Balkan Road Trip - 02. Butrint, Albania

Albania has never been the most popular destination even for independent travelers.

Call it communist or perhaps Cold War stigma from pre-1990s, but visitors remain relatively scarce and even fewer would travel the length of Albania from south to north. My Italian coworker knew only of its cheap beach resorts along the Adriatic coast, and nobody could advise us of what to expect as we walked up to the immigration counter at Saranda's port.


Part of the fun -- aside from Corfu's wildly disorganized port -- was to arrive at Saranda before the vessel even departed Corfu. That's right -- our hydrofoil departed Corfu at 09:40 and arrived at Saranda at 09:25, after adjusting to Albanian time which was one hour behind Greece.

And Saranda itself was not our destination. As evocative as the 5th century synagogue ruins at its city centre may be, everything pales in comparison to nearby Butrint, one of the best preserved Roman towns of its era and one of Albania's national treasures.


Most visitors based in Corfu would arrive at Saranda's port and do Butrint as a day-trip. Except we had to start traveling north after visiting Butrint and, most importantly, had no place to stash our heavy luggage at Saranda. We ended up pre-booking a taxi with our friendly driver Mario, traveling directly from Saranda port to Butrint then onward to the enchanting Ottoman town of Gjirokaster.


A UNESCO World Heritage Site in the same order as Olympia or Delphi south of the Greek border, the ruins of Butrint is a microcosm of Balkan history in its transformation from an ancient Greek colony to thriving Roman and subsequently Byzantine town to Venetian and Ottoman outpost, before being rediscovered as an archeological treasure in the modern era.


Even the most uninitiated visitor would be charmed by Butrint's natural setting, built on reclaimed marshland a few kilometres off the island of Corfu and surrounded by the turquoise waters of a National Park. The neighbouring brackish lagoon that bears the same name produces Albania's best mussels, available at any fish restaurant along this Ionian coast.


Designated a colony for Roman army veterans by Julius Caesar and later Emperor Augustus, Butrint was a a well-resourced town with its own aqueducts, multiple public bathhouses, theatre, gymnasium, nymphaeum and numerous temples all packed within a defensible circular fortress, a few hundred metres in diameter.


The Romans were not the first to arrive. The oldest standing structure is a Greek theatre from 4th century BC, designed for 1500 spectators with its 19 rows of marble seats. Like similar theatres in Delphi and Olympia, the stage is still used occasionally for everything from dance performances to beauty pageants.


The Roman town was inherited by the Byzantines who built the Great Basilica in the 6th century and fortified it with two flanking defensive towers. It would be used as a place of worship by the town's primarily Greek-speaking population for the next thousand years.


Most spectacular is a 1500-year-old Byzantine baptistry with a perfectly concentric circular array of marble columns and a gorgeous floor of mosaics depicting peacocks and various creatures. Unfortunately the mosaics are currently covered with a natural layer of sand for protection until a permanent solution is engineered, and visitors can only admire the reproductions in the museum.


With the depiction of a ferocious lion taking down a bull, the Lion Gate was one of few entrances to a well-defended acropolis featuring a multitude of land gates and one amphibious gate for naval access from the salt water channel that acts as the town's natural moat.


Remnants of several public baths are identifiable by their characteristic central heating system, a feat of Roman engineering in which hot air was circulated beneath the floors to provide hot water for the citizens' enjoyment. Stagnant water still fills some of these baths, now enjoyed by the resident turtles.


Twenty years ago UNESCO relegated Butrint to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger amidst reports of looting and mismanagement as Albania became embroiled in civil unrest, precipitated by the mass collapse of pyramid schemes. Since then the government has done an admirable job of resisting the seduction of resort and casino developers, and the site now receives half a million visitors per year, most arriving on guided tours from Corfu.


Most visitors end their visit at the archeological museum atop the acropolis, housed inside an 800-year-old Venetian castle now flying an Albanian flag with its double-headed eagle. Fascinating artifacts aside the museum also offers panoramic views of another Venetian castle across the narrow channel, and the pristine blue waters that connect the lagoon to the Mediterranean.


On the way back I spotted the rarest seal in the world -- and yes, I know how strange this sounds -- while standing at the shore next to Butrint's parking lot.

I don't know whether this was a testament to the national park's ecological protection, or perhaps a total coincidence. But as a Canadian I know a seal when I see one, and this puppy was sticking its head out spying on those funny humans. Too bad it disappeared before I had the chance to whip out my camera.


On the way to Gjirokaster I did consult Mario, who thought I was either joking or hallucinating about the seal. But I later googled it up, and Butrint National Park is listed as one of the world's few remaining sanctuaries for the Mediterranean monk seal.

And Wikipedia is never wrong, right?

IF YOU GO

Butrint is a popular day-trip from Corfu with organized tours from numerous agencies, though it would be cheaper to simply take the hydrofoil to Saranda then transfer to a local minibus, currently departing from a street corner just 300m north of the ferry terminal. Alternatively you could splurge on a private taxi like we did and visit Gjirokaster as well. Leave me a message with your email below if you need our trusty driver's contact info.

Balkan Road Trip - 01. Sunny Corfu

It was a 1300 km road trip through the Western Balkans, and we kicked off on an idyllic Greek island with no road access to the mainland except by car ferry.


But perhaps there was no better starting point for a Balkan trip than the fortified island of Corfu, for centuries the impenetrable gate to the Western Balkans. Until 200 years ago this was the head of a chain of Venetian maritime bastions defending the Adriatic Sea from the Ottoman Turks, when Corfu was culturally analogous to Kotor or Zadar along the modern day coastline of Montenegro and Croatia.


There was also a very practical reason. Corfu's Venetian-built old town is a charming UNESCO World Heritage Site, but most importantly it features the closest airport for our planned entrance into southern Albania, making possible a grand Balkan trip from south to north without backtracking.


So we booked cheap flights from London Gatwick, flying into Corfu and out from Ljubljana, Slovenia, traveling through 6 countries in 22 days starting from this cultural crossroad of Greeks and Venetians, the French and the British.


Unmistakably French is the row of classy cafes lining the side of the old Venetian square, modelled after the then state-of-the-art Rue de Rivoli in Paris by Napoleon's commissioners. Within fifteen years of its completion the island would change hands again and the British would take over.


North of the square the British commissioner built his splendid neoclassical palace that would later serve as summer residence for the Greek royalty, before being turned into the Museum of Asian Art for its collection of Japanese ukiyoe prints.


With the British came the game of cricket, still played by local teams on the southern side of the massive Venetian square known as the Liston. Beyond the cricket grounds the British also erected an eye-catching neoclassical rotunda, just a stone's throw from the old Venetian castle.


Now separated from the mainland by an artificial sea moat, Corfu's Venetian castle was once Christian Europe's most stalwart outpost against the advancing tide of the Turks, successfully fending off multiple Ottoman sieges through the centuries. As for the elegant doric temple by the seaside? That was another fanciful addition by the British during their four decades of rule, a miniscule sliver of time relative to Corfu's 2800-year-old history.


Another British import aside from cricket was the plantations of kumquat, introduced from Southern China by an English botanist and now thriving in Corfu's Mediterranean sunshine. It was impossible to pass through the old town without being seduced by samples of kumquat liqueur, candied kumquat or my favorite of all, kumquat gelato.


For the definitive postcard image of Corfu one can take the frequent Bus 2A to Kanoni, hike down to the whitewashed chapel and perhaps take a water taxi to legendary islet of Pontikonisi, held to be the ship of Ulysses -- yes, of Homeric fame -- turned into a rock by Poseidon himself.


It is no secret that Cafe Kanoni offers the best panorama of Pontikonisi from its cliff-top location, but most patrons head for the open-air terrace and miss the elegant mirror-lined dining room with arguably an even better view. We ended up spending much our afternoon here, sipping Greek coffee and watching planes land at the neighbouring airport.


We wrapped up the day with a sunset stroll on the promenade just above Faliraki beach, the Venetian fortress on one side and yacht clubs on the other. The dry gyro pitas at the popular Meraklis were several notches below anything in Athens and thus unworthy of a review, but we did come across a good lunch spot.

Restaurant Review: TAVERNA TO DIPORTO (Corfu) (Location Map)

Corfu is famously expensive compared with much of Greece with its abundance of British pubs and Italian osterias, catering mainly to casual tourists on sun holidays. So we were glad to find this old-fashioned taverna within the town's labyrinth of narrow Venetian alleys, still proudly displaying its name only in Greek while serving up Corfiot favorites to its regulars.


One of the local favorites is the Venetian-influenced Bourdeto which, unlike the Croatian Brudet of related origin, is a whole simmered fish rather than a stew of fish chunks. Don't expect the fish scales to be meticulously cleaned, but our scorpion fish was extremely fresh with its firm meat lightly simmered in a thick broth of tomato, garlic and spicy cayenne peppers.


Perhaps the most famous Corfiot dish, the Greek version of Sofrito is a slow-braised veal steak in white wine vinegar, onions and garlic. We both agreed that the Bourdeto was the better dish, though it was impossible to complain about a 10 euros main course in old town Corfu.

Meal for Two Persons

Bourdeto	12 euros
Sofrito	10 euros
Ionian Beer	4 euros
Water	2 euros
TOTAL	28 euros (CAD$42)

We booked two nights at a nicely renovated 19th century apartment near the new port, walkable to the old town in 10 minutes and a shorter stroll to the ferry terminal for the hydrofoil to Albania. The collection of complimentary kumquat marmalade, kumquat body lotion and organic honey from the ownership's sister company was a memorable touch.


The next morning we checked out sharply at 08:00 in anticipation for our hydrofoil ride to the Albanian resort town of Saranda. The queue at the immigration office was confusing, the shuttle bus to the boat was barely organized and our hydrofoil's departure was delayed by 40 minutes. Nearly 10 years since our last visit to Greece, some things still haven't changed.

Balkan Road Trip - 22 Day Itinerary

Below is our 22-day itinerary for an overland, self-guided trip of six countries in the Western Balkans, across an ancient land of fascinating cultures and history. We started at the northwestern edge of Greece and made our way through Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia, by bus, minibus, train, rental car and even ferry.

This is an itinerary I would wholehearted recommend to fellow independent travelers. Spectacular scenery and delectable local cuisine are a given, but we also sampled the broad cultural diversity from a tropical Greek island to medieval Ottoman towns in Albania to Istrian hill towns to a cattle herdsmen's village in the Slovenian Alps.

Day 01: Arrive at Corfu
Day 02: Corfu
Day 03: Corfu - Saranda (Ferry) - Butrint (Taxi) - Gjirokaster (Taxi)
Day 04: Gjirokaster - Berat (Minibus then Taxi)
Day 05: Berat - Tirana (Bus)
Day 06: Tirana - Kotor (Bus)
Day 07: Kotor
Day 08: Kotor - Dubrovnik (Bus)
Day 09: Dubrovnik - Ston (Rental Car) - Dubrovnik
Day 10: Dubrovnik - Mostar (Bus)
Day 11: Mostar - Split (Bus)
Day 12: Split - Trogir (Bus) - Split (Ferry)
Day 13: Split - Sibenik (Bus) - Zadar (Bus) - Plitvice Lakes (Rental Car)
Day 14: Plitvice Lakes National Park
Day 15: Plitvice Lakes - Hum (Rental Car) - Motovun
Day 16: Motovun - Groznjan (Rental Car) - Oprtalj - Zavrsje - Motovun
Day 17: Motovun - Porec (Rental Car) - Rovinj
Day 18: Rovinj - Ljubljana (Bus)
Day 19: Ljubljana - Skocjan Caves (Bus) - Ljubljana (Train)
Day 20: Ljubljana - Lake Bled (Bus) - Ljubljana (Bus)
Day 21: Ljubljana - Velika Planina (Bus)
Day 22: Velika Planina - Kamnik (Taxi) - Ljubljana (Bus) - Airport (Bus)

P.S. For anyone still worried about the safety of the Balkans for independent travelers -- 20 years after the Yugoslav wars -- our experience was that the Western Balkans is VERY SAFE as of 2018. But feel free to ask me questions below.

Balkan Road Trip - Albania to Slovenia in 22 Days

NOTE: The below list of articles is far from complete. New articles will be gradually added as they become available.

This is the index page for our overland trip of the Western Balkans through Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Destinations included Corfu, Butrint, Gjirokaster, Berat, Tirana, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Ston, Mostar, Split, Trogir, Sibenik, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Hum, Motovun, Groznjan, Oprtalj, Zavrsje, Rovinj, Porec, Skocjan Caves, Lake Bled, Velika Planina, and finally Ljubljana.


Balkan Road Trip - 04. Berat, Albania
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Balkan Road Trip - 03. Gjirokaster, Albania
Click HERE to Enter


Balkan Road Trip - 02. Butrint, Albania
Click HERE to Enter


Balkan Road Trip - 01. Sunny Corfu
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Balkan Road Trip - 22 Day Itinerary
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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.