fried chicken original, their signature honey "yung nyeom", crispier soy sauce "warak", scallion fried chicken w a sweet sauce, and supreme with a drizzle of mayo. You can order a whole chicken (with bones), boneless or wings, and for the whole chicken you can choose 2 flavors. Sides include seaweed rice, salad, fries or beer. That's pretty much the menu. 
My favorites were the spicy signature honey boneless (this pic) and the non spicy soy, which is the crispiest. I think I might switch it next time and try non spicy honey and the spicy soy.. Lol! Portions are huge and the chicken meat was meaty and tender.


The servers were quite helpful in explaining to us what the differences were. Only the Yung Nyeom comes boneless, all the other are a whole chicken fried, but if you're a wings lover, it's no big deal. The only difference is that you can eat the boneless version with a fork and not get your hands dirty, where the regular kind you ware going to get sticky.

Yung Nyeom - Sweet and mild
Spicy Yung Nyeom- Spicy and sweet
Warak- Soy garlic
Supreme Yung Nyeom- with a drizzle of mayo
Scallion- Scallion

Whole chicken
Boneless chicken
Wings

(top left spicy young nyeom, top right scallion, bottom left warak)

Warak is slightly less sweet than Yung Nyeom since they use soy sauce instead of honey for the marinade. It's slightly crispier as well. If you can't finish a whole chicken, you can order just Warak wings.  Each piece was very juicy and tender and such a guilty pleasure to eat. Everyone gluttoned out on korean fried chicken and left very happy. 

Spicy rice cake (NT$90) 

Korean rice balls (NT$80) - DIY complete with glove to mix up the rice and seaweed and make your own rice balls

Yung Nyeom boneless (NT$360) mildly spicy honey glaze. Sooo hits the spot!

Boneless Scallion (NT$380) 

Warak (NT$430) soy garlic glaze

If you need anything you just press the call button on the table. 

Since my first visit, I've ordered to go from them a number times. It takes about 20-40 minutes for them to get the order ready, depending on how busy they are, so you can't order from them when you are in a rush since they fry to order. Where else have you guys tried chicken and beer in Taipei? 

taiwanese/breakfast: RUI AN SOY MILK KING

RUI AN SOY MILK KING 瑞安豆漿大王
No. 69 RuiAn St.
台北市大安區瑞安街69號
(02)  2705-3377

MRT: Daan or Technology Building Station (about 5-10 minute walk)

Hours: 24 hours

$ (NT$60)

kid friendliness: Room for kids to sit and strollers.

Visit reviewed: 3/15/2017

[TAIPEI] Good morning! Tried this Taiwanese breakfast spot a few months ago, a block away from my usual spot on Fuxing, which has become a bit of tourist spot somehow with longer lines than I've ever seen in the years I've been going. 😂 So I've been slowly trying different locations to broaden my dou jiang horizons because we don't always have an hour to wait at Fu Hang. 

Rui An Dou Jiang Da Wang, or Rui An Soy Milk King, is a lot roomier and open than the usual Taiwanese breakfast restaurants, kind of like a large stall. It's easy to spot with it's bright red sign and corner location. There's a bit more elbow room and space to have conversations, and fairly clean.There's also a ton more variety than just soy milk and shao bing you tiao. Rui An also has pan fried buns, chive boxes, curry pastries and noodle soups. You can point and order since there are some ready to go on the counter. Decisions, decisions.. an array of choices for breakfast. What's your favorite Taiwanese breakfast order?

The positive of having all the goods laid out is that it makes it easy to grab and go when you are in a rush, and this spot is rarely crowded so you don't have to wait in line. The negative is that some things taste better hot, and they didn't reheat any of the pastries that we ordered when I took friends on later visits. I wonder if this place is happening after hours, since it's open 24 hours. 

I ended up getting a youtiao #油條 (fried dough stick) wrapped with an inside out danbing #蛋餅 (egg crepe) and a cup of soymilk #豆漿. Grand total - 55NT or about US$2.  I'll have to come back to try the bacon danbing and noodle soup next time! 

instagram: WEEKLY FAVE 5 DISHES IN TAIPEI- jan 2017

EVERY YEAR, MY NEW YEARS' RESOLUTIONS are more or less the same: eat healthier, exercise more, sleep earlier, declutter and be more organized. Blog more regularly. Print out photos.  Not be late to everything. But then a year has swept by and it's time to look at the progress I've made. I had chips and chocolates this morning while watching the Golden Globes instead of working out, but hey, I did declutter my desk and now I'm typing out this post.

Last year, I had a lot of "firsts"... my first time to Osaka, my first time to Paris, my first time to Guangzhou and I traveled more than I had in awhile. I also went to Tainan for the first time while working with the Culinary Institute of America's team on their series World of Flavors, who put together some amazing footage and coverage in Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung. I also worked with Bizarre Foods for the second time behind the scenes, this time with for Delicious Destinations.

Every year I think to myself, how cool would it be to have a 10 Best Dishes of the Year list, but I always find it so hard to narrow it down. I always have a lot of ideas and I want this year to be a year of more action, less words. I want to post things sooner than later, which I'm sure you want too. I want to worry less about what other people think and just go back to this blog being for me, and for when I want to point my friends in the right direction for food so I don't have to scroll through the 30,000+ photos on my phone. Not to worry about what is the most instagrammable or is going to get the most likes, but to talk about places and food that gets ME excited. Because I know that's what you will want to try too.

Places change. People change. Times change. But we keep moving forward and life is short. I'm still learning, trying new things, opportunities that scare me. I'm still discovering new restaurants in Taipei ALL THE TIME. It never ends! But that is a good thing... just need to put it all here (and hope whole paragraphs don't get plagiarized and reformatted as their own content by other travel apps or bloggers) (Yes, it happens and I have proof).

SO.. to kick off this January-first post of 2017, these are five of my favorite dishes from last week that you can try this week! Let's see if I can keep this up on a weekly basis, like a radio song countdown! Until I can throw up full reviews, this will give a sneak peek.

HUNGRYINTAIPEI'S WEEKLY FAVE 5 IN TAIPEI

1. SUGAR PEA's BANANA PANCAKES

Though I was one of the first to post Sugar Pea's banana pancakes, I know I'm not alone in my addiction to them, seeing the flurry of posts in the month afterwards of the food and sunroom selfies. With peanut butter honey sauce to drown the short stack of pancakes and bruleed bananas, I have to resist making this a weekly habit. Everything I've tried here is delicious and I usually find myself also ordering the chipotle chicken bowl, the pancake sliders, the steak salad and sometimes a slice of cake. Get the red velvet if they have it. Currently still in soft opening.
SUGAR PEA, No. 16, Alley 20, Lane 300, RenAi Road, Sec. 4, 仁愛路四段300巷20弄16號 (02) 2325-6188, Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

2. NKU's FRIED PORK SKIN

A few summers ago I got a small paper bag of the bbq pork rinds from Ink Sack in LA. It was one of the best things I had ever put in my mouth. Best because it was crunchy, airy, salty and like eating pork skin cheetos but better. Then this summer, I got a bag from Ink Sack at LAX at the airport and it was one of the worst things I had ever put in my mouth. It was stale, greasy and I had to through the rest of the bag away. So to my surprise, this dish at NKU recaptured that deliciousness, even though they coat it with a white chocolate sauce (can't taste it) and spice powder, so that you will find yourself going back for more even though your new year's resolution was to eat more healthy. The lunch sets here are a great deal for NT$390, but I recommend still ordering some of their dishes to share if you come with a group of people. From what I tried, my other favorites included the bamboo, beef tongue, and duck breast. Snow ball liquid nitro'd coconut dessert fun too. Skip the fried oxtail balls and pork pie. NKU has been opened for about six months or so, with very instagrammable decor, semi open kitchen, but neighbors have hung a sign over their entrance, protesting their wood fire ovens and cooking.
NKU, No. 13, Alley 26, Lane 300, RenAi Rd, Sec. 4, (02) 2701-8025, Closed Tuesdays

3. LA MESA's SHAVED TO ORDER IBERICO HAM

Surprised to have not heard about La Mesa Taipei before, it's a Spanish restaurant open for about four years in Daan district (in the narrow alleys behind Ice Monster). Delicious tapas, paella, full wine list and cozy atmosphere. The iberico ham is paper thin and I savored each bite. La Mesa's must order dishes include the iberico ham, jamon croquettes, pan fried calamari, paella and chorizo in cider and garlic. Prices are also very reasonable and service friendly. Only open for dinner, and open until 2am on weekends.
LA MESA TAIPEI 西班牙風味小酒館, No. 33, Lane 137, Yanji St, Da’an District, (02) 2778-7676

4. WOOLLOOMOOLOO's CHIA PUDDING

It's been awhile since I've been to Woolloomooloo, but they've revved up their breakfast/brunch menu and added over a dozen new things including waffles w ice cream (!) and this chia seed pudding. Might not be as sexy as an Acai bowl, but I enjoyed the coconut flavor along with the crunchy granola and fruit. (NT$280) WXY is one of the rare spots open early (and that has a flat white) and a cafe I used to go to every week until more places opened around town. Also love their meat pie, avocado toast with poached eggs and dessert array. Order the carrot cake if you see it, or the nut tart. WOOLLOOMOOLOO, No. 379, Section 4, Xinyi Rd, Xinyi District, (02) 8789-0128

5. HANYEOGIYO's COLD NOODLES

Hanyeoyigo (韓老二韓國烤肉) is a newish KBBQ place at Neo 19 and Daan District that boasts a pretty full menu including one of my favorites- soupy cold noodles. The server cut it up for us and also gave us a big bottle of vinegar and mustard to customize it. The noodles were chewy and not too soft, and they didn't skimp on the stuff inside, including korean pear, radish, cucumbers, beef and egg. The KBBQ here is mostly pork and beef and the BBQ grill includes steamed egg on the rims that cooks as the server grills your meat. Lettuces and sauces included, but not that much choice in banchan. This spot is only open at night but takes reservations.
HANYEOYIGO (韓老二韓國烤肉),No. 32, Lane 107, Section 1, FuXing S. Rd, Da’an District, (02) 2771-6474

modern/european: I strongly recommend MUME summer 2016

 

MUME 

No. 28, Siwei Rd 

四維路28號 

(02) 2700-0901 

MRT: DaAn or XinYi/AnHe 

website: Mume's FB page

Hours: 6PM -12AM (last order at 10PM). Closed Mondays

$$$-$$$$ (about NT$2000-3000 per person) 

kid friendliness: can't say that i've ever seen kids eat here. maybe if your kid is a gourmet baby and you get an early reservation.

Visit reviewed: 6/18/2016
previous visits reviewed: 8/2015 and 12/15/2015

SINCE MUME HAS OPENED ITS DOORS IN 2014, I've learned more about New Nordic cuisine and Noma*-- both things that influence Mume, and so I think I've come to understand Mume a little better. Watching Noma's Chef Rene Redzepi's fervor and dedication to creating a sense of "time and place" on the plate helps explain what New Nordic cuisine is- using ingredients that are in season, local while combining old techniques like smoking and curing with the new. The first time I ate at Mume, I don't think I had ever eaten anything like it before- it wasn't French, it wasn't fine dining, it wasn't completely gastronomy,  it wasn't Taiwanese, but used some Taiwanese ingredients- but I knew I wanted more. Since my first meal there, I've been a number of times, each time admiring the creativity by the chefs at Mume, but also the taste- loving the unexpected flavor combinations, beautiful presentation and when I got it, the stories behind the ingredients or the dishes. For me, dining at Mume is an adventure- it made me think about the food, it made me ask questions, it made me remember what I ate a few days later. I don't think Mume is for everyone- I've heard negative reviews from friends of friends even before I visited, but if the photos and menu intrigues you then you should definitely give it a try.  *(Thanks in part to Netflix's Chef's Table and the Noma documentary, My Perfect Storm, both recommended watching to those obsessed with food)

Mume's menu is in English only and is divided into Snacks, Smaller, Bigger and Sweets. Dishes range from NT$300-900, so I think it's priced quite reasonably for the portions, especially when I think about similar modern restaurants and menus in LA, HK or even pop ups that come to Taipei. For your first time, I recommend coming to Mume for their regular menu, not a special set menu or guest chef pop up, which will be more expensive (usually in NT$2800+ range) and has smaller tasting menu portions. Personally, I think the best way to enjoy Mume is to go with two to four people and share as much as you can on the menu. If you don't have the budget to try everything, then opt for a majority of "Smaller" plates rather than ordering a "Bigger" main dish per person. The "Smaller" plates are more unique and much less expensive and you'll get to try more things to know what to reorder for the next visit. Since I can eat, I've tried most of Mume's menu over the past few years, so I was excited to try the latest dishes that Mume was offering for the summer. 

This is Mume's menu as of summer 2016. The menu has evolved quite a bit since they opened, which at first was set menu only. I want to write another post featuring dishes on older menu vs current menu, but this post will spotlight almost all the dishes on the SMALLER section of the menu, since I ordered all but one on my last visit.

My cocktail of the evening- Pomme Pomme, yummy Apple cocktail

SMALLER

Scallop ceviche- shaved daikon, shiso vinaigrette, ginger, wild pepper (NT$380)

Gorgeousness and deliciousness. Are those real words? I don't care. 

Cobia Crudo- 'ajo bianco', black buddha hand, black pepper oil (NT$380)

We take turns dipping each "petal" of cobia sashimi into the sauce, (made of cucumber juice and chinese almonds according to @little_meg_siu_meg, and inspired by Spanish ajo blanco soup), before eating it. Would have never thought to pair raw fish with thinly sliced grapes, but Google also says grapes are usually an ingredient in ajo blanco, and it unexpectedly works well all together. 

Waygu Tartare- clam mayo, confit egg, preserved daikon (NT$420+NT$80)

One of my favorite dishes of Mume's menu is the waygu beef tartare with grilled toast. It was my first time trying beef tartare or any kind of raw beef so it surprised me how much I liked it. Mixed with the clam mayo, confit egg yolk and Taiwanese pickled daikon, it did taste just like steak with the texture of sashimi which paired perfectly with the buttery crispy thin toast slices. The only complaint I have is that there used to be toast included with the dish, and now it's separate because many people didn't eat the toast. Ideally, Mume could ask if people want it so they can opt out rather than take it away from the dish. 

Burnt cabbage- roasted hazelnut, smoked salmon roe (NT$320)

Burnt cabbage never looked so pretty. The cabbage's texture is nearly melt in your mouth- like the silkiness of cabbage that's been cooked in hotpot for a long time- except the flavor is caramelized instead of lost, and each bite is peppered with bursts of salty salmon roe and crunchy hazelnuts. Love the pop of color from the bright blue peaflower.

Beef tongue- oyster emulsion, brussel sprouts, grilled pineapple, pistachio (NT$420)

Love love love the new dish -super tender tongue brightened up by the sweetness of the pineapple, green of the brussels sprouts and crunch of the puffed rice. If you've never had tongue before, don't let it scare you, it's so good. 

(Coincidentally, beef tongue is also on RAW's summer 2016 menu and their rendition of the beef tongue cracker is one of my favorite bites ever from RAW. )

Blush shrimp, shrimp brains sauce, shaved yam bean (aka jicama) cooked in honey, and liquid nitrogen'd ricotta cheese snow (comped)

This dish isn't on the menu yet, but luckily I got a sneak peek. I LOVED the intensity of the shrimp brains and the sweetness of the shrimp combined w the crunchy curls of yam bean and icy cold ricotta melting in your mouth. We used the bread to wipe up the remaining sauce on the plate. This dish is made for people (like me) who like to suck the brains out of the shrimp, but without getting your hands dirty. This dish was freaking AMAZING. Please put it on the menu ASAP @richie_lin.

Crispy amadai- roasted red pepper, tomato raisin, toasted almond (NT$980)

Crispy amadai isn't new on the modern european scene in Taipei-- had it at at least 4 other restaurants in Taipei (Robuchon was my first, then Ducky, C'est La Vie and at a sushi bar) with the slicked up rows of crunchy scales- but paired with my love for sweet roasted red pepper, I devoured this dish despite being full already. The buttery red pepper sauce, toasted almonds, crispy Taiwanese bacon bits and subtle touch of spice complimented the velvety flesh of the amadai. 

Lovage porridge- slow cooked egg, sweet peas, sunflower seeds (NT$540) 

Another new summer menu item with a new approach for their porridge. Lovage instead of mushroom for the porridge, the slow cooked egg in a bed of sweet peas makes it feel like springtime. Chef Kai said they wanted to make it like risotto without Parmesan cheese, so they used a dehydrated fermented tofu. Feels more like a spring dish than summer, but I still enjoyed it. It's less heavy than the mushroom porridge. 

SWEETER

Cocoa crisps- smoked vanilla ice cream, roasted white chocolate, orange (NT$300)

Dense chocolate mousse hides underneath a roof of sugar and chocolate tiles- the way that each pieces melted on our tongue is a fun sensation.

Peaches and cream- Lala Mountain Peach, Osmanthus, Whey (NT$300)

If I had to pick one dessert from Mume's menu as my favorite, I would pick this one. Bite sized pieces of icy Taiwanese peach hiding underneath a layer of snowy cream. Almost like an upscale modern version of the popular Taiwanese snowflake shaved ice.

Busy busy kitchen with Chefs Kai Ward and Richie Lin plating up for a full house. Advance reservations recommended for Mume. If you have a larger party, you'll get seated in the room downstairs with a mandatory set menu, but I prefer to order off their menu a la carte for the best experience. Mume will do a collaboration/pop up with chef Zaiyu Hasegawa from Den, winner of the One to Watch award, later this month-- it's too bad I won't be in Taipei to check it out.