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 65.3: Taipei - Traditional Taiwanese, Part 3 (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

As the last post in a three-part series on traditional Taiwanese food, I have decided to dedicate this post to a restaurant group that is known for their traditional Taiwanese dishes. 

The Shin Yeh restaurants (欣葉) are known for preparing local fare in upscale settings.  Many of the restaurants sit on upper level floors of buildings that overlook Taipei's main thoroughfares.  Some are even set in lounge like atmosphere with dim lighting, trendy music, and novel cocktails.  This is a stark contrast to other traditional Taiwanese restaurants like Little Lin's Seafood and Sit Fun, where the fresh ingredients are laid out by the entrance in refrigerators or over ice.  According to its history, the owner of the original Shin Yeh knew that Taiwanese fare was a simple food and dedicated herself to developing it into a gourmet cuisine that could be served in banquet settings.  The food here is still whipped up in that distinct Taiwanese style of fresh ingredients and simple preparation.  And of course, the main ingredient in the dish is given the spotlight as the essential star of the show.

My family and I dined at shinyeh' table, a sister restaurant of the original Shin Yeh that targets a younger crowed.  Shinyeh' table (蔥花) occasionally names their dishes in creative ways, utilizing puns and analogies and other tongue-in-cheek methods of capturing the guests' attention.  Not all the dishes have amusing names though.  In fact, most of them are pretty standard, but the ones that do bear amusing names really do stir up a chuckle here and there.

Pork song rice (猴囝仔拌飯)
Pork song (肉鬆), also known as pork floss in some bakeries, is a staple in every Taiwanese household.  It's shredded, dried pork that acts almost as a condiment in items such as rice porridge, sandwiches, and even hot soy milk for breakfast.  The texture has been described to be similar to cotton candy, something that melts in your mouth but still provides a slight crunch on first bite.  It's a great addition to basic, steamed, white rice.  The crunch of the pork song is initially a contrast to the steamed rice, but it eventually blends in with the fluff of the rice as easily as the famous little chocolates melt in your mouth.

Wok seared rice noodles (蔥花米粉炒)
Although a rice noodle dish may seem relatively simple, there is a lengthy preparation that occurs prior to the final step of stir-frying.  Vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, celery, mushrooms and snap peas need to be cleaned and chopped... pork or chicken should be sliced into strips, and even eggs have to be scrambled.  Most of the preparation, however, is focused on the rice noodles.  The best rice noodles are said to originate in a oceanside city called Hsinchu (新竹), about one to two hours outside of Taipei.  The makers of rice noodles there hang the strands of noodles out to dry with the natural sunshine and ocean breeze of Hsinchu in the same way that laundry is hung out to dry in the yard.  It is this process that gets each rice noodle dried into individual threads, and it is that separation of the noodle that makes the best stir-fry.

Poached cuttlefish with five spice sauce (無情軟絲)

Squid served with a side of soy sauce paste and wasabi, fresh shredded ginger, and pickled radish is a dish that captures the essence of the Japanese influence on Taiwanese cuisine.  The soy sauce paste, as the name indicates, has five different spices in it, only one of which I can actually pick out... minced garlic.  It probably took more time for the chef to fan out the squid and to shred the ginger than it did for him to actually cook the sublime sea creature.  Simplicity and presentation in detail... the epitome of a Taiwanese dish.

Wok fried loofah with garlic (翻滾吧絲瓜)

Loofah, garlic, and oil... the simplicity here gets carried all the way to mom and pop shops in Agoura Hills.

Great Wall of pig intestine (半里腸城)

The title employs the Great Wall of China (chang cheng / 長城) as a homonym for walls made of intestine (chang cheng / 腸城).  Presented in a way that mimics the Great Wall across the Strait, the mustard greens and soy will protect you from the invading fears of consuming a digestive organ.

Crispy fried soft shell crab (啵棒軟殼蟹)

Deep fried soft shell crab.  Crispy basil and spicy chili.  Done deal.

Prawns stir-fried with tropical fruit (果粒纖蝦)
We all know honey walnut shrimp, but I can guarantee that these prawns dotted with pineapple, kiwi fruit, and bell pepper confetti will completely wipe honey walnut shrimp out of your mind afterward.  A mouthful of natural sweetness oozes from the pores of the slightly crispy shrimp with each bite.  It's a stir-fried version of what I'd eat everyday if I were trapped on a deserted tropical island.

One of the dishes that had an amusing name was a pork and bamboo stir-fry called Teacher I'm So Sorry (老師對不起).  I didn't understand the attempt at humor at first, but my aunt explained that back in her elementary school days the teachers would use bamboo poles to smack the rear ends of misbehaving students.  Consequently, someone must have thought of combining strips of bamboo shoots with tender slices of pork in a stir-fry dish.  It's humorous in a slightly morbid way.

Some of the other amusing names are listed below.  These will require a knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and perhaps a familiarity with the Before & After category on Wheel of Fortune to fully extract the humor:

• 歐麥咖哩麻辣燙 - a spicy curry seafood hot pot roughly translated to Oh My G--rry Spicy Hot Pot.  Fill in the blanks with either 'od' or 'cu,' and the idea reveals itself. 
• 心肝寶貝 - Precious Liver; a liver dish using liver as a pun for honey, precious, or baby as a term of endearment.  In English it implies that the liver is precious because it's an essential organ to the body.  Well, yeah...
• 白鱈公主 - Snow White Codfish; steamed codfish that uses the character for codfish (xue / 鱈) as a homonym for the snow in Snow White (xue / 雪).
• 虎咬豬 - Tiger Bites the Pig, a pork belly pacman bun (gua bao); the bun supposedly symbolizes the tiger's mouth, and the pig (pork belly) is trapped within its jaws.
• Q呆呆杏仁豆腐 - Dummy Almond Jelly (also known as almond tofu), a dessert that implies that the jello is so dumb that it just sits in the bowl idly.
• 這個那個西米露 - tapioca dessert that had the name slightly altered from Ziga Zaga (zig zag with an Asian accent) to zhege nage, which means this one and that one, implying that there are plenty of tapioca balls in the dessert.
• 等超久蔥花小麻糬 - Waited So Long House Mochi, titled so because the patrons truly wait for a lengthy period of time for the kitchen staff to prepare the hand-made Taiwanese rice cakes to order.

Hopefully this series of posts help everyone gain a better understanding of what traditional Taiwanese cuisine is all about.  It's rare to find this kind of truly authentic Taiwanese food Stateside, so perhaps this will encourage foodies around the world to take a trip to Taiwan for a culinary inspired trip.  Until next time, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

shinyeh' table (蔥花)

台北市 大安區/ Taipei City, Da An District

忠孝東路 4段 201號 2樓/ Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, No. 201, 2nd floor

How I get there:

MRT: Zhongxiao Dunhua Station (捷運忠孝敦化站)

exit no. 2; entrance is across the front door of Starbucks

ML - 20110903

Post 50.3: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 3 - Authentic Chinese (LA: Agoura Hills)

The Thousand Oaks area has plenty of cookie-cutter restaurant chains that serve cookie-cutter American food.  It's tough to find a good mom and pop shop that serves anything remotely close to the cuisine from the home country.  The first time I was introduced to a local Chinese restaurant, I sat down to find a placemat with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and a shining, metal fork.  Now... I'm not against Western silverware, but the lack of chopsticks in plain sight in an authentic Chinese restaurant is a bit unnerving.  And disappointing.  The second time a co-worker suggested Chinese food, I walked up to a restaurant with two abnormally large horses guarding the entrance... not my definition of Chinese food.

Thankfully, another co-worker discovered Hot Wok, a small mom and pop restaurant run by an immigrant trio from the northeastern region of China.  Rather than serving overly soy sauced Americanized Chinese chock full of water chestnuts, Hot Wok (滾鍋) rolls out truly down home items like hand-made dumplings (手工水餃), scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), and spicy broiled (poached) fish filet (水煮魚片).  Here are some of the dishes from Hot Wok that have saved me from the panda and the horse in T.O.




Black bean noodles
listed on the menu as cha jiang mien (炸醬麵)

With plenty of cucumbers and bean sprouts, this noodle dish is a little bit Chinese... but with a simple black bean sauce, this noodle dish mixes in the characteristic of Korean jjajangmyeon.  My ideal version would include a good portion of ground pork, but the black bean sauce is enough to make me feel right at home.

Leek & pork dumplings
listed on the menu under (韮菜豬肉水餃)

Hand-made dumplings around the Conejo Valley? Unbelievable.  Not only do they come close to the real deal, they are the real deal.  Flavorful pork is blended with fragrant green leeks and filled into freshly made dumpling dough.  These eight little heavenly clouds with just a touch of soy sauce truly spark a bit of inner happiness.

Pan fried pork calzone
listed on the menu as imperial pan fried meat pastry (京都肉餅)

I've never actually had this item ever before, but ironically, this pork pancake hits close to home.  The imperial pan fried meat pastry, as Hot Wok calls it, is like a calzone in that it's stuffed with different ingredients and enclosed with a bread-like carbohydrate.  Like a lasagna, though, there are multiple layers; ground pork and thin pastry are placed over each other one layer at a time within the outer casing.  Soft, crispy, soft, crispy... savory, salty, savory, salty... the textures and flavors confuse my brain.  And I'm also confused about what to call this item... pastry? Calzone? Pancake? There's one thing my brain knows for sure though... this thing is delicious.

Beef wrap
listed on the menu as beef roll pastry (牛肉捲餅)

While the imperial meat pastry is something I've never had before, the beef wrap is something I've enjoyed throughout my adult life.  Wrapped within a Chinese tortilla are slices of braised beef and an explosion of cilantro.  It's relatively small compared to the beef wraps at other restaurants, but you know what that means? I can eat the whole thing by myself.

Cumin lamb
listed on the menu as lamb with tze lan herb (孜然羊肉)

The mix of cumin and chili peppers with fatty curls of lamb creates a truly tasty flavor.  The spiciness is more fragrant than biting.  It's an addicting taste.  You'll understand when you place the savory lamb over a bed of steamed white rice.  The rice soaks up the spicy oils from the lamb, taking away just enough grease so that you can continue shoveling bite after bite into your mouth.

Stir fried loofah/luffa

listed on the menu as sauteed si qua (清炒絲瓜)

Luffa isn't your typical green vegetable.  It's not leafy like bok choy, and it's not as common as gai lan (Chinese broccoli).  I'm surprised this unique vegetable is even served outside of the San Gabriel Valley.  Not only does this vegetable turn into the exfoliating, body cleaning sponge once it's dried, it's also special in that it tastes more like a soft cucumber rather than the squash that it is.  Stir-fried lightly with just a hint of garlic, luffa will help you get your daily fiber intake in a tasty way.

Thousand layer pork
listed on the wall in Simplified Chinese only (笋千層肉)

The illusion of a thousand layers is created by slicing the fatty pork belly paper-thin and cutting the edges into the shape of ocean waves.  The thousand layers of pork belly sit atop a mound of young bamboo shoots, which are tender yet crisp to the bite.  Dig down deeper under the bamboo shoots, and surprise! You will find a bed of green spinach, which balances out the unhealthy fat of the pork.  The pool of brown gravy is another illusion itself.  Upon seeing the sauce, I thought that the dish was going to be overly salty, but a hidden sweet and savory flavor took over... if only the thousand layer pork was truly a thousand layers.

Sure, the first few items on the Hot Wok menu are orange chicken and kung pao shrimp, but hidden on the final pages of the menu are what save it from being tossed into the same category as Panda Express and P.F. Chang's.  Items that are also worth trying are a Korean style spicy seafood noodle soup (jjambbong) listed on the menu as three delicacies chow ma mien (三鮮炒碼麵) and Taiwanese beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵).  I'm definitely going to miss this comforting lunch spot.  'Til next time, T.O., let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110416