Taipei City - 蘇杭點心店 SuHang

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Quality of food: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Since 1967?! I do like that statement in a restaurant. Quite often you see many shops close and many shops open around Taipei, that it is nice to see these sorts of restaurants maintaining their custom for such a long time - a sign of a sure deal if ever there was one.

There's also a 2nd floor, but we ate here.

This is their self-service station, which is good in the sense that they don't charge you a 10% service charge. But, on the flip side, it largely relies on the customers to maintain hygiene when using it...

This one looks extremely well kept, though!

The chefs here are busy making the steamed vegetable dumplings.

Got a great shot, here!

They have a really good selection of appetisers here, and it's right as you come in the door - so it really draws you in. However, they are on the pricier side for these such dishes. In most places they're priced around $40-$60, but these ones here are around $70-$90.

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The Menu

Plenty of things on here to get your teeth into, that's for sure.

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Spicy egg

小菜 - 丁香辣椒蛋

dīng xiāng là jiāo dàn 

$90

I was so excited when I picked this up, as I am a big fan of both spice and eggs. Together, surely it's a winning combination? But, alas, the flavour was just bland. I couldn't understand why so much chilli could just fade away when it was in your mouth. But, it did. I wouldn't pay $90 for this again.

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SuHang steamed soup dumplings

蘇杭小籠包

sū háng xiǎo lóng bāo 

$120

Not many greater sites when eating around Taipei, than a bamboo basket with these beautiful offerings inside.

The soup inside these was heavier and darker than many I have had before. The flavour definitely tasted more concentrated and flavourful than the offerings at DingTaiFeng or JinDing. The skin was quite thick, but I don't necessarily hate that about them. 

The pork filling is plentiful and the taste is a tried and tested one that works well, time and time again - winner.

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Stir-fried Chinese rice cakes

雪菜白頁 (年糕)

xuě cài bǎi yè (nián gāo)

$140

I love, love, love the Korean rice cakes (topoki). However, I am not so madly in love with the Chinese rice cakes - thinner, different shape and different texture. 

They were very chewy, and resembled those overly chewy balls in your bubble milk tea. The flavour of the dish was delicious, though, I just didn't like the texture of the rice cakes much at all.

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NingBo egg fried rice with fried pork

寧波排骨蛋炒飯

níng bō pái gǔ dàn chǎo fàn 

$140

The fried rice was good, but the one at JingDing is much better. The rice was clumped together and over-cooked so that it became soft.

The pork, however, was deliciously juicy whilst still carrying bags of flavour from the spice used on top.  

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Hot and sour soup

酸辣湯

suān là tāng 

$60

I think soup should be ordered with every meal like this, often I will order the hot and sour soup if I see it on the menu wherever I go. This one had tonnes of black pepper on top which I stirred in before taking the photo (doh). I always enjoy the thick nature of this kind of soup. 

The flavour was nice and sour, made aromatic and spicy with the addition of black pepper. I enjoyed it a lot.

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The bill

買單

mǎi dān 

Not bad for 2 people, at this kind of restaurant, I think?

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Opening Times:

Monday - Sunday

11:00 - 20:30

Tel:

02 2394 3725

Unofficial FB page

台北市中正區羅斯福路二段14號

No. 14, Roosevelt Road, Section 2, ZhongZheng District, Taipei City

Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 金峰魯肉飯 JinFeng pork and rice

Value for money: 10/10

Cleanliness: 7/10

Service: 9/10

Quality of food: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

I came here a while back and didn't review it, but not because it isn't worthy of a review, I just haven't been back for aaaaaaaaages. Well, here we go, this place is just as good as the picture suggests it's going to be.

Just like pretty much any really decent Taiwanese place, it get's silly busy on a weekend. However, this was on a Thursday at 12:00... I waited around 5 mins in the 内用區 nèi yòng qū  (eat in area), or you could choose to take out by lining up under the sign that says -  外帶區 wài dài qū (take out area). 

Way too hot for soup, personally, but I am sure it is alright...

This area makes me smile with glee, makes my belly rumble and also makes me fear for my arteries all in one simultaneous second. 

Oooohhhhh, ahhhhhh

They're definitely not winning any awards for cleaniliness based on this picture. However, they are aware that people are lining up outside and swoop in before you've barely swallowed your last mouthful to clean up and keep things moving.

Ok, let's take a look at the menu. You can have: noodles 麵 or 米粉 or 冬粉 (normal noodles, rice noodles or thick bean noodles), rice 飯, soup 湯, tofu 豆腐, vegetables燙青菜 or 筍乾 (braised vegetables or bamboo) or even chicken done in various ways - 人蔘雞 Ginseng chicken，蛤蜊雞 Chicken with clams，鳳梨苦瓜雞 Pineapple and bitter melon chicken

Bottom line - spoilt for choice!

Here's what I ordered for a quick lunch:

1. 魯肉飯 (中碗) lǔ ròu fàn  (zhōng wǎn )

Braised pork over rice (medium bowl) 

$40

2. 焢肉 kòng ròu 

Belly pork

$35

1. 魯肉飯 (中碗) lǔ ròu fàn  (zhōng wǎn )

Braised pork over rice (medium bowl) 

$40

Deliciously silky fat cuts through delicate pork and a thick gravy layered on top of this bowl of lovely rice. I used to think rice was just rice, but it definitely isn't. If you go to one of the many 'buffet' places dotted around your neighborhood, you'll know that familiar soft and tasteless rice.

Here, expect nicely cooked rice, steaming hot and clean - delicious.

2. 焢肉 kòng ròu 

Belly pork

$35

I am a huge of fatty pork, but I haven't seen this depth of colour before on a piece of belly pork. It falls apart when you touch it and the fat just melts in your mouth the way you want it to. There's a slightly aromatic flavour mixed in with a light Chinese spice flavour. It ticks all the boxes, for my liking!


I didn't get any vegetables this time, but I should've done!

Here's my instagram post from a different time I visited, where we ordered the 燙青菜 and 筍乾 with the 油豆腐 (oily tofu). I won't order the tofu again, as it wasn't anything special. But the bamboo and the other veggies were both delicious.

A catch up lunch with a friend when I'm flying back to the UK tomorrow looks like this... 金峰魯肉飯 -$240 #Taipei #Taiwan #eatingintaipei #taipeitasty #exploretaiwan #travel #travelog #travelling #journey #eat #eating #food #foodie #bamboo #rice #braisedpork #pork #greens #bellypork #ilovefood #iloveeating #feedme #Taiwanese #delicious #photooftheday #picoftheday #instafood #instagram

A photo posted by Eating in Taipei (@eatingintaipei) on Jul 14, 2016 at 3:11am PDT

臺北市中正區羅斯福路1段10號 

No. 10, Roosevelt Road, Section 1, ZhongZheng District, Taipei City

Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 藍家割包 Lan Family GuaBao

Value for money: 10/10

Cleanliness: 7/10

Service: 10/10

Quality of food: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

Heading back to the UK next week, so I'm filling up on the foods I'll miss whilst I'm back for a month.. this was first on the list - 藍家割包 $50 #Taipei #Taiwan #eatingintaipei #eat #eating #food #foodie #love #instafood #guabao #ilovefood #Saturday #brunch #loveit #picoftheday #photooftheday #Taiwanese #checkit #gongguan #foodsimiss #travel #travelog #taipeitasty #igerstaiwan

A photo posted by Eating in Taipei (@eatingintaipei) on Jul 8, 2016 at 9:47pm PDT

I don't know how I have gone this long without sharing this place!

Each on is $50 and is comprised of one of the steamed buns below...

Then it is filled with your choice of fatty pork, lean pork, mixture of the two and also peanut sugar, coriander and pickled vegetable.

綜合割包 zōng hé guà bāo 
Mix of fatty and lean pork guabao
$50

They don't skimp on the meat, here! It's also topped with coriander and a peanut sugar.

The meat is delicious: delicately falls apart with very little chewing and sings with flavour.

I think mine was gone in like 4 bites...

Also, don't miss the famous bubble milk tea place across from the guabao restaurant! Check out my post here for further details.

臺北市中正區羅斯福路3段316巷8弄3號

No.3, Alley 8, Lane 316, Roosevelt Road, Section 3, ZhongZheng District, Taipei City.

Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 平安京茶事

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Quality of food: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

This is just an update on the post above. This time we ordered slightly differently, so take a look at both posts to see which you prefer.

Basically this should be called:
"The Everything Set"
$1000

Because that's pretty much what you get: a bit of everything!

Ok, so, here we have: Matcha cream roll, Matcha madeleine, Matcha Canale, Matcha Layer Cake and a Japanese rose dessert.

Wow, wow, wow! This is just a Matcha overload all crammed in to one picture.

Matcha cream roll - 10/10 show-stopping. We went for a no added sugar option of the matcha cream. We were warned it would be bitter, but we both absolutely love matcha tea, so this was no issue in any way whatsoever. However, for the not so regular matcha consumer, I would probably recommend a slightly sweetened version.

Matcha madeleine - 8/10 Really very good! My reason for the 8/10 is that it was bordering on the dry side. However, it is worth noting that it is still awesome and definitely worth getting. Maybe I am just being over-critical because the cream roll and the layer cake were just that good.

Matcha Canale - 8/10 Also very good. However, the outside wasn't quite crispy by the time it had got to us, and the centre was quite cold, too. It had definitely been left to cool and then put in the fridge. Which, in itself, is understandable as they can't be expected to bake them to order, however, I have had better elsewhere.

Matcha Layer Cake - 10/10 An absolute winner every time. This is a must-order here. It hasn't changed from the first time I came and I never want it to.

Japanese rose dessert - 8/10 A Japanese slightly sweetened dessert with a wonderfully fresh and floral rose flavour. A delicious end to a lovely meal.

Matcha Ice cream sundae - 8/10 Top drawer matcha, but maybe a personal taste of not particularly liking tapioca balls means this only scores 8, for me. The matcha ice cream isn't sweet but the matcha latte within is a little sweet. Using Hokkaido milk, the ice cream is thick and rich - delicious! At the bottom of the glass there are plenty of tapioca balls, if this is what you are into (I, however, am not. Unless they are at 陳三鼎).

Can't come here and not get a cup of wonderful Matcha. We got this as part of the meal, simply swapping out the Matcha Latte and ordering this instead. I am not a big fan of latte, especially when a cup of matcha is on the cards. You don't get a big cup, but the matcha is of a high quality, imported from Kyoto (the home of Matcha) and really ticks all of the boxes when it comes to taste. Served with a cherry blossom flower on top.

Tel:
02 2368 2277

Opening hours:
The first Monday of the month Off
Every day 12:30 - 21:30

Week days before 18:00 minimum charge of $300 per person
Week days after 18:00 minimum charge of $150 per person

Weekends before 18:00 minimum charge of $450 per person
Weekends after 18:00 minimum charge of $300 per person

平安京茶事 on Facebook


Eating in Taipei

Happy Eating!

Taipei City - 韓石鍋

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Quality of food: 8/10

Overall: 7/10

Easy walking distance from NTNU campus means that this place can be busy during the evenings, but we went during the day and it wasn't that busy.

Modest interior.

Good selection of dishes, with 鍋巴飯 meaning the hot Korean bibimbap and the 石鍋拌飯 meaning the Korean stone pot bibimbap.

Here's what we ordered:

1. 豬肉鍋巴飯 zhū ròu guō bā fàn Pork with stone pot baked rice $150

2. 海鮮煎餅 hǎi xiān jiān bǐng Seafood pancake $150

3. 烤羊肉飯 kǎo yáng ròu fàn BBQ lamb with rice $130

1. 豬肉鍋巴飯 zhū ròu guō bā fàn Pork with stone pot baked rice
$150

This is definitely a weakness of mine at Korean restaurants, due to the awesome crusty crunchiness on the rice. The pork was also good, cooked with lots of onions and put on top of the rice. I recommend to leave for 5mins upon being put on the table, then stir everything together, as this allows the rice to reach peak crispiness. Delicious!

2. 海鮮煎餅 hǎi xiān jiān bǐng Seafood pancake
$150

This isn't the best seafood cake I have had, but it certainly wasn't a million miles away. Inside could be found plenty of shrimp and squid. It wasn't too greasy (due to the greaseproof paper that you can see placed underneath), however, it still was a little soggy around the edges.

3. 烤羊肉飯 kǎo yáng ròu fàn BBQ lamb with rice
$130

This was delicious! I rarely get lamb in Taiwan due to the popularity of pork, chicken and beef in the majority of dishes. However, when I do go to a Korean restaurant I will try and get lamb if they have it on the menu. 

This lamb was fried together with onions and garlic in a light sauce and it was delicious. Served with rice and a fried egg on top, I recommend spraying copious amounts of the deliciously spicy tomato sauce (red bottle) on the egg and then cutting it into the rice. 

One of the greatest things at many Korean restaurants is the small plates 小菜 that they provide complimentary for you. Here we have seaweed, tofu with little fish and fish tempura 
(not tempura in the Japanese sense, but more a translation of the lone word in Chinese. It is a fish paste made into small and soft longs - quite good).

臺北市中正區羅斯福路3段40號

No. 40, Roosevelt Road, ZhongZheng District, Taipei City

Happy Eating!