ramen/japanese: SANTOUKA

SANTOUKA at FUXING SOGO 山頭火 
No. 300, Zhongxiao E. Rd, Sec. 3, B2
台北市忠孝東路三段300號B2
(02) 2731-7533

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/

hours: 11AM to 9:30PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, but kids should like ramen, pork cutlet and fried dumplings

Visit reviewed: 6/6/2014

Be prepared to wait. I wasn't prepared for the 20 minute or so wait for Santouka, since I assumed the hype had died down, but there they were, 10 or so people standing in line in front of me for a late weekday lunch at 1PM. If you expect a wait, and there isn't one, then it's a happy surprise. So by the time I sat down, I was ready to order, ready to eat. 

The first time I tried Santouka was in Los Angeles, at Mitsuwa, a chain of Japanese supermarkets in the US. Yelp and word of mouth already made it a place for legit ramen on the westside, so there were lots of people in line at this random supermarket food court. So there I expected a wait. I struck up a conversation with the tall, blonde guy in front of me and he said, "You must order the spicy miso ramen." So I did. The spiciness and saltiness of the broth was great, even though the deep red color was intimidating. So it was with high expectations I tried Santouka in Taipei, which supposedly had four hour waits when it first opened in 2012.

The Santouka Taipei menu is quite similar with shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, hot miso ramen, tsukemen, or cold ramens, or order a la carte or combos with fried pork tonkatsu, fried chicken, gyoza or a small salmon sashimi rice bowl chirashi. Prices range from NT$200-NT$320 for noodles, and you can choose regular, small or large sized bowls. The menu has some English and photos, but is mostly in Chinese and Japanese. And if you really love meat, then try the toroniku ramen, which comes with a plate of simmered pork cheek slices. 

That day I opted for a cold ramen (NT$300) which is comes with julienned cucumbers, ham, cold pork and a shrimp on a bed of cold ramen with a vinegary sauce. After my first few bites, I regretted ordering it because I'm not a fan of cold char siu pork and this was basically the main element of Santouka's cold ramen (unlike some cold ramens that also have egg, carrots, tomato or chicken). WHY DID I NOT ORDER THE SPICY MISO RAMEN? DOH! The toppings and sauce were kind of skimpy for the price, and in proportion to the ramen, and the meat was kind of dry. But I didn't look at the menu carefully and the details of the dish were in Chinese, so it was my bad.

Luckily, my dad got a miso ramen combo (NT$370) which came with a small sized ramen and a fried tonkatsu. It was mostly good except the egg was a dry yolked hard boiled egg, not the gooey soft boiled egg we are used to seeing in ramen egg-porn. WHY DID I NOT ORDER THE SPICY MISO RAMEN?!! With pork bone broth boiled for over 20 hours??

I also have to note that service was incredibly slow. We probably waited nearly 15 minutes after sitting down, even after preordering while waiting in line for over 10 minutes, and got our food after the people next to us, who sat down after we did. So I was a bit hungry and annoyed throughout this lunch, which is never a fun experience. But luckily my dad is the best and he shared some of his soupy ramen with me. Thanks Dad!

OTHER LOCATIONS: 

QSquare
1F, NO.1, Sec.1,Chengde Rd.
台北市大同區承德路一段1號1樓
(02)2558-2577

Tianmu Sogo
8F., No.77, Sec. 6, Zhongshan N. Rd., Shilin Dist.,
台北市士林區中山北路六段77號8F
(02) 2837-1211

chinese: i recommend ZHU JI

ZHU JI XIAN BING ZHOU DIAN 朱記餡餅粥店

No. 106, Ren Ai Rd., Sec 3 台北市仁愛路三段106號

(02) 2702-9411

MRT: Zhongxiao/Fuxing or DaAn (both a 15-20 minute walk from MRT)

website: http://www.zhuji.com.tw/

hours: $-$$ (NT$200/person)

Kid friendliness:  high chairs available, additional seating on second floor- stairs only

Visit reviewed: 2/1/2011 & 1/24/2013

Zhu Ji was one of the first places my family friend took me to when I visited Taipei when I first started spending more time here, probably 9 years ago- it was near her office, it had vegetarian options for her and my mom and it had great prices. The red and golden storefront made for a memorable and lasting impression, so on my repeat visits, I recognized it even before I knew where RenAi Rd was or a "xian bing" was. In fact, a version of a post for this restaurant has been sitting in my blog posts folder for at least 8 years. 

The two story restaurant is busy at lunchtime, but not touristy enough yet that you can't grab a table by walking in. It also helps that they have many locations across Taipei. Upstairs has more tables to seat larger groups, while the main floor has peek into the dumpling wrapping open kitchen. 

Small plates of cold dishes (NT$40/each) are available in the back, perfect for sharing until your food arrives. Find the decked out shelves and help yourself to your choice of pickled vegetables, spicy eggplant or choice of tofu/soy. My favorites include bamboo, eggplant and thousand year old egg with tofu.  They have a pretty large selection compared to most places, which works for my mom who is vegetarian.

Hey, I just noticed the plates have gotten slightly (considerably) smaller since my last visit two years ago. 

Ordering is off a check off sheet in Chinese, but if you ask for an English menu, they have one. It's funny to also see how the English menu has evolved from a greasy, one page laminated sheet to a full fledged fancy book, with pictures next to each item for easy identification.

So what to order? You have to order the house specialty- xian bing (NT$40)- which comes filled with beef, pork, vegetables or leek. In English, it's listed as a "beef pastry," in the past as a "beef meat pie," I've also heard it called a "beef pancake." Tastewise, it's probably can be described as a pan fried, flattened dumpling. The dough  is thinner than a bao, but breadier than a regular dumpling, while the patty-like meat inside is juicy seasoned ground beef with spring onions. Like a burger, it's a bit hard to eat without making a mess, as you can't eat it in one bite without having juices dribbling down your chin.

Another one of my favorites is the beef roll which is a spring onion pancake rolled up with beef and spring onions and hoisin sauce. The chewy yet flaky wrap makes for a surprisingly satisfying compact appetizer and is not as messy as the xian bing. Everytime I see this, I have to order it and I think Zhu Ji makes some of the best ones.

I usually pull out the spring onions and just keep the cucumber inside, since I don't really like raw spring onions. 

There's also quite a few noodle soups to choose from- beef noodle soup, won ton noodle soup, hot and sour soup, cold noodles with shredded chicken or to name some. The great thing about Zhu Ji at this location is the knife cut noodles, which come in long wavy strips and have a fresh chewy bite. The soup was a tad salty for me on this visit, but I've enjoyed it on other occasions at their Mitsukoshi location (which doesn't have the knife cut noodles). For my favorite knife cut beef noodle place, check out Shan Xi Dao Xiao Mian- it's not as nice of an atmosphere, but the food is great.

Skip the wonton noodles, a bit mushy and bland.

And of course there's no shortage of dumplings to choose from- steamed pork dumplings (NT$110), veggie dumplings (NT$110), shrimp pork or pork wontons, pan fried dumplings.. the best thing about eating with family or a large group is that you can share to sample them all! 

I quite like the veggie dumplings which come with finely chopped chives, glass noodles and mini cubes of tofu.

Shrimp pork wontons with chili oil on the side (NT$120) 

I probably wouldn't order the pan fried dumplings (NT$100) again as they were not crispy as I've had at other places (for perfectly pan fried dumplings try Ma Shan Tang or Zhang Ji Fried dumplings or the local chain Ba Fang Yun Ji).

Come hungry since you will leave full.. Order a table full of food for less than two baskets of Din Tai Fung XLB and use your savings on dessert.

OTHER LOCATIONS 

No.32-B1, Baoqing Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City

遠東百貨寶慶店 台北市寶慶路32號B1 

02-23825809 

No.12-B2, Nanjing W. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City(Hall 1) 

新光三越南西店 台北市南京西路12號B2(1館) 

02-25676169 

No.152-12, Sec. 1, Zhongshan Rd., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City

遠東百貨板橋店 新北市板橋區中山路一段152號12F

(02) 8953-8858 

No.203-B2, Sec. 2, Dunhua S. Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 

遠企購物中心敦南店 台北市敦化南路二段203號B2 

(02) 2739-4175 

No.11-B2, Songshou Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City(Hall A11)

新光三越信義店 台北市松壽路11號B2(A11館) 

(02) 2723-7292 

No.7, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist.

誠品台大醫院店 台北市中山南路7號B1 

(02) 2322-5465#626 

 

No.202-3, Sec. 2, Zhongcheng Rd., Shilin Dist.

新光三越天母店 台北市忠誠路二段202號3F 

(02) 2874-6669

No.77-8, Sec. 6, Zhongshan N. Rd., Shilin Dist

SOGO百貨天母店 台北市中山北路六段77號8F 

(02) 2835-3619 

No.323-9, Xida Rd., East Dist., Hsinchu City 

遠東百貨新竹店 新竹市西大路323號9F 03-5238120

(03) 5238120

chinese/taiwanese: i strongly recommend GOLDEN FORMOSA

GOLDEN FORMOSA 金蓬萊 

No. 101, Tianmu East Road, Shihlin District,  

台北市士林區天母東路101號

(02) 2871-1517

MRT: Zhishan

website: hipage.hinet.net/golden-formosa

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

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 12/21/2011

Shihlin is home to Golden Formosa, a two story Taiwanese restaurant that serves a wide menu of homestyle dishes, with a space and taste different than the more well known, upscale Taiwanese family restaurant Shin Yeh. I've been to several Taiwanese restaurants that my local relatives chose for dinner when US relatives are visiting and Golden Formosa stands out as one of the better experiences. 

The English, Chinese and Japanese menu is quite tourist friendly, except there aren't many pictures for reference. Some dishes come in smaller vs larger sizes and the menu is huge. The specialty dishes are located convienently on one page, and then there's sir-fried dishes (heehee), traditional dishes, vegetables, seafood and more. The front of the menu even has a story about how the family owned restaurant has been passed down the generations since the 1950s.

Plate after plate came to the table until the lazy susan was full. My relatives patiently turned each dish to me first to let me have a pristine picture before digging in. Everything that I tried was tasty. Mouthful after mouthful, bowl after bowl, the tastes all blend together while catching up with family, so I'll have to let the pictures do most of the talking.

Cold steamed chicken 

Crispy fried spare ribs (NT$150/each) were popular at the table and we had to place a second of order for this and the fried cuttlefish balls.

Salt cured mullet roe with radishes

I really enjoyed the Narrow-barred Spanish Mackarel with Rice Noodles, the soup had a depth that kept me slurping. A must order.

Pork kidneys with marbled pork in sesame oil (NT$650)

Curry crab

If you're adventurous, you can try the chicken testicles with steamed egg. I personally wasn't THAT adventurous, so I kept to the bottom layer, with the creamy steamed egg.

Yeah, not the most popular dish at the table. You have to have some balls to eat this dish. LOL!

Can't have a Chinese dinner without whole steamed fish topped with scallions and bathed in soy sauce.

Can you tell the relatives can eat?! After all that food, a huge claypot of chicken soup still came to the table with a whole chicken inside. OMG, who saved room?

Even the Deep-fried Taro Root was delish, with a chewy, mochi-like center and a crispy shell, and I usually don't like taro.

Reservations recommended and bring a large group so you can try more dishes.