Taipei | Boon Keng Chicken 文慶雞

Boon Keng Chicken 文慶雞
No. 219-1, Section 3, Zhongxiao East Road, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市忠孝東路三段219-1號
(02) 2731-5522

Price: $
Recommendation: 4 Stars

As the first international outpost of the widely popular Boon Tong Kee 文東記 in Singapore, Taipei's Boon Keng Chicken prides itself as the best Hainanese Chicken Rice restaurant in Taiwan and has a slogan of "Either go to Singapore or come here"! Catering to Taiwanese people's different eating preferences, the cocky diner chose to use free range chickens in Taiwan, which gives a more tender and chewy composition than the regular fatty chickens used in Singapore.

Boon Keng Chicken 文慶雞

"Either go to Singapore or come here"

"要嘛新加坡, 要嘛來這裡"

The walls of the tiny restaurants are covered with autographs and endorsements by numerous celebrities in Taiwan.

autographs and endorsements by celebrities

Hainanese Chicken!

We ordered a couple signature appetizers, recommended by our waitress.

Sauteed Pork Liver & Braised Pork 香煎粉肝 & 胭脂肉

Hainanese Chicken (half chicken) 海南雞 (半隻)

Here comes the golden Hainanese Chicken that we've been waiting for. Just looking at the glowing chicken made my mouth water. With a dip of Singaporean hot sauce, the tender and delicious chicken is both sweet-scented and slightly spicy.

Hainanese Chicken 海南雞

As good as the Hainanese Chicken gets, in my opinion, the spotlight of this famous Chinese dish is on the Hainanese chicken rice. The reason why Hainanese chicken rice is so tasty is because that the rice is boiled with Chicken soup stock instead of plain water. Each grain of the brown and fragrant rice is filled with the essence of chicken soup.

Hainanese Chicken Rice 海南雞飯

Shortly after, the waitress brought each of us a dish of mysterious black sauce and instruct us to pour it on the rice. It is the traditional way of serving Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore, and it is said that the sauce will bring out the tastiness of the rice. Surprisingly, it did, and I don't know why!

special black soy sauce 黑抽

Angela photoshopped a dreamy picture of us. lovin' it!

photo credit: Angela

also in various locations in Singapore (Boon Tong Kee)

Taipei | Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House 春水堂 人文茶館

Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House 春水堂 人文茶館
No. 200, Section 2, Zhongcheng Road, Taipei, Taiwan (Shin Kong Department Store Building B 3F)
台北市士林區忠誠路二段200號 (新光三越B棟 3F)
http://chunshuitang.com.tw/

Price: $ (but really expensive for bubble tea)
Recommendation: 5 Stars

Known as the first tea house to ever invent the internationally renowned boba milk tea 珍珠奶茶 (Yes, bubble tea is a Taiwanese creation!), Chun Shui Tang offers not only a wide selection of the best quality teas but also various Taiwanese snacks. It's a great spot for a chill afternoon hang out with friends!

Chun Shui Tang 春水堂

Chun Shui Tang's signature lou wei 招牌滷味 is a must order besides their bubble tea. Lou wei is a classic Taiwanese snack made by simmering savory ingredients into a soy-based sauce with spices. Our plate had tofu 豆干 and black pudding 米血, which were soaked in a stew-like secret recipe sauce. Once I had a bite, I couldn't put my chopsticks down and stop eating this!

Signature Lou Wei 招牌綜合滷味

Tofu & Black Pudding 豆干 & 米血

"Pearl" Shumai 珍珠燒賣

meatballs covered with rice

It was Jennifer's first time trying chicken gizzards. Props to her!

Braised Chicken Gizzard 雞胗

Spicy Noodles with X.O. Sauce 頂級X.O.醬辣拌麵

Normally, bubble tea shops makes their tea from tea bags or, even worse, tea powders. The drinks are very sweet and unfresh, and they often taste like packaged beverages. At Chun Shui Tang, the awesome tea house carries many of the best teas in the market and carefully brew each drink from tea leafs as customers make their orders.

Ever since a waiter recommended Tieguanyin Milk Tea 鐵觀音奶茶, it has become my favorite choice of bubble tea. Tieguanyin is a premium variety of Chinese Oolong tea and is locally grown in Taiwan. Because tea drinks are freshly brewed, my Tieguanyin milk tea came last among all of our orders. Just like artisan coffee shops, on top is a beautiful layer of milk foam. Immediately after a sip of the tea, a strong aromatic Oolong sweetness filled my mouth and ended with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It was excellent!

The pearls (boba) came in a separate cup. According to the waiter, it is so that I will have the same amount of tea as those who didn't order pearls. It's all about the Fairness!

Tieguanyin Milk Tea with Pearls 鐵觀音奶茶加珍珠

Pearls 珍珠

Last time I saw Melissa was when we were babies! Okay, maybe I am exaggerating but it's been a while - since elementary school!

Melissa!

also in various locations in Taiwan

Taipei | Hamamatsuya 濱松屋

Hamamatsuya 濱松屋
No. 12, Lane 119, Linsen North Road, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市林森北路119巷22號 (七條通)
(02) 2567-5705

Price: $$
Recommendation: 4.5 Stars

Taipei's infamous "Linsen North Road" is known for its "fun" and scandalous entertainment establishments as well as many of the most traditional Japanese restaurants in Taiwan. Situated in the historical Seventh Lane Alley 七條通, Hamamatsuya is one of Taipei's "Big 4 Eel Houses"! Their acclaimed made-to-order (or kill-to-order) Unagi (Eel) Rice Three Way 現殺鰻魚三吃 never fails to charm and satisfy Taipei-ers's picky taste!

Hamamatsuya's dark wood exterior and mini standalone shop sign complements with other Japanese homestyle restaurants in the area. Strolling along Seventh Lane Alley 七條通, I felt as if I was in an old shopping street in Japan.

Hamamatsuya's unagi rice differentiates from others by offering live and grill-to-order eels. While it may be a bit pricier, the money is totally worth it. Since our eels are freshly prepared, the wait can be up to 45 minutes, so we ordered a couple small dishes to eat while we patiently waited!

Tamago 玉子燒

When our waitress brought us the visually appetizing Tamago (Japanese omelette), I could still see hot steams coming off the glowing golden tamago. With a tiny dip of soy sauce and ground radish, the simple and comfortable taste of egg will make you wanting for more.

Fried Chicken 唐揚炸雞

You can't really go wrong with Japanese fried chicken! The seasoned chicken cutlets were both juicy and tender.

Fried Tofu 炸豆腐

Salad 和風沙拉

Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way 現殺鰻魚三吃

Finally, the highlight of the meal was the Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way, which came with a bowl of fresh unagi rice, hot spring egg, a plate of seasonings, seaweed soup stock, and a side of pickles and kimchi. The waitress carefully explained the three (or actually four) different ways of chowing down the ungai rice. I wasn't really listening, because I was really hungry by then and can't wait to devour the entire ungai bowl!

Fresh Eel Three Way

Covered by a thin layer of natural eel fat, the grilled unagi was literally glowing. At the same time, the excellent smell of unagi sauce mesmerized everyone at the table.

close up!

Followed what the waitress had told us, I split my unagi bowl equally into four sections. Each portion will be eaten in a slightly different way.

1. Original: First, obviously, I want to try the original taste of the eel without any decorations or seasonings - a way to really enjoy the freshness of the unagi.

original 原味

2. With Garnishes: Sprinkle a generous amount of sesame seeds, green scallion, and dried seaweed to add multiple textures and flavors to the simple dish.

with garnishes of Seaweed, Sesame, and Scallion 海苔, 芝麻, 青蔥

3. Chazuke Style: Chazuke is a traditional Japanese home cooking dish by pouring green tea, soup stock, or hot water over cooked rice with savory toppings. For the Unagi Rice Three Way, Hamamatsuya prepared a fragrant seaweed soup stock as the base. I also mixed a pinch of wasabi into the small bowl. Surprisingly, I was absolutely blown away by this plain-looking dish! The smooth seaweed soup and the strong sensation of wasabi brought a complex and hypnotizing taste that I had never experience before.

Chazuke: seaweed soup stock, wasabi 鰻魚芥末茶泡飯

4. With Hot Spring Egg: At last, I place the watery hot spring egg (half cooked egg) on top of my last piece of unagi and stirred them together. It was divine. I really can't decide whether this or the chazuke style was my favorite.

with hot spring egg 溫泉蛋

nom nom!

Hamamatsuya introduced new ways of enjoying the simple and popular eel bowl and allowed my palate to experience different sensations. The restaurant's Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way was both amusingly fun and absolutely delicious. One order might not completely satisfy my cravings; next time I will order two!

Taipei | Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理

Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理
No. 13, Lane 199, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市信義路四段199巷13號
(02) 2707-4323

Price: NT$ 1,200+
Recommendation: 4 Stars

Because of Jon Chiu's short stay in Taiwan, we planned an insane food marathon in hope to have a taste of the many new and awesome restaurants in Taipei. As the first stop of our journey, we find it appropriate to begin at Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理, one of the hottest additions to Taipei's competitive sushi scene. Owner and Chef Liu Ji-an was a senior sushi chef at No Sushi 野壽司, a premier Edomae 江戶前 sushi house in Taipei.

Yu Dow Son 魚道生 (Japanese: Gyodouike) represents a technique of Japanese "flower-do" (the way of flower) that stresses the harmony of ying and yang. The combination of exquisite Japanese cuisine and elegant flower-do is the immediate theme of the restaurant. In addition to the hearty wood furnitures and spacious dining atmosphere, state-of-the-art flower decors can be seen at every corner of the restaurant!

Owner and Chef Liu Ji-an 劉濟安師傅

Jon and I ordered the NT$ 1,800 omakase - the chef decides what to serve us based on the freshest available ingredients. We also made a reservation a couple days in advance, so we can sit at the sushi bar and see Chef Ji-an in action.

Appetizer Platter

Flatfish & Torched Yellowtail Sashimi 比目魚 & 黃鰭鮪魚

In addition to the usual ginger and radish garnishes, the chef offered us to try some sea grapes. The radish was particularly delicious!

Sea Grapes 海葡萄, Ginger 薑, Radish 醃蘿蔔

For many Asians, Cod milt is considered a delicacy (I am not sure if I agree with that). However, if you don't think about what you are actually eating, it really doesn't taste that bad.

Cod Milt 鱈魚白子

Slightly Torched Scallop Sashimi 干貝

Blended with exotic spices from abroad, the bonito carpaccio was flavorful and whetted my appetite.

Bonito Carpaccio 醃製鰹魚

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki 圓鱈西京燒

Steak with Taro Sauce 牛肉佐芋頭醬汁

Fried Tofu 炸豆腐 (on the house!)

Unlike traditional sushi masters, chefs at Yu Dao Son dress in stylishly black - bringing some swag.

chopping up a piece of tuna

The fresh and tasty nigiris demonstrated the masterful skills of Chef Ji-an. Before serving, he beautifully flavored and garnished each nigiri with the most complementary seasonings. Quite interestingly, Yu Dow Son's sushi rice is warm instead of the typical dead-cold state. The temperatured rice escalated the tastiness of the fish and made the sushi more smoothing to take. Chef Ji-an jokingly asked, "Don't you think it tasted better?"

Cuttlefish Nigiri 軟絲握壽司

Chef Ji-an proudly presented his cuttlefish nigiri and told me that he carefully scored it 60 times!

Sweet Shrimp Nigiri 甜蝦握壽司

The ruby-like tuna as well as the sharp cuts made it the most awesome tuna nigiri.

Tuna Nigiri 鮪魚握壽司

nigiri

nigiri

Mackerel Nigiri 白昆布青花魚握壽司

topped with marinated white seaweed

White Miso Soup with Clams 蛤蜊白味增湯

Red Bean Soup with Mochi 紅豆湯麻薯

Macha Green Tea 抹茶

Yu Dao Son 魚道生

Yu Dow Son stands out as one of the finest and most traditional sushi houses in the city. I will definitely come back for more!