[南加州- 羅蘭崗] 臭豆腐大王 - The Royalty of SKANK in Rowland Heights, Southern California

Whoa, did GOOGLE open up in Rowland Heights before Mountain View?

A bootleg Chinese version?

Naw...none of that sort. Don't let that GOOGLE looking logo fool you.
It translates to the phonetic pronounciation of FORMOSA.

Oh yes....old school. The great eats of Taiwan, old school classics, right at Formosa. But also right in.... Dynasty Plaza? Identity crisis?

So Google (not Formosa), lists this place as Tofu King. Non Chinese speakers might call this restaurant "Dynasty Plaza" out of confusion. But the locals? It is the King of Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐大王. Try finding this kind of shop in Northern California, I dare you.

"No MSG" in English, "This store does not have MSG" in Chinese....so they do not use it in/on the restaurant? It's like a Confucian mystery. But yes I really think they don't!

Old school basically means, "we don't invest in gimmicky upscale digs and decor", "we do things OUR way, screw you if you don't like it", "the food speaks for itself", etc.

The storefront is really small, maybe 3 tables on the inside with several tables outside. All Chinese menu plastered on the walls, and a separate laminated menu double sided with English.

This place is run by a very friendly older guy owner who we heard speaking Taiwanese (Ming nan yu / Hokkien) to an adjacent table. Seems like a family business on top of that as well.

They have two kinds of fried tofu, the regular one (stinky signature), and one called 一口吃 (one bite), which I assume is bite sized. The waiter explained that the latter was designed for non Taiwanese eaters who basically cannot stand the taste nor smell of the original stinky tofu.

We got one order of their signature stinky tofu to share. Three giant pieces of deep fried goodness that at least to me did not stink that bad. Came with the obligatory chili sauce in the corner, spicy pickled cabbage (Taiwanese kimchi if you will but different) or pao tsai 泡菜, and a small pool of sauce at the bottom. When I took in a bite, and savored in the flavors and textures, it really did remind me of the stinky tofu I had in Taipei night markets (Shihlin 士林 and Lir Hua in Yongho township 樂華). Not oily or greasy at all, with a nice toasty crunch on the outside, and a perfect inside. The stinky tofu they used had a very different texture than other places....here they appear to use freeze dried tofu (commonly used in hot pots to absorb broth and quite delicious), where the interior is chewier and denser. While the 泡菜 could have been  better (unusually sweet and not terribly spicy), the whole combo was excellent.

Their stinky tofu does smell, but it doesn't smell that bad. I've smelt worse. For hardcore skank stink fans, you might need to look elsewhere if skank (scent) is more important, but for a taste of home (if Formosa island is yours) look no further.

A-tsai/A-choy came with some minced pork on top (rou zhou) on top. The pork was a tad bit too salty.

Their Gong Yuan Hao sour plum drink 公園號酸梅湯 is named after a very famous sour plum drink shop in Taipei with over 50 years of history, and was the best rendition I've had in California to date. I wish I could have purchased a bucket to bring home. Extremely refreshing, and sadly not enough to last the 8 hour drive back home.

It turns out this place has a few additional killer moves.

We picked up some frozen goodness to go

Hsin Chu style meatballs (新竹貢丸)

Fuzhou fishballs (福州魚丸)

Pork and cabbage dumplings

and had them at home after the long drive (in our own ice chest of course).

Fantastic, all of them.

Bouncy chewy meatballs, tasted virtually like the kind from the local market in Yongho township. The Fuzhou fishballs were excellent too, especially the juicy soft porky interior. Lovely pork and cabbage dumplings that surpassed even the best dumpling restaurants in NorCal, with a homey taste to boot.

What is it about pork in SoCal? You guys grow better swine?

Apparently this eatery's next best seller is their minced pork rice, of which the owner claims he goes through 5 pig's worth a week. He also relies on no advertising and word of mouth just spreads amongst the Taiwanese community, and gets a lot of visitors from Northern California as well.

I was very amazed at how this man's eatery was able to replicate the flavors of Taiwan, a feat that I practically gave up hope on in Northern California. No wonder why so many Taiwanese expats in NorCal are willing to brave the drive to SoCal to eat the good stuff.

LA may have the smog and Hollywood nitwits, but they sure have San Francisco Bay Area beat in Taiwanese, Korean, and Japanese food.  This place is a stellar (yet simple and humble) example that one man and his small pop shop can recreate the flavors of Taiwan. Can we clone him and his shop up in Northern California PLEASE?

(Stinky) Tofu King - 臭豆腐大王
18414 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 964-6250

[台北] - 饒河街夜市 150年山東麻油店 - Rao He Night Market's 150 year old Shandong Sesame Oil shop

(pic by fm4715/魯獅)

Ahh yes, the age old classic question...."if I visit Taiwan, what food items should I buy that I can bring back?" Your luggage space is limited and there are so many possibilities. Surely you don't want to occupy it with beef noodle or oyster omlette flavored potato chips. Dried cured mullet roe 烏魚子(Taiwanese bottarga) and dried noodles? Quality tea from 王德傳? Flavorful organic longan honey? Dried snack goodness? Sure. But what else?

If you have a cooking and kitchen fetish that includes fine oils, why not get something....super old school, fragrant, and quality?

Look no further than this 150+ year old shop in Rao He Night Market 饒河街夜市, known as Shandong Mayoh 山東麻油店.

(pic by fm4715/魯獅)

This small storefront is so easy to miss and ignore. When you're cruising this semi touristy night market for great snackage, buying sesame oil is probably the last thing on your mind. It's not a tapioca milk or bottled tea that you can drink while downing a pepper pork roasted bun, or a skewer of something.

(pic by 莊琇閔 of udn)

 

This shop has been around since 1859, so yes...152 years and counting. Ownership has been passed down to the 4th generation, a 74 ish year old guy named 陳朝進 who took over the reins of the business from his father at age 30. When you have a solid product or two that is your only specialty, passed down the generations, and the method of production basically remains unchanged, it has got to be pretty darn good and consistent.

 

So apparently the current owner Mr Chen had dreams of his own, that he wanted to be a boxer at a young age. After enlisting in the military to try his hand at professional fighting, he learned quickly that he couldn't make a living out of knuckles and punches despite grandma telling him "Doooood, sesame oil is our family life's blood! You can survive via oil!", until he finally gave in, and the rest is history.
 
Everyday, Mr Chen wakes up at 4 am and begins the process of oil extraction from the raw materials that lasts easily 10 hours or more. While technologies and competitors have advanced to the point of using automated machinery from start to finish, he insists on doing everything the old school way because he believes that will result in a better taste and texture.

So the funny truth about the name of the shop...Shandong Sesame Oil Shop. Mr Chen is 100% Taiwanese and is not even of Shandongnese ancestry. The name Shandong was picked due to the fact that region in China produces some top grade 小磨香油 (which is essentially old school grounded sesame oil, versus 胡麻油 which is pressed) and the name stuck.

The making of this wonderous sesame oil begins with washing the sesame seeds (locally grown in Taiwan), removing the outer shell and unwanted particles (otherwise would result in bitterness), stir frying, air drying, grinding into powder, steaming, and then pressing into oil. Before the days of machinery
the pressing process involved basically caveman style hitting with a wooden club. Now the pressing is done by machine.

Apparently locally grown sesame seeds are harder to come by (due to increasingly difficult conditions to grow and longer time to harvest) and other sesame oil manufacturers have been outsourcing sesame seeds from Thailand, Burma, or other parts of Southeast Asia. But this shop continues to use locally grown seeds, and always has.
 

Make no mistake about it, this sesame oil is supreme. Definitely better than many other sesame oils that are store bought and imported from Taiwan.

 

 Don't miss the shop's Camellia oil as well (bitter tea oil / 苦茶油)

 
山東麻油店 (Shandong Sesame Oil Shop)
台北市松山區饒河街84號 (Taipei City, Songshan District, 84 Rao He Street, inside Rao He Night Market)



[北加州矽谷] 陳媽媽家 台灣小吃 - Mama Chen Santa Clara, Silicon Valley, California USA

Back to the USA for a moment. Santa Clara, Northern California, USA to be exact.

This might just be the best Taiwanese restaurant in all of Northern California that perhaps can rival some of the good ones in Southern California.

The general at the helm? A 70+ year old grandma, known as Mama Chen 陳媽媽.

Don't mess with this mama (or grandmama). She may look cute and cuddly, but man, she (and her crew) can cook!!! I've seen her at the restaurant before. Unlike Liang's (or Mama Liang 梁媽媽, a chain in Southern California that has spread to 2 Northern California locations) where Grandma Liang appears to be the only one who really knows how to cook, maybe is really hiding in Taiwan and counting her wealth (from the franchise) while contemplating how many more Mercedes Benz, BMW, Lexus, and real estate to purchase. Mama Chen is a mom and pop type operation (no branches), and yet so much higher quality, albeit a different style. This is another legend where grandma is basically in retirement, but maintained her passion of cooking and wanting to share that joy (while making a living), so lucky for us in the area, this place exists.

So Mama Chen herself is supposedly a veteran of the Taiwanese/Chinese restaurant business. One of the reasons why her food is so ass kicking is because approximately 20 of those cooking experience years were spent in Southern California Taiwanese restaurants. The other reasons are that the food just rocks.... very simple and at times homey tasting, yet minimal use of MSG (based on not feeling thirsty afterwards at all) if any, pretty authentic tasting given the ingredients and skills available. She apparently did a short chef stint when the Tainan restaurant 台南風味小吃 in Cupertino Village (Northern California) opened circa 1996 , but I never recalled that place being stellar at all.

If you are at Mama Chen later than 5:30 pm on certain days (especially weekends), you'll have to sign your name on the waitlist and then the rest is up to the clock. This place fills up so quickly with locals (ie Taiwanese expat community) craving a fix of the homeland. Given that there are virtually no other good options around, this place is pretty much the best in town (with quality and value to boot!).

One of the absolute best dishes is 攪和攪和 (Mix Mix / Jiaohe Jiaohe) , a savory blend of soy sauce simmered/marinated excellence (lu wei / 滷味)
containing dried tofu strips 豆干 (doh gahn), pig's ear (豬耳朵) that tasted very smooth and like beef tendons, and beef tripe (honeycomb/stomach 牛肚). Topped with scallions and cilantro. This dish tasted like it was cooked to order, as it was nice and warm (not refrigerated and not piping hot). The marinade receipe was perfect, not too salty, just the right soy sauce and herb flavors with complexity. Not as beautiful as the stir fried combo 眷村炒滷味 at 72 Beef Noodles in Taipei http://beefnoguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/72-beef-noodles-taipei-im-so-happy-i.html , but for NorCal this is as great as it gets.

                                
This might just be the fugliest looking Taiwanese oyster omlette 蚵仔煎
I've ever seen. While it looks like barf on a plate, it actually tastes quite good. Instead of griddling or grilling (over charcoal) like they do in Taiwan, this looks like it was pan fried. The diluted ketchupy looking sauce is their house receipe, and is a valiant effort despite the poor visuals. The addition of soy sauce paste added that needed savory flavor to the mix. A little more oysters would have helped. Since Ay-Chung / Ocean Harbor cafe in Milpitas is gone (that made a half decent 蚵仔煎), this will have to do for now. Not sure I can afford the US$18 Singaporean style omlette at Shiok in Menlo Park :-o

                              
For the pittance they charge, something like US$5.75 (oh yeah cash only place), you get a humongous portion of chicken leg rice 雞腿飯. No wonder this place is so busy....it appeals to the El Cheapsadores in us! Pickled mustard greens (suan tsai 酸菜)are awesome, probably the best in town (even better than Formosa Bento House in Redwood City). Even the chicken tasted good.

Ahhh yes, Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉麵. Better than a lot of overpriced and poorly executed Japanese style ramen most of the time. Tsing Jiang Tsai 清江菜, thick wide slurpy noodles, excellently cooked beef shank slices (thick but soft and good chunks of tendon), perfect pickled mustard greens (酸菜), and the crucial element that holds it all together, a deep rich flavorful thick beef broth seasoned with herbs and a little pepper (although with a thick layer of non spicy oil or grease on top...wish they would strain it beforehand, but during cold winter nights this actually helps and adds further punch like true Taiwanese soul food...). Also a shade under the $6 mark, and for a cash only place it cannot get better than this.

Had to come back again earlier tonight, as the need for a fix was so great. To start, a tender crispy juicy appetizer of blanched vegetables or tang tsing tsai
燙清菜. The house veg changes depending on what they stock or in season. Tonight it was A-tsai (A 菜, where A = Taiwanese dialect for duck, a large crunchy leafy green that well, used to be fed to the ducks, but eventually people discovered how great it was!). The best part? The magic soy sauce seasoned broth it was cooked in, and a little bit of rou zhao (stewed minced pork 肉燥) that was done excellently....airy, puffy, and light. Wished they put more pork on the veg! 
 

OK the oyster noodle 蚵仔麵線 wasn't stellar, but this is Northern California where the standards are very low, so it was fun to be able to eat this in half decent quality (and quantity to boot). Flavor wise it was a great effort. I'm trying reaaaaaaalllly hard not to compare this to 宏麵線 (let alone Ay-Chung Xiemending...), but can't help it. KC gourmet is so right.... to be able to properly judge a dish, one should at least have had the real thing in the country of origin to have a baseline. Anyway, a little minced garlic could have gone a long way, and perhaps making the broth smokier via katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Whatever they used still worked to some extent...baby oysters (too few), bamboo shoots, cilantro, some pepper, black vinegar. The noodles were the weak link, pretty much the supermarket variety, unlike the thinner fresher tasting ones in Taipei. But in the end, this was still satisfying.

 Drum roll please.....gua bao 割包, the original version of the steamed bun pork sandwich (sometimes nicknamed Taiwanese hamburger), before the likes of David Chang, Chairman Bao capitalizing on this classic snack. A good rendition, even though this was a very healthy prep of lean pork. Good mustard greens, a little cilantro, shaved peanut powder. Around the $4 mark for two...can't complain. 

Stinky tofu here is not that stinky, more like mildly and briefly annoying.
Oyster noodles looked good but perhaps do not expect the exact replication of Taiwan.

Overall a very solid effort by this retired grandma. Were it not for her, it would be easy to give up hope and settle for extreme mediocrity in the SF Bay Area (or suck it up and drive 8 hours to Southern California for a wider variety of much higher quality Taiwanese....)

Mama Chen 陳媽媽家 台灣小吃

5075 Stevens Creek Blvd

Santa Clara, CA 950510

(408) 249-9888

[台北縣永和市] - 世界豆漿大王 - World Soymilk King in Yongho - The Breakfast of Champions

Sometimes you just want to start, end, or break your day (or night) with a Taiwanese style breakfast. Like dis classic combo of hot soymilk with a carb sandwich (shaobing yohtieo / 燒餅油條). Don't forget to dunk the carb wrap like a donut (or cookie) in the soymilk!

The township of Yongho 永和市 is primarily a residential area with lots of small mom and pop type shops and businesses. Certainly not a foodie destination to say the least. Whatever the local food shops sell, there are places that generally do it better, from oyster pancakes to beef noodles. Even the local night market Lir Hua (樂華) isn't particularly high on the must-eat list (although nice if you are in the area, but certainly not a destination stop).

But if you mention the word (or town) Yongho 永和 to any Taiwanese ex patriot living abroad one thing that will inevitably associate them (similarly to the effect that Din Tai Fung has become the brand name for Xiao Long Bao) is that 永和 goes hand in hand with soy milk 豆漿, or at least 9.9 Taiwanese out of 10 will immediately react and say "oh, 永和豆漿!!". If you live in Yongho, you will probably respond by saying "yeah, WHATEVER clever".

There are a ton of shops in Yongho that sell the good stuff for breakfast. But there is one shop, probably the most famous in the area, that deserves special mention.  The shop is now 55 years old, and pretty much operates around the clock (yes open 24 hours!)

The name is World Soymilk King 世界豆漿大王, and is pretty much the landmark of Yongho breakfast. The Din Tai Fung of breakfast maybe, but of course, not Michelin star, and certainly not a date kind of place.

The history of this place is quite amazing. Apparently two former soliders from Mainland China (Shandong province to be exact) moved to Taipei and missed the breakfast food of their homeland (namely the breakfast stuff) and what started out as literally a street vendor/hawker small business eventually blossomed into a shop. It is also interesting to note that initially not many customers embraced the style of breakfast in the early 50s, but eventually that changed. The owner(s) pretty much started their days at 3 am, soaking the soybeans, and by 5 am started to cook the soymilk, so that they can serve their customers by breakfast time (students and adults on their way to work needing a fix).

Need your fix at 3:15 am right now? No problemo. Why at that hour you can even order some Hong Kong style dim sum too... like 蘿蔔糕, 叉燒包, 燒賣 if you crave it. Even xiao long bao at interesting street vendor quality.... but why bother with that one.


Seriously, you just want to stick with the classics.

Soymilk any style or rice milk (mi jang / 米漿)

Shaobing 燒餅 - roasted flatbread with sesame seeds on top, crunchy multi layer pastry shell thingy. Or request this with yoh tieo 油條 to double your starch pleasure. For those who like sweet starch, there's a kind sweetened with molasses 麥芽甜餅 that's quite delectable too.

There's something about World Soymilk King's signature soymilk flavor that is not present with the competition, and frankly an acquired taste. It has a slightly burnt flavor! Well I do not believe it to be burnt, but more so earthy. I don't think anyone has decyphered the secret to this, but I have to admit I did not like it the first time, but having tried it again for the 2nd or 3rd, it started to grow on me. Sometimes a chilled earthy (re: burnt tasting) version can hit the spot! This is what makes their soymilk unique, and not easily copied by the competition. Let's just say I've had truly burnt soymilk before abroad, and it was stuff that you want to throw away. Not so with the Elvis of Breakfast!


Surely there are other breakfast places in Taipei city that are as popular or even arguably equivalent or better, especially those who work downtown.

However you cannot just dismiss Elvis, who really started it all.
Respect.
 
世界豆漿大王 (World Soymilk King) http://www.soymilk.com.tw/
台北縣永和市永和路二段284號 (Taipei County, Yongho township, Yongho Road, 2nd portion #284)
Tel: 2923-9635

[台北縣] - 永和市 - 宏麵線 - Hom's Oyster Noodles in Yong Ho township, Taipei County. Homina Homina Homina!

When not in the mood to be satisfied by a bowl of some fatty pork over rice, let alone a simple bowl of beef noodle soup (with hopefully a complex broth), sometimes one would have to resort to the local bowl of noodles that hits the spot without being too filling.

Perhaps the rendition known as 蚵仔麵線 or Er (sometimes pronounced Oh) Ah Mi Sua in Fujian Taiwanese/Min Nan dialect. Fresh baby oysters, a special type of sun dried vermicelli noodle, an intricate simple yet deep secret broth (thickened probably with some cornstarch) with perhaps strong hints of turnip or daikon, katsuoboshi (shaved bonito flakes) to give it that smokey edge, meat bones. Then a little garnish, like chopped cilantro. Toss in some minced garlic, and you're all set.

Oh yeah...don't forget the chopped pork chitterlings/intestines....with a soft chewy casing and a bone marrow like interior! This is when access to a good oyster pancake 蚵仔煎 is somewhat restricted. And Ay Chung 阿宗麵線 is probably too far out of reach (Ay Chung's broth is spectacular, but he doesn't put oysters in his...doh!) http://beefnoguy.blogspot.com/2010/01/ay-chung-xiemending-taipei.html

I'm sure there are other places that do the oyster noodles much much better elsewhere, but it just so happens that this neighborhood vendor, known as "Hom's" (yes, same "Hom" as pretty boy pop idol Wang Li HOM but no relation) is just so down to earth, been in business nearing 30 years and is located at the end of a local market, almost to the point of obscurity, and delivers the bowl in quality, that I have no problems going back everytime.

You will find this vendor in the township of Yong Ho 永和市, virtually at the end of Chu Lin Road market  竹林路市場,  touching the residential areas. Right across it is a 24 hour convenience store, and it is not that hard to miss.

NT$30 or pretty much rounded to US$1. So simple, so satisfying and light.
A taste of the streets. A taste of the neighborhood. Delicious fresh baby oysters (fresh off the coast of western middle Taiwan is truly unbeatable), alas not enough in the bowl most of the time. But for now it will have to do.

Don't forget to splash on some black vinegar to seal the deal.

And sometimes I cannot resist ordering this called Yu Su Gunh 魚酥羹, just to have the crispy chips, that are essentially dried fish puffs. The broth unfortunately is not as interesting as the oyster noodle's, and is also thickened with cornstarch. But the fishy chips are amazing.

宏麵線 (Hom's Noodles)
台北縣永和市竹林路225巷64號
Taipei County, Yong Ho Township, Chu Lin Road Alley 225, #64
Tel: 02-89280228

Hours：
Tues - Fri : 8:00-18:00
Sat - Sun : 8:00-14:00

[基隆] - 基隆廟口夜市- 百年吳家鼎邊趖 - Wu's Ding Bien Dzuo (91 year old shop in Keelung Night Market)

Some say that Keelung (基隆) Night Market was born out of the main temple in the area (hence the term 基隆廟口) when people in the old days would travel like pilgrims to worship.

Eventually worshippers got hungry and needed some food at whatever hours of the day or night, even if they were praying into the wee hours of the morning. Savvy entrepreneurs would set up stalls and stake out a location adjacent to the temple's entrance exterior, and thus the rest they say is history.

One of these entrepreneurs set up a stall called 100 year Wu's Ding Bien Dzuo 百年吳家鼎邊趖. The truth is, they started in 1919, which means in nine more years, and this joint will officially be 100 years old!

You will find this stall in Keelung Night Market, literally adjacent to the temple (I believe it is on the left side). Of course there are one or two competitors nearby, but you really can't go wrong here for a first visit.

They say the original and founder Mr. Wu Tien Fu 吳添福 was one of the greats, not only in being a pioneer in this night market movement, but he had a heart of gold, and was very active in his community. For a man who had no schooling whatsoever, he built success with his bare hands, and even his offspring and family ended up opening different kinds of food stalls nearby, such as the famous 天一香肉羹順 (famous for minced pork rice), opened by Mr Wu's daughter. 

And now ownership is into the third generation, who have taken a step further and enabled the franchising of the business. Unfortunately the quality at the Taipei 101 branch food court is not close (let alone no ambience whatsoever).

This 鼎邊趖 is some serious hardcore Chinese indeed, and let me see if I can explain it. "趖" seems to be referring to the slow paced movement (against the side of the pot (金鼎) from boiling. But not just any pot, a 金鼎 looks like this

(although I'm sure Mr Wu didn't really use a gold one )

 The cooking process of involves taking some grounded rice in liquid form (sometimes known as rice milk, or mi jiang 米漿) and cooking it to a boil, stirring it so it revolves around the circumference/edges of the pot, while adding water in the process (resulting in a steaming and cooking action).

The result is actually somewhat similar to Cantonese or Chiu Chow ho fun or the "cheong fun" you get at dim sum, but the taste and texture are different.

鼎邊趖 has Fuzhou origins, and doesn't need to be served in soup (although Wu's is) and can be done brothless, or dry stir fried.

What makes Wu's version shine is indeed the broth, that contains

肉羹 - pork potage
蝦仁羹 - shrimp potage
金針 - Lily bulb
香菇 - mushrooms
魷魚 - squid
小魚干 - dried fish
竹筍 - bamboo shoot
金勾蝦 - a kind of local shrimp
高麗菜 - cabbage
蒜頭酥 - shallots
芹菜 - celery

The result is a true wonderland of mixtures, flavors, and textures. The rice noodle roll is but a condiment, but a delicious one at that.

It doesn't look like much, but it is one of true Keelung delicacies (another one strangely, is a hearty sandwich with deep fried bread.... but that's for next time). Just stick with the flagship location and you won't be disappointed.

百年吳家鼎邊趖 (Wu's Ding Bien Dzuo)
基隆廟口攤位編號27-2號 (Keelung Night Market, Stall # 27-2)
Tel: 02-26945750
http://www.100wu.com.tw/

[台北] - 鼎珍坊 - Ding Jen Fong - superb private kitchen style Cantonese

Ding Jen Fong, or 鼎珍坊, (no relation to Din Tai Fung) specializes in what they call private kitchen Cantonese. It's one of the hotspots in Taipei, and is within easy walking distance to both Zhongxiao Road Sogo department stores. Since this place rests on prime real estate, prices are not cheap by local standards.

This is probably the best sit down tablecloth Cantonese I've had in Taipei, although the flavors do seem a bit re-adjusted slightly for local tastes.

Nonetheless...

appetizer

vegan goose, mushroom, edamame

pig feet (mild herbal, steamed, very good)

ginger scallion Taiwanese crab with fun si clay pot

Yu Hsiang eggplant (spicy but good)

Lap mei fan clay pot rice, soft juicy but sweet (instead of salty) lap mei. Qing Jiang Tsai veg. Overly sauced rice

Salted fish chicken tofu cubes (with skin) claypot, excellent

Fried chicken (za zi gai)

stir fried pea sprouts

Sa Wor (claypot) chicken soup (NT$1500!!!!! but really good, with napa cabbage, range chicken, and a few others I can't remember)

As this was a privately hosted dinner, I kept the camera in check this time, except for a shot of the soup.

If you go inside, check out the cabinet on the way downstairs to the bathroom.

And if you're a dude, the men's room has a few interesting signs, one of them along the lines of "please step closer to the urinal, your long john is not really that long" :-)

鼎珍坊 Ding Jen Fong, website (only for mail order) http://www.d-jenfood.com/
台北市大安區復興南路一段219巷1號‎ (Taipei City, Da An District, Fuxing South Rd, 1st portion, Alley 219, #1)
(02)-2781-2518‎