Food Sparks: oyster pancakes

Saturday, 7 February 2015

Food in Taipei

Our first stop after we checked into our hotel in Taipei was the famous Din Tai Fung. We've tried the famous pork dumplings at the Toronto branch before it closed and found it mediocre at best. But we were told we have to try it at the Michelin starred original flagship store on Yong Kang Street in Taipei, and so we did. It was indeed excellent. I subsequently learned that each dumpling had to have exactly 18 folds at the top to give it the right consistency when one bit into it. I just counted the folds on the dumplings in my photo - there were indeed 18 folds!

We also ordered drunken chicken and braised pork but we were most impressed with the noodles in meat sauce (炸槳麪), a dish that I remembered from childhood and thought I would never find a place that could duplicate what I had, having ordered them wherever I visited in North America and Hong Kong. But I found it here in Din Tai Fung. It was worth the wait!

Al dente noodles in meat sauce that tasted "just right"!

The Din Tai Fung main branch - a very busy main floor that didn't look like a restaurant, with takeout orders and kitchen - guests waited outside on the street; waiting time was noted on an LED board; ushers organized and assigned tables on the upper floors with military precision.

As we were just around the corner from the night market, we decided to explore it right after dinner, which was a mistake as we were really too full to try anything. But it was an eye-opener at least to see the night market in action.