Taiwan Day 11: Eat and Drink at Saute Restaurant, a Quick Fry Shop / 在33區熱炒生猛海鮮邊吃邊喝 (Taipei: Zhongshan District / 台北市: 中山區)

Quick fry stores are Taiwan's way of combining the restaurant and bar.  It is a blend of food and drink that fuses together so many styles of eating that it is not easy to describe the kind of venue that it is.  While it is frequented after work as a venue for a combined happy hour and dinner, it really brings together aspects of Chinese dim sum, Japanese izakaya, Spanish tapas, and American happy hour all under the same roof.  Dishes can range from grilled meat on sticks, both raw and cooked seafood, deep fried pub food, and the ever popular Chinese style stir fry presented on small plates.  All of the food is meant to be consumed with beer or wine.  Art, Diana, and I dropped in to Saute Restaurant (33區 熱炒生猛海鮮) to get our grub and guzzle on.

What goes better with beer than fried chicken wings (南乳炸雞翅)? It's almost obligatory.  Thin and crisp skin on the outside with juicy meat on the inside make for an irresistible starting snack.

Food on a stick is just about as good as anything deep fried when it comes to pairing food with beer.  These cumin lamb skewers (孜然羊肉串) really hit the spot.  They were well seasoned from tip to tail with an earthy spice that begged for a chasing of beer.

Speaking of beer, the three of us were having Taiwan Beer (台湾啤酒).  The national namesake has a special taste as it incorporates the locally grown Formosa rice (蓬萊米) into its brew, adding a subtle hint of sweetness and making it very drinkable.  Taiwan Beer comes in many varieties.  Art and Diana tested out the new mango and grape flavors; they are sweeter and have less alcohol content.  I stuck with the draft version.  Its short 18 day shelf life keeps it fresh.

I have had so much chilled bamboo (鮮竹筍) on the trip already that you would think I have exhausted my taste for it, but this panda food has got such a cleansing mouth feel that it is tough to avoid.  It works as a great palate cleanser between the greasy appetizers and the forthcoming courses.

Being from an island nation that was formerly a Japanese colony, the Taiwanese are big fans of fresh seafood, and nothing is fresher than fish recently hauled in from the Pacific.  We actually saw the restaurant staff haul in a massive tuna fish into the restaurant while we were eating, so we had no choice but to order the tuna sashimi (鮪魚刺身).  We also ordered the salmon sashimi (鮭魚刺身) for good measure.

This happened in the middle of our meal... pretty neat.  It is always good to see restaurants using the freshest ingredients for their customers.  That was one massive monster of a maguro.

A favorite of any Taiwanese establishment, whether restaurant or bar, is three cup chicken (三杯雞腿).  33區 uses thigh and leg meat only in their preparation.  The result is an undeniably juicy soy and wine infused chicken.  The abundant use of garlic, ginger, and fresh basil is simply mouth watering.  Great with rice, great with beer... just so good.

Veggies! It just so happens that the three of us are on the same page regarding the vegetable consumption.  Loofah and clams (蛤蜊絲瓜) is a homey dish that we have all had during our childhood.  While more famously known for its body cleaning purposes, loofah is actually a squash like vegetable that, to me, is like a cross between cucumber and zucchini.  The fresh clams adds a seafood essence to the dish.

As the meal draws to a close, the yearning for heartier and more substantial fare grows.  Scrambled eggs and shrimp (滑蛋蝦仁) warmed us up and balanced out all the cold beer we had.  The greasy eggs and succulent shrimp provided a warmth that we really needed.  But even then, I'm pretty sure we drank some more.

There were two more dishes, but by this time in the meal, we had so consumed so many bottles of beer that it was not easy to recollect the names of the dishes... or even what we had eaten for that matter.  I would bank them being stir-fried seafood dishes though.  Cheers!

Until next time, get your drink on.  Let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

33區熱炒生猛海鮮 (Area 33 Quick Fry Seafood)
台北市中山區長安東路一段63-1號
No. 63-1, Chang An East Rd., Section 1, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

An equally authentic establishment in Los Angeles:
Uncle Yu's Indian Theme Restaurant
633 S. San Gabriel Blvd.  Suite 105
San Gabriel, CA 91776

ML - 20130710

Post 82.2: Tsuke Udon - Mr. Lee Brought Fresh Udon from Japan, Part 2

One more pack of fresh Japanese udon left... what shall we do with it?

How about following the instructions on the package of noodles?

The instructions in the package suggested that the noodles be served tsuke style, which meant that the noodles should be dipped into sauce or broth rather than having the sauce or broth poured over the top of it.  I've only ever had tsuke style udon in Japanese restaurants before, so I thought it would be fun to make it at home.  Ken approved.

Ken and I strolled through Mitsuwa to see what kinds of ingredients we could add to the udon.  We picked out a package of beautifully cut pork belly on skewers.  I also picked up some more honshimeiji mushrooms.

I made a quick marinade of soy sauce, ponzu, minced garlic, sesame oil, and salt and pepper.  It didn't have to sit long because the cuts of pork belly had high fat content, which would already give the skewers a large dose of flavor.

After boiling the udon and tossing it into an ice bath, I placed them in a bowl as the foundation for our skewers, soft boiled egg, and other ingredients.  The mushrooms were blanched in the dashi broth that came with the package of noodles, and they were quickly removed from the hot liquid and placed on the bed of noodles.  The soft-boiled egg was cooked to the point at which the white was solid but the yolk was still runny.  Awesome.  A quick chop of green onions made for a nice touch of color and a refreshing crunch for some texture contrast.

The tsuke, or dipping, broth was served just above lukewarm.  It was just salty enough to coat the udon with a tingle of flavor.  The grilled pork belly skewers provided the rest of the pizzazz of flavor.

A Japanese meal without miso soup just isn't a Japanese meal at all, so I prepared a miso soup with cubes of mini tofu and ribbons of seaweed.  It doesn't take more than five minutes for that soup.  All in all, it was a simple meal, but a good amount of time was required for the delicate preparation.  Thanks again to Ken and Mr. Lee for the chance to cook with fresh Japanese noodles.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

This post features photography by Ken Lee.

ML - 20120325

Post 26.12: Vancouver - Day 3 (Dinner/Post-dinner)

If there's one thing I miss about Taiwan, it's strolling through the night market.  Alright, it's never that easy to stroll through a night market in Taipei... getting stuck and possibly sandwiched is more like it.  But it's the energy of the night that I miss.  There is literally a buzz in the air... if not from the chatter of conversation in the local language then from the molecules flowing through the numerous neon tubes that bring light and warmth to the atmosphere.  Oh, Shilin, how I wish you weren't a 14-hour flight away...

Well, I was in luck because Vancouver has its very own annual summer night market.  And I happened to be right in the midst of the commotion.  I can't believe I even told Amanda that it was alright if we never made it to the night market.  I'm really glad she responded with, "Man, if people found out that I didn't take you to the night market..."

I'm not sure if she ever finished that sentence or if I tuned it out because I didn't want to know the consequences. Either way, I'm glad I made it to the craziness that was the night market. (Thanks, Amanda.) Stands stood next to stand... it was hard to see the gap where one stand ended and the next began. Endless rows of stands served snacks and traditional delicacies from all over the Asian continent... I was enthused to see the different foods represented from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines...

Of course, my stomach had a field day.  We started off with a crepe that was filled with strawberries, Nutella, vanilla ice cream, and a good helping of whipped cream.





Watching the crepe master make it was a bit of fun in itself.  The crepe creator solidified the crepe batter, laid the strawberries out one by one, drizzled chocolate syrup, dropped vanilla ice cream, and folded the crepe all in less than five minutes.



Right next to the crepe stand was a skewer stand that offered everything from grilled lamb skewers to barbecued ice cream on a stick.  Whoooa... BBQ ice cream? Curious much? I asked the cashier what exactly BBQ ice cream was, and she replied, "Look.  Picture." 

Hah.  I guess her answer meant that it was time to fully satisfy our sweet tooths.



It was so obvious which order was ours.  There were just three little spheres of ice cream smoking next to a dozen or so lamb skewers on the grill.  The poor little ice cream balls looked so out of place that I couldn't stop laughing.



They topped it off by drizzling the ice cream with a bit of condensed milk and Hershey's chocolate syrup.  One bite, and Ian exclaimed, "Man! These are cream puffs!"

Oh, and how right he was.  They really tasted simply like frozen cream puffs that had a smoky essence.  I was disappointed by the advertising... but delighted by what I tasted.



My sweet tooth was satisfied... overly so.  I wanted just some plain water to get the potential tooth decay taste out of my mouth, but I came across a Japanese stand with a fresh ginger cooler.  It was sweet but sharp and biting at the same time... all the characteristics of fresh, raw ginger... and none of the characteristics of ginger ale.  Amanda took a sip of it, and she made the same face that a child would make upon tasting chopped liver for the first time.  I don't think either of us appreciated the little bits and pieces of fresh ginger floating around inside the drink.  Perhaps onto something else...?

At the same stand I ordered the Japanese-style burger with an extra helping of kimchi in the middle.  At that time I think I was attempting to fill my void of Taiwan's Mos Burger, a hamburger chain that specializes in Japanese-style hamburgers, many of which have sticky rice in place of the typical bread bun.  Each time I took a bite, the pressure from the chomp squeezed the center of the burger, which caused teriyaki sauce to oooooze out of the middle... it dripped onto the rice bun... the napkin... my hand... mmmmm...



We got some Japanese takoyaki too.  Half a dozen spheres of octopus were covered with Japanese mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, seaweed confetti, and of course, the flakes of bonito that wisp with the heat of the takoyaki.  I love watching the bonito flakes writhe in the heat, especially on okonomiyaki.

We saved the one item we were all waiting for last. Although we went straight for the Hong Kong style egg waffles when we first walked into the night market, the line was so long that we decided to come back later. And even when we returned, the line was just as long... the only difference was that our craving for the waffle increased ten-fold.

I snuck a little peak behind the stand's plastic curtains to see the waffle machines at full capacity.  Each time the waffle iron clamped down to close, the batter would seep out and leave a trail of batter droplets on the iron.  After hundreds of times of closing the waffle iron, more and more trails of batter accumulated onto the iron's surface, leaving an unconsumed little hill of semi-cooked waffle behind.

After waiting for what only seemed like an eternity, we picked up our double order of original egg flavored waffle and chocolate flavored waffle. And I'll be the first one to say... it was worth the wait. I was already stuffed to the brim with crepe, ice cream, ginger water, rice and meat, and takoyaki, but it was so hard to stay away from these waffles. Each sphere (we had a lot of spherical-shaped food at the night market) was crispy and warm... and I tore each section off one at a time and popped each one. With each bite I broke the crust and allowed the steam to escape (the waffles are hallow) from the waffle's insides to the insides of my mouth. Ooooh... it's like a reminder that the waffles just came right off the iron. FRESH. That waffle was FRESH.



Mmmm... fresh waffle.  Fresh crepe.  Fresh okonomiyaki.  Fresh everything.  I inhaled a bit of faux Taiwanese atmosphere while inhaling carbs galore from around the world.  Man, this night market was amazing-awesome.  That's one thing I'll say that has USA beat.  Night markets in Taipei, Keelung, and Kaohsiung? Oh yeah, there are plenty.  Night markets in LA? You'd think there would be.  But night markets in Vancouver? I didn't think so, but I'm sure as hell glad that there are.  (Take out the horrid manure scent from the Home Depot across the street, and you've got an even better night market.)



Hey SoCal, I say we have some night markets at the Pomona Fairgrounds, OC Fair, and Del Mar Fair whenever the fairs aren't around.

Next post: The most expensive poutine ever