Shou Wu Chih Chia(首烏之家)
233-4 Yanchi St., Taipei (北市延吉街233-4號); TEL: 2754-9090. 11:30am to 2pm, 5:30 to 10pm. Average meal: NT$400 per person. Picture menu available. Credit cards accepted.
You don't know how tasty goose pimples are till you've tried them. Dough goose pimples (麵疙瘩), as these dumpy gnocchi-like noodles are called, will add a whole new dimension to your noodle eating experience. Lu Hsi-huei (呂思慧), the proprietor, says you can taste the handmade quality. And they make a perfect counterpart to the restaurant's main dish: emperor chicken.
The soup of emperor chicken is made from polygonum multiflorum, a medicinal plant with effects ranging from curing constipation to strengthening the immune system. It is served with a stew of "black-boned chicken," a breed known for the high quality of its flesh. The recipe goes back hundreds of years.
Legend has it that the thick black soup of emperor chicken was served to ensure the birth of sons, for only boys could become emperor. This dish forms the centerpiece of many a dinner at Shou Wu Chih Chia. Dough goose pimples are served in a Hakka fashion, with lots of shallots, mushrooms and deep fried onions. The taste of this simple mix is extremely refreshing, and the stock of the soup version is one of the best clear soups in town.
Other exciting dishes on the menu include pig's kidney with eucommia or pig's trotters with peanuts, things calculated to make you feel energized and ready for anything.
Deng's Dan-Dan Noodles(老鄧擔擔麵)
74-1, Lianyun St., Taipei (北市連雲街74之1號); TEL: 2391-6049. 11am to 2:30pm and 5 to11pm. Average meal: NT$150 per person. No English menu. Credit cards not accepted.
It's small. It's definitely family. But Li Chih-chiang (李志強) is pretty clear about one thing. Deng's offers its own very special blend of the Sichuan dish of dan-dan noodles. For more than 40 years, his family and relations have been making a chili and peanut based sauce that continues to draw the noodle cognoscenti from all over Taipei. Order a bowl with "big hot" and feel the after-burn as the chili and zanthoxylum peppers numb your tongue with flavor.
Fortunately for those who can't take the heat, most dishes offer the option of big, medium or small "hot" so you can enjoy the unique flavor without the fire.
The noodles, which are also made by the family, are renowned for their chewy and "slippery" quality that contributes to the overall texture of each mouthful. So popular is this simple combination, travelers leaving Taiwan for the US have been know to purchase ready packed sauce and uncooked noodles before departure to get them through the trip.
Other specialties of Deng's are its steamed pork ribs with sweet potato. The melt-in-your-mouth meat is almost as soft as the potato underneath, saturated with the meat juices. Another version on offer is steamed big intestine served the same way.
The shop has changed little in the 20 or so years at the current address, still containing only seven or eight tables. Things can get pretty tight during the lunch and dinner rush, but Li said: "Our flavor is special. It's hard to train people to get it just right. So we have refused invitations to expand or branch out."
Lai Lai Lamen Restaurant (來來拉麵店)
23, Lane 233, Tunhua S. Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei (北市敦化南路一段233巷23號); TEL: 2778-8942, 2771-2906. 11am to 2pm and 5 to 9pm. Average meal: NT$200. Picture menu available. Credit cards not accepted.
Noodles with fried sauce (炸醬麵) is an old favorite that is available all over Taiwan at thousands of restaurants small and large. To make it the specialty of the house requires considerable self-confidence, but this is hardly an issue for Chang Hung-yu (張鴻崳), a chef who has won numerous awards for his contribution to the culinary art and contributions to Chinese culture for his skill in making lamen noodles.
After a career at the Lai Lai Sheraton Hotel, Chang has set up his own noodle house to sell northern style lamen noodles. Naturally these are made by hand, and the texture has a quality you won't find in many other establishments.
Something else you won't find easily in other places is the dedication that goes into making the fried sauce. "The trick is in a second processing," Chang said. The basic sauce is allowed to ferment for up to half a month before it is fried and fresh ingredients such as meat, carrots and onions are added. Often little more than a sticky mess of bean paste at other establishments, Chang's fried sauce is rich with the natural sweetness of vegetables and meat, multiple flavors coming through loud and clear with each mouthful. This is home cooking at its best.
Another favorite dish is noodles with fried topping (炒碼麵). This rich soupy mix of the house noodles with seafood and meat holds with the principle of simple ingredients put together with great skill.
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