taiwanese: i recommend 397 MINGSHUI

397 MINGSHUI

明水397 飯堂

51, Alley 47, Lane 458, BeiAn Road, Dazhi

(02) 2532-5687

[TAIPEI] A little bit of everything, juicy braised pork belly + egg, with a bowl of mifun tang. Taiwanese comfort foods. This Dazhi shop used to be at the address MingShui 397 but when it moved it kept the old address as the name. If you're looking for where locals eat Taiwanese food, this is it. 

mifun tang

bamboo

braised pork and egg

dessert/taiwanese: i strongly recommend DAZHI FENG YUAN

DAZHI FENG YUAN 大直粉圓

No. 35 DaZhi Street

 臺北市中山區大直街35號

(02) 8509-8805

MRT: Wenhu (brown line) 5 minute walk

price: $ (about NT$60/person) Delivery available 

hours: 11AM- 9PM

Kid friendliness: very. at this price, they can each get their own bowl

visits reviewed: 8/18/2017 and 9/10/2017

DAZHI FENG YUAN IS A SMALL SHOP IN DAZHI, but with more than all the essentials for Taiwanese shaved ice. With over 20 different chewy, colorful toppings from taro balls to grass jelly to boba and red adzuki beans, you could make a number of combinations. Feng Yuan translates to the name for tapioca in Chinese, so that's why you see a big bowl of it on their sign, advertised for NT$30. 

A bowl of shaved ice is NT$60 with a choice of four toppings. I especially like their pearl barley, so much that I got double of it. I know Taiwanese shaved ice toppings can sound strange to people who are used to having their barley with beef soup or beans in chili, but think of how oatmeal which is usually eaten sweet for breakfast is now being used as a savory option. In Taiwan, mung beans, red beans, pearl barley, oatmeal are all sweetened and used for desserts. I've even seen creamed corn as a topping on shaved ice (which still repulses me, but hey, corn ice cream is a thing in the US now, so we can't judge).

They also have douhua, or soy pudding, but I found the flavor to taste a little on the burnt side, which I know some soy milk places are known for, but I personally prefer it without. You can add three toppings to the douhua, which are hidden underneath. 

Dazhi Feng Yuan's ice isn't super fine, but with the creamy and chewy toppings and brown sugar syrup, it all works together. 

And those who don't like the traditional toppings, they have mango shaved ice, but it's seasonal. I haven't tried it yet because I'm still trying different combos of the traditional. My go to combo is usually pearl barley, aiyu, boba and mochi balls, but on this day my friend wanted to try the big red beans and the taro balls. 

They have about 10 seats and it's fairly clean and they let you use their bathroom. Haha. I had to note that because A LOT of little shops won't let you use their bathroom, even though you know they have one. Anyways, this no frills shop has become a go to when I'm in the Dazhi area for a quick snack. Cuz global warming. The shop is near Shih Chien University and Dominican International School. 

dessert/modern: i strongly recommend YELLOW LEMON

YELLOW LEMON 黃檸檬

561 MingShui Road, ZhongShan District 

明水路561號

(02) 2533-3567

MRT: Dazhi 

hours: 11AM- 8PM

pricing: $$-$$$

kid friendliness: lots of treats for kids to enjoy, picnic is also very fun with lots of photo ops

visit reviewed:  4/2016 and 9/2014 

SUMMER IS IN THE AIR AND IT'S TIME FOR A PICNIC! Or at least that's the idea behind the newest food-meets-art creations by Yellow Lemon and its chef Andrea Bonaffini. Inspired by all growing popularity of picnics in Taipei's parks, Chef Andrea thought, why not bring it to the table? The result is an unique experience that combines food, art, performance, wonder and fun together. 

Located on a quiet neighborhood street in Dazhi, Yellow Lemon is a dessert bar offering a menu of salads, sandwiches and cafe fare alongside its desserts and drinks. The first time I came, we were dazzled by the playful take on french toast and the watermelon granita. When it first opened, I thought it was very creative, but that prices were a bit high for the portions, but over the years as more cafes and desserts spots have opened up and I've tried other places like Dominique Ansel's creations in Tokyo, I've realized that Yellow Lemon/Chef Andrea pushes the boundaries (like Dominique Ansel) and it's really a gem of a dessert bar in Taipei. 

Yellow Lemon's first table art was a messier splattering and dumping of chocolate and sweets on the table in a picasso style freeform painting (as I later saw, similar to Chicago's Alinea, which you can see in the SPINNING TABLES or CHEF's TABLE docs on Netflix) and I wasn't drawn to eating off the table. But Picnic, a more dainty and composed presentation, definitely caught my eye as other instagrammers started to post their photos of macarons and caviar on a table full of green grass. 

Yellow Lemon's space is bright and inviting and enough room between tables to have private conversations. The front is the bakery section where you can browse the cakes and desserts.

I love open kitchens because I love to admire chefs at work. Sometimes it's a good way to get details about the dishes or desserts that you wouldn't ordinarily get to hear. 

Focused. 

The desserts for picnic are prepared to order- so everything is assembled and fresh for the right textures and temperatures, which is so important for desserts. This is the apple pie sandwich, which was inspired by apple pie. The thin apple slices are liquid nitrogen'd and sandwich caramel sauce and pop rocks. 

We weren't actually sure what Picnic included so we had some lunch first- the beet and arugula salad  (NT$320) was SO SO good. I could have eaten a whole one myself, and the Pizza Parma (NT$320) was really great too, with generous toppings of parmesan cheese, parma ham and arugula atop fluffy focaccia bread. The chicken burger with truffle slow cooked onions and sous vide chicken and black sesame bun was also tasty.You could also order their other desserts on the menu, but I love the picnic experience (NT$600/person).

When you are ready, they will lay out the turf. We had four people, so we had two squares of turf. They bring out the elements and scatter them across the table, so we could ooh and aah over each dish as it came out, as our neighbors from the next table did as well. There's both sweet and savory components to the picnic and lots of little delicious surprises. Chef Andrea has said he'd like to change the menu seasonally, so use this as a reference for spring/summer 2016.

Like picnicking in a magical forest.

The strawberry napoleons were so yummy, with fresh cream, strawberries and strawberry crumble.

The playful imitation caviar was actually made out of chocolate, with a panna cotta underneath.

Apple pie sandwich- crispy, caramel and popping from the pop rocks. Loved this.

Black pepper macaron with king crab, lemon mustard and ikura- so so good, and the macaron shells make for a perfectly bite with the fresh crab.

Even the "dirt" is edible, it's made of chocolate crumbs. 

Now that it's either too hot in Taipei or rainy from the June gloom and doom, you can still picnic indoors. Can't wait to see what's going to pop on the table on my next visit! Thank you chef Andrea and Yellow Lemon for inviting us to try it and for hosting a fun lunch.

PS-- For a limited time, check into Yellow Lemon on Instagram or Facebook with a photo, tag @cretinofelice (Yellow Lemon's chef Andrea) and @hungryintaipei, and show the server/chef to get an extra 🍰 free sweet treat with your order!

modern/french: i still recommend RAW (WINTER 2016)

RAW

No. 301, Lequn 3rd Road, Zhongshan District
台北市中山區樂群三路301號
(02) 8501-5800

MRT: Jianan Road

website: www.raw.com.tw

hours: Lunch: Wed- Sun / 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Dinner: Tues - Sat  / 6 PM - 10 PM
Closed Mondays

$$$$ (NT$1850/per person plus 10% service)

Kid friendliness: only set menus available so only probably only foodie kids will appreciate

Visit reviewed: 1/21/2016
Previous visit reviewed: spring 2015

RAW is still one of the hottest tickets in Taipei, and will be even harder to book since it's been named as one of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. RAW squeezed in at #47, and Chef Andre Chiang's other restaurant,  Restaurant Andre in Singapore, bookends the top of the list at #3.

Thanks to my friend who managed to get a reservation in January, I was giddy with excitement to be able to try the latest menu, not too long after they had made the switch from their one year anniversary "Best of the Year" menu. The new menu seemed to have more seafood on it than previous seasons, and felt more Taiwanese as well, with the bamboo, "bottarga" sweet potato and braised pork rice dishes.

The menu ingredients are read across- there are 8 courses and they list the three main ingredients per course.

OYSTER / SAGO /RED KOMBU 

This was one of my favorite dishes, with the oyster hidden under a bed of savory miniature sago pearls. Every oyster has a pearl? Well, this one has a whole mouthful of them.

Bread and buckwheat whipped butter (NT$150)
This is a must order for us, even though it costs a little extra than the set menu price of NT$1850 per person.

BURI / CUCUMBER / WATER BAMBOO

You can't help but to admire the curves and delicacy of the Frank Gehry-esque design of the thin bamboo slices, which hid small cubes of buri sashimi and cucumber gelatin underneath. Crunchy, chewy, acidic, sweet, this dish was layered textures and flavors together into one bite like many of RAW's dishes. Love seeing this dish from all the angles, though wish there was more buri.

PRAWN / CAPELLINI / MUSSEL

I always love hearing the stories behind the dishes, if there is one. Luckily, we got a waiter that told us (after some inquisitions) that Chef Andre Chiang liked eating Prince Instant noodles, or 王子麵, as a kid so that was the inspiration for the crispy fried capellini and the prawn with seven spice, evoking that memory and taste in this dish. Some of the dishes I don't know if I would order again if a la carte, but as an experience and tasting the layers of textures and flavors in new menu for the first time, I enjoyed it. The capellini were tough to pick up with a fork, you'd be faster using your fingers, perhaps the same way kids eat those instant noodle snacks? 

SWEET POTATO / "BOTTARGA" /  BUCKWHEAT
The bottarga, or mullet roe, in this dish is actually made of salty egg yolk. It was extremely creative, it was very Taiwanese, but again, not a dish I would necessarily order again if given the choice. Taiwan loves the sweet potato so much that some say that the shape of the island resembles a sweet potato. This dish was an interesting, but odd combination with the mushy texture of the sweet potato and the crunchy  toasted buckwheat and oozing egg center.

the "bottarga"

SQUID / KOMBU / LOVAGE
At first glance, the dish appears to be a sheet of sliced, translucent rice paper (like the kind that's used to wrap Vietnamese spring rolls), but then the waiter starts to pour hot broth onto the dish and the squid "noodles" come alive. The strips curl and start to move, which is mesmerizing and a bit unnerving at the same time, if you think too much about it. I liked the chewy texture, but couldn't help but be reminded of the squid noodles from Mume (which isn't on their menu currently). RAW's version is more subtle in flavor and the squid is sliced more thinly, placed as one sheet until woken up by the broth. The addition of the fried kombu which gets hydrated by the soup is a nice touch too. 

Looks like a regular noodle soup, but the "noodles" are long strips of squid. Chewy but not overly so,  this was a favorite dish for me and very memorable, even more so after I discovered that my instagram posts of it were plagiarized when I spotted my words on a post about RAW belonging to a food blogger from Sydney. (the post has since been deleted by Nessyeater)

"TAIWAN" RICE / PORK / MUSHROOM
Loved the presentation of this dish... "We shall enjoy rice as long as the moon shines the night" was imprinted on the lid of the bowl. I want to have a set of bowls with my own quote too... as well as a table with a hidden drawer for utensils (and the napkin, tucked all the way in the back of the drawer). #diningroomgoals.

I think this is a favorite dish of this menu for many people, though I spied the addition of truffle to the dish the month after we went!?  I really enjoyed RAW's gourmet version of lu rou fan, which is a braised fatty pork rice dish that everyone's mom (or dad) has a version of. Even though the pork was extremely fatty, I ate it all. And the rice was very fragrant and paired with the pork perfectly. My first impressions of the dish were the same after I was done eating it, I wanted more than a few bites. Even though it's a tasting menu and a dressed up version, a bowl of lu rou fan should be abundant and fill up more than half the bowl.

QUAIL / LEEK / BARLEY 

I don't enjoy quail, so RAW accommodated my request to have it switched out.. and it was switched to chicken breast. But I included a photo of my friend's quail dish, so you get an idea. I really liked the barley and the chicken was perfectly cooked, but this would be the dish you would have trouble remembering when asked to list your favorites from the meal. This is also the dish that they split the items into two separate rows when it's actually one dish. They've done this on previous menus as well, so for first time visitors, it could be misleading when you think you have more courses than there are. 

WHITE FUNGUS / SOURSOP / BERGAMOT
I've never been a huge fan of RAW's desserts and this was more of the same. Granita + sorbet + fruit, in this case, custard apple and starfruit along with white fungus.

I loved these smoked financiers. It was a good way to end the meal. So who has tried this new menu at RAW? Looking forward to the next round, if I can get seats!