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[RESTAURANT REVIEW] Beiping Gardens — Chinese Meat Pies and Porridge (北平田園餡餅粥)

Beiping Gardens — Chinese Meat Pies and Porridge (北平田園餡餅粥) Address: 3, Ln 5, Chongqing S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市中正區重慶南路1段5巷3號) Telephone: (02) 2314-8032 Open: Daily from 11 to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm Average meal: NT$100 to NT$200 Details: Chinese menus; credit cards not accepted

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Among the multitude of cheap eateries near the Shinkong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) Building and Taipei Main Station, Beiping Gardens (北平田園) is a safe choice for its satisfying northern-style Chinese fare. Located in an alley off Chongqing South Road, this modest shop serves knife-cut noodles (刀削麵), steamed dumplings and Chinese-style meat pies (餡餅).

The shop, whose sign says it has been in business since 1976, runs like an old but reliable machine. The tired-looking waiters are minimally polite but efficient: they fetch your meal silently once you’ve checked off your order on the self-service bill. Even during peak hours the food arrives reasonably fast.

Many people seem to come for the knife-cut noodles, which are made from scratch and sliced only when an order has been placed. The shop is adorned with certificates touting its participation in past years of the Taipei Beef Noodle Beef Festival, and connoisseurs looking for that perfect bowl have several obvious choices: the tomato broth beef noodles (番茄牛肉麵, NT$120); braised beef noodles (紅燒牛肉麵, NT$110); and, for a lighter choice, the tomato broth noodles (番茄麵, NT$80), which come with a whole stewed tomato for you to break apart in the soup. The broth is on the plainer side and perhaps a little bland, but the noodle slices are thick and chewy.

You probably couldn’t go wrong with any of the noodle dishes. For adventurous beef lovers, there are the beef tendon and stomach noodles (牛筋牛肚牛肉麵, NT$150) and the half-beef, half-tendon noodles (半筋半肉牛肉麵, NT$140). Those who crave the classics can try the fried sauce noodles (北平炸醬麵, NT$80) and mooshu fried noodles (木須炒麵, NT$80). For something different, the humble talu noodles (大滷麵, NT$80) has a gravy-like consistency, and in both its appearance and taste resembles hot and sour soup without the vinegar. Beiping Garden’s version comes with shredded egg, chopped carrot, bamboo slices and a generous portion of sliced mushrooms.

The restaurant’s beef meat pies (牛肉餡餅, NT$35) were cooked just right, with the sides a crispy golden brown and not too greasy. Take the first bite carefully, as the soupy broth packed in the meat filling can spill out. For a healthier option, go for the steamed vegetable dumplings (花素蒸餃, NT$80), which are filled with vegetable greens, finely chopped slices of dried bean curd (豆乾) and rice noodles. Also on the lighter side, the tasty beef roll (牛肉捲大餅, NT$85) could stand alone as a meal, when paired with a bowl of millet porridge (玉米粥, NT$25). Slices of cold beef and chopped cucumber are layered in a flour wrap that is similar to the scallion pancake (蔥油餅, NT$25), but flakier and less oily. Plum soy sauce and a sprig of green onion round off the flavor with a sweet bite.

Beiping Gardens has a welcoming storefront with its aged wooden doors, and it feels like you’re walking into a semi-secret location. But while the interior is clean and appears to have been recently remodeled, odors wafting in from the street are a reminder of the neighborhood’s stubborn grunginess. Still, Beiping Gardens remains a good place to remember for a cheap, dependable meal when near Taipei Main Station.

The easiest way to get there is to walk west on Zhongxiao West Road and turn left at Chongqing South Road, at the fire station. The restaurant is on the first alley to the left.

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