taiwanese/dessert: i strongly recommend SAN HE MIFUN TANG & TAI DA PANG NIU SHAVED ICE

SAN HE MIFUN TANG 三禾米粉湯
No. 3, Lane 61, Linsen S. Rd, Zhongzheng District
台北市中正區林森南路61巷3號
(02) 2392-5489

TAI DA PANG NIU BING 胖妞冰店

Lane 18, XuZhou Rd

台北市徐州路18巷口

MRT: Shandao Temple or NTU Hospital

hours: closed Mondays 6:30AM - 3PM 


visit reviewed: 

If you want to eat like a local in Taipei, a bowl of mifun tang 米粉湯 (rice noodle soup) isn't a bad place to start.  A sign that a place serves mifun tang (besides the characters in Chinese) is the huge vat of boiling tofu and noodles at the front like the one at San He Mifun Tang. Pair it with a plate of mushrooms, tofu, pork belly, seaweed, offal and bamboo, you are good to go for less than NT$200. Even though I've lived here for so long, I usually don't go to local shops like this because I don't know what to order. Luckily, I tagged along with some friends on this day and they did all the ordering and it was one of the better bowls of rice noodle soups that I've had in awhile (better than the bowl at Keelung night market and just as good as the one at Tonghua Night market.) Because the broth is clear, it doesn't look as flavorful as the more well known beef noodle soup or the popular Ah Chung flour rice noodles in Ximending, but don't be deceived. A hot bowl of fat, slippery rice noodles has a broth that rivals any ramen broth you'd slurp in its umami for only NT$25.

A photo menu is always a helpful reference.

I shared a bowl with a friend, and the restaurant kindly gave us a bowl filled with extra broth rather than an empty bowl. Sometimes some places overcook their rice noodles, but I found the texture here just right. 

Mushrooms and "oil" tofu 油豆腐 (NT$20)

Pork belly (NT$40), chicken heart (NT$50) and seaweed. I liked all the side dishes we ordered and would order them all again. These three plates were shared between 6 people.

Fresh Bamboo (NT$30) is always a favorite side dish.

On our way back to my friend's hotel, we came across a corner shaved ice stand- Tai Da Pang Niu Shaved Ice. It looked too good to pass up on a hot day, so we decided to get a bowl. You can pick as many toppings as you'd like and I got it with condensed milk of course (NT$50)- tapioca, green mung beans, grass jelly, peanut...

Generous with the condensed milk and we polished off the shaved ice before it melted. If you're staying at/near the Sheraton Hotel or near NTU, you can come look for this corner at XuZhou Road. So good. Can't beat it. For this price, you could have two bowls.

taiwanese/breakfast: i still recommend FUHANG DOU JIANG

FUHANG DOU JIANG 阜杭豆漿
at Huashan Market, 2F
No. 108, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 1
台北市忠孝東路一段108號華山市場2樓
(02) 2392-2175

MRT: Shandao Temple station

hours: 5:30AM- 12:30PM; Closed Mondays

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. room for strollers and family seating

Visit reviewed: 9/22/2015

Last visit reviewed: 9/2010

My favorite thing from FuHang Dou Jiang is the thick sesame flatbread hou bing 厚餅 (NT$38 with egg 厚餅夾蛋) and the only thing I'd wait in line here for. Waiting in line took about 25 minutes last week and the line was still around the block when I left with my to-go order at 10am weekday. 

Before this place was known to mostly (only) locals until #CNNfood asked me for some non-touristy places and I mentioned this to them. Little did I know CNN's list of 40 must eat foods in #Taiwan they compiled would be passed and copied around the world. So now there's a line everyday and filled with mostly tourists, many clutching Japanese guidebooks. The good thing is that Fuhang is efficient, spacious and clean and provides service in multiple languages. The bad- it became a tourist destination rather than a local's secret and us locals gotta wait longer now. #mybad 

The first time I took a friend there after the list had been published a few years ago, I was shocked that the line went down the stairs and down the street on a weekday morning. Now those lines are a regular sight so I don't go to Fuhang very often since there are other great neighborhood Taiwanese breakfast places to grab and go. 

    

But when I had some stuff to do in that neighborhood recently, I decided I wanted to get some breakfast to go. When I got there on a Tuesday morning, the line of people patiently waiting was already around the block. 

So I started waiting at 9:37AM hoping the line would move quickly, since I had to be somewhere nearby at 10AM. 

Finally saw the entrance at 9:48AM. 

Still have to wait in line going up the stairs. 

Once you get up to the second floor and can see the food court, then the wait isn't too long. If you are planning on eating there, then I would have someone scope out an area to sit while the other person waits in line to order. 

You can see the busy kitchen working nonstop to make sure there's enough shao bings and you tiaos to go around. 

Got to the front at 10:02AM, so about a 25 minute wait that day. 

Once I got to the ordering counter, the first lady asked me "what do you want to order?" in Chinese. Lots of people are taking pictures, so it's her job to move us and the line along. When the people in front and behind me didn't respond, she quickly launched into the question in Japanese to which the people responded. You give your drink order first, then your food order to the next person, then pay the third lady before you carry your order away. It's fairly quick so it's best if you know what you want ahead of time, so the line keeps moving. If you can't read the Chinese characters, they do have an English printed menu to look at upon request. 

The only thing I would wait in this line for is the hou shao bing since its the only place I've found it. I added an egg that day so it was NT$38. There are other places where I prefer the salty soy milk and you tiao and more in my neighborhood. 

"I love the thick sesame flat bread at Fu Hang because it has a slight sweetness, a thin crispy layer and soft center from coming straight out of the hot metal barrel," quoting myself from CNN.com. Lol.

 

SO have you waited in line for Fuhang Dou Jiang? Was it worth the wait? 

snapshot/exploreTaipei: FAB CAFE at HUASHAN 1914 CULTURAL CREATIVE PARK

FAB CAFE
at HUASHAN 1914 CREATIVE PARK 
華山1914文創園區中三館
 No. 1 Bade Rd, Sec. 1
台北市八德路一段1號
(02)3322-4749

MRT: Shandao Temple or Zhongxiao/Xinsheng

Hours: Sun – Thu: 11AM – 10PM; Fri – Sat: 11AM – 12midnight

$$

website: fabcafe.com/taipei 

kid friendliness: probably more suited for older kids

visit reviewed: 12/28/2014

There's always something to explore at Huashan 1914 and today was the first time I wandered into Fab Cafe. Besides the cafe itself, which was full of diners, there's a space next to it that displayed Art Project 365 by different artists.

Fab Cafe originated in Japan as a creative cafe space, not only equipped with new technologies such as 3D printers and laser cutters for people to use, but also as gathering spot for events, workshops and Fab meetups. With other branches in Tokyo, Barcelona, Bangkok and Sitges, it's such a cool concept that I'm sure will make its way to the states someday. Taipei actually has a lot of creativity sprouting up in places like Huashan 1914 and central places like these will foster even more opportunities for people to be inspired. 

 

This was one of my favorite art pieces- a giant circular board covered in individual drawings cut out and fit together like a puzzle. Could be a fun thing to do at home... cover a wall with a drawing a day.

This was rotating images on a transparent glass... pretty mesmerizing to watch. Maybe one day there will be photo frames like this for homes.

Next post will be more about Huashan 1914 in general and some of the exhibits going on right now! Just thought Fab Cafe was so cool, it should have its own post. So if you've been itching to make your own fantastic 3D printed creations but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a machine, you know now where to go.

Other posts about Huashan 1914
VVG Thinking 

chinese: i recommend SHANGHAI KITCHEN

SHANGHAI KITCHEN 上海鄉村

No. 17, Renai Rd, Sec. 1, B1 台北市仁愛路一段17號B1 

(02) 2396-5154 

MRT: Shandao Temple or CKS Memorial Hall

website: www.shanghaikitchen.com.tw 

hours: 11:30AM - 2PM and 5:30PM - 9PM 

$$ 

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kids dinnerware available 

Visit reviewed: 6/5/2012

Looking for another Chinese restaurant to add to the list to take the relatives or coworkers for good food at good prices? Then consider trying Shanghai Kitchen next. I had low expectations because of the random location, in the basement of a family activities center, and the generic setting of an open dining room, but I found myself pleasantly surprised.

There are two menus, both with English. One has photos for many of their trademark dishes and the other is a bit sprawling with lots of choices of seafood, vegetables and appetizers. There's also set menus for larger groups that makes ordering easy.

Of course we had to get the Dong Po Pork (NT$420), which was generous portion of thickly sliced, tender pork belly, glistening in sweet soy sauce. All this pork belly for US$13 was the steal of the day.

Use the steamed buns to soak up the fat. So good. I think I could have eaten three of these.

Another must order dish is the Lion's Head Stewed Meatballs, which were giant meatballs bathed in chinese cabbage (though it's expensive for the portion relative to the dongpo pork). The flavor and texture of the meatballs paired perfectly with a bowl of white rice.

Let's pretend to be healthy with some broccoli.

The stirfried shrimp and peas were fine, but I've had tastier versions at Shanghai Shanghai or Celestial Restaurant, with sweeter peas and bouncier shrimp.

I wouldn't order the Braised Crab Eggs with Tofu (NT$320) again as it was too watery for me and didn't have the sweet richness that I've tasted, like from Xiao Nan Men. 

There's a lot more to explore from Shanghai Kitchen's menu, so someday I'll be back. Especially if I'm craving some fatty pork belly.

OTHER LOCATION

No. 67, RenAi Rd, Sec. 2, B1
北市仁愛路 2段 67號 B1
MRT: Zhongxiao/Xinsheng
(02)2322–3333