dessert: ARE BASQUE CHEESECAKES THE NEXT TREND IN TAIPEI?

 

Are Basque cheesecakes in Taipei the next cinnamon rolls? 

A few years ago, you had to search pretty hard for your Cinnabon cravings in Taipei. Then Heritage Bakery and Fly's Kitchen lead the way and now it seems like there's at least 20 or more places offering up cinnamon rolls in Taipei. 

After I got these sent these cakes earlier this month, I started to notice Basque cheesecakes 巴斯克燒 乳酪蛋糕 starting to appear everywhere on my IG feed. I'm going to have to start taking notes to make a list. 

But until then, I recommend trying it from Town Taipei/A Fabules Day. The chocolate hazelnut one from Town (NT$1280 for 6 inch) is SO decadent and satisfying too if you're a chocolate lover. Chilled, it's like a Ferrero Rocher in cake form. The closest thing like it is the hazelnut cake from Amamoto Bros. The Basque cheesecake from A Fabules Day is NT$680/ 6 inch. These are small enough to order one of each and indulge in a slice of both. And yes, they are at the same address but on different floors. 

Going to try Town Taipei's latest spring menu later this week. Excited. 

TOWN TAIPEI 

No. 171, Xinyi Road, Section 2, 3F

02-2341-9777

A FABULES DAY 

No. 171, Xinyi Road, Section 2, 1F

 02-2341-5566

sushi/japanese: i strongly recommend JIANG LE

JIANG LE 

taiwanese: I strongly recommend ZHENG PORK KNUCKLE

ZHENG PORK KNUCKLE 鄭記豬腳飯

No. 22, Yanping S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist, Zhongzheng District

台北市中正區延平南路22號
(02) 2371-1366

MRT: Taipei Main Station   

hours: 11AM - 8PM

$  

Kid friendliness: sidewalk seat and limited indoor seats. bentos available to go

Visit reviewed: 4/2021

Opened for over 60 years, Zheng Pork Knuckle is a tiny neighborhood shop a few minutes walking distance from North Gate near Taipei Main Station. The must order dish is the braised pork knuckle bowl (NT$110), that comes over rice with a shiny stewed hard boiled egg, pickled mustard greens and veggies. The menu signage lists three main dishes to choose from- braised pork knuckle, dong po pork or milkfish, but I spied a lot of other side dishes you could add on like bamboo or intestines and a serve yourself bone broth. 

The pork knuckle is a sizeable piece and easy to eat since they deboned it. Slowly braised until tender, the thick pork skin is Q and velvety, more collagen than fat. I was surprised the sauce wasn’t sweet at all, but the flavor was still rich and perfect for scarfing down with rice. 

There was a short line since we got there after 1pm, but it moved quickly. There's a few shaded tables on the sidewalk and a few tables inside. Bento boxes are also available for takeaway. This post was so popular on Instagram, I had to throw up a post with the address for the next time I'm in the area. 

Thanks to my friend Lucie for taking me here. It's a stop on her historical walking tour, with tons of information about the Taipei Main Station area, what it was like almost 100 years ago and how it's changed. There seems to be a lot of recent renovations for the historical buildings in the area and I got to check out the recently reopened National Center of Photography and Images . There's a small coffee shop on the first floor if you're in the area. Loved these vintage typewriters spotted there.