639770 Mon Jul 27 10:36:51 -0700 2009 6 46 China 0 4894147 Hi All, I'm leaving for Taiwan Wednesday, and have been searching the board for suggestions. I've got Du Xiao Yue Slack Season Noodles, and a couple beef noodle recommendations (Lao Dong and some others) taken down. I have a few questions: Where are good places to eat near AIT? I remember a beef noodle place across the street and to the left (if you have your back to AIT) that had good hong shao niu rou mian - I particularly liked the version with wonton. What about Indonesian food? My two favorites were Sate House on LeiLi Road, just off AnHe Road, behind the Far Eastern Hotel, and a small storefront place about 5 doors north of the corner of HePing East Road &  XinSheng South Road, across the street from Da'an Forest Park. If these places still exist & are good to eat at, can anyone advise on what days of the week the storefront place has soto ayam (chicken soup)? Other places I have been thinking of eating: Kunming Restaurant,  FuXing N. Road, Lane 81, #26, tel02 2773 2540 for Burmese/Yunnan. Kiki's restaurant and Lao Gao Chuan Cai near Yongkang Jie for Sichuan. Any places near the Haunted Hyatt/Taipei 101 that should be tried? Late night food would be particularly appreciated in this location - I may be getting into the hotel late, and want an alternative to room service. Where is a good place to have san bei ji (3 cup chicken)? Thanks in advance. JT Mon Jul 27 10:36:51 -0700 2009 16414 JTS 1 4894232 Okay, and I realize this might be the dumbest question ever asked on the board, but any recommendations for guo tie / shui jiao / suan la tang (hot & sour soup)? I realize these places are all over. I think they fall into the category of "really simple, should be easily replicated anywhere, and are somehow a lot better in Taiwan." Mon Jul 27 10:58:44 -0700 2009 4894147 16414 JTS 1 4897567 OK if you can read Chinese, this online web mag is a good place to start to get a general idea of the vast wide range of things you can do plus the multitudes of cuisines although some may have paid to advertise. http://www.travel-web.com.tw/ http://taipei.travel-web.com.tw/ for Taipei. There's an English section but it does not provide the deep juicy details you will need. I have not been to Lao Dong yet but I hear their signature dish is actually niu rou xi fen which is the bean thread noodles (unless there are differently named Lao Dong's all over, the one I am thinking of is a chain). There is just simply not enough time in the world to sample everything that Taiwan (let alone Taipei) has to offer. Here are some more recommendations you may want to think about: Sorry to throw more beef noodle soup places around, but just in case: I haven't eaten here but the gimmick this place offers is a 20+ yr experience chef owner who makes US$5 to US$300 bowls... Niu Baba Niu Rou Mien http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/6ONwESFY9Coh3Jos61tVmw?select=DORVerhLOiku-jsG1DJ2lA website: www.688beefbowl.com Otherwise for a very high quality bowl, Lin Tung Fong Niu Rou Mien is also very famous locally. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dW2UHHjk38_AQWRlTShCeg?select=w19PRMC-C3O9LLLHq_lnmQ located on Ba Der Rd, 2nd Section, #274 Taipei. Walk a bit further down in the corner by Liao Ning street is a superb foot massage place (multi story building). Nice way to end the dinner at Goose City or LTF (which I think closes on Mondays) Lan Jia Gua Bao 3 Roosevelt Road, Sec 3, Lane 316, Alley 8, Gonguan (very close to the MRT station, I want to say exit #3 but I can't remember). Stewed pork belly (5 different kinds of cuts of fatty pork, with cilantro, minced peanuts, preserved sour veg) in a delicious steamed bun. This is arguably Gong Guan's #1 street food. The "four gods" herbal soup is pretty good too. Pix: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/PwaZvO3aufl98xXEPtLbMA?select=VH1iDLLS2nLQmpkNdKSkIw Goose City restaurant - 77 Liaoning Street Taipei. It's a sit down table and stool restaurant. You point to the seafood outside and tell them how you want it prepared. Super fresh stuff all trucked in from Keelung. Prawns sashimi is fantastic, smoked goose, bitter melon stir fried with salted egg, and steamed fish....hmmm hmm. Photos: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/otn0bMnIoi8ACTLMYoHT2g?select=X-v1E9f7_HkkLrbdpjnegg Kao Jia Juang - 279 North Lin Shin Road Taipei. Mondo old school street food eatery, and their #1 offering is simmered pork intestines, melt in your mouth delicious. Pair it up with a bowl of mi tai mu in a beautiful konbu/bonito flakes broth. The side dishes here are equally excellent. Get a refill on the broth, superb on cold nights. Photos here: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/InVvrYTZ48dllF6aY4Po1g?select=2E4KMUSafSxxtXFMAAsnvw Here's a list I compiled of the places I've visited/eaten in the last 5+ years of several visits http://www.yelp.com/list/its-yelp-taiwan-san-francisco Tue Jul 28 12:18:20 -0700 2009 4894147 12872 K K 2 4900480 I like the beef noodles at Niu Baba. Go for the NT$300 bowls...either spicy or clear broth. I've tried the NT1000 bowl and thought it was pretty good. Never did try the NT$3,000 or the NT$10,000 bowls... Wed Jul 29 10:35:13 -0700 2009 4897567 132103 Peech 3 4913716 Okay, for a variety of reasons I didn't get to try all (or even many) of the recommendations above. Nonetheless, I offer the following trip review: 1010 in the top of the Eslite Building, near Taipei 101: modern Hunan food, similar to Guyi in Shanghai. One of my dining companions didn't like spicy stuff, so we were a little limited in the ordering, but overall, I liked it better than Guyi - less greasy. Raohe night market Fuzhou Hujiao Bing. An awesome item that lived up to KK's plaudits. I looked for the Lao Dong Niu Rou Mian, but was told it had closed. I found some other place whose name I can't remember and whose food was not such a great idea. For instance, the niu rou mian contained no meat. No tendon, no cow parts. Beef broth yes, but no beef. Flavor not so good either. The rest of Raohe market was okay (chicken cutlet, some tiny guo tie, and a fruit ice) - but not up to what I would call "Taiwan standards." Niu rou mian at the Far Eastern hotel. Really fantastic. The noodles, like pretty much all noodles in Taiwan, have a delicious springiness to them that you don't really find in the mainland. Du Xiao Yue on Yongkang Jie. Again, really good, as reviewed by KK. Monster Ice on Yongkang Jie. Fresh fruit, condensed milk, and syrup. What's not to like? Sate House on LeLi Rd, near AnHe Rd and TungHua Rd. Good Indonesian food - sate, beef rendang, kangkung, lemper ayam, and resoles. Niu rou mian at Eslite shopping mall - Ye Ji (野吉） beef noodle. Again, pretty good. Guo tie from the Beijing restaurant just south of Heping Rd on DunHua Nan Lu - Tong Ai Lou (同爱楼) - they make them from scratch when you order - roll the skins out, stuff them, etc. They're more expensive, but larger and made to order, than your average stand. Thanks again for the advice. I'm just sorry I couldn't try more of the suggestions. Mon Aug 03 12:14:09 -0700 2009 4900480 16414 JTS 4 4914210 Thanks for posting your followup, glad you enjoyed two recommendations from the list. Rao He night market is on the tourist side, but not as heavily visited internationally by tourists (mostly from Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan) as Shih Lin (and arguably the largest). The Hu Jiao Bing/Pork Pepper Cake has multiple locations but the original flagship location is at Rao He and tastes the best. The last two times I tried the Shih Lin locations the quality dipped a bit. I don't remember offhand what else at Rao He was spectacular. I'd say one of the best night markets in Taiwan is Ning Xia Road Night Market, focusing on classical 1950s era Taipei (old school) revival type snacks like beef parts, old style Oyster Omlette, and many more, there are a few reviews I did of vendors from that place. Of course Keelung night market is also excellent, but will require a NT$1000+ taxi ride from Taipei (roughly 30 to 40 mins), you will need 5 stomachs (even if that were biologically possible) to eat your way through Keelung in a night (and that's only on the main strip of 200 stalls). The original Tu Hsiao Yeh (iddi.com.tw) started in Tainan, and each location is supposedly a little different. The Yongkang Jie location was probably made a bit more upscale to match the city vibe, thus the slight Japanese kaiseki style theme. The founder originally came from Fujian province in the late 1800s, and I just love the history of this family run business. Damn all this talking is making me hungry, I can't wait to go back again. Mon Aug 03 14:26:27 -0700 2009 4913716 12872 K K 5 4915297 Here's a video I recorded at the Shihlin night market branch of Rao He Night Market Hu Jiao Bing, action footage of the buns being prepped and roasted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEp5Mw899sU Mon Aug 03 22:30:03 -0700 2009 4914210 12872 K K