Taipei City - 張記油豆腐細粉 ZhangJi Breakfast store

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Quality of food: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

Anyone who is a big pastry fan (like I am) is sure to love the smell and the sight when you walk inside this place!  

Here we have a selection of the shallow fried dumplings 生煎小包, layered bun cake 千層大包, Sweetened red bean bun 豆沙大包 and also the meat bun 鮮肉大包. They are all steamed in these beautiful bamboo steamers. The layered cakes are then put onto the hot plate to keep warm, whereas all the others are served instantly. 

Inside, this place is pretty small. Most people take out, it seems. But there is still a healthy amount of people eating in. 

The menu is all in Chinese, as it is a very traditional Taiwanese place, in a very traditional Taiwanese area. The name of the shop is 油豆腐細粉, so I would suggest ordering that, for definite. 

Yes, yes, yes and yes! This hot sauce is brilliant. Vinegary, spicy, fresh onion flavour and garlic. Get it done, bathe your 生煎小包 or 餛飩 and soak in the spicy goodness.

Here's what we ordered:

1. 油豆腐細粉 yóu dòu fǔ xì fěn Tofu, dumpling and glass noodle soup.

2. 豆沙大包 dòu shā dà bāo Sweetened red bean steamed bun.

3. 豆沙酥餅 dòu shā sū bǐng Sweetened red bean pastry.

4. 蘿蔔絲餅 luó bō sī bǐng Daikon Radish pastry.

5. 鹹豆漿 xián dòu jiāng Salty Soy Milk.

1. 油豆腐細粉 yóu dòu fǔ xì fěn Tofu, dumpling and glass noodle soup.

The soup, itself, is really not that tasty. It lacks flavour of any kind at all. However, take out the egg skin meat dumplings, tofu and the wantons, and you're onto a winner! 

Here is the thin skinned wanton. The wanton is filled with a pork mixture, which is very nicely seasoned. It tastes very fresh and it works really well. On the spoon, there is an egg skinned meat dumpling. The egg on the outside is very delicate and the inside tastes similar to the wanton filling. Left inside the bowl is the tofu. This kind of tofu (油豆腐) remains silky smooth inside whilst being a thicker skin on the outside. The flavour of all ingredients is great. However, the soup and also the noodles lack any flavour at all. 

Glass noodles are something I am not really a convert to, anyway. They tend to be soft, slimy and tasteless. Why not just go with a nice flour noodle and have some taste and texture?

2. 豆沙大包 dòu shā dà bāo Sweetened red bean steamed bun.

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread in the morning (granted, usually it is freshly baked bread), and this steamed bread aroma comes wafting towards you as it comes to your table.

Steamed in the bamboo steamer and filled with a sweetened red bean paste, the fresh bread and bean flavour compliment each other very nicely. The red bean paste has been sweetened using brown sugar, which has imparted a slightly smoky flavour that works well with the earthy red bean.

3. 豆沙酥餅 dòu shā sū bǐng Sweetened red bean pastry.

The French are gastronomic mega-giants, and they enjoy pastry for breakfast. With that in mind, why can't we (in Taiwan) enjoy that, too? We can, with this! 

Flaky, crunchy, buttery pastry gives way to a deliciously smoky and smooth red bean paste (the same used in the red bean steamed bun, above). I feel that the pastry here is really, really good. It offers a great crunch to it, and flakes away with each mouthful. In that respect it is better to my favorite 豆沙酥餅 at 世界都將王. However, where it does fall short against that other one, is the filling. This filling is good, but that filling is better. I should buy one of each and mix them together, and my weekend breakfast would be ecstasy in a mouthful (the feeling of ecstasy, not the actual drug. Please don't do drugs!). 

4. 蘿蔔絲餅 luó bō sī bǐng Daikon Radish pastry.

I will warn you, if you try it, you may never go back to any other 蘿蔔絲餅. I ate this one, and also got another one to take-out when we finished our meal. The take-out was well intentioned to be my afternoon snack, but it barely made it 5 paces from the shop before it was in my mouth. I am a huge fan of this radish pastry.

The radish is sliced thinly and layered together with scallions and garlic. The mixture works wonderfully well together and it softens the inside of the pastry to make it soft, but it still allows the outside to retain its same wonderful crunchiness. It's a triumph, it really is.



5. 鹹豆漿 xián dòu jiāng Salty Soy Milk.

A lot like FuHang Soy Milk , this salty soy milk is a great breakfast staple. The soy milk is hot, and mixes with scallions and 油條 yóu tiáo to come together as a great bowl of breakfast greatness. Whilst it says salty, it isn't too salty (especially when eaten with the 豆沙酥餅). The soy milk tastes good, and its refreshing to not have the thick, sweet, gloopy soy milk that most places provide...


Overall, I would say this place is a pretty solid breakfast shop. However, it isn't in a very convenient location. Now, if you are a market goer and a food lover, I would suggest hitting this place up fairly early and then going for a walk round the corner to the incredibly popular market road (富民路) or across the road at the massive indoor fruit and vegetable market. If you are a really early bird, you could even head to the large fish market (台北魚市) next to the fruit and vegetable market. 


Best dish: 4. 蘿蔔絲餅 luó bō sī bǐng Daikon Radish pastry - I really like the big, white, Daikon radish and I really like pastry. In the morning, mixed together? This is a no-brainer, for me. 

Dish I wouldn't order again: 2. 豆沙大包 dòu shā dà bāo Sweetened red bean steamed bun - It seems to lose heat and become hard very quickly. I would suggest going for the 豆沙酥餅 dòu shā sū bǐng, instead. 




台北市萬華區萬大路479號

No. 479, WanDa Road, WanHua District, Taipei City.

Here is 張記油豆腐細粉 UNOFFICIAL page on Facebook

Eating in Taipei

Happy Eating!