Writing about my experiences in Taiwan was probably about as hard as it could ever get because there were so many amazing great traditional restaurants that it was impossible to go to them all. While many of the restaurants had opened at the turn of the century, the ones we wanted to target were the ones that had been up and running for almost 50 years. Some of these places I admit could have used a bit of cleaning, some of them were very cramped and some probably needed some renovations. However, despite these blemishes all of these restaurants that we went to service amazing and delicious food. I won't dwell too long on each place. Some restaurants probably deserved more attention than others but truthfully one could never go wrong with any of these places.
Din Tai Fung is probably the most well known place of them all. The place is well known for its secret recipe dumplings that has people lined up almost by the hundreds when it's not even 10 o'clock in the morning yet. We ourselves got there around 8:30 in the morning and there was already a dozen people in line. Even though the restaurant doesn't officially open till nine, they actually flung the doors opened at 8:45 to allow the patrons to go in early. The pork dumplings and crab dumplings were their signatures dishes and they sure did not disappoint. Each dumpling was perfectly weighed so that all of them were equal in weight and size. The dumplings were not oily and its light weight in one's mouth made one salivating for more after each one. The waitress also educated us and showed us how to make the proper vinegar sauce so that one could get the ultimate experience with their dumplings. The pork dumplings were my favorite with the crab dumplings a close second. One could taste the crab however because it was so small, the crab taste was somewhat overwhelmed by the surrounding pork meat. Still it was quite delicious but my favorite was still their original pork dumplings. One of the other items we had ordered that morning was a chicken broth soup and this was equally as good. The broth might have been a tad more saltier to one's liking but it was absolutely delicious. The tea believe it or not was also one very good. Serving an oolong tea that had cooled, it was perfect fir for the dumplings on a hot sweaty morning. It was one of the best breakfasts I have had in quite some time. There are presently three different Din Tai Fung restaurants in Taipei however the original restaurant was where we had gone to.
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| Pork Dumplings |
Another place we went to was Tamsui which is located somewhere on the west side of New Taipei. This place is well known for its famous fish balls. Many celebrities had gone into this restaurant and have eaten fish ball after fish ball from this place. It was rather inexpensive and they had thousands of fish balls ready to be consumed. What made it very special was that each fish ball was stuffed with a small piece of pork which gave it that extra bit of juiciness to the fish ball. The large pots can be seen from the street and each fish ball was freshly cooked before your eyes. I have never tasted fish balls like this before and to me it was what separated these guys from the rest of the field. One thing to note, there is also a sponge cake restaurant (more like a stand) just a few hundred meters east of this place which had a couple dozen of people lined up for. Unfortunately we were so full, we actually passed up on it however the locals said the sponge cakes are amazing because they are all freshly made so if you happen to be at this fish ball place, do go down the street afterwards and give that place a try and let me know how it is.
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| Tamsui Fish Ball House |
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| Tamsui Fish Ball House |
Another popular and famous restaurant that both the locals and tourists love to go to while in Taipei was the famous Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle Restaurant. Located in Ximen Ding, this restaurant serves fast, cheap and amazing tasting noodles. The noodles are no ordinary noodles as the restaurant uses oyster vermicelli as their noodles. It was the first time I had ever seen it being used this way. The noodles were thicker than the customary egg noodles and a very slippery texture to them. The chef would then add a good quantity of pig intestines to the noodles which gave it the meat portion of it. Sprinkling it with a touch of parsley leaves, adding a thick and tasty soup and voila their signature noodle was complete. It was also very affordable, roughly about $3 Canadian per bowl and people were coming in droves. The only bad part was that there were only about five chairs altogether. The majority of the people were standing and walking with these delicious noodles but truthfully I didn't see one person complain about it the 50 or so odd people were all happily consuiming their noodles while standing in front of this place. This restaurant only serves one item and one item only and has perfected it to last the last 50 years.
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| Oyster Vermicelli Large Pig Intestine Noodles |
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| Ah Yeung Flour Rice Noodle House |
Last but not least was the Duck and Traditional Goose Restaurant. Don't let the name fool you as one will not find a single duck in this restaurant. Goose meat mimics duck meat in almost every way in that the skin and meat are almost very similar in texture however one with great taste buds and feel for food will find the goose meat to me a little bit more tougher while the duck meat would more absorbent and soft. This Taipei restaurant is famous for serving for its goose meat and sliced goose kidneys. The kidneys were okay although I found it to be a little dry and if you like drier meat, then goose meat is the way to go for you. There were also a couple of sauces that one could dip their meat in it to give the meat a more enhanced flavor. One could also order a brussels sprouts noodle soup for one to eat the meat with so that one is not just eating meat only.
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| Goose Meat |
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| Brussels Sprout Noodle Soup |
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| Goose kidney |
There were so many great and wonderful restaurants in Taipei that had remained super popular after all these years and the great thing about them all, was that the prices were reasonable and affordable. It was of course possible to stay in Taipei and eat some of the more fusion or modern day foods, however we wanted the ultimate cultural experience and head to those who have been around for quite some time. They were not the most fanciest, some times not greatest of plating but it was the fact that they could create such an amazing meal with such simple ingredients. There were also a couple of beef noodle houses that one needs to go to which we had tried where once you've had these noodles, you will never find another better place for beef noodles. In Taipei, some of their beef noodle restaurants used a soup base that had been brewing for months on end from the juices of their beef and it was so rich and tasty that no MSG was ever needed to give it any flavor at all. Everything was natural and absolutely tasted out of this world. If you are in the Taipei area, do drop by some of these more older restaurants and really see why they have been up and running for the last 50 years with no signs of letting up. It was great experience and I can't wait to do it all over again.
Din Tai Fung
No 194 Second Section, Xinyi Road
Taipei 111-0021
+886 02-23218928
中正路232號 (Tamsui Fish Ball House)
Taipei, Taiwan 251
+886 02 2623 3579
Ah Yeung Flour Rice Noodle House
No 8-1 Emei Street
Wanhua District, Taipei City
+886 02 2388 8808
Duck and Traditional Goose Restaurant
No 2 Sec 2 Wuchang Street
Wanhua District, Taipei 108
+886 02 2371 3918
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