Swatow Seafood in Toa Payoh, Singapore

This is a Teochew restaurant that serves dim sum in the mornings (181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh #02-602, 6363-1717). There wasn't anything special about the food, but it's pretty fast, with everything on old school push carts in a giant banquet room with linens stuck in a time warp (and yet, the decor was still a notch up from Red Star). They serve Teochew food after dim sum; I wonder if it's any good.

China's Wu Gu Yu Fen in Singapore

Another chain from China has taken over the stall formerly occupied by Zheng Nan Qi Bai at 313@somerset's Food Republic. This one does thinner five grain (yet tri-color) rice noodles though, which I like better because they are firmer. That white broth is a bit deceptive too; it is a bit like Tamjai Samgor in that it can get pretty peppery, even without adding the red chili oil that they have available on the side.

Lao Zhang Halal Beef Noodles at Taoyuan Airport T2

There are a number of beef noodle shops in the city with a similar name, but this one is based in Ximending and has been around since 1950. They have an outlet at the airport next to Wang's Broth, offering both a dark and a light broth. I grabbed the former since it was at the top of the menu, but it wasn't as soy sauce-heavy as the color suggested. It turned out to be surprisingly beefy, and the rib meat that they used was also rather tasty too. Still, the bowl just wasn't very satisfying for me, even if the noodles were thick and chewy. Apparently their city location gives free soup and noodle refills, but I'm pretty sure that that policy didn't apply at the airport.

Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne in Taipei

After a week of endless meetings and mostly forgettable meals, I'm glad that I finally got to finish it off with this place, which does food from Tainan. They have a few outlets including one carrying a Michelin star, but there are no table linens to be seen.

Pretty much everything that we had was delicious, ranging from that oysters and youtiao mixture above to a sliced beef with daikon platter as well as a vermicelli soup that was super earthy from all of the dried seafood in the broth.

The best dish of the night was a scrambled egg and crabmeat mixture that was wonderfully fluffy, delicate, and savory. And yes, as the name suggests, they offer quite a range of bottles to go with all of this food. This goes right into my list of favorite places in Taipei, along with Shann Rice Bar and Sinchao Rice Shoppe.

Bafang Yunji Dumplings in Taiwan

The other day I noticed that there was an outlet of Bafang Dumplings near my hotel. Wasn't that the big chain that inspired that knockoff in Singapore a while back? It was, and it was definitely better than the other shop that I ate at earlier this week. It was an interesting fast food-like setup with a range of fillings available for those long-shaped potstickers, including some yellow curry powder-based ones that were more potent than I thought they would be. Too bad there wasn't any red chili oil available as a condiment though; they only had that local sauce that I don't care much for.

Moonlight Cantonese Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan

This was supposed to be a well-known Cantonese restaurant suitable for an upscale business dinner (359 Zhongxiao East Road Section 7, 8F). The selling point seemed to be more about the venue than the food though. The lobster above was more shell than meat, while their Peking duck wasn't particularly tasty nor crispy. The more interesting items were the vegetables, like a morel and bamboo shoot claypot as well as a stringy vegetable called water snowflake that is local to the area. I guess I liked their almond mochi dessert at the end.

Yami Kaoya Canting ("Amazing Duck") in Taipei

We had a team dinner at this small Peking duck chain, featuring local poultry from Yilan. It was leaner than I thought it would be, but was still tasty and interestingly came with different colored crepes, liked ones that were accentuated green (from chives, I think), as well as grey (from activated carbon or something). They had other dishes too, including a duck meat soup that was nice and salty, as well as some tofu and veggie dishes. That said, this place wasn't as unique to me as Shann Rice Bar, so I suspect that I won't be back here too quickly.

Zhanyu Feng in Taipei, Taiwan

This is a small local chain doing things like noodles and dumplings. But I didn't like it, as they didn't have a clean tasting red chili oil, but instead a thick and beany sauce. They used it across a number of dishes, which were not spicy enough and also slightly sweet. I don't need to go back; there are other dumpling shops nearby to go to.

New Great Gobi Mongolian BBQ in Taipei, Taiwan

All of that talk about Mongolian BBQ yesterday got me thinking about it tonight, so we went out to this one in Ximending, as I had never heard about it before (81 Chengdu Road 4F, 02-2311-5656). It was huge, and they even gave you hotpot and a spread of other items to go along with it. But I didn't like any of the food. I struggled to get my Mongolian BBQ to taste right, as the lamb didn't taste like lamb, and I learned the hard way that I had to double up on the soy sauce. The hot pot broth was watery, and they used a lousy quality beef for that too. Ultimately, it was just a big buffet, with quantity in place of quality. I don't need to go back.

Gangshanmiao Yangroumian in Taipei, Taiwan

That probably doesn't look like much above, but I liked it enough that I immediately ordered a second plate. It was just a random street stall in the alleys behind Sogo near 28 Da'an Road Section 1, but when I saw the characters for stir-fried lamb, my eyes opened up. He does plates of stir-fried lamb, beef, or pork in a variety of carb configurations, including noodles and rice and with spicy options. What captivated me so much was that these thin slices basically tasted like Mongolian BBQ with shacha sauce, which gave it a lot of depth. It was cheap and super fast and I'm so glad I ate here instead of the many yakiniku places in the surrounding neighborhood.

Fish Village at Maxwell Food Centre

There was another steamed fish shop that opened at Maxwell Food Centre a few months after Nian Nian You Yu closed. But I had yet to try it until tonight (1 Kadayanallur Street #01-32). The selection was a bit limited, but I was quite happy with that steamed seabass above, especially since it was only S$8.70 (US$6.80) inclusive of the rice. The fish was fresh, savory, and tender, not to mention easy to eat with so few bones. This was quite a steal; I honestly would have been willing to pay twice that amount, especially since it was so healthy too.

Osaka's Torikizoku in Singapore

A budget yakitori chain from Japan has opened an outlet at VivoCity (1 Habourfront Walk #01-104). Yes, the prices were affordable, and I left the place with a bulging belly. But nothing really got me that excited either. That liver special above was creamy, but it wasn't anything that I'll get again. Their signature skewer was gigantic yet over-sauced. The only thing that I liked was the grilled yamaimo mountain yam, although that's probably just because I've never had it before and have no basis for comparison. Either way, it was fluffy, delicate, and savory while getting some fun scorched bits underneath from the hot plate.