Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 12. Classic Taiwanese Dishes at Taipei

This article is for fellow foodies looking beyond XLB Dumplings and Beef Noodles to top off an authentic Taipei visit.

Now I’m not knocking XLBs which remain one of my favorite Taiwanese treats, especially the luscious crab caviar variety. But we’re nearing the end of an exhausting round-island expedition of Taiwan by train, and we craved a wider scope of traditional dishes on our second visit to the Taiwanese capital.


Even our choice of hotel was intended for foodie night market crawls. The appeal of 9ine Hotel was beyond just fair prices and proximity to a metro stop, but most importantly its walkability to both Yansan and Ningxia Night Markets.

This was our homebase for sampling a number of Taipei’s gastronomic establishments, ranging from formal Taiwanese cuisine to cheap night market grub over 48 hours.

FOOD REVIEW: NONG LAI RESTAURANT (Taipei)
(See Location Map)

This place is legendary -- just ask Taipei’s blue collar masses.

If authenticity is your wish, few restaurants in Taipei would match the beloved Nong Lai in its offering of traditional, home-style dishes especially for Chinese New Year dinners. Bringing your Taiwanese friends here will instantly earn you credibility as a well-traveled foodie.


Hidden in a commercial alley south of Hsingtiankong Temple, decades-old Nong Lai has long been passed onto the second generation chef-owner, still focussing on traditional banquets starting at TWD 10000 (CAD$430) per table. But don’t just splurge on abalone and certainly not on shark’s fin -- one of Nong Lai’s most famous dishes is the simple yet spectacular Baizhanji, literally White Cut Chicken.


You can’t ask for a better price than TWD 250 (CAD$10.9) for their signature dish, served cold to highlight the delicate texture with my favorite part of the White Cut Chicken, the gelatinized underlayer of skin that condenses the umami flavor of the chicken stock.


For readers who may not be accustomed to chicken being served medium well, that is exactly the concept behind White Cut Chicken with a barely cooked-through, miraculously tender flesh with visible pinkness in the bones. Flavored simply with a dipping of soy sauce and julienned ginger, one of our favorite chicken dishes in recent memory was finished between the two of us within minutes.

That set the stage for the most anticipated -- and expensive -- dish of our 11-day round-island trip.


Presented as a plate of auspicious red, the Red Mud Crab on Glutinous Rice or Hongxun Migao is a permanent feature in Taiwanese wedding banquets especially in the south where the plump crab with its succulent caviar is highly prized as a symbol of vigour. While the hearty platter of rice and crab was meant to be shared between three of four diners, we were ready to brave the excess cholesterol.


The caviar and meat were alright, but the real star was the glutinous rice with eight treasures -- dry-cured ham, shiitake mushrooms, lotus seeds, dried shrimps and all -- that fully absorbed the umami goodness from the crab juices. Finishing the entire steamer would not be an issue, with or without the added complexity and balance from the accompanied sweet rice vinegar.


We did have the sensibility to dilute our cholesterol intake with some leafy veggies, in a plate of Amaranth Greens with the local specialty of Dried Baby Whitebait or Wenzaiyu. Our indisputably traditional Taiwanese dinner -- arguably more Taiwanese than how the Taiwanese themselves regularly dine -- cost a reasonable 640 (CAD$28) per person at one of Taipei’s most popular eateries.

Dinner for Two Persons

White Cut Chicken	TWD 250
Steamed Red Mud Crab on Glutinous Rice	TWD 850
Dried Baby Whitebait with Amaranth Greens	TWD 180
TOTAL	TWD 1280 (CAD$55.7)

One way to work off that extra cholesterol was a stroll at the popular Ningxia Night Market ... without indulging in even more artery-clogging roasted squids that is. On this night we limited ourselves to mostly people-watching, picking up only a cup of Aiyu Jelly with Lemon (TWD 25) and two sugar-apples (TWD 180) as a healthier alternative to dessert.

And that was just night #1.

FOOD REVIEW: SHIN YEH TAIWANESE CUISINE (Taipei)
(See Location Map)

Originated at about the same time as Nong Lai, Shin Yeh has since established its empire of restaurants with branches as far as Xiamen in Mainland China. After 40 years the flagship shop on Shuangcheng Street is still one of Taipei’s best for authentic home-style Taiwanese dishes, and its massive local following has led to the opening of a sister restaurant two blocks away that offers a *GASP* weekend lunch buffet at a cheap TWD 400 (CAD$17.4) plus service.


Well ... don’t even think about the lunch buffet without prior reservation, which was how we ended up at the flagship restaurant instead. Of course there is nothing wrong with the flagship and its presumably better quality than the buffet, but our plate of Sauteed Pork Liver, no matter how well-caramelized and perfectly tender it turned out, was a touch heavy for two people to finish.

But I wouldn’t complain about portion sizes when it came to my favorite dish of our 11-day trip ...

The humble yet scrumptious Turnip Omelette or Caipudan, the Taiwanese comfort food that may look eerily similar to Tortilla de Patatas for Spanish readers. And like its Spanish cousin with potatoes instead of pickled turnip, it’s deceivingly difficult to master for the average home cook. This level of perfection in browning, texture, level of residual saltiness in the turnip etc. can only be achieved through love and patience from the chef. And to me, that is the pinnacle of the Turnip Omelette.


Here’s a surprising tip we took from the locals: Shin Yeh apparently makes a killer Gua Bao!

You heard it right -- the cheap peasant snack often jokingly referenced as Taiwanese burger, elevated to the pantheon of fine dining at upscale Shin Yeh. It’s the classic combination of slow-braised, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly balanced by the light acidity of pickled mustard greens, sandwiched inside a folded flat bun and packaged in plastic saran wrap in order not to smear the delicate fingertips of the diners. Call it snobbish if you wish, but the layered pork belly and the pillowy soft steamed bun were absolutely heavenly on my tastebuds.


Another peasant snack adopted into Shin Yeh’s repertoire was the Tainan specialty of Oyster Rolls, a variant of the famous Shrimp Rolls that we tasted a week ago at the legendary Chou’s at historic Anping. While I couldn’t deny the freshness of the oysters or the quality of the deep-frying at Shin Yeh, somehow I still preferred the crisp lightness of the original version at Chou’s.


Our only vegetable dish was the ubiquitous Stir-Fried Eggplants in Fish-Fragrance Sauce, the Sichuanese classic imported by retreating KMT soldiers in the 1940s and happily adopted by the locals much like the now-beloved Beef Noodles. Enjoyable, but not outstanding.


Last but not least, my favorite dessert of our entire trip.

Forget your preconception of Almond Tofu which usually comes in a slightly fragile, jello-like consistency derived from agar gelatin. Shin Yeh’s adaptation was infinitely superior with a velvety supple yet al dente mouthfeel, reminiscent of the finest Japanese warabi-mochi at an upmarket Ryotei. Like everything else at Shin Yeh this almond tofu was twice as expensive as its cheap street side counterpart, yet I wouldn’t mind paying TWD 80 every day for a bowl of this handmade delicacy if I could.


Our 7-course lunch -- including a complimentary cube of Shin Yeh’s signature handcrafted mochi -- ended up costing about as much as our crab dinner at Nong Lai the previous night. To this date I still can’t say which of the two restaurants was our favorite in Taipei ... I’ll need another research trip to decide!

Dinner for Two Persons

Pan-Fried Fragrant Turnip Omelette	TWD 180
Pan-Fried Pork Liver	TWD 280
Deep-Fried Oyster Roll	TWD 120
Steamed Bun with Pork Belly and Salted Mustard Greens	TWD 80
Stir-Fried Eggplants	TWD 250
Almond Tofu with Peach in Syrup x 2	TWD 160
Oolong Tea x 2	TWD 50
10% Service Charge	TWD 112
TOTAL	TWD 1232 (CAD$53.6)

That was enough fuel for a long afternoon of rummaging through mountains of Taiwanese and Korean clothing at the renowned Wufenpu, the island’s largest merchandising hub for anything wearable. Shedding the weight of a few thousands TWDs made it perfect timing for some cheap night market grub.

FOOD REVIEW: SHILIN NIGHT MARKET (Taipei)
(See Location Map)

Second trip to Taipei and we could no longer defer an evening at the (in)famous, 100-year-old Shilin, one of the world’s premier night markets and the most successful archetype within Taiwan. Now this was our 7th night market crawl on this 11-day round-island journey, which certainly helped contain our expectations. And to be brutally honest, this was not my favorite night market at all.


Before any reader mistakes Taiwanese night markets as prime locales for cheap dinners, I must reiterate my most important advice:

Go to night markets for people-watching. Take the food as a bonus.

This advice isn’t just from me, but from a friendly local taxi driver with decades of night market experience. If cheap is what you want, there are always cheaper options for Minced Pork Rice or Fried Rice Noodles in any residential neighbourhood. Now that everyone understands, let’s find something to eat.


Originated as a scruffy wet market catering to neighbourhood housewives as well as the great number of high school and college students in the area, Shilin has since become a hotbed for aspiring fast food vendors, epitomized by the poster child Hot Star Chicken with franchises as far as Southern California, Melbourne and Toronto. While dozens of choices beckoned within the gentrified covered market, we skipped them all and simply went with the longest queues ...


And the longest queue belonged to this tiny street vendor at the corner of Jihe Road and Wenlin Road (See Location Map), merely 100m outside of Jiantan MRT Station. In fact the queue was so horrendous that we wandered off and came back later in the evening, and still waited a good 25 minutes at Jiaxiang Char-Broiled Chicken Fillet.


Granted, the slow turnover was partially self-inflicted by the lengthier prep work compared with competitors like Hot Star, calling for the deboned chicken leg to be first battered and deep-fried, then brushed with a honey syrup and grilled on the broiler. While neighbouring stalls feature serious contenders such as the famous Guanzhilin Small-Sausage-in-Big-Sausage from Taichung’s Fengchia Night Market, everyone and their dogs were lining up at this one food cart.


The verdict? I seriously thought this was the best night market chicken fillet ever, unquestionably a couple notches above the likes of Hot Star, while my wife didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I did. So no unanimous decision from us, though we both agreed that 25 minutes was time well-spent for the essential experience of queuing at Shilin while watching dating Taiwanese couples walk by with their assortment of stuffed toys won at the games stalls down the block.


At the opposite end of the market we joined yet another queue at A-Liang Rice Noodles, a 40-year-old veteran of Shilin with its nightly appearance right in front of the Qing Dynasty Temple of Cixiangong. This queue wasn’t quite as bad as the one for the chicken fillet, taking about 10 minutes for the noodles and finding two highly coveted seats at the tiny communal table.


Simmering in a viscous soup base of bonito shavings were the prototypical ingredients of pork intestines, squid paste and my favorite baby oysters. While the renowned Ay-Chung remains my favorite in terms of Taiwanese rice noodles for its intense Katsuobushi flavors, A-Liang here did quite respectably for an impossibly cheap price of TWD 30 (CAD$1.3) per bowl.


We wrapped up the evening with some stir-fried clams and fried rice from some random Kuaichao (Stir-Fry Shop), spending less than a third of the cost compared with our upscale lunch at Shin Yeh. For the first time we didn’t pick up any papaya milk or bitter melon juice at a night market; our bodies must have signaled that we’re over-indulging to our limits over the past ten day.

Dinner for Two Persons

Char-Broiled Chicken Fillet	TWD 70
A-Liang Rice Noodles x 2	TWD 60
Stir-Fried Clams	TWD 120
Assorted Fried Rice	TWD 80
Stir-Fried Water Spinach	TWD 50
TOTAL	TWD 380 (CAD$16.5)

What to do for one last full day in Taiwan before our midnight flight?

We went fashion shopping again, this time at the concentration of Korean-influenced boutiques south of the NTNU’s historic campus. But before heading to the airport, there was one more midrange restaurant on our radar.

And didn’t I say that I wasn’t knocking XLB Dumplings?

FOOD REVIEW: JINAN FRESH STEAMED DUMPLINGS (Taipei)
(See Location Map)

In fact we were so impressed with Din Tai Fung’s Crab Meat XLB during last year’s visit that we’re returning to Taipei for one more round, this time choosing a prominent competitor started by two renegade staff from Din Tai Fung. While Jinan Fresh Steamed Dumplings hasn’t quite reached DTF’s level of international fame, its popularity among Taipei’s rich and famous is witnessed by constant queues at the storefront, with DTF-like prices to boot.


Kitchen orders were taken by the waitresses while cold appetizers were served at the display case, parading an assortment of conventional appies such as marinated seaweed or our choice of white bitter melon.


This was the reason for our visit, the premium XLB with Crab Meat that alleged rivaled Din Tai Fung’s version. Time for a showdown:

1. Wrapping -- Jinan featured a classic flour wrapping compared with DTF’s signature wrapping with enhanced elasticity to prevent leakage of the prized soup. While I’d hand the edge to DTF, this certainly wasn’t the determining factor.

2. Filling -- Here’s where the disparity began to widen. DTF featured an exceptionally generous mixture of crab meat and caviar in its filling, with predictably outstanding flavors. Jinan however served us a run-of-the-mill filling with some visible slivers of crab meat, but almost no yellow colour deriving from the caviar. Not a good sign.

3. Soup -- This is the soul of any XLB and I won’t let Jinan off the hook here. Both of us were utterly disappointed with Jinan’s Crab Meat XLB after tasting DTF’s version with its intense flavor of crab caviar infused into the soup. Perhaps it was unfair for Jinan to be compared to its genre’s undisputed leader, but it’s what consumers expect from the two former DTF chefs.


Luckily the next steamer of XLB, a modern combination of Sponge Gourd and Shrimp, did not disappoint with its crisp texture and refreshing light taste. To be fair to Jinan both steamers of XLB were definitely above average in the world of soup dumplings. We simply shouldn’t have come in expecting Jinan to match the best ever XLB we had ever tasted.


Ironically our favorite dish at this dumpling place was ... fried rice!

If you have trouble seeing the rice in the picture, that’s because it’s smothered by a generous heap of deep-fried baby whitebait, imparting lovely umami flavors as well as a delightfully crunchy texture. Our total bill of TWD 1200 (CAD$52) was comparable to Nong Lai and Shin Yeh, though you know which ones we prefer.

Dinner for Two Persons

Bitter Melon Appetizer	TWD 120
Steamed XLB Dumplings with Crab Meat	TWD 280
Steamed XLB Dumplings with Sponge Gourd and Shrimp	TWD 250
Fried Rice with Dried Baby Whitebait	TWD 180
Steamed Cabbage with Glue Berry	TWD 260
10% Service Charge	TWD 110
TOTAL	TWD 1200 (CAD$52.2)

Prior to flying out we passed by Din Tai Fung once again, not stopping for XLB but heading down Yongkang Street for a plate of mango shaved ice. For foodies looking for restaurant recommendations for Taipei at affordable prices, here are my picks:

1. Shin Yeh (Zhongshan Elementary School Station)
2. Nong Lai (Xingtian Temple Station)
3. Din Tai Fung (Dongmen Station)
4. Lautianlu Marinated Meats (Ximen Station, not a restaurant but definitely worthwhile)

This wraps up our 11-day, 800 km round-island itinerary of Taiwan by train, a surprisingly simple and cheap vacation with serious bragging rights especially if you have Chinese-speaking friends or coworkers. If you’re looking for places to visit, this list of articles should give you an overview.