Really good traditional Taiwanese street food can be quite hard to find in Taipei, and it is no surprise that in many instances, it has migrated to up-market restaurants that charge a premium for their classy surroundings. But, as often as not, these modern temples of culinary professionalism don’t get these simple dishes right either, even if it is just a question of atmosphere. Street food always tastes better curbside, and in this regard, Black Spot Chicken (黑點雞肉) hits the right spot.
Black Spot Chicken is something of a blast from the past, and it has street cred in buckets. Tucked away on a small street off Changan West Road (長安西路), it does little to advertise itself and is easily missed. It is really nothing more than a wooden counter set in front of a grubby shop space, with chairs and tables scattered higgledy-piggledy across the sidewalk. Its main form of storage is plastic buckets. Some staff
wear plastic boots, which seems a little excessive, for although the floor is far from clean, it is not quite necessary to wade through the detritus.
One look from the outside and you are likely either to embrace the establishment as a piece of Taipei’s heritage, or run a mile to find a food court where at least you can’t see what they are doing in the kitchen. It doesn’t help that the counter display case is piled high with glistening organ meats from pigs and chickens and that dishes are washed in a rickety aluminum basin under a streetside faucet.
Black Spot Chicken serves, as its name suggests, boiled chicken with soy (白斬雞), which is sold by weight (minimum order of NT$50), and is a perfectly fine example of this dish, but nothing to write home about. The real appeal, for this reviewer at least, was in the soup noodles (切仔麵, NT$30), which I had heard rivaled the best in town. This is a dish I usually avoid, since at many street stalls it tastes of dishwater spiked with MSG holding in suspension some limp yellow noodles and bean sprouts. At Black Spot, I was not disappointed. The soup was richly flavored, the noodles firm, the scallions bold, and the overall sensation was of a dish that was thoroughly robust. The trick, I believe, was in the generous use of schmaltz (chicken oil). This might not be to everybody’s taste, for no concessions were made to modern worries about the consumption of saturated fats. Indeed, Black Spot positively rejoices in the satiny textures that animal fat provides. This passion is amply displayed in its other signature dish, rice with chicken oil (雞油飯, NT$10), which is exactly that: warm rice with a generous drizzle of rendered chicken fat on top. Stir the oil into the rice and you are in chicken heaven, and for less than the price of a newspaper.
Many kinds of organ meat are available, including different sections of intestine, stomach, liver, heart and tongue. Pig’s fallopian tubes (生腸), which can be tough, proved particularly memorable, being crisp and light. The big chunks of pig’s tongue (豬舌) and the chicken livers were both mouthwateringly tender. The only thing missing was some good chili sauce; unfortunately, only some salty mass-market stuff was on offer. Not everything is uniformly good, and the sweetheart egg (糖心蛋) — a hard-boiled egg with a soft center — for which the establishment is justly famous, can vary in quality from day to day. On a good day, it is totally awesome.
You will search in vain for anything resembling a menu, but the two middle-aged women who run the establishment are extremely friendly in a rough and ready sort of way. For the adventurous eater, just point and order. Apart from the good food, a visit to Black Spot will also provide a slice of life from old Taipei, at no additional charge.
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