Restaurants of the week

If you have never tasted the delicate flavor of a pickle and white meat hot pot (酸菜白肉鍋), then Chang-bai is definitely the place to get a taste for it. This dish, which has proved popular in Taiwan in a number of different guises, is prepared in the authentic Beijing/Manchu style by Chang-bai owner Sung Tzi-ming (宋子明).

Simply mixing the dip is a thrill. It is made up of 12 ingredients and if you are approaching this taste for the first time, Sung is happy to point you in the right direction. "First, one spoon of sesame sauce, half a spoon of garlic paste and scallion sauce, one spoon of fermented tofu sauce, half a spoon of shrimp oil and chili sauce and then some mustard sauce, coriander leaves and chopped green onions," he said. Many of these ingredients, such as the fermented tofu sauce and the mustard, are prepared in Chang-bai's kitchen.

The white meat is belly pork that layers fat and lean meat. Preparing this meat to make it taste right is a complicated process that involves sweating out excess oil through steaming, followed by washing and freezing. "Sixty percent of the oil is removed and the meat is not the least greasy," Sung said. Although the meat is "fatty," Sung said that many people find it delicious after tasting it. For people who don't eat pork, Chang-bai also has portions of sirloin beef and sliced mutton, prime cuts sliced thin to melt in your mouth. The stock is made from chicken, so that Chang-bai is also popular with Chinese Muslims.

In addition to the hot pot, Chang-bai has a number of northern specialties, such as scallion pancakes (蔥油餅) and chive turnovers (韭菜盒子). Although these dishes are widely available, the skill and high-quality ingredients that goes into their production at Chang-bai make them stand out from the crowd.