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Restaurants of the week -- Yuyang Hsiao Chi 魚羊小集

Lion head meat balls, lamb chops and sheep's organs in chili are just three of the lamb-based dishes offered at Yuyang Hsiao Chi. PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES

If you enjoy well prepared meat, it really doesn't get any better than Yuyang Hsiao Chi, a little establishment that specializes in fish and lamb dishes. The most audacious move of owner Wang Kuang-huai (王光淮) is combining the two in many of his dishes, to glorious culinary effect. From the simple, unadorned Mongolian lamb chop to the awesome lamb and fish-head stew, Wang, who is constantly developing new dishes, shows himself a master of his materials.

"The regional cuisines of China make very little use of lamb, at most having one or two lamb dishes," Wang said. "Nowadays, very few restaurants are able to serve just one regional cuisine." Although Yuyang Hsiao Chi is based around Szechuan (四川) and Tsechiang (浙江) cuisines, Wang said he is happy to go beyond these boundaries to find new ways of presenting lamb.

Wang takes his food seriously. A veteran of many of Taipei's foremost hotel kitchens, he even visited Mongolia to study the meat more closely, and says that he tries most dishes with both local and imported Australian lamb, testing to see which meat best suits certain preparations. The restaurant is associated with one of the largest sheep farms in Taiwan (with operations in Australia), which allows Wang to ensure that he gets the very best meat for his kitchen.

Yuyang Hsiao Chi (魚羊小集) Address: 41 Hsinchung St., Taipei (台北市新中街41號) Telephone: (02)2747-1655. Open: 11:30am to 2pm., 5:30pm to 9pm. Average meal: NT$400 and up. Details: No English menu but the owner speaks English. Credit cards not accepted.

One of the dishes on which the restaurant's menu is based in the lamb fried with fish, which tastes so right you wonder why no one ever thought of this combination before. For the adventurous, try the lamb inmeats in hot sauce, which puts together large and small intestine and lung with tofu and chili. It is splendid with rice and, as with many other dishes, is outstanding when accompanied by erkuotou (二鍋頭), which is sold frozen into a viscous syrup. Frozen Stoli is just not in the competition.

The unpretentious surroundings are ideal for kicking back and downing a few glasses, and Wang is more than happy to talk about the food with guests.

Recent additions to the menu include lion head meatballs made of lamb (instead of the ubiquitous pork), in which the meat is soft and velvety and fish head with ginger and shallots in a clay pot -- it's the finely shaved ginger that is the real highlight, says Wang, so effective against the cold weather.

While not cheap, Yuyang Hsiao Chi offers outstanding value for money.

A case in point, four meaty Mongolian lamb chops go for NT$300, a vastly better deal than you could get in most local Western restaurants. For the culinary adventurous it is a must. And try the lamb's milk tea that is served free with meals. That in itself is almost worth the trip.

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