Restaurant #52: 龐太餛飩舖子 Wonton Shop, Taipei

(Visited Dec. 22, 2010)

One of my students likes to visit good restaurants. She taught me several reasonable restaurants, and 龐太餛飩舖子 was one of them. The location is not in convenient area, so it is better to access by car. Coincidentally, I had a chance to go to this area.

It is a small restaurant, and interestingly, the décor was amazingly cool. Out of no where, you find such a fashioned tiny restaurant. You can’t even imagine they are selling wonton. My friend and I entered the store. Only two workers and Jazz as background music welcomed us. Menu was quite simple; wonton soup and noodles. We ordered one appetizer (TW$ 30), small noodle (TW$ 40), pork wonton soup (TW$ 55) and shrimp wonton soup (TW$ 80). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of shrimp wonton soup... (ToT)

Appetizer

As an appetizer (小菜), we choose pork ear ski & Tofu bean curd. Both are popular appetizer of Taiwanese food, and Okinawa people of Japan sometimes eat those. Their pork ear was a bit sweet, but I liked it.

Pork Wonton Soup

Pork Wonton Soup (鮮肉餛飩湯) was the simplest item from their wonton menu, but simple is best. The soup was pure and light without MSG. Seaweed was inside and it kept the good balance of the taste. Although there were only 6 pieces of wonton, but each piece was big enough to make us lightly full. I thought seafood wonton (such as shrimp or scallop) would give stronger taste.

Small Dry Noodle

They prepared three different kinds of noodle menu, and we tried small dry noodle (乾拌麵). It was a right decision to order one noodle, otherwise only wonton soup didn’t make us completely full. I have eaten some dry noodle since I came to Taiwan, but this noodle was the best so far!!! It was not really dry; enough soup with ground meat. I don’t think I should eat this everyday, but eating this once a month would make my stomach happy.

Overall, this tiny cute wonton restaurant offers a sophisticated wonton menu; it is called professionalism.

Total: TW$ 205 (for 2 people)

龐太餛飩舖子: Wonton Shop

No. 169, Section 5, ShiMin Blvd, Songshan Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02- 2748-2338
11:00-21:00

Restaurant #38: 阿弟仔大腸麵線 Intestine Thin Noodle, Taipei

I am a noodle lover! As Japanese, I like Ramen, Soba, Udon, Somen, and now Taiwanese noodles. The good thing about Taiwanese noodles is that the soup is pretty light tasted—simple, quick but tasty. However, this time I found a strong flavored soup, intestine thin noodle. Yeah the name is… pretty direct, but the taste was amazing.

In the Taipei guide book, there is one famous thin noodle store at Ximending called 阿宗麵線. This comes with oysters, not with intestine. I would like to try oyster noodle someday soon, but I found a small, friendly thin noodle store right next to fried chicken store that I always go. I’ve seen the lady taking care of the soup everytime I visited the chicken store, and this day, I finally tried her noodle.


The store is so small, and a woman takes care of the soup at the entrance. Probably three or four people can sit there and eat. Nothing fancy, but the inside was clean. I ordered a small bawl of the intestine thin noodle, TW$ 35, for take-out. She asked me if I wanted all the ingredients. Well, it was my first time and didn’t know what she would put, so I said yes…


The noodle soup was cooked for a long time. Don’t know like… a day or even more. She added some slices of intestine, grinded garlic (yummy), some kind of sauce (soy sauce!?), spicy sauce (you can ask no if you don’t like), and 香菜 (cilantro).

I was afraid to eat in the beginning, but once I put the noodle in my mouth, it was amazingly delicious! The broth was different than other Taiwanese noodle soup. I tasted katsuobushi taste believe or not. I am not sure whether they put the oyster or not, but I felt some ocean flavor.


Noodle was thin, but still chewy. I don’t like overcooked noodle, like Taiwanese spaghetti, but this kind of noodle was still in good shape even though it was stewed for a long time. It was chewy, but was thin, so not difficult to eat.

Pork intestine was stewed enough; juicy and tender. The saltiness was perfect. I was right to add spicy sauce and grinded garlic, because those sauces erase the smell associated with intestines. Also, I didn’t smell the star anise. Yes! I am not a huge fan of that taste…

Overall, I was very satisfied with this noodle. Small bawl was actually enough to make me full. I am just wondering how they deal with those during summer time. All ingredients were simply put in the outside of the store. Should I go back there after summer?

Total: TW$ 35

阿弟仔大腸麵線: Intestine Thin Noodle
Lane 30, Young-Ji Rd., Xinyi Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02-2767-2828

Restaurant #35: 三商巧福 San Shang Ciao Fu, Taipei

三商巧福 is a chain restaurant focused on beef noodle, but recently they offer several seasonable menus. I tried this restaurant several times, but I usually eat from their rice menu. This time, I tried their seasonable menu 鴻運虎掌麵, the pork menu.


The branch that I went was located near Taipei Main Station. There are some branches in this area. The interior was simple but organized, and 80% of the capacity was full at around 6pm. In this area, there are so many cram schools, therefore young hungry students run to this restaurant and eat noodles quickly before they rush to cram schools. Anyways, I ordered 鴻運虎掌麵, and my friend ordered 紅燒排骨飯.

Kimchi

An appetizer came with my noodle dish. It is always better to use the coupon! This kimchi was not bad at all, but of cause you can’t expect too much. So far in my life, I ate a REAL kimchi only at a Korean restaurant in New York. I really regret that I forgot the name of the restaurant, but it was real and was amazing. My Korean friend told me that their Kimchi was the best, so could someone please let me know if one knows which restaurant I am talking about?

Chashu Noodle with Pork Knuckle Tendons

鴻運虎掌麵 (TW$110) was one of their seasonable items. I actually liked it than their other menu. Although the soup was probably used for other noodle items, I basically enjoyed the light taste of the broth. Some pieces of tendon were pretty good. You may be able to cook better one, but the balance of the soup, noodle and the ingredients was my taste, with this reasonable price.

Braised Pork Chop Rice

紅燒排骨飯 (TW$ 79) was, I believe, a fair price with such a quantity. Unfortunately, I didn’t eat this, but my friend told me it was pretty good. I should try it next time… All rice items come with a cup of soup.

Overall, this chain restaurant is a good place for students or people who are rush to have a meal. I think the atmosphere was fine, but I couldn’t relax and enjoy meeting with my friend. It is like a fast food restaurant.

Total: TW$ 189 (for 2 people)

三商巧福: Beef Noodle Restaurant
http://www.3375.com.tw/index.aspx

Restaurant #34: 小樂天餃子館 Dumpling Restaurant, Taipei

Let me introduce one of my favorite restaurants in my area. I am the person who always wants to try new things. I tried some restaurants around my area, but unfortunately, I only found a few good restaurants. 小樂天餃子館 is one of good restaurants so far I know.


小樂天餃子館 is located near Taipei City Hall MRT station—easy to access. Workers wear the orange colored uniform. The manager, or an owner, is a friendly guy; he always welcomes customers. It is a typical Chinese restaurant, but I feel they organized the décor and furniture well.


Their signature menu is, as they named, dumplings! 水餃 (boiled dumpling) and 鍋貼 (fried dumpling) are their popular menu. I personally like fried dumpling, so everytime I go to this restaurant, I eat 鍋貼.

Pork Gelée

I usually do not order an appetizer (called 小菜 in Chinese) but this time I found interesting item, called 猪肉凍 (Pork Gelée) (TW$50). It was very delicious and amazing! Once you put the small piece into your mouth, it slowly melted and the taste of pork spread into your mouth. Amazing! The price is reasonable, so I would like to try this again.

Hot and Sour Soup

酸辣湯 (hot and sour soup) (TW$25) is always my favorite! For some reason, this restaurant does not offer 酸辣麺, but at least I could enjoy the soup. Actually, they use the same soup a 大滷麺, with vinegar and pepper. lol

The soup contains Tofu, carrot, Kikurage, Shitake mushroom, shredded bamboo shoots… And you see the green leave on the soup? It is called 香菜. I heard many Japanese people do not like it, so I was a bit scared. Well… I know this taste, it is cilantro! Yeah I love it! Oh now I miss Mexican food… The soup was pretty tasty.

Fried Dumpling

We ordered 10 pieces of 鍋貼 (TW$80). Their dumplings made of only grinded pork and Nira (韮: Chinese chives). I sometimes make dumpling by myself, but I use Chinese cabbage because it makes the dumpling so juicy. In Taiwan, it seems that cabbage is not used. I like both Japanese and Taiwanese style. Outside of the fried dumplings were very crispy! I always expect that inside would be juicy, but since two sides of dumpling were all opened, the juice from the pork and Nira comes out. Hmm… I really liked their fried dumpling, but I just hoped that the inside would have been a little more moisturized.

Da Lu Mian

Their noodle menu is pretty various, but I am not sure which one is the best. I usually order small-size 大滷麺 (Da Lu Mian) (TW$80), which is similar as 酸辣麺 but no spicy. The noodle is chewy and well-marinated with tasty soup. Ingredients were shredded pork, Shitake mushroom, tofu, egg, lettuce, shredded bamboo shoots, a few pieces of carrot (yes, it is true), and Kikurage. The soup is really like 酸辣麺… I hope they make it a little bit spicy… Da Lu Mian contains lots of vegetables, so it is healthy. So far I like this among their noodle menu.

Noodle with Zha Cai and Shredded Pork

榨菜 (Zha Cai: ザーサイ) is a type of pickled mustard stem, originating from Sichuan area of China. Some people are not fun of this, but I can eat anything! 榨菜肉絲麵 (Zha Cai Rou Si Mian) (TW$70, small size) was much simpler than 大滷麺. The soup broth was very tasty. Some slices of Chinese cabbage, green onion and Zha Cai, with roasted garlic (it is always used in Chinese dishes, but I don’t know what it is called.) It seems that they use the same-type noodle for all noodle dishes.

Overall, I liked their foods and service, and the price was reasonable.

Total: TW$ 305 (for 2 people)

小樂天餃子館: Dumpling Restaurant
1F, No. 151, Section 5, ZhongXiao East Rd. Xinyi Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02-2753-0793

Yatai #01: Sichuan Noodle Stall 四川特色滷味麵攤, Taipei

Yatai (屋台) is a Japanese word meaning “a stall”. We, in Sapporo, enjoy eating in Ramen stalls at Susukino or ice cream stalls at Odori Park. Here in Taipei, many types of food/snack stalls do business and those are quite successful; they sometimes make much more money than the regular store/restaurants. Near my house, there are so many food stalls, but I found a quite popular noodle stall for Taipei native, called “Sichuan Noodle Stall” 四川特色滷味麵攤 (actually this noodle stall does not have a name, but I named it in English!)

This is one of popular restaurant/stall in this area. Every time I go there, there is a long line waiting for the food. I cannot recommend you if you hate waiting, but it only takes 15 min max to get a ball of noodle. Their menu is quite various. Besides about sixteen noodle/soup menus (they may have some secret menu), they also offer variety of 滷味 (luwei). 滷味, lu-wei, is a Taiwanese-style stewed food; different kinds of food and vegetables are stewed in soy sauce with Chinese medicine and seasoning, including Chinese’ favorite, Star anise (八角). 八角 (Hakkaku in Japanese) has a strong special taste, and some Japanese people cannot eat this. I think it is just because we do not use Hakkaku in our food and don’t get used to it. In the beginning, I couldn’t eat Hakkaku at all, but now I can eat it no problem!

Three workers constantly cook and serve the dishes. One cooks noodles, one takes care of order and serve Luwei, and the other one takes care of others, such as serving the food and bills. NEVER STOP! They are always busy, which is great for their business. I heard that a lady who takes care of Luwei came from Sichuan area of China. According to her, they use good and expensive ingredients, so that the taste of their sauce is fresh. I agree. When I ordered some luwei, I told her not to put any sauce because it might be sweet. She told me that their sauce is not sweet at all because they use good ingredients, but many restaurants use sugar to make this type of sauce, that is why I feel it is sweet… I believed her and tried their sauce. Wow… She was right. It was not sweet and was actually fresh.

You can eat besides this noodle stall, but there are only 2, 3 tables available, therefore I usually bring noodles back and eat in my house.

Tan Tan Noodle

Their specialty is Sichuan style, so I ordered 川味担担麺 (Tan Tan Mian) (NT$ 45). It was SOOO SPICY! I like spicy food, but it was different spiciness than Korean or Thailand’s. I like it, though. Thin noodle was used, and the soup was made of 麻醤 (Majiang), 辣油 (La-yu), and their original Sichuan pepper sauce. Crushed peanuts, fresh green onion added more delicious flavor. The smell of the sauce spread immediately after I opened the container. I think the quantity of noodle and sauce was appropriate. I also liked the thin noodle.

Yang Chun Noodle

陽春麺 (YangChun Mian) (NT$ 30) is the simplest noodle of their menu; it contains only thin noodle and green vegetable. The soup is simple but solid flavor, so this item is good for quick dinner or night snack. If you are a big eater, then I definitely recommend you to order some Luwei on the side.

Chao Shou Noodle

炒手麺 (Chao Shou Mian) (NT$ 60) is so far my favorite. You can choose spicy or non spicy. Chao Shou is a Sichuan style wonton, and it is delicious! They have Chao Shou only (紅油炒手) (NT$ 40), but the quantity is less for me, so I like it with noodle. This Chao Shou Mian contains six pieces of wonton over Majiang noodle. You can enjoy the taste of both popular menus!

Well, they serve more items, so I will update some info when I try new items. You go there and try some. I am sure you would fine some of your favorite!

Thank you for reading.

四川特色滷味麵攤: Sichuan Noodle Stall
Lane 30, Yong Ji Rd. Xinyi Dist.
(Intersection of Yong Ji Rd. and Song Long Rd)
Taipei, TAIWAN
0926-765-661
18:00-01:00 (close: wed & thu)

Restaurant #25: Wonton Noodle, Taipei

On the day of my arrival, I found a wonton restaurant, 玉口香扁食園, near by my house. It was 10pm, and there are some people eating inside. OK I should try!

The décor was very simple. There are six small tables or so, and on the wall of each table, there are some boxes. I saw it carefully. It was a tissue box—it is cute! Their menu is simple; each category, such as rice, wonton, noodle, has four or five different flavor or style. So it is easy to choose as a foreigner. It was my first time and I had no idea. I ordered pork wonton noodle (鮮肉扁食) (TW$ 65) and veggie wonton noodle (菜肉扁食) (TW$ 65). One noodle costs about $2. Do you think it is SO cheap? Yes!!! At least for me, the first time. However, when you think about their living expenses, it is okay.

Veggie Wonton with Noodle

Both items were very similar. No wonder many Chinese noodles are served quickly. Soup, noodle and some other ingredients were same, except the type of wonton dumpling. My choice was pork wonton with noodle. The soup was probably chicken broth and juice from pork, no more than that. Wonton was tasty and it made me full easily. I also liked the type of Chinese noodle. Veggie wonton with noodle was a bit less broth in the soup, but I liked this wonton better than a simple pork one. Over the noodle, some pieces of Chinese lettuce were used.

Pork Wonton with Noodle

People in Taipei are, I think, very busy, and they try to finish the meal as quick as possible. Therefore, many restaurants have to serve the food quickly with simple, convenient menu. I feel that the important thing is if you can be full or not. People don’t mind about the décor or what kind of plates they use… It is interesting. Japanese people are always busy as serious workaholic, and I was one of them. Yet, we try to spend more time for the meal. Of course, it depends on the job, but I felt the cultural difference here. Well, for me, the most important thing is the taste and the health issue. Those noodle made me full easily, and it was pretty tasty. Do I want to go back there again? Yes, maybe just one more time to try different menu. (Report: Nov. 2009)

Total: 130 TWD (for 2 people)

玉口香扁食園: Wonton Noodle Restaurant
# There is no website available.