Thursday, September 17, 2009

Taiwan - 牛肉麵 (Beef Noodles)

永康牛肉麵 (Beef Noodles)

Beef Noodle is one of the most famous dish in Taiwan and its notability matches with Japanese Ramen. Its origin may be traced back to Gangshan Village in Kaohsiung County. Most beef noodle soup in Taiwan is of the Sichuan variety. Its meat is braised in soy sauce, and served in a spicy dark red soup.
There are tonnes of beef noodle restaurants in Taipei and one of the most famous establishment is called Yungkang Beef Noodles (永康牛肉麵), located at 17 Chinshan South Road, Section 2, Lane 31.

永康牛肉麵地址
台北市金山南路二段31巷17號
Tel:02-2351-1051
營業時間:11am - 9:30pm

Order Online:
http://beefnoodle-master.com/lineorder.html
This was my first experience with taiwanese beef noodles. The beef was very tender and juicy while the noodles are very chewy. If you can take a little bit of spicy food, I can imagine this can be a pretty good dish for hangovers haha...a bowl of sichuan style beef noodle is only NT$200.
Aside from the sichuan style beef noodles, there are also tonnes of cold dishes (appetizers) you can choose from. We only managed to try two dishes. Each dish ranges from NT$40 - NT$120).
    

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Taiwan - 小吃

台湾小吃

There are a tonne of snacks you can find on the street or at the night market. Below are some of the snakcs I have tried while I was there.

 1) 雙胞胎  (4.5/5)
 

We found this at the Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)right by the entrance. It is only NT$15 a piece. I read on some of the tour guides that this snack is originated from Fuzhou, China. It tastes like the sweet fried dough (牛脷酥)you find in Hong Kong. It's one of my favorite snack so far and definitely worth a try!

Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)-GETTING THERE
You can take the MRT Danshui line to Chientan Station, or take bus 216, 217, 218, 203, 224, 266, 269, 277, 280, 308, or 310 to the MRT Chientan Station, Min Chuan University, or Xiao Bei (Hsiao Pei) Street. Or, of course, you can simply take a taxi.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Taiwan - Tutto Bello

Tutto Bello (Italian Cuisine) 4.5/5
台北市中山區
雙城街25巷15號
Tel: +886 2-2592-3355

I was told it is one of the best italian restaurant in Taipei so I went there with very high expectation. The decoration wasn't any too extravegant but the food was ngmm ngmmm goood! My fiance took me there for our two year anniversary, arrived there at around 8pm, tried one of their tasting menus that costs NT$3,000 per person and had 1.5 bottles of their Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The two orders of the tasting menu plus the 1.5 bottle of wine costs us approximately HKD 2,600. We wanted to go for the second bottle but they since they close at 10:30pm, we didn't have enough time to finish one whole bottle and therefore we ordered a half bottle instead. The staff were very nice, they didn't rush us through but instead asked us to take our time. If you want to have a little more privacy, ask them to give you that small partition by the windows. There were three 2-people table in that partition but the guests left by the time we arrived at 8pm. We had the entire section to ourselves the entire night.
Before they brought us our food, they gave us some bread. The bigger one is just a regular bauget while the smaller one is some cheesy puffs. The cheese puff tasted especially good as it was still warm. They also gave us some tomato for the bread.

Fegato D' Anatra In Crosta Di Mandorle Con Salsa Agrodolce Piccante
Pan-Fried Duck Foie Gras with Almond Crust, Spicy Caramel Sauce, Red Wine Poached Pear
   
This was the first item on the menu, but I am not a big fan of foie gras so I ordered their ham platter appetizer instead.  

Zuppa Di Pomodoro Con Granchio
Tomato Cream Soup with Crab Meats
                  
This is one of the best soup I have ever had in my life. For the tasting menu, they only gave us a tiny glass. The crab meats were sitting at the bottom when it came. You are suppose to stir it and let the meat soak up the tomato soup before you have it. You get this really strong crab taste and the crab meat just melts in your mouth. Really wanted to have a second one but decided to save my stomach for what's coming! but this was definitely the BEST DISH of the night!


Linguine Al Tartufo Nero, Aglio E Peperoncino Con Anatra Confitata Al Miele
Linguine Pasta, Garlic, Chili Peppers, Duck Confit, Scented with Black Truffle

This is the second best dish of the night. I have never had duck with pasta. The duck meat was very tender and juicy. Although you can tell it's been marinated for a while, it wasn't too salty or anything. The pasta went well with the duck meat.
Gamberono Arrostito Con Verdure Saltate Al Miele E Vinaigrette Di Crostacei
Roasted Tiger Prawn, Sauteed Early Vegetables with Manuka Honey, Slightly Spicy Shellfish Jus

The prawn was average, however, the vegetables on the side was very good. The Manuka Honey added a twist to it.

Tagliata Di Filetto Di Manzo Con Salsa Al Porto E Rosmarino
Traditional Sliced Beef Fillet, Rosemary, Port Wine Jus
The beef was very tender but was a bit tasteless. It would have been better if the sauce was more rich.

 Boccongini Di Torta Di Cioccolato Con Gelato Alla Mandorla
Crunchy Chocolate Cake, Caramel and Almond Ice-Cream, Caramel Sauce

The chocolate crunch ball and the icecream was a good combination. The icecream wasn't too sweet. There's bits of almond in the icecream.