taiwanese-style oyster omelette

[bigjeff]

okay, seriously looking for this for ages, but now, an absolute need to find the best; was in taiwan this past summer and had numerous samplings, looking for the best oyster omelette (oh-ah-jian???); the prefect marriage of just-cooked-to-perfection oysters, egg, a somewhat crisp finish on the cornstarch mixture and watercress or maybe tung-hwa-tsai and finished with that mostly sweet but slightly spicy chili sauce. any recommendations? I've had it at David's (not good) and old Laifood (aight) but looking for the best now. will travel anywhere in NYC but I have a feeling it will be found in Flushing or something like that.

any pointers?

[teresa]

I think there should be a Taiwanese stall at the Flushing Mall that serves Taiwanese snacks (including Oyster Pancakes). I'm not sure if it's still open though. I haven't been there for awhile!

[bigjeff]

ya its the placed called "Miau-ko" or temple entrance; serves all that snack stuff that in taiwan you can found around temples; their pancake is bad though. btw, closed on tuesdays, keep that in mind if you want that stuff.

[frenetica]

Just a side note, it's not cornstarch but sweet potato flour which gives that distinctive glutinous texture. I wish I could recommend a place, but I never order it in the US because it seems to me to be one of those dishes which, if bad, can be horribly, horribly bad indeed.

[bigjeff]

I was even thinking about making it myself, so ya, I'll look for sweet potato flour if I do so; in particular if the above choices (fatty crab, skyway) don't do it for me . . .

[zorgclyde]

there's a place in flushing that served it before it was renovated and then reverted back to pre-renovation, and II'll be surprised if it doesn't have it. It's a taiwanese seafood place, called in Chinese Ha zi wei (lit. taste of the ocean; no clue english name, sorry), it's a corner restuarant right by the the small parking lot a bit south of main st and a couple blocks west of roosevelt ave.
I don't remember the exact direction/address since I've not been there in quite a while, but I hope this helps.

[bigjeff]

yep, that's the place I mentioned in my initial post, Laifood. I wasn't aware that it reverted though, I think now it's called Lu's Seafood, but its till the corner of prince and 38th ave (down the block from the main flushing mall entrance). I had a few meals either pre-, during-, or post-renovation and I just didn't like it. maybe it's changed again, as you say.

[zorgclyde]

Sorry I didn't realize it was the same place. another place you could try is Gu Shine - it's got many of the standard taiwanese dishes, and I'm pretty sure they have that there too. Ask if you don't see it on the menu.
My parents' old fav for oyster omelet was i think Chingyeah, unfortunately that closed down...there's a new seafood place there that we haven't been to, but it's always packed.

[bigjeff]

ya I haven't been there in some time; last time I went I had their fishhead soup, was great. but I do remember seeing someone order the omelette there before; it didn't look quite crisp enough for me unfortunately.

[inmandarin]

thanks for posting this. the oyster omelette (oh-ah-jian)
served at gu-shine is actually quite terrible. the only
version i've had in NY that's (semi-) worth mentioning is at Ay-
Chung in the flushing mall. and even that version isn't
as great as they make it in taiwan. but it's close enough
to make me feel nostalgic

[wleatherette]

the baby oyster omelette at skyway on allen just below canal is delicious. it's a malaysian restaurant, but what you describe seems to be exactly what they serve.

[bigjeff]

had some great meals there before; worth a visit. and, I guess I was too biased in my initial post in terms of country of origin, see wikipedia entry here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_o...

[kayonyc]

Well it's not exactly a taiwanese style, I suspect, but Fatty Crab has a Malaysian oyster omelette with a pungent sweet soy sauce and cilantro on top. It is rather an oilier, crisper version of an american style. Similar to the Thai style, I think. Given Malaysia's Chinese roots, I think it's pretty close to what you're seeking. And, for the record, it's pretty damn tasty.