Best Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 around Yongkang St., Taipei other than Ding Tai Fung.

I really don't get it. I really don't! I don't get why so many people line up to eat at Ding Tai Fung 鼎泰豐. I guess it is good when you try soup dumplings for the first time, but it comes at a price. At 20NT ($0.66 USD) a piece, you can be trying other places around their flagship branch at Yongkang St. My friends, and I went to five different soup dumpling shops and ranked them based on overall taste.

TL;DR

1st Place

盛園絲瓜小籠湯包 Sheng Yuan Si Gua XLB
Address: 106台北市大安區杭州南路二段25巷1號1樓

2nd / 3rd Place
好公道金雞園 Hao Gong Dao Dian
Address: 106台北市大安區永康街28-1號

鼎泰豐 Ding Tai Fung
(Google Fu skills, you can find one near you)

4th Place
 高記 Kao Chi
(Google Fu skills, you can find one near you)

5th Place 
杭州小籠湯包 Hangzhou Xiaolong Tang Bao
Address: Are you sure you want to go here?

Last place: 杭州小籠湯包 Hangzhou Xiaolong Tang Bao
 

When we got to this place, there was a serious crowd (see the picture below). TripAdvisor says that this restaurant is #30 out of all the restaurants listed in Taipei.

So... let's do some Taiwanese food math

 line + great internet rating of 4.5 = THIS MUST BE THE BEST THING EVER!

OHHHH A LINE!!!

Unfortunately, the xlb here fall short of spectacular. Actually, it was probably one of the worst xlb I have ever tasted. It was just so full of green onion and ginger flavor that it overwhelmed the soup and meat taste. In addition, they were smaller than the other places we tried. This is the second time that I have been here, and I thought the first time was a fluke. With this being the second time, it was definitely not a fluke. Hangzhou XLB, you disappoint me. I really don't get why you have such a high rating. Maybe people mistake it for the number one spot on our list, which is just next door and hidden.

4th Place: 高記 Kao Chi 

Cool takeout bag

There was an awkward two stuck together

Kao Chi has been competing with its neighbor Ding Tai Fung for quite awhile. With them being next to each other, it is hard for Kao Chi to not have any business because they just take the overflow from Ding Tai Fung. Compared to the other places we tried, these were quite greasy, like a mouthful of oil (too much), and the meat texture was like mush (ew...). Aside from that, it still tasted fine for a xlb. The wrapper was very thin and well made. In comparison to other places, this is only 4th place. I would say go to try it if you don't feel like walking more than 100 meters from the MRT station.

2nd/3rd Place: 好公道金雞園 Hao Gong Dao Dian 



















I would never have known this place existed as a full service restaurant. The first floor looks like a take out dumpling shop. Little did I know that there was an upstairs that had many tables in traditional Taiwanese fashion (comes with yelling aunties that only speak Taiwanese and Mandarin).

These xlb perhaps have the best value for their taste out of all these restaurants. Each xlb only cost 11.25 NT, which is almost half the price of Ding Tai Fung. If you are craving xlb and just want them en mass, come here. The xlb wrappers were slightly thick, but the filling and soup had just the right proportion and flavor.

2nd/3rd Place: 鼎泰豐 Ding Tai Fung 

The famous xlb place that all tourists must go to is only 2nd/3rd place. What a surprise! Not really ... I remember Ding Tai Fung used to be good before they started expanding to many regions of the world. This time around, the soup dumplings lacked flavor even though everything else was spot on with the meat texture, soup, and wrapper. This is also the most expensive out of all these soup dumplings. I would only recommend this place if you were to take a high maintenance person who wants the service with a side of food.



1st Place: 盛園絲瓜小籠湯包 Sheng Yuan Si Gua XLB

This place's xlb is perhaps the best that I have ever had. The wrapper was pretty thin, the soup to meat ratio was just right, and the flavor made a memorable impact. There was a nice balance to this soup dumpling that left me with a great feeling that I would definitely keep coming back to this place. Ignore the reviews on Google. There are many bad reviews, which leaves it at a 3.6 out of 5 on Google. I assure you that you will have a pleasant experience there if you go during peak hours. (The one time I went when they were about to close, and the dumplings seemed like they wrapped up the scrap). From the other, many times that I have gone, the soup dumplings were excellent.T

So, when you decide to get soup dumplings near Yongkang St. Remember, you have other choices aside from Ding Tai Fung.

Here's a breakdown of the score sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MAvRuJyP8vG_Z_trRJblxfZGbIF-yHtBcD-h5E_mQlM/edit?usp=sharing

Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup Shop 永康牛肉麵

Once again ... I am in Taiwan. Work has been pretty exciting though. I'm researching new techniques for designing green roads and eco friendly roads because my company's new project is near a really eco sensitive area and does not want to disturb the habitats.

Well. Of course, in Taiwan ... what is there to do??? Well, to eat and lets see to eat and more to eat. Let me start off with one of my favorite places to go and most favorite dishes to eat: Beef Noodle Soup.

This soup is delicious and can be spicy at times, but my god even if its 10000 degrees outside, I can still eat a bowl of beef noodle soup or 牛肉麵 niu rou mian as I would pronounce it with my horrible romanized Chinese.

Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup Shop 永康牛肉麵

It rained on my lens : (
No. 17, Lane 31, Jinshan S. Rd., Sec.2
(02)2351-1051

So... after a long dreaded hike in the rain and probably walking around in circles around Chaing Kai Shek Memorial Hall, I finally reached the big yellow sign that has my favorite beef noodles. For starters I get the steam hog spare ribs as they translate it in English. It is rice with some pork ribs and super delicious and flavorful.

Random Pork Rice Thing

And as I ate the rice with pork, the star of my meal arrived. BEEF NOODLE SOUP! Deliciousness. I'll tell you why it is delicious. First, the beef flavor was really delicious! Second, the noodles were very springy and QQ (as they would call it in Taiwan). Third, the spicy level was just right. Ah I can eat 100 bowls of this and not get sick of it.

Beef Noodle Soup

So... next time you visit Taiwan, this is one place to go to for beef noodle soup.

For beef noodle soup recipe:
Here's a link to my recipe.

Taiwan Culinary Exhibition 2010 - Day 1

Hello my readers! I am in Taiwan at the right time! This weekend is the Taiwan Culinary Exhibition at the Taiwan World Trade Center Exhibition hall 1. This exhibition features great talent from all over Taiwan. Personally, I believe that you can't find such skill back in the states.

I will be more to update when I have more time and internet ^_^.

Braised Daikon and Carrots

Here I go on another food adventure...

In the middle of the forest of vegetables in the country of Ralphs, I found a foreign plant that I have never handled before: the DAIKON RADISH! Though I know it was the middle of a mild summer, I was craving for them. I could not wait for winter to harvest these white roots*. I hurried to Ralphs' border and paid off the customs fees at the automated self-checkout for my flight back home.

*Note: Daikons are in season and sweetest in the winter or in colder weather. They will be slightly bitter out of season, but for this dish, the bitterness is eliminated by the sweetness of miso and soy sauce.

Braised Daikon and Carrots

Ingredients
1 Daikon radish
4 Organic carrots
3/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Rice wine
1 tsp Rice vinegar
1 tbs White miso paste
1 tbs Rock sugar (about big enough to fit in a tablespoon)
Dash sesame oil

Prepwork of slashing vegetation
1. Peel daikon and carrots
2. Chop them into wedge chunks
3. Mix soy sauce, rice wine, and water together

Cooking
1. Heat canola oil in a pot
2. Throw in daikon and carrots to brown, occasionally stirring (5-7 minutes)
3. Add in soy sauce mixture.
4. Wait until the mixture begins to boil and throw in rock sugar.
5. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
6. Add in miso paste, rice vinegar, and stir.
7. Turn heat on low to simmer.
8. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until daikon is soft and the flavor has seeped in.
9. Finish by drizzling a little sesame oil on top.

Yea... this is my first time using daikon radishes in a dish. I see my aunts and parents make daikon radishes and carrots all the time with beef or some sort of meat. I guess I decided to be healthy today and leave out the meat.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵 niu rou mian)

The other day, I was having a huge craving for Taiwanese beef noodle soup after I ordered a ticket for Taiwan, where I will be in August. With that being said, will anyone be in Taiwan August through September that wants to go eat yummies with me?

For my beef noodle soup, it takes quite a lot of time to make because I love lots of beef flavor from beef marrow bones and beef itself. The main component of this dish is beef shank, which gives the soup a meaty flavor and also it has a lot of meat. It's cheap and is only $2.49 per pound. You can ask the butcher at Whole Foods or at 99 Ranch for this cut of meat.

The bones were obtained at Whole Foods and can be found in the frozen meat section. I only trust Whole Foods for marrow bones and maybe Ralphs too because I had a horrible experience with the bones from 99 Ranch.

Taiwanese Beef Noodles Soup (牛肉麵 niu rou mian)

Ingredients
2 lbs Beef shank
1 lb Stew beef
2 lbs Beef marrow bones
2 tbs Chili bean paste (find in Asian markets)
3 cloves Garlic
2 large Onion (I used Maui Hawaiian onions from Trader Joes)
2 Roma Tomatoes
2 Organic carrots
1 inch Ginger
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Rice wine
1/4 cup Brown sugar
3 Star anise
1 tbs Rock sugar
Water
Green onions
Baby bok choy

Prep work for the stock
1. Slice 1 onion in half
2. Slice 1/2 inch ginger and smash it with the blade of the knife
3. Heat oven for 400F.
4. Pat Bones dry and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until bones are brown.
5. Put bones, onion, ginger, and stew beef in a 6 Quart stock pot and fill up the pot almost to the top with water.
6. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
7. Simmer the water for 5 hours covered.
8. Strain the stock and pick out the stew beef.
9. Chill until fat solidifies and remove the fat (I used the fat to brown the beef shank)

Prep work for the beef noodle soup
1. Peel and slice the carrots into three parts
2. Cut the tomatoes into quarters
3. Take the other 1/2 inch of the ginger and smash with the blade of the knife
4. Smash garlic and peel the skin off
5. Boil water in a large pot.
6. Throw in beef shank until it looks like the surface of the beef has been cooked (2-3 minutes)

Cooking
1. Heat up a large pot so that it can support the whole beef shank.
2. Put in beef lard from the stock or 2 tbs of oil in the pot.
3. Brown the sides of the beef shank 2-3 minutes)
4. Add in brown sugar and chili bean paste to coat the beef shank and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Add ginger, star anise, and garlic and stir around the beef shank and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the rice wine and cover for 3-5 minutes.
7. Add the hot stock, including the stew beef, soy sauce, rock sugar, carrots, 1 onion, and tomatoes.
8. Simmer covered for 4-5 hours on low heat.
9. Taste the soup. It should be relatively spicy and sweet with a hint of soy flavor. If it is too salty, add a little more water. Not enough flavor, add a little bit of salt.
10. Take out the large beef shank
11. Wait until it cools then slice it into thin pieces. (These pieces can also be used for cold appetizer with greens onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil)
12. Cook some Asian wheat noodles or udon noodles according to instructions.
13. Cook baby bok choy in water.
14. Finely chop the green onion
15. Put noodles in a bowl and spoon soup into it.
16. Add slices of beef and the green onions.

I haven't had good beef noodle soup in awhile. I guess this will be my Taiwanese treat in America before I venture into Taiwan.

Also, one of the blogs I follow, Tasty Eats at Home, is giving away coconut oil. I hope I win it. Time to do lots of experimentation with this oil xD.
http://tastyeatsathome.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/tropical-traditions-coconut-oil-giveaway/