Taipei City - ChangJi Street Pigs Blood Soup 天然紅豆腐豬血湯

This restaurant is a firm favourite of mine to get my fill of pig's blood soup (豬血湯 zhu1xie3tang1) and gravy rice (滷肉飯 lu3rou4fan4). When I say 'gravy', its not like those Northerners drinking it by the cup full, its a Taiwanese 'gravy' that is basically stewed salty meats. If you haven't had it, you need to, now! 

We were pretty hungry...

1. Pig's blood soup

2. Pigs blood soup with curry

3. Gravy rice (L)

4. Gravy rice (S)

5. Stewed Bamboo

6. Tofu

7. Cold Intestines

Let's set the record straight: Pig's blood soup doesn't just mean a soup made of the blood, where when you finish your bowl you're already well on your way to being Dracula's number one fan, no. We are talking about semi-solidified chunks of pigs blood, in a soup broth. The plain one has intestines in, and the curry one has a curry sauce put into it. 

1. Pig's blood soup 豬血湯 

It's a firm favourite of mine. There isn't a strong taste of blood, but the taste is there. The soup is light, and if you order the less oily version, then it can be quite healthy and filling! You get a very large amount of the pig's blood in these soups, so I would suggest not ordering as many plates as we did...

2. Pig's blood soup with curry sauce 咖哩豬血湯 ka1lizhu1xie3tang1

I probably won't order this again, as for my taste it was a little greasy. The taste was good, it wasn't necessarily a spicy curry, but it had a good curry flavour. 

3 + 4. Gravy Rice 滷肉飯

This is a weekend staple (only on the weekend, as it is salty and fatty, but too good to resist). Usually the gravy will be cooked for hours and hours, using a variety of different meats. The fat within the meat renders down to almost nothing but a silky texture of loveliness. Usually just a spoonful of this over your rice is ample! Almost all of the 小吃店 (small plate) restaurants that you will find in Taipei, will have this. It really is an indulgent addition to the normal white rice you find everywhere.

5. Stewed Bamboo 魯筍干 lu3sun3gan1

Who doesn't like a healthy plate of stewed, air dried bamboo to accompany their salty rice? I find bamboo to have a nice crunch, yet still be nice and soft. The taste is a little earthy, but also a little sweet, too, which can counteract the saltiness of the 'gravy' on the rice - Its a winner!

6. Tofu 油豆腐 you2dou4fu3 Oily tofu (literal translation - don't let it put you off! Please read)

OK, so it may be called Oily Tofu, but it isn't really THAT oily. Tofu is a staple in Asian cuisine, and can be prepared in a multitude of differing ways. This is just one of those different ways. The outside skin of the tofu is slightly resistant, and covers the spongy inside of the tofu. It is often braised, and can be a little watery if not cooked properly. However, if cooked properly (as this one is), it can be delicious. Have it with some thick soy sauce, and you're loving life.

7. Cold Intestines 涼板脆腸 liang2ban4cui4chang2

Looks nasty, sounds nasty, tastes good. Cold intestines aren't something I'm usually first in line for, but these ones are actually pretty damn good. The intestines themselves are a little hard, and a little chewy, but they have a nice intestine flavour, yet are not overpowering. They sit within a slightly aniseed based sauce, with scallions. As it was a scorching day outside, this dish was actually remarkably refreshing. 

Best dish: Toss up between 1 and 3/4.

Won't order again: 2 (too oily)

Overall, really good. I've been here a bunch of times now, and I definitely will call back if I am ever in the area again. It is a short walk from YuanShan MRT station, which holds a farmers market on the weekends (don't know if it is every weekend, but worth going for a look).

Look for the Red Pig Sign!

台北市大同區昌吉街、48號

No. 48, ChangJi Street, DaTong District, Taipei City.

Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 紫琳蒸餃館 Steamed Dumplings

Steamed Dumplings (Zheng1Jiao3 蒸餃) are not that difficult to find in Taiwan, especially with one of the most famous dishes in Taiwan being the incredible steamed pork soup dumplings (xiao3long2bao1 小籠包). However, from my experience, the best place to eat XiaoLongBao is at DingTaiFung (鼎泰豐) and everywhere else just doesn't step up to the plate. I actually heard recently that DingTaiFeng got its Michelin star taken away from it, but I guess that story is for another day. For today, let's focus on this strange little place beneath a mall. 

If you walk down the stairs on the right of the picture, and turn the corner, you will be presented with this wonderful little restaurant, famed for it's steamed dumplings and its sweet and sour soup. 

Alright, let's talk about what we ordered, and what I could recommend for you...

The top of the list is the Steamed Dumplings (Xian1Rou4Zheng1Jiao3 鮮肉蒸餃). At a cost of $80 its looking like a worthwhile order as you get 10 dumplings! Next in line, we have the Bean Sauce Noodles (Zha2Jiang4Mian4 炸醬麵). Trust me, this tastes better than the name suggests! 3rd on the list, we have the Beef Roll (Da4Bing3Juan3Niu2Rou4 大餅捲牛肉). This is a fail safe option! If you checked out my previous post about the YongHe Beef Noodle Shop, you'll see that this is a regular feature for me in places such as this. 4th and 5th on the list, we have two soups - Sweet and Sour Soup (Suan1La4Tang1 酸辣湯) and Beef Egg Drop Soup (Niu2Rou4Dan4Hua1Tang1 牛肉蛋花湯)

Let's address the star, first:

Now, these steamed dumplings have a little bit of a thicker skin to them than other ones I have eaten, but it certainly doesn't detract from their fabulous flavour. All of the dumplings are hand made and you can watch them making them. They start by taking the skin, adding the meat paste filling into the middle, then folding and crimping them in place, ready for the steamer. The bamboo steamers, I feel, add a wonderfully traditional taste to dumplings or, indeed, anything steamed within. These dumplings are filled with XianRou, which is a pork filling. This is a staple throughout Taiwan, and it is what most dumplings are filled with (if not stated otherwise). The use of pork, and its fatty flesh, means that there are always plenty of juices inside this wonderful packages of flavour. The flavour of the pork is really nice in these, and as simple as they are in their making, they also are in their flavour. The steamed element means that they are healthier than other types of fried dumplings, but still pack a wonderful flavour. 

Here, we have the noodle dish (炸醬麵). This is a regular noodle dish that you will find in a lot of the more traditional places in New Taipei City. It always comes with some nicely sliced cucumbers which add some freshness, in addition it will come with some finely sliced carrots, and also some fried bean and tofu cubes. All sat atop a generous helping of boiled noodles. The sauce on top is quite rich, so you do not get too much of it. The idea is to stir everything together and try and get the individual ingredients to blend together in one bite. The richness of the sauce plays nicely against the freshness of the cucumber and carrot, which plays nicely against the starchiness of the noodles. Everything balances out nicely, creating a well-rounded noodle dish. Nothing too fancy, but good, honest flavours. 

Here is the familiar Beef Roll (牛肉捲餅). Its a winner. Sometimes it can be dry and tasteless, but this one isn't. The pancake roll is fried up fresh for you and the sauce inside is nice and tangy to go with the beef nicely. With the green onion punching a bit of a fresh flavour to run through the mouth - lovely. 

Here is possibly one of the most famous soups around Asia, not just Taiwan - Sweet and Sour Soup (酸辣湯). The Taiwanese version will often have slices of tofu, mushrooms, carrot and beansprouts. It is usually quite thick in consistency, which makes it quite filling. This version is quite sour, and not particularly spicy (unlike the Thai version). Its a good finisher for the meal, and a staple soup.

This soup is slightly more special. This is the Beef Egg Drop Soup (牛肉蛋花湯). The broth itself is a Beef broth, hence the name. The Egg is dropped into the soup maybe 30 seconds before being served, allowing it to still be nice and soft. The flavour is lovely, and the technique is so simple. It's not too rich, too, so a good way to end the meal!

I would say that if you are in the area of ZhongXiao DunHua or ZhongXiao FuXing MRT stations, then this is worth a try. Its right in the middle of the two, and as you can see by the bill, it is fairly inexpensive. But as you can see by the pictures, the sizes of the dishes are more than enough and the food is really well prepared and presented!

頂好名店城106台北市大安區忠孝東路四段97號B1

B1, No. 97, section 4, ZhongXiao East Road, Taipei City.

Happy Eating!