Taipei City - 哇優 WAYO Round 2

This is an update from my original post from Christmas, 2015

Original Rating:

Value for money: 7/10

Cleanliness: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Quality of food: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Revised Rating:

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Quality of food: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

We ordered a few different things, this time:

起司辣炒年糕

Cheesy Korean Fried Rice Cake $230

Actually, we ordered this last time. But, it is just too good to not order! A deliciously cheesy crust gives way to molten hot spicy lava underneath with deliciously chewy Korean style rice cake and tofu skin.

Yeh, yeh, yehhhhhh!

辣炒豬肉

Spicy Stir-Fried Pork

We didn't order this last time.

Leaving it to cook on the table-top hob reduces the sauce to a deliciously lightly spiced thick sauce with onions and pork interspersed with garlic and chilli. It's good! 

半半炸雞

Korean Fried Chicken $230

We only ordered one style of chicken, last time. This time, we wanted both, so...

Let's focus on the chicken on the right side, first. 

This is WAYO's Crispy Chicken - 酥脆炸雞. As stated in the name: it is crispy! Good, but perhaps lacking a sauce of some sort to dip into...?

Now, the left picture.

This is WAYO's Special Pepper Chicken 炸雞. We had it last time, but another one of those 'too good to not order again things'. Once again, it didn't disappoint! Delicious! I will order this one over the crispy chicken, next time.

海鮮煎餅

Korean Seafood Pancake $250

I wasn't impressed by this in my first round at WAYO, however, this time it delivered really well! Crispy, with shrimp, squid and scallions. Last time, it was greasy, this time: none of that! Superior to last time in every way, thank you WAYO!

Closing thought: 

This is, currently, my favourite Korean spot in Taipei. The first time I went, I fell in love with Korean food. This time when I went, I was more impressed than last time. Can't ask for more, can you?

Happy Eating!

A collection of some of my favourites, so far...

As I reach 20,000 views on my website, I would like to share with all of you who have supported me, in one way or another, my top 10 restaurants/stalls/places I've posted about.

This is my top 10, but they're in no particular order - click the title for the link to my original post to read more.

Enjoy!

1. 阜杭豆漿

Recommended order: 鹹豆漿 xián dòu jiāng Salty soy milk

2. Whalens

Recommended order: Mexican or Maple and Bacon Poutine.

3. 香港茶水攤 茶餐廳


Recommended order: 星洲炒米粉 xīng zhōu chǎo mǐ fěn Spicy Singapore vermicelli AND 
黑米仙草奶撈 hēi mǐ xiān cǎo nǎi lào Wild rice, grass jelly and milk pudding

4. 林東芳牛肉麵


Recommended order: 牛肉麵 niú ròu miàn Beef noodles

5. WAYO

Recommended order: WAYO fried chicken

 


6. 永樂市場


Recommended order:  米粉湯 mǐ fěn tāng  Rice noodle soup AND 炸蚵仔 zhá é zi Fried oysters

7. Caliburger

Recommended order: Cali Double w/ fries and a Strawberry Milkshake.

8. 平安京茶事 


Recommended order: 千層 qiān céng Green tea layered cake

9. RAW


Recommended order: It's a tasting menu, so you have no choice. But, that being said, I am sure you'll love it!

10. Bencotto

Recommended order: Brasato - 12hour braised Wagyu beef cheek, mashed potato and green peas with prosciutto

As ever, Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 萬芳冰室 Man Fong Hong Kong style restaurant

The WanFang Hong Kong style restaurant is based in the 松山區 SongShan District of Taipei City. There a multitude of 香港茶餐廳 Hong Kong Tea restaraunts in Taipei, all specializing in the small plates that Hong Kong has become famous for. Plates such as ShaoMai, Pineapple bread, fried noodles, fried rice with sausage and various other dumpling dishes. 

On in the inside, the restaurant is fairly plane, with nothing particularly setting it aside from other restaurants. A lot of restaurants like to showcase the infamous tins of Hong Kong milk that they use in their tea or coffee. Hong Kong, in fact, is a very popular tea drinking destination and mainly for the milky black/red tea.

The restaurant is bright and there is ample seating, with another little seating part around the corner where we sat. There are also several booths each seating around 4 people. 

Here's what we ordered:

1. 生炸雞腿 shēng zhá jī tuǐ Fried chicken leg

2. 乾炒牛肉河粉 gān chǎo niú ròu hé fěn Dry fried flat noodles with beef

3. 冰火菠蘿包 bīng huǒ bō luó bāo Hong Kong special pineapple bread with butter

4.檸檬茶 níng méng chá Lemon black tea 

1. 生炸雞腿 shēng zhá jī tuǐ Fried chicken leg

The fried chicken leg here was one of the main draws for coming here. Fried to give it a wonderfully crispy skin, but still maintaining great tenderness of meat inside. The skin is seasoned really nice with a light spice and a good saltiness. Chicken skin isn't hugely healthy, so I wouldn't suggest eating more than one of these at any given time. However, it's too good to not eat!  

The fries are just ok, nothing special. This dish would be much, much, much better if the fries were taken care of

2. 乾炒牛肉河粉 gān chǎo niú ròu hé fěn Dry fried flat noodles with beef

Slices of thin beef, flat noodles, green onions and bean sprouts round off this triumph in fried noodle dishes. The sauce was a little salty, but the sweetness of the bean sprouts balanced it out rightly. The green onions also added freshness to the dish. The beef was well seasoned and, like the chicken, was crunchy on the outside and also tender on the inside. 

3. 冰火菠蘿包 bīng huǒ bō luó bāo Hong Kong special pineapple bread with butter

The pineapple bun is as I have said before here: YanJi Hong Kong tea restaurant , fantastic and really a must-order at any Hong Kong tea restaurant such as this. 

The outside of the bun is crunchy and the inside is fluffy and soft. The slice of butter wedged in between the two halves is rich and delicious. However, my main gripe about this is that this pineapple bun is not warmed. Warm pineapple bun is a think to behold and having eaten it before, I cannot settle for anything less. This, unfortunately, was less. The taste was fine and a solid contender for pineapple buns all over, but please please please warm it next time! 

4.檸檬茶 níng méng chá Lemon black tea 

Yep, it's lemon black tea. Nothing to really explain...

All in all, this restaurant is pretty good. However, if I am looking to order Hong Kong style food then I prefer to go here: YanJi Hong Kong tea restaurant . However, that is not to say that if you are in the area then avoid this place, totally not. The fried chicken is pretty decent, just not worth going out of the way for.

Best dish: 2. 乾炒牛肉河粉 gān chǎo niú ròu hé fěn Dry fried flat noodles with beef - tasty, different, good textures and overall a well-rounded dish.

Dish I wouldn't order again: 3. 冰火菠蘿包 bīng huǒ bō luó bāo Hong Kong special pineapple bread with butter - they just need to heat it up so that butter melts a little, please.

台北市松山區南京東路5段6巷12弄16號

No.16, Alley 12, Lane 66, Section 5, NanJing East Road, SongShan District, Taipei City 

ManFong on Facebook

Happy Eating! 

New Taipei City - Spyci

Spyci was recently featured on Taiwanese television as a place to get some really decent fried chicken around the XinDian area of Taipei. Therefore, I thought I'd check it out.

It's a relaxed affair around the shop. I can't quite stretch to call it a restaurant as it has a mere 2 tables with 4 seats at each. It all looks very new, so I'd be interested to know if anyone knows how new this place is? 

The really nice thing about Spyci is that it documents its small menu really well, and showcases its great spice sauces in depth. The white topped spice jar is the really spicy sauce, and the black topped spice jar is the slightly spicy sauce with whole mini fish inside. Below these sauces we also have the drinks ranging from beer, to Japanese soda and also American soda. 

There are less than 15 things on the menu you can order individually, however, a great thing that Spyci offers is a mix of $70x2 food, $60x2 food and also $50x2 food in a sharing box. 

Everything in the kitchen is kept very clean, which, for a Taiwanese fried chicken kitchen is very rare, indeed! Anyway, let's take a look at the menu:

You're in luck! Everything is in English! Here's what we ordered:

1. Juicy Wings

2. Soft Bone

3. Tail 

4. Leg Steak

5. Barley Water

 Two plates filled with fried chicken - winner! 

I will say this: the fried chicken was not greasy in any way! Which is astonishing considering how much chicken is on these two plates. Served on paper plates you'd expect the plates to be soggy and dripping when everything was eaten. Nope. Not in any way. Astonishing.

Above is the leg steak, which is the 雞排 ji1pai2. Flattened out piece of chicken leg deep fried and cut up for you into bite size pieces. You may not get an idea for how crunchy and light the batter is by looking at the picture, but you can definitely see how juicy and moist the chicken is. Often at nightmarkets or even dedicated fried chicken stalls, the chicken inside the 雞排 can be under-cooked or overcooked. It is difficult to find a good one that sits in between.

Here is the chicken wing. I am from England, where eating chicken wings isn't quite the institution that it is in America. However, I am equally as big a fan as your average American chicken wing enthusiast! These fit the bill as far as fried chicken wings are considered. The meat inside is equally as juicy as that of the 雞排 and equally as delicious in every way. However, below is the star of the show....

These are what are inside the jars mentioned in the fridge previously: the little dish on the left is the spicy one and the little dish on the right is the less spicy one. I was very impressed by both of these sauces and they pair up to compliment the chicken really well! The spicier of the two sauces has a real kick as soon as it hits your lips, but doesn't stay around to smash at your taste buds. It lingers for a little over 10 seconds and then disappears - perfect! The less spicy sauce with the mini whole fish inside is also a triumph in sauces, albeit a little more greasy than the spicier of the two. The sauce would, I feel, go perfectly with some noodles, too! It has a taste not too dissimilar to that of a tomato based Italian sauce, but with a slight hint of chili. 

All of this washed down with a delightful Barley water

Overall, we were both really impressed by the chicken that Spyci has to offer, here. We will definitely be coming back, that's for sure!

Best dish: Chicken leg steak - juicy meat inside, crunchy skin on the outside, what's not to love?

Dish I wouldn't order again: I'd order all of these again! 

Spyci on Facebook

台北市新店區中興路二段295號

No.295 ZhongXing Road, XinDian District, Taipei City 

Happy Eating!