It's difficult to find a place that serves authentic Sichuan cuisine. Most local restaurants either manage to nauseate their customers with excessive greasy food, or have attempted to destroy their taste buds by adding too much spice. True, Sichuan food is known for its tongue-numbing and highly flavored dishes, but spicy food that dissolves your stomach is pushing it.
IR China, a Sichuan restaurant on the fourth floor of the Taipei 101 building, knows where to draw the line. I went as part of a group of four and we ordered the set meal, which gave us a taste of everything for around NT$2,500. The set meal includes six signature dishes, a soup, and a dessert of choice.
In summary, the steamed codfish was average, the stewed crab "huang" with bean curd was interesting, and the deep fried shrimp balls with pineapple was exquisite, if one can stomach Taiwanese mayonnaise.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
The South China pan offered some more exotic tastes, as it included southern Chinese sausage, pig skin, and sliced beef gizzard.
But what truly distinguished the place were the deep fried spare ribs with garlic sauce and the diced chicken with paprika. The ribs were ridiculously tender and many would agree, after having eaten in most of the Sichuan places in Taipei, IR China makes the best kung pao chicken in town.
Dessert was an interesting affair. We had a choice of braised black glue rice, and something that sounded much worse. In the end, some of us gulped down a bowl of dessert that was translated as braised white fungus. It tastes better than its name would suggest.
IR China also offers more than 10 kinds of tea to go with your meal, an assortment of tropical fruit drinks, and alcoholic beverages (mostly beer). In addition to the exceptional food and pleasant service is the location of the restaurant, which has a pleasant atmosphere and competent wait staff. Making a reservation before the meal is strongly advised, so that you can secure a table by the window. The tables near the exit are located right beside the walkway, where shoppers can pass by and look in on your meal. The view from the window is not great, but the food will more than compensate for that.
So if you're shopping near 101 and are looking for tasty Chinese food at a reasonable price, then be sure to stop at IR China. My only criticism is that the restaurant needs better English translations on their menus to go with their great food.
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