Taipei - any updates on the following places?

[hong_kong_foodie]

Has anyone been to any of these places recently? Would love to get an update if possible.

Apologies in advance that everything is in Chinese -- there are no English names, and I wasn't sure how to translate them.

XIAO LONG BAO --

Name: 盛園絲瓜小籠湯包
Location: 台北市杭州南路二段25巷1號
Favorites: 絲瓜小籠湯包, 三鮮鍋貼, 蘿蔔絲餅

Name: 蘇杭點心店
Location: 台北市羅斯福路二段14號
Favorites: 小籠包, 芝麻小包

BOBA --

Name: 50嵐綠茶專賣店
Location: multiple locations

Name: 清心福全冷飲站
Location: multiple locations

BEEF NOODLE SOUP --

Name: 鼎旺麻辣鍋
Location: 台北市大安區大安路一段251號
Favorites: 牛肉麵, 鴛鴦麻辣鍋, 滷鳳爪, 鴨血

Name: 永康牛肉麵
Location: 台北市金山南路二段31巷17號
Favorites: 紅燒牛肉麵, 清燉牛肉麵

STREET SNACKS --

Name: 永享炸雞 (popcorn chicken)
Location: 台北市永康街15-8號

Name: 公館宜蘭蔥餅 (large green onion pancake)
Location: multiple locations

[abstractpoet]

I can't give you a very recent report, but when I lived in Taipei (2 years ago), I much preferred Lao Zhang's to Yongkang Beef Noodle Soup, which is the place you listed. The two noodle shops are right next door to each other. The main difference was the meat, which is much more tender at Lao Zhang's -- and Yongkang it was unappealingly tough. Lao Zhang also does very good "fen zhen" intestines.

My favorite place for scallion pancakes is in Tianmu -- found a picture/description on flikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yusheng/... (don't know the address offhand, but the place is called 燈亮有餅 (or, "When the Light is on, there are Pancakes" -- love that name!). Definitely WAY better than the stand near NTU/Gongguan, if the one you listed is the one I'm thinking of.

I always found 50嵐 to be one of the better bubble tea chains.

[hong_kong_foodie]

I've been to both Yong Kang 永康牛肉麵 and Lao Zhang 老張牛肉麵 but recall liking Yong Kang more than Lao Zhang even though neither place really wowed me.

I recently tried Yong Kang again but still didn't like it that much, and Lao Zhang had already moved to its new location (台北市愛國東路105號) so I wasn't able to give it another go. Any other suggestions for beef noodle soup?

I haven't been to 燈亮有餅 for scallion pancakes, but ALL of my friends rave about it so one of these days I will definitely check it out.

[abstractpoet]

Well, I'm partial to Lao Zhang--I know it's not the most sophisticated broth, but it's honest and homey and--well, basically, when I think of what beef noodle soup is supposed to taste like, theirs is the version I'm thinking of. Old school...but good enough for me!

That said, I think K K's suggestion to check out the contest winners is a good suggestion. Though a few years ago, a place called Chuan Wang (饌王) won, and later it turned out that they had cheating by flooding the online ballot. (I think they've since gotten rid of the online voting.) That place does make a pretty good tomato-based beef noodle soup, but certainly nothing extraordinary or anything.

I've tried Niu Baba a couple of times and thought it was good but nothing special. I think it was the hot place to go for a while, but then fell out of favor--the times we went there were hardly any other customers. I haven't tried the NT$3,000 bowl though! =)

Another place I like is 清真中國牛肉麵--it's this Halal place that does a really good 清燉牛肉麵, with a light, clear broth. That place is also known for their 斤餅--kind of like crepes, which they always make to order. You order a bowl of noodles, and then get some crepes to eat with other dishes, like the 斤醬牛肉絲 (tender strips of beef in a mildly sweet sauce). They have a shop inside one of the mall food courts, but that one isn't nearly as good--go to the original location in an alley off Yanji St., near the Sun Yet-Sen Memorial (in that same alley is the best place in Taipei for Hong Kong style cafe food, like pineapple buns w/ butter, but if you are the "hong kong foodie", you probably don't need to go to Taipei for that!).

[K K]

I went to 饌王 which was within walking distance of one of the Sogo's, probably back in 2005. I have to say it was quite disappointing, although of course better than SF Bay Area, and it was around NT$270 for a large bowl of half beef shank and half tendon (should have ordered tomato beef, but I didn't know then). Heard good things about the halal place too, which has been around for some time. I'm sure one cannot go wrong with that, or 72 which is actually around or a little less than a year old. However the winner of the clear stew category of 2009 is a place called Mala Heaven for using a Yunan style Chi Guo (air steaming pot) normally used for chicken soup, but they applied the concept for beef noodle soup. The winner of the 2009 red stewed/spicy is actually a place somewhere in southern Taiwan.

The booklet I got lists not contest winners but a list of nominees recommended by the "Taiwan beef noodle Michelin Guide" folks. The two places I tried were listed, and were very spot on with the ratings (and quality).

[abstractpoet]

Yeah, I would rate 饌王 average at best (for Taipei) on the whole. Above average for their tomato-based version, but even then still definitely not even close to the "best" in any respect.

[hong_kong_foodie]

No wonder we had such a lackluster experience at Chuan Wang (饌王) back when we tried it in 2008. We knew they had won the beef noodle contest, but we were so disappointed by the food. The noodles were ordinary, the beef was tough, and the soup was very and flavorless.

In hindsight, we should have known something was wrong when we walked into the restaurant--it was completely empty. Granted it was 3pm on a weekday, but a place that well regarded should have been busier.

[K K]

Wheerever you end up for your upcoming trip, please report back. It's good to have multiple perspectives. Plus I may head back later this year.

[hong_kong_foodie]

Just went to 盛園絲瓜小籠湯包 for lunch and thought the meal was fine but probably won't go back anytime soon. By US standards, the food was great: the various types of xiao long bao dumplings (e.g. 小籠包, 絲瓜小籠湯包, etc) were well made, the turnip cakes (蘿蔔絲餅) were tasty, and the other pastries (e.g. 抓餅) hit the spot. By Taipei standards, however, the meal was far from spectacular: the dumpling skin was a bit too thick and there wasn't enough broth inside, the turnip cakes were a tad bit too doughy, and the other pastries were not simultaneously fluffy and crispy enough. The worst were the potstickers (三鮮鍋貼) that came out completely stuck to one another in batches of six -- unbelievable.

So I definitely enjoyed the meal but I wasn't blown away like the first time I went to this restaurant a couple of years back. In fact, the last couple of times (including this most recent visit) were a bit of a let down, and considering the incredible selection available in Taipei, there's no reason to come back - at least for a while.

[K K]

Cool thanks for reporting back. Check out this dude's writeups and see if you want to try these two places, since you seem to be on a dumpling hunt

http://blog.yam.com/peray1/article/19863759

http://blog.yam.com/peray1/article/77... (oolong tea XLB...)

[K K]

Aside from Din Tai Fung and perhaps once at some random breakfast place in Yong Ho township, I haven't had XLB anywhere else in Taipei. DTF Taipei is fun to go once, but you are competing with tourists from Hong Kong for table space.

As touristy as it may be, I really enjoy 台南度小月擔仔麵, where they have a branch on Yong Kang street, around the corner from DTF. I believe the address is 台北市大安區福住里永康街9-1‎.

I too have heard that Lao Zhang is the better of the two beef noodle places on Yong Kang street, but there are actually better places to go. But if you only have time to be on YK street, then Lao Zhang it is. Even though these two YK beef noodle places are 50 years old supposedly, they're no longer on the uber popular list, and have not won any Beef Noodle Soup Festival awards.

If you like Shandong style 白湯清燉牛肉麵, literally pure ox bone soup with no MSG, no milk powder, and no bone powder added that easily destroys any tonkotsu ramen from SF Bay Area, this is your place

七十二牛肉麵 (72 beef noodles)
台北市大安區建國南路一段188號‎
Tel: [phone]‎
(for more details click on the link listed in my profile...)

72 also does a nice red stewed version (spicy with at least 10+ herbs in the broth), but the clear broth/stew is the winner. You can get free soup refills. The appetizer dish 眷村炒滷味 at NT$100 is excellent too.

I almost tried this place last time

老外一品牛肉麵, run by a Persian named Davod who has lived in Taipei for many years, married a Taiwanese wife, came up with his own receipe for beef noodles and imports spices and herbs from Iran to create a more robust and rich fragrant product.

http://persian-gulf.web66.com.tw/web/...

I've had 公館宜蘭蔥餅 once, but I was not blown away by it. Too starchy for my own good.
My favorite thing to have at 公館 is 割包 at 藍家割包, this is something you cannot have in SF Bay Area and I'm sure even Baohaus and other places in NY won't taste the same

藍家割包
台北市中正區羅斯福路三段316巷8弄3號‎

BOBA....hmmm never been to those places, but virtually any random place is good. If you want to go to the source, 春水堂 that originated in Taichung claims to have invented the boba drink. 春水堂 has several locations in Taipei, it's a nice tea house with a retro wood theme, and the drinks can't be beat. This is more of a proper sit down relaxed setting (with cooked food).

[abstractpoet]

I always went to the Din Tai Fung on Zhongxiao E. Rd. instead of the original shop by Yongkang St. The food is the same, the wait is much shorter, and the service is better too. The original DTF was strictly for tourists (mostly Japanese). Actually, a couple doors down on Yongkang there was another shop (next to Kao-Chi) that made XLB just as good as DTF's for much cheaper (and with no wait).

If you go to DTF, make sure you order the fried rice. It's so simple but so good.

I LOVE 台南度小月擔仔麵!! -- that simple bowl of noodle soup (w/ maybe a meatball and a soy-braised egg added) was one of my favorite things to eat on my lunch break. And so ridiculously cheap, at around US$2. I wish there was someplace in the Bay Area that sold those noodles.

One of my favorite boba drinks was 青蛙下蛋 ("the frog lays eggs"), which is just milk (no tea) with boba, with the only sweetness coming from the boba themselves, which are so, so good. I believe there's a stand near Gongguan.

春水堂 is good, but kind of pricy, as far as bubble tea goes--they charge double the price if you order the larger size. And the one we would go to (in a Mitsukoshi department store) always had so many people smoking that it could get pretty unpleasant.

[hong_kong_foodie]

I love the original DTF but agree that the wait is ridiculous. The last time I was there it was 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and I still had to wait 30 mins for a table.

Yep, I agree that the fried rice is good - I like the one with the fried pork chop - and always get the chicken soup and red bean dumpling for dessert, in addition to the xiao long bao of course.

For some reason I have never liked the food at 度小月. I know it's very well known (and also very popular with tourists) so I've been there a couple of times just to make sure (different locations as well), but I never found it that appealing.

[K K]

As for more beef noodle recommendations, assuming they still have it, go to the underground mall between the Zhongxiao MRT stations and locate the tourist/visitor center that gives out free maps and brochures. In Dec they still had the 09 edition of Beef Noodle Soup Festival with "Taiwan Michelin" voter picks. The winners are not announced on the website and are not mentioned in the guide, but I have to say the ratings are quite accurate. That's how I learned about 72 beef noodles and ventured there to try it.

許家黃金牛肉麵餃子館‏ is almost as good, but the interior is a little divey. I loved the broth a lot (especially with pork and cabbage dumplings), but the noodles weren't as spectacular. Located at 台北市松山區八德路四段272號‎. Still very fulfilling.

Beef Daddy (Niu Baba) is very famous amongst beef noodle enthusiasts, the guy goes crazy and offers US$10 bowls, and even a NT$3000 version, with the highest end one hitting NT$10,000 (Matsuzaka Japanese beef with several other cuts from Australia, Brazil etc). Even his tomato beef noodle is US$20....

There is one Vietnamese pho place in the listing surprisingly, I think by Yong Kang street, that's supposed to be really good.

[K K]

I tried the 青蛙下蛋 place right across Lan Jia Gua Bao 藍家割包, and while the tapioca was decent, the whole drink was a bit average. For a much better milk with fresh boba experience at 公館, 墾丁蛋蛋ㄉㄨㄞ奶 (Kenting Dan Dan Dwai Nai) is way better, and you can add green bean and/or grass jelly. The only sweetener they use is brown sugar, and it tastes a lot more natural. Address is 台北市中正區汀州路三段165號.

春水堂 may be pricey for Taipei, but it is a steal compared to SF Bay Area rip off prices at 1/4 of the quality... Try the 奉茶 chain for their signature 霜乳奶茶, like a deconstructed cream tea (with cream on the top). They're all over Taipei, better than "Legend" chain. Sometimes I can't help but pay the $$$ for Ten Ren Tea Station's iced kumquat green tea (NT$70 a cup, pricey by local standards)....another flavor SF Bay Area Ten Ren's cannot reproduce.

[sourgirl]

abstractpoet, I know the place on YongKang Jie you're talking about next to kao chi. Their vegetable dumplings are just as good as DTF or Kao Chi's, and there's never a wait and they're cheaper. Also, the vietnamese place on YKJ is pretty damn good, or at least their vegetarian "pho" is - i've never found anything else like it. Super good lemongrass / hot and sour broth with rice noodles, tofu, and tons of veggies. As for the best scallion pancake in Taipei, I'm partial to one of the men in Ximen. Also, by exit 5 of the Yongchun MRT you will find absolutely THE BEST dan bing in all of taipei. believe me, I think I tried almost all of the. the pancake is never greasy and more like a crepe, but thicker...almost halfway between a crepe and a pita. I can't explain it, try for yourself. Happy hunting!

[Indy 67]

My husband and I just got home from a trip that included a visit to Tai Pei where we ate fabulous Beef Noodle Soup. We made an afternoon visit to the friend of a friend, and close to leaving, we asked about retaurant recommendations. Our host insisted on taking us to his favorite beef noodle place, Silver Mark. (I have a business card, but it is entirely in Chinese which I can't read. The only additional clue I can offer is that the owner places a statue of Chiang Kai-sheck outside the restaurant daily.)

We thought this homey dish was one of the best things we've ever eaten. The stock was both insanely rich after a long simmer with plenty of meat and bones and beautifully seasoned to achieve a nice balance of beefiness with faintly sweet and faintly spicy flavors. The meat was wonderfully tender, and the noodles had an appealing density. (The guide who had been taking us around the island also joined us for dinner, but she wasn't too enthusiastic about this version. When we later asked her what was wrong with the taste, she said that she -- and the younger generation -- prefers the level of chili spicing to be so high that it becomes painful to eat. We’ll agree to disagree!)

Later in this thread, I noticed a comment about the annual vote for the best beef noodle soup. FWIW, this restaurant was one of those winners.