Taipei City *SPECIAL* A walk around QingGuang Market 晴光市場

QingGuang market 晴光市場 is up near ZhongShan Elementary School MRT 捷運中山國小站 in the ZhongShan District of Taipei. 

I'd like to introduce this place to you, because even though the area is relatively busy being near the Elementary school station and also MinQuan West Road station, the area immediately around the market has a much more relaxed feel being right next to a park and a lot of greenery. 

I'm going to introduce you to 4 places:

1. 阿萬鵝肉 a1wan4e2rou4 A Wen Goose stall 

2. 黃記魯肉飯 huang2ji4lu3rou4fan4 Taiwanese Pork stew with rice

3. 普魯士德國豬腳 pu3lu3shi4de2guo2zhu1jiao3 German pork knuckle stall 

4. 双妹嘜 shuang1mei4mo4 Hong Kong style dessert 

1. 阿萬鵝肉 a1wan4e2rou4 A Wen Goose stall 

Before we start, please do take a look at this post. But at the same time, do it so you can avoid coming here. This place is not good, at all. 

The place shows promise with a nice menu of 血糕 Goose blood cake, 鵝腸 Goose intestine and 油麵 oily noodles.

The goose itself also looks great. However, the key problem with this food is that it is drowned in salty water before serving (see below)

I accidentally (but gladly) caught the owner of this place scooping copious amounts of liquid onto each dish before serving. I don't really fully understand why, but there you go. The liquid is then drained off, but a lot of liquid remains. And let me tell you this: it tastes just like sea water.

I won't go into more depth about the other things as they were all covered in this awful water, making them pretty much inedible. I'll give you the pictures, but won't describe the flavour as I didn't get much further than the first mouthful.

Don't eat here

https://goo.gl/maps/4ySWv

2. 黃記魯肉飯 huang2ji4lu3rou4fan4 Taiwanese Pork stew with rice

It was around 12 when we got to this place, and the line for take-out was already quite big. This place is a very popular Taiwanese small dish (小吃) restaurant. It is just outside the market on the south side of the park. Exit the market and follow the amazing smell and you'll probably get there without a problem. 

Inside there are plenty of tables, and most people here will take out rather than eat in. So you're alright if you want to sit down. Collect a menu from the counter before you go into the seating area.

Here's what we ordered:

1. 魯肉飯 (小) lu3rou4fan4 Braised pork and rice

2. 魯筍絲 lu3sun3si1 Braised bamboo 

3. 魯白菜 lu3bai2cai4 Braised Chinese cabbage

4. 焢肉 (小) kong4rou4 Braised pork belly

Pork belly is probably my favourite cut of pork: fatty, juicy, tender and delicate. When it is braised for the length of time that this was, it truly is marvelous. The fat melts away and gives way to succulent strips of meat. I can't recommend this enough.

Bamboo is something that is an absolute 'must' to order when going to a 小吃店 xiao3chi1dian4. Bamboo is most often braised in the same juices as a multitude of other different vegetables or even meats. Therefore it takes on different flavours from other foods and also fragrances the cooking juices with the sweet earthiness of bamboo. 

On the other hand, this pork is braised in a pot all by itself, usually for a lot longer. I've spoken about this before and recommended it for any newcomer to Taipei, even Taiwan. Slow cooked for hours upon hours, then spooned on top of hot rice allowed to drip through the cracks in the rice and coat the entire bowl with a silky, smooth, rich, soft, moreish flavour. 魯肉 is a staple for a lot of Taiwanese and it doesn't just stop at being put on rice: noodles, vegetables and meats can all be coated with this amazing pork gravy. 

This specific 魯肉 was very nice and it really hit the spot. It pairs really nicely with the sweet earthiness of the bamboo and also the cabbage below. I would recommend the small bowl (小) as it does get quite rich, especially if you are eating it with the 焢肉. 

魯白菜 is not something I often order. But given that the smell within the restaurant as soon as you walked in was a mixture of braised food and vegetables, I figured it must be good. This is also the vegetable used in kimchi, showing its versatility as a pickling vegetable and also a braising vegetable. Imagine you're in England eating a Sunday roast with your family, and you have the grandparents coming round - all of the vegetables are cooked extra soft. This is that sort of texture. Usually I like my veggies with a crunch, but served in its cooking juices and teamed up with the rich and meaty 魯肉 it is a great alternative to the al dente vegetables you may be used to. 

https://goo.gl/maps/JBdWw

3. 普魯士德國豬腳 pu3lu3shi4de2guo2zhu1jiao3 German pork knuckle stall

I can quite often take or leave German food, mostly leaving it. However, stumbling across this little stall at the end of the market has definitely made me change my tune. 

This is all they sell: German meat. Definitely not a bad thing, especially with some of these flavours...

Top left we have the Black pepper ribs, middle we have the honey ribs and right we have the spicy chicken wings. I have eaten the honey ribs before, but not the others. The honey ribs are (as you would guess) fairly sweet on the outside. But remarkably, not that sweet. The meat inside is cooked really well, it doesn't quite flake off the bone as you bite into it, it can be a little chewy. But there is plenty of meat on them to dig your teeth into!

Left we have the original German sausage, next we have the German sausage with cheese, middle right we have two flavours: mushroom filled goose meat roll and mango chicken roll (left and right, respectively). Finally, on the far side, we have the rose duck breast. This time, we only ordered the original German sausage. However, having previously tried the mango chicken roll, it comes with a good recommendation. My only suggestion would be to buy half of the roll, not a full roll. This is because it is quite salty, and gets a bit too strong in flavour as you continue to eat it. So, you can order either 100g or just say 半捲 ban4juan3 (half roll).

Here we ordered the original German sausage. I spent a lot of time in Germany over the course of 3-4 years as I studied it in school for a total of 5 years. I love Germany as a country and I cannot recommend Berlin and Koln enough. The sausage here is certainly on par with that of which I tried in Germany, which is a massive compliment. If it tastes as good as it does on the other side of the world, then it must be pretty good! It is meaty, it is thick, it is well seasoned, it isn't sweet in any way AND, it is served with both mustard and Saurkraut (both come in little pots). Get the full sausage, and gorge out on it. Really treat yourself and get some good french crusty bread, teamed with this sausage, your'e talking about magic.


https://goo.gl/maps/AzgTO

4. 双妹嘜 shuang1mei4mo4 Hong Kong style dessert 

This delightful little dessert shop is located just outside of the main market. It specialises in Chinese Healthy Desserts, but it really has a Hong Kong style to it. 

 The dessert shop has relaxed feel to it, with a small inside room and a few outside tables, too. It clearly doesn't cater for the masses to sit in, but I don't really feel that it needs to. It feels homely and comfortable. 

I apologise for the quality of the photo. However, I can talk about what we ordered:

1. 芝麻西米露 zhi1ma2xi1mi3lu4 Sesame and sago pudding

2. 蛋白燉牛奶 dan4bai2dun4niu2nai3 Steamed egg and milk pudding

1. 芝麻西米露 zhi1ma2xi1mi3lu4 Sesame and sago pudding

Sesame is something I wasn't really aware of until I came to Taiwan. Sesame crackers are popular in England, but not sesame paste, and certainly not black sesame seeds. These sesame seeds have been processed like a jam consistency: quite thick and gloopy. But certainly not in a bad way. The sesame itself sits on the borderline of sweet and bitter perfectly and the sago adds an interesting dimension and texture. Served cold it makes for a very interesting summer time dessert. 

2. 蛋白燉牛奶 dan4bai2dun4niu2nai3 Steamed egg and milk pudding

A very popular dessert in Hong Kong is the Steamed egg and milk pudding. Here, it is served cold and is not too dissimilar to cold custard in England. Being a massive fan of cold custard and being able to eat it by the bowlful, I am in no doubt a huge fan of this, too. It isn't too sweet and has a fairly strong egg after taste. It is light and it is also a good choice for a summer pudding. However, that's not to say that in winter it wouldn't suit, because I think it also has its place as a refreshing winter dessert, too.  

https://goo.gl/maps/6CK6r

Here is the screenshot of the different foods around 晴光市場. I implore you to check it out, it's definitely worth it. 

台北市中山區晴光市場

QingGuang Market, ZhongShan District, Taipei City. 

Happy Eating!