Taiwan Day 9. Childhood Memories Spawned by Zhuji Giant Potstickers / 朱記餡餅粥店 (Taipei: Zhongshan District / 台北市: 中山區)

While my aunt may reminisce her youth over a bowl of stewed pork rice, I get flashbacks of my childhood over a meal of rice porridge and giant beef potstickers.  For whatever reason, whether it was convenient location or affordable prices, my parents always took me to eat rice porridge and giant beef potstickers after a doctor or dentist appointment.  They probably believed that a blazing hot bowl of gruel would soothe the pain from an immunization shot or calm me down after a tough tooth pulling.  In retrospect, the logic doesn't quite work out, but I turned out fine... I think.  After running errands, my aunt and I stopped at Zhuji(朱記餡餅粥店) in the basement food court of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store where I got my comforting meal of porridge and potstickers. 

To be honest, this gritty millet rice porridge (小米粥) is not appetizing at all.  It does not have much flavor, and it even has an off putting yellow tinge.  But it is homey and warming, and it just needs to be paired with some patty-shaped potstickers to prevent it from being called poor man's food.

By the way, these things... these round patty things... they aren't really potstickers.  But how do I translate xian bing (餡餅) into English? Meat pie? Chinese empanada? Grilled Taiwanese beef patty? Giant round potsticker? Filled flatbread? All of the aforementioned touch upon the definition just a tad, but none of the above are exact.  My dad said to a co-worker once that they were our version of a burger, but that's not right since the Taiwanese actually have a variation on the American hamburger.  Let's just say it's a blend of sorts.

The most important thing to note, though, is not the English name of this thing but that this thing has a good portion of beef juice and meat oil inside that can be tastefully slurped up by the spoonful or purposefully poured into the jaundice colored millet gruel for added flavor.  I have done the latter ever since I can remember.  In fact, I would make everyone at the table relinquish their beef juice to me so that I could incorporate the meaty extract into my porridge.  What a brat I was... a culinary genius of a little brat.

Another one of my favorite foods that spawned some fond memories are scallion pancakes (蔥油餅).  What used to be simply a snack item in China has become so much more when it came to Taiwan with Chinese migrants.  It is now an accompaniment to dishes at noodle houses much like the bread that is inevitably served with Italian pastas.  What was once something that quelled hunger has become a comforting staple in a meal that frequently over stuffs the eater to a level of discomfort... how ironic.

The scallion pancakes that spark the most nostalgia are arguably the ones with the most layers.  In the struggle of pulling apart the layers, the warmth and heat of the flatbread itself remedies whatever struggle the eater had prior to sitting down at the table.  For me, it was the dreaded shot in the tender regions by the nurse or the absolute fear of foreign metal objects that the dentist used to inspect my teeth.  Thank goodness for scallion pancakes.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

What food or dish sparks memories of your childhood?

Zhuji (朱記餡餅粥店)
台北市中山區南京西路12號
新光三越南西店1館B2
No. 12, Nanjing West Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Hall 1, Basement 2
MRT: Zhongshan Station, exit no. 3 / 捷運中山站, 3號出口
multiple locations throughout Greater Taipei

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131. Tokyo - Jojoen for Yakiniku and Abalone Porridge / 叙々苑 (Tokyo: Shibuya-ku, Ebisu / 東京都: 渋谷区, 恵比寿)

After landing at Narita Airport, I took the train into the city, checked in at the Westin Tokyo, and met up with Ken, my good pal who happens to be fluent in Japanese.  If you ask him, he might tell you his Japanese is shoddy, but he is just being modest.  He can make fun of any gaijin in Tokyo using nihongo... and that is clearly the true sign of being fluent in a language.  Right.

Ken's parents took us out to Jojoen (叙々苑), a popular chain of yakiniku restaurants across Japan.  The Ebisu location of the restaurant is located on the top floor of the Yebisu Garden Place, which is a stone's throw away from the Westin.  Okay, it's really just across the street, but I really think that Tom Brady could Hail Mary a pass from the rooftop of the hotel, and it would actually hit the building where Jojoen is.  In either case, Jojoen has damn delicious meats, and there are locations across Japan (from what I gather after looking at the list of store branches).  I wish I could tell you what I had, but the Lee family ordered in Japanese.  I simply ate as much grilled meats as any red blooded American dutifully could.  The beef... oh, the marbling on the meat was gorgeous.

Not only did we have sliced beef, juicy steak, fatty pork and the like, we also had a version of Korean bibimbap too... with the rice sizzling away in the stone pot making for a crisp and toasty bottom layer.  Thank you to Mrs. Lee for topping the crunchy rice with a grilled scallop later.  Oishii desu.

Speaking of seafood, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of possibilities when Mr. Lee ordered this abalone porridge that was like a cross between seafood risotto, soft steamed chawanmushi, and crack.  It reminded me of a savory rice pudding with the consistency more like the custard like center of a Portugese egg tart.

After all was said and done, there was more to be said and eaten.  We finished the late dinner off with some heart shaped green tea ice cream drizzled with some caramel like maple syrup.  Everything in East Asia has to be super cutesy, right?

Ah, a good first few hours thanks to the Lee family... and looking forward to all the delicious eats to be had in Tokyo.  But for now... a little shut eye since the 11 hour flight was flown entirely in daylight.  Until the next meal, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

叙々苑 / Yakiniku Jojoen
東京都 渋谷区 / Tokyo Metropolis, Shibuya Ward
恵比寿 4-20-3 / Ebisu District, 4 Chome 20-3
恵比寿ガーデンプレイスオフィスタワー 38F / Ebisu Garden Place Office Tower, 38th floor

See my Flickr photo set for Jojoen here and the filtered versions of the pictures on Instagram here.

Here is some more information in English on Yebisu Garden Place from Japan Guide.

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Post 70: Taipei - Night Owls Congregate at the Porridge Shop (Taipei: Da An District / 台北: 大安區)

While the congee from Hong Kong style dim sum houses are typically served in the morning, the Taiwanese rice porridge with chunks of sweet potatoes are served around the clock.  Both types of rice based soup, though, are used to wake people up.  The Taiwanese porridge works best as a 3 a.m. slap of sobriety and the Hong Kong congee works best as a hangover help at noon the next morning.

"You tried to drink her under the table or something?"

The server glances over at my friend as she brings a pot of piping hot porridge over to the table.  My friend has collapsed on the dining table... whether in complete exhaustion or in complete intoxication, I'm not quite sure... I'm feeling a combination of exhausted and intoxicated myself... attributed to a night of clubbing in Taipei.  Either way, she's about to miss out on some soul warming rice porridge and my trash talking of her inability to conquer the night's liquor.

"No, she tried to drink me under the table," I reply.  "And that," I point to the slumber of hair, makeup, and jewelry that is my friend, "is what happened.  Huo gai."

Huo gai is a term that is tough to translate.  In this instance it might mean that my friend's state of unconsciousness is completely deserved.  In a sense, it's karma... karma for nudging me towards more shots of tequila.  And if huo gai has been served in the Taipei nightlife, it's best to accompany it with a sobering bowl of porridge and plenty of side dishes.

My absolute favorite accompaniment to this bowl of rice soup is super spicy steamed stinky tofu.  It's served in a miniature hot pot with the gas burner still running.  There's nothing like a fragrant tofu in a boiling spicy broth in the middle of a hazy night.  If the spicy broth isn't a natural alarm clock, then I don't know what is.

There are a plethora of side dishes to choose from.  Upon arrival at the porridge shop, there is what seems like a buffet of chafing dishes... from grilled sausage to stir-fried eggplant to spicy cucumber salad to all sorts of crunchy pickles.  In our bumbling and stumbling stupor, we select a recurring theme of egg, vegetable and stewed protein.  Our first round of egg, vegetable and stewed protein includes a pickled radish omelette, garlic sauteed broccoli, and ginger braised calamari.  The omelette, broccoli and calamari all have strong flavors which infuse well into the plain rice porridge. 

Our second round of egg, vegetable and stewed protein ordering produce salted duck eggs, simply sauteed string beans, and three cup chicken.  The salty and dense egg yolk makes for a great crumble over a hot rice porridge.  It may even work better than croutons over salad.  The ginger, garlic, and basil flavored soy and sesame oil from the three cup chicken make for a flavorful gravy over the top of the porridge.  And the green beans complement the steaming stew with a light and refreshing crunch. 

Our second round is also thankfully our last of ordering since everyone has either crashed onto the table or has bickered over the last polyp of broccoli.  Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of another friend slap the broccoli out of another one's chopsticks in a not-so-ladylike manner.  And the ratio of intoxicated and those suffering from insomnia versus the sane and sober are dangerously imbalanced.  It's definitely time to go home.

There's nothing that the sweet potato rice porridge can do for us now.  The only thing that can save us now is an efficient taxi driver.  Mai dan so we can hui jia, please.  Until the next night out on the town, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

No Name Congee and Delicatessen (無名子清粥小菜)

台北市 大安區 / Taipei City, Da An District

復興南路 2段 130號 / Fuxing South Road, Section 2, No. 130

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Post 26.10: Vancouver - Day 3 (Breakfast)

Twas my third day in Vancouver, and throughout the weekend Amanda had been talking about heading to this popular congee house for some Cantonese homestyle porridge.  Everytime she mentioned it I secretly kept thinking to myself that congee is food that you eat only when you have a cold, flu, or hangover... it's the last item you order at dim sum (if you even remember to order it) to fill you up.  Some people haaaaate congee with a passion.  It's rice + water + gag-inducing items like thousand-year-old egg. 



Okay, so that's what I used to think about congee...

After a quick meal with Amanda and her friend Ian, I have officially changed my policy on congee.  The congee at Congee Noodle King in Vancouver has the best congee/porridge/rice soup I have ever had in my life... way, way, way better than anything I've ever had in America.  And I wasn't even in Hong Kong.  (Those Yelpers are nuts for giving it just three stars.)



The congee I've had in dim sum restaurants are usually served runny.  Water or broth overrun the bowl, and it almost drowns the rice.  Here, though, the congee was thick.  The pureed rice wasn't overtaken by broth or water.  The grains of rice were uniform throughout the porridge, and the porridge, at first glance, even looked... beautiful.  The porcelain bowl arrived with the porcelain-hued porridge, and it almost felt... refined.



The first item on the menu, strangely, is ostrich congee.  There were three simple reasons to order ostrich congee at Congee Noodle King:

(1) The first item on the menu is usually (repeat... usually) the house specialty;
(2) When have you ever come across ostrich meat in your rice porridge?
(3) My manager at work mentioned ostriches last week; it was a sign...

So we ordered it. 

And how does a native African bird taste in traditional Chinese breakfast porridge?

Great.

The ostrich meat looks like beef at first glance.  If you didn't know someone ordered the ostrich congee, you'd probably think the meat floating atop your bowl was beef.  But once you take a bite, you'd change your tune just a bit... you'd probably think it was lamb.  The gamey taste of the ostrich is similar to that from lamb.  And though the scent lingers in your mouth a little bit, it's not anything too insanely pungent.  The roasted peanuts and strings of green onion do a satisfactory job of holding the gamey taste back.

It's something you have to experience at least once in your life.  Not your favorite? At least try it once.   And move onto the house special seafood congee with prawns, scallops, squid, and pieces of fish.  THIS is what I'm talkin' about.  It's got a beautiful, delicate porcelain look... and the same beautiful, delicate porcelain taste.

I really enjoyed all the combination of the ocean's lighter fare.  No rubbery clams, no mushy oysters, no thousand. year. old. egg. to ruin the delicate flavors.

We ordered a wonton soup and the Chinese doughnut wrapped in steamed rice roll too.  I have no idea where my picture of the wonton soup went though... we might've eaten it a bit too fast for my Canon to catch it.

For something that is considered soupy, congee fills you up pretty fast.  But that congee dissipates as quickly as it enters your stomach... it was lunch time before I knew it.

Here is a post on Congee Noodle King from the noshwell duo.

Next post: Some pho and some fun

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