taiwanese/noodles: i strongly recommend SLACK SEASON NOODLES

SLACK SEASON NOODLES 

or TU HSIAO YUEH 度小月

No. 12, Alley 8, Lane 216, ZhongXiao E. Rd, Sec. 4 

台北市忠孝東路四段216巷8弄12號 　　　　

(02) 2773-1244

MRT: Zhongxiao/Dunhua or SYS Memorial Hall

website: www.iddi.com.tw mostly Chinese

hours: 11:30AM - 11PM

$-$$ (NT$50-300/person)

Kid friendliness: lots of kid friendly options

Visit reviewed: 4/16/2012

I love it when relatives introduce me to new restaurants, especially good Taiwanese ones, and my relatives from NY picked Slack Season Noodles as the place for a casual lunch to meet up. I probably could have passed by the shop a hundred times (next to Yogurt Art) and not have the urge to wander in for a meal, as the subtle exterior and sign hides the modern meets traditional Chinese and dark wood interior, and cheap and delicious food inside.

I often get asked to recommend restaurants (Top five favorites? Gluten-free? Romantic on New Year's Eve? Taiwanese but not Din Tai Fung?), and now I have another one to add to my list for the last question.

The menu is check-off-the-box, but ask for the English menu and you shall receive. With pictures for each menu item too! Just match the number from the menu and use it to check off the matching line item.

Slack Season Noodles originated in Tainan, with a street vendor selling dan dan noodles, a minced pork noodle soup. The restaurant's name comes from the shop's origins- when its founder, a fisherman, created the noodles to make a living during the fishing "slack season" and they became so popular he started selling them full time. Over one hundred years ago in 1895! (Though the menu says 1894, the shop's sign says 1895). Now Tu Hsiao Yueh has expanded to restaurants in Taipei from Tainan, offering affordable Taiwanese eats, like tan tsi mian, lu rou fan (braised pork rice), fried oysters or smoked shark, with nods to its origins with chefs preparing the noodles in the front corner of each restaurant at an old school, street vendor-like area.

Each person got a bowl of tan tsi noodles (or dan zhi or dan zai (oh how romanized spellings drive me crazy) (NT$50). Some chose the classic oil noodle, and I chose the thin vermicelli rice noodle.  You can also order it with or without soup, or add on things like duck egg or meatballs. The flavor is light, but it's not plain, with flavors of garlic, cilantro, vinegar and Taiwanese shallots infused in the broth and meat sauce. For my relatives, this is their equivalent of chicken noodle soup, their comfort food.

The bowl isn't big enough to fill me up, like beef noodle soup or pho, but is just enough to slurp up and accompany a taste of everything on the table, which includes a lot of traditional Tainan style dishes. Everything is fresh and delicious, and luckily we have a big group so we can order plenty of things to share family style. 

smoked goose by tea leaves (NT$200)

braised intestines (NT$200)

deep fried tofu (NT$160)

Pescadore's Squid Ball (NT$150)

I love fried oysters so the crispy oysters (NT$160) hit the spot by coming out hot and yes, crispy, without being fishy or greasy, so I keep popping the bite sized babies in my mouth.

as well as these addictive golden shrimp rolls (NT150) which are similar to Thai shrimp cakes, with fried minced shrimp and fishcake.

Asparagus salad (NT$150)

Hot spring loofah with clams (NT$180)

My cousins and I wanted to get dessert elsewhere (tang yuan at Jiu Ru), but my aunt and uncle insisted on ordering the unique desserts- pumpkin ice cream, jelly and sesame mochi. 

My favorite out of the bunch was the crisp mochi covered in a layer of sesame powder.

I might have been late to the game in finding out about the underrated tan tsi noodles as a must-eat in Taipei, but it holds a lot of nostalgia for many. So add this to your to-do list when in Taipei, or take the high speed rail to the original shop in Tainan.

OTHER LOCATIONS
No. 180, Sec. 2, Zhongshan North Rd., Taipei 台北市中山北路二段180號
 9-1 Yongkang St., Taipei 台北市永康街9-1號
No. 16 Zhongzheng Rd, Tainan (Original shop) 台南市中正路16號
 No. 101, Zhongzheng Rd, Tainan 台南市中正路１０１號

news: spring 2012 Taipei restaurant round up

Wow! This is my 600th post!

CLOSED
- Cactus was a new Mexican restaurant in town, but was closed when I tried to visit in April and posted on their FB page that it is closed permanently though the chef may reopen elsewhere.
- Eddy's Cantina in Danshui is closed- but you can still find Eddy at his Tianmu location.
- Fu Diner closed its second (and last) location. Now where to find creamy omu-rice?
- JB Burger closed
- I-Sushi closed
- Sweet Dynasty closed (It's sad seeing the restaurants emptied and gutted)
- I-Baked in Shida will closes today. Still has a location in Xinyi area
- Mu Kung Hwa Korean Viand on Zhongxiao closed. Always passed by, but never tried it.
- Masala House in Shida had been on my to-do list for a long time, but now it's gone. Sigh.


OPENED (I've eaten at almost all of them- which one do you want me to post about first?)
- Joy's Creperie near the Taipei City Bus Station in the Xinyi district near the freeway ramp entrance
- Santouka Ramen opened to long lines at Fuxing Sogo (and it looks the same as Japanese chain that people line up for in LA!) as did Ippudo Ramen, famous from Japan and NY
- Yo Shabu Shabu near Yong Kang Street
- Tartine Bakery in January serving desserts, macarons and sandwiches
- Cyclo, new pho restaurant
- Acquatic Addiction Development, a fish market renovated by Mitsui, has locals going crazy over the standing only sushi bar and fresh, affordable take away sashimi
- Mayur Indian Kitchen near Grand Hyatt
- Spotted a new branch of Wang Wei Ramen in the alley behind San Want Hotel
- Thai Made on DongFeng
- Bellavita recently made some changes- doubled the seating for Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI and made more room for diners at Elite 
- Will Taiwanese people pay a premium for European chocolates and brands? Pierre Marcolini chocolates and tea area in Xinyi Mitsukoshi A4, near Chanel and priced accordingly, and Jean Paul Hevin at Taipei 101
- Toasteria Cafe 3, a roomier place to get your grilled cheese sandwiches and Mediterranean food in Dong Chu East District.

RUMORED
-I heard that Patisserie La Douceur opened a second branch in Daan district, but I cannot find the address. It's not listed on their website. Does anyone know where?

Any other news to add? Do you like the restaurant round ups? Please leave a comment below!

mexican: i recommend EDDY's CANTINA in Tienmu

EDDY's CANTINA 艾迪墨西哥餐廳
No. 1, Alley 3, Lane 450, ZhongShan Rd, Tienmu
士林區中山北路6段450巷3弄1號
(02)2873-7612

MRT: Mingde Station

website: eddyscantina.com

hours: 11:30AM- 9PM; Closed Tuesdays

$$

kid friendliness: kids meals available and lots of rooms for families

Visit reviewed: 5/13/2012

Almost a year ago, Eddy's Cantina opened up a second shop in Tienmu, bringing their enchiladas and nachos a little closer to Taipei city. I suppose the move was good, since earlier this year in February 2012, they committed to the move and Eddy's Cantina closed down their Danshui shop (or Tamsui, I guess it's now has been converted back to). (You can tell I'm really behind on posts when it takes me a year to write it up, but I figure that I should definitely remind readers so that no one makes a trip to Tamsui and find a "For Rent" sign instead of Eddy's). 

Eddy's Cantina Tienmu retains the same festive, bright color scheme from the original location is a lot more spacious for large groups of hungry diners. Eddy's Cantina really feels like a mom and pop shop, with Eddy often in the kitchen and sometimes his mom coming to town, making limited edition tamales.

The menu includes all my favorites- nachos, enchiladas, chimichangas, as well as tacos, burritos- or lunch special only rice bowls with carnitas, huevos ranchero or fajitas, and even an array of beers and cocktails for happy hour.

Eddy's Cantina's has one of the best nachos (NT$300) in town, always a heaping pile of chips, cheese, jalapenos and ground beef. I think we had to order seconds.

With the set lunch specials, you can choose between refried beans or potatoes as a side, and it comes with a nice side salad. I usually end up getting the chicken enchiladas (NT$280) anytime I end up at Eddy's Cantina and they always hit the spot with the slightly sweet red enchilada sauce and gooey cheese.

Many of my friends hadn't had mexican food in a long time and enjoyed their orders- beef chimichanga (NT$230), which is like a massive deep fried burrito that can be shared...

chicken quesadilla, which my friend tried to cut up to share...

and fish tacos...

The Mexican food landscape has evolved and changed a lot since Eddy's Cantina first opened (and closed) shop in Danshui, when I reviewed it in 2008.  For quick fixes, there are other options in Taipei now (I prefer the California baja style of burritos and fish tacos with corn tortillas at Macho Tacos, but when I'm craving enchiladas, I head to Eddy's), but for a sit down meal, Eddy's still is a good option especially those in Tienmu.

snapshot/sightseeing: i strongly recommend TAIPEI ZOO

TAIPEI ZOO

MRT: Taipei Zoo

Somewhere in LA, there are pictures of me with my cousins at the Taipei Zoo, probably taken in the early 80s. In my fuzzy recollection, I only remember that zoos are smelly. After visiting the zoo when I first moved back, I prepared myself for the smell of elephant sized manure, but found out that like many memories, it was slightly exaggerated and the real thing wasn't so bad (as long you kept moving!) Even though I have yet to go to the LA Zoo or the San Diego Zoo, I found myself at the Taipei Zoo several times a year, gawking at the giraffes and elephants, taking pictures of the pandas and penguins like all the other visitors. It's a nice way to spend an afternoon, and luckily they've amped up their shops sometime the past year as well for touristy souvenirs and midday eats.

If you want to eat before or after all the trekking through the zoo, there is a McDonalds and 7-11 after the zoo's entrance, as well as a gift shop with funny animal hats and a photobooth. But I recommend that you find the zoo tram, take it all the way to the top of the zoo and walk your way down. Somewhere near the zebras, there's picnic tables and a mini zoo food court that includes pork chop rice, pizzas, fried chicken and 50 Lan drinks. 

yay for signage in English!

Also don't miss the panda bears who might be playing outside or running on their obstacle course, since there isn't as crazy of a wait these days.

thought this shirt was so cute

A quick MRT ride from the city and short walk from the Taipei Zoo MRT stop.