Taiwanese Dumpling meal in Taoyuan

And so my Taiwanese culinary adventure continues - this time at a local establishment in Taoyuan, near the international airport.

The restaurant is a stand alone shop, not too appealing on the outside. But our host told us this place is famous in the area. I and totally trust him. As we enter the restaurant, the kitchen is on the left and the seating area is not too big. Ten tables at the most. I took a look at what all the tables were ordering. Looks promising and smells delicious already!

The dishes are not many unlike those in the Taiwanese porridge stall. They too have some pre-prepared dishes. First up some small appetisers - pan fried beancurd with salted vege, anchovies and chilli. Tasty beancurd with a hint of hot from the small chilli.

Then the braised peanuts. Soft to the bite and naturally sweet as one would expect.

We are told that this restaurant is a hit amongst those working around the area. We were lucky to come just before noon - before the main crowd arrived. Our host ordered some signature dishes. First up, the pancake they call "Chong Yu Bing" which basically is the scallion pancake.

Pan fried to perfection! Crispy on the outside, fragrant and moist on the inside. By then, I was so hungry that I just tucked in the goodies. One eats the pancake with a mixture of spring onions, parsley and minced red chilli. Shiok!

Then came the stir fried cabbage. Simple stir fry with soya sauce and Chinese rice wine. Nicely done - soft but still crunchy to the bite.

What came next was the mixed platter. Braised fried bean curd similar to our kway chap style tao pok and tau kwa. Taiwanese lap cheong (sausages), braised pork belly, hard boiled egg and black fungus. Missing is the innards though.

Eat, eat and eat... A table full of food and the main dish is not here yet!

We were 5 of us so when I heard our host order 50 dumplings, I was sure we would have to da bao. No way we can finish 50 dumplings after having all that food.

I was so wrong! The dumplings came in 2 styles - one filled with pork and the other with vegetables (see the slightly greenish ones). Eaten by itself or the same sauce as the scallion pancake, the dumplings were simply delicious. The skin is somewhat thicker than our wanton and I understand they are hand made.

No dessert for us by then. Stuffed, literally! Good food, wallet friendly. I was told the meal cost TWD1,400 which is equivalent to around S$60. This included two orders of take away of the scallion pancake for the office. My favourites were the scallion pancake and the dumplings. For sure I will be back again.