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Restaurant: Mama Chao 焦大娘私房菜

By Yu Sen-lun
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Mar 19, 2004, Page 19

Mama Chao's food is strong and masculine, like the owner. PHOTO: YU SEN-LUN, TAIPEI TIMES

From the outside, Mama Chao looks like an ordinary Chinese restaurant, situated in the alley behind the Sherwood Hotel. But the food served inside is sure to impress and will make you want to come back again.

The cuisine at Mama Chao is a mixture of Sichuan, Shanghai, Hakka, Hunan and, sometimes, Thai and Korean. From the menu you can choose typical dishes from all these countries and regions, all favorite foods of the owner Richard Chang (張迎誠). He says he likes to go around tasting all kinds of gourmet meals and enjoys mixing and matching, inventing new flavors and presenting the results on his extensive menu.

Contrasting, perhaps, with the name of the restaurant, the general tastes of Mama Chao are strong and masculine, reflecting the outlook of Richard Chang -- a tall, big, northern Chinese man. Chang explained that the restaurant's name was inherited from the previous owner, who had an entirely different style of cuisine.

Spicy kimchi beef (辣泡菜牛肉) is an enjoyable dish from the point of view of its look and taste. Kimchi soup in a small heated pot has thin slices of beef on top and an egg yolk in the middle. When served, Korean chili sauce is poured on the meat and then the egg is broken on top of it and stirred. The mixture of kimchi, chili and sauce may cause a few tears but it does add to the taste of the beef.

Mix and stir (攪和攪和) is the name of a cold meat dish which is a good choice for starters. It is made of slices of beef loin, beef tendon and stomach, all of which have been previously stewed and cooled. The meat is mixed and stirred with the home-made Sichuan spicy hot sauce to enrich the flavor.

Country spare-rib (鄉村排骨) is a dish which is popular among foreign guests. The rib is first fried so the meat sauce is absorbed, and then it is quickly sauteed. To serve, you dip the rib with another house-made chili sauce. For a lighter taste try "old skin, tender meat" (老皮嫩肉), which is actually fried egg and tofu. Brand-name cabbage (招牌高麗菜) is cabbage stir-fry sprinkled with dried fish slices, which are also tasty.

You can also invent your own dishes. For example, you can mix your beef with either broccoli or cashew nuts. For your own stir-fry, tell the chef you want white sauce or brown sauce, spicy or non-spicy.

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