Ben Tiebanshao in Taipei, Taiwan

I'm not sure why this small local chain has a "Michelin Star Lunch Menu" given that it wasn't even listed in the Michelin Guide. Nonetheless, this was a bit more upscale than your usual basement food court teppanyaki, and apparently has been rather well-known in Taipei for some time. I liked that they used quality ingredients, but it also seemed as if they tried a bit too hard to make it seem fancy.

Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice in Taipei, Taiwan

Yeah, I know I had just eaten a multi-course meal earlier. So in all honesty, I stopped at this place out of greed (10 Roosevelt Road Section 1, 2396-0808). Besides, it was just a little bowl of lu rou fan, and it was right next to the subway station on the way back to the hotel.

I shouldn't have done it. The lu rou fan was unremarkable, as it wasn't the fatty and mildly sweet that I was expecting. That thick geng soup wasn't anything special either, as it was slightly sweet, and I had to spike it with a good amount of vinegar and pepper to make it work. I won't come back.

Longtail in Taipei, Taiwan

To be honest, I'm getting kinda tired of beef noodle. Plus, these past few days have been filled with back to back meetings, so I figured I'd pamper myself a little. I wasn't too far from this one Michelin-starred place either (174 Dunhua South Road Section 2, 2732-6616), so I made my way here in the hopes of being able to walk in. Fortunately, it wasn't any problem when I arrived, despite the online reservation system showing the place fully booked.



I loved that I could sit at the bar, especially since they had a cocktail pairing option with their multi-course menu. And the food was wonderful, including that heirloom tomato salad with strawberries at the top, to the charred foie gras dumplings with sweet corn and pecorino under that. The kitchen wasn't afraid to be edgy either: a tilefish that they brought out not only had scales still attached (i.e., fried so that they were crispy), but was also sitting in a parmesan water that they somehow extracted from the cheese, if I heard them correctly.



Most of the ingredients were local, and they were playful in giving some dishes a local twist too, like a stewed oyster with green chili sauce and a thin slice of local shaobing on the side! That tenderloin above was probably the dish that really brought it home for me. See that brown sauce on the plate? It's a homemade mala sauce, and it packed some heat. Like MUME, this place was much cheaper than I was expecting too. Bravo!

Number One Food Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan

Like Addiction Aquatic Development, this place has an unattractively utilitarian name for a restaurant (presumably it sounds much better in Chinese). Still, it was nearby today, and this beef noodle dish was one of their specialties (2 Bade Road Section 2 Lane 346 Alley 3, 2775-1689).

It took a while for it to come out of the kitchen, but it was worth it, especially with that gigantic but very impressively tender slab of meat up there, as it just feel off the bone, complete with its wonderful fat woven into it. More importantly, the broth here was light years ahead of that nasty one from last night. Granted, it still wasn't as in the same league as Liu Shandong nor Lin Dong Fang down the street, but it was good enough to make this worthwhile. The noodle texture was reasonable too.

They serve other things here too, and in fact, this farm-to-table place is a Michelin Bib Gourmand. It's in a cute little wooden barn with some kind of market down on the ground floor. Note to self: next time try the Japanese curry or something, especially if it will be faster while I'm rushing to my next meeting.

Pin Chuan Lan in Taipei, Taiwan

I can't remember how I found out about this small chain of beef noodle shops, but for some reason one of their outlets was marked in my Google Maps, and was on the way back to the hotel tonight. So I stopped in for a quick snack (10 Zhongxiao East Road Section 4 Lane 216 Alley 11, 2721-7397).

That bowl above certainly looked promising; they poured in the broth with a kettle at your table, and you had salt to dip those slices of beef into. But the broth was so boring that I couldn't finish it. I should've gone to one of the many yakiniku shops along the street, or maybe even Sichuan Wu Chaoshou around the corner.

Revisiting A-Kuan Hot Pot in Taipei, Taiwan

I recall not liking this place very much last time. And yet, I needed food before rushing to my next meeting, and this was (yet again) one of the few places with seating during the busy lunch hour. Plus, I've been craving hot pot for the past few days, so why not?

Except that it was just as forgettable as it was last time, especially with that oh-so-boring (read: not spicy) mala broth. I tried to stir things up a bit by opting for a pickled veggie broth to go with it, but it was boring too. I wonder if some of the other broths would be better.

A Bowl of Sesame Paste Noodles in Taipei, Taiwan

That probably doesn't look very attractive above, but it's sesame paste, in case you're wondering. It was just a random bowl of noodles that I grabbed from a small shop in Taipei as I was desperate for food after a long day of meetings. She suggested a bowl of shrimp dumpling soup to go with it. Both of them were fine, but weren't anything memorable either.

A Random Pork Chop Rice Set in Taipei, Taiwan

I didn't get a chance to eat lunch today, so I desperately needed food before heading to my next meeting. I thus stopped at a random food court near the train station and got this pork chop rice set, another quintessential Taiwanese dish. The pork chop was impressively light and airy with a nice salty edge to it, while that soup had a pleasant surprise of ginger slices inside, even if also with some oddly dry chunks of chicken breast. Anyway, my refueling objective has been achieved.

Liu Shandong Beef Noodles in Taipei, Taiwan

Not to be confused with Lau Shan Dong from last night, Liu Shandong (2 Kaifeng Street Lane 14 Section 1, 2311-3581) is another Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle shop. It closes pretty early in the evenings, so I've never had the chance to go. But the flip side is that they are open for breakfast, and today is the only day this week where I'll get a chance to go before meetings start.

It was awesome. One sip of the chingzhen broth on its own and it was all over: these guys take the cake. The broth nailed both the taste of the beef as well as the complex - but not dominant - spices swirling underneath. Plus, the choice cuts of beef were some of the most tender and tasty that I've had in one of these bowls. It reminded me a bit of the Korean beef that Hadongkwan uses.

That said, I didn't like the udon-shaped noodles. Sure, the texture was nice and firm, but if I only I could get last night's wide noodles in this morning's bowl, then I'd be all set. Note to self: next time, don't squeeze chili oil in the chingzhen bowl or else you'll just cover up that wonderful broth. Also, give the other red version a try too.

A Random Bowl of Mango Ice in Ximending, Taipei

After that beef noodle, I needed just a little more to finish my meal. So I walked around in the basement of the same building and found this random shaved ice shop. Fortunately, mango was in season. It's too bad then that this wasn't that great, mainly because ice was rather coarse without enough milk to make it rich. The mango was sweet and meaty at least.

Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles in Taipei, Taiwan

Since my last visit to Taipei, Michelin has since released its first-ever guide here. Da Wan, MUME, and Sushi Ryu (started by the former Sasa chef, I understand) all got stars. But of course there was also the Bib Gourmand list, which includes not just Din Tai Fung and Fu Hang, but also a decent list of beef noodle shops like Chingzhen, Jian Hong, Lin Dong Fang, and Yongkang. Tonight, I decided to try another Bib Gourmand beef noodle shop, Lao Shan Dong, out in Ximending (70 Xining South Road B1, 2389-1216).

I can see why they liked it. Not only was the beef incredibly tender, but those widely cut noodles were firm and nicely textured. Granted, the broth was naked when it came out, and it was a bit tame, even after I gave it a good scoop of chili oil. But then I found another red chili oil that gave it a lot more depth, and one could always gnaw on a few cloves of raw garlic if it still wasn't punchy enough. Jian Hong and Lin Dong Fang are better, but this was definitely much better than your average shop too.

Le Bon Funk on Club Street, Singapore

We came to this wine bar (29 Club Street, 6224-1490) in part because the food was done by a former Burnt Ends guy. And it showed in the food. Granted, we could only afford to get some bar snacks rather than a full meal, but that pâté above hit the spot, and the olives in the background were even better, as they carried a nice edgy (nutmeg-based?) punch to them. I love places like this; I only wish I had the wallet to match.