Ta Hsiang Yuan Chuan Tsai Kuan 大湘園川菜館
Address: 21 Yunho St., Taipei (北市雲和街).
Telephone: (02) 2362-9333 or 2362-2077.
Open: 11am to 2pm; 5pm to 9pm.
Average meal: NT$250.
Details: English menu. Major credit cards accepted.
For the past 20 years Chang Fu-song (張褔松) has been titillating the taste buds of the masses with his Sichuan cuisine. Chang opened Ta Hsiang Yuan Chuan Tsai Kuan in 1979, shortly after finishing his military service and has been a proud card-carrying member of the Taiwan Restaurant Workers Union ever since. His restaurant may not be much to look at from the outside, but the gastronomical delights that Chang creates in his kitchen are not to be missed. With a 14-page menu that includes just about every conceivable form of edible object from tofu to lamb intestines, there is something for everyone at Chang's joint. And all of it is very reasonably priced. While two or three people can enjoy a great meal at Chang's restaurant, if you really want to experience a dining sensation, it's advisable to take a larger group to sample as much on the menu as possible.
Shao Shao Ke 勺勺客
Address: 15, Lane 41, Jenai Rd., Sec. 2(北市仁愛路二段41巷15號).
Telephone: (02) 2351-7148.
Open: 11:30am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm to 10:30pm (closed Mondays).
Average meal: NT$500.
Details: No English menu. Credit cards accepted.
A Taiwanese girl visits China to study Chinese medicine and comes back a chef. This is the story behind one of Taipei's best-known Sha'anxi restaurants. Carly Lee (李櫻瑛) now offers the great tastes and the decor she experienced in China's remote northwest. Shao Shao Ke serves dishes from the arid region where unleavened bread, lamb and fragrant spices make up the cuisine of the area's predominantly Muslim population. But Shao Shao Ke offers more than up-market versions of peasant food. In line with a trend to promote dishes from China's past, the restaurant has worked up a number of "historical" dishes which are no longer found in regular Chinese cuisine.
More information about these restaurants can be found on Taipei Times' Web site at http://www.taipeitimes.com
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