If you're looking for something reasonably satisfying to eat in the area adjacent to the CTS television studios on Zhongxiao East Road then the Hong Kong Chashuitan Cantonese fast food joint is worth checking out.
It's best not to dine at the Chashuitan if you suffer from migraines, however, as it is, like life in the ex-British colony, crowded, noisy and fast paced. Members of staff often yell at each other across the dining area and customers who have finished their meals aren't encouraged to linger.
The joint has so many tables crammed into its small interior that during peak lunchtime hours it can be hard if not impossible to actually reach an empty table. If there is one that is, as the Cantonese fast food joint is hugely popular at this time of day. Multitudes of office staff, the odd media personality or two and assorted music industry folks who work in the area all flock there en masse from noon onwards.
If you're lucky you might get seated in one of the half dozen comfortable diner-styled seating areas, but chances are if you're not in a group of at least four you will be seated at one of the less desirable and far less comfortable tables.
It is, needless to say, the food rather than the decor and atmosphere that has enabled this place to survive and prosper over the past six years. There's no menu handed to you as you cross the threshold and ordering is simply a case of perusing the single A4 size list that is under the transparent plastic tablecloth.
The list is quite extensive and features nearly every conceivable form of Cantonese fast food from simmering soups filled with odd forms of marine life to less perplexing dishes such as fried rice/noodles. Nothing costs more than NT$120 and you'll be able to eat your fill for no more than NT$250.
Some of the joint's most popular dishes include Cantonese-style egg noodles fried with beef (牛肉炒麵), Guangdong fried rice noodles (廣東炒米粉), curried fried rice (咖哩炒飯) and that famous Hong Kong corruption of the classic western breakfast of fried eggs and ham with rice. Along with the main courses smaller side dishes are also available such as deep fried dofu skins (腐皮捲).
No meal is complete without a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea, made with black tea sweetened with evaporated milk. At NT$60 it is a bit more expensive than your average cupper, but in winter the scalding hot brew warms the cockles and in summer it comes served in pint glasses with ice.
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