Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If you hear slurping over people’s voices, it is a sign of a good place to eat noodles

The Yong Kang Street Area is a maze of food and drinks that you could waste a whole afternoon, be gluttonously full and still not have eaten everywhere. Just off of Yong Kang Street is home to Yong Kang Beef Noodles, one of the most notable places to get beef noodle soup in Taiwan. Beef Noodle is one if not the most notable dish of Taiwan; I mean they have a whole entire festival devoted to it. Beef Noodle soup is to Taiwan what, pho is to Vietnam or what Ramen is to Japan, there is the core ingredient base but there are regional variations all over. Yong Kang Beef Noodle is as traditional as it gets and has been opened since the early sixties and the two floor establishment is rarely empty.

Eating here reminds me a bit like Katz where the facade is clearly old and worn and that is an establishment that is visited by both tourists and locals. I arrived here about 11:30 am for lunch and the first floor was already full and when I was seated on the second, it was quickly filled after I left. The no brainer order here is the beef noodle soup, the classic but I also opted for both beef and tendons in the soup. 

Also to start off, something that I notice at main other beef noodle shops is the order of a Mizheng rou, a concoction of intestines, sweet potatoes and something resembling couscous but learning later it is just broken rice. It is a mix that is traditionally of leftover bits of meat or in this case offal that people used to make a meal. However, it is warmly spiced and the intestines are slightly chewy and flavorful and have a subtle barnyard taste in a very good way and a comfort dish in my mind although I do not see this as a go to dish for main when they are down in the dumps.  If I was not about to combat a mammoth bowl of noodles, it would easily be a double order. Where the noodles at?

Peking Duck Pizza @Tainan Costco

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Fact, everyone in the world loves Costco Chicken

I have been behind on posts lately mainly due to the fact that I have been traveling and was in Taiwan so there will be a lot of Taiwan posts! In Taiwan I was in Taipei and Tainan so a lot of interesting stuff.

First up, is a quick post on my visit tot he Costco Tainan that recently opened. I went there with relatives and the place was packed. To answer the question that is burning in your mind is yes, you can buy bulk taquitos...and banana milk.

I of course had something to eat at the food court and besides also having the super deal of a drink and a hotdog thei also had a few other things that you cannot get at your local Costco. Clam Chowder which did not seem like an option in the 75 degree heat, beef bulgogi, a shrimp bake (too big for me to down, given I completed a Thai food chowdown), mango shaved ice and of course pizza. the pizza jumped out at me there was one slice I saw on the menu I needed to get: the Peking Duck Pizza. They had the pepperoni, the Hawaiian, a seafood and the combo but the siren call of the Peking Duck Pizza called my name.

The picture looked better than the slice, the slice looked like....well a dark, wet mess. I guess you can classify this as a New York Neapolitan if you want to play that game but it is like your typical Costco pizza. the Peking Duck Pizza is comprised of duck, hosin/plum sace, scallions and yes cheese. Thankfully, I am happy to report that this is a "white" pie and has no tomato sauce. I have a tough stomach, but I do not think I would be able to eat it if it had tomato sauce on looks alone. The pie, despite on the wet side was actually tasty. There was actual pieces of duck on it and the slice was slightly crispy and chewy that gave it a great texture. In fact, I will go as far to say that the pizza construction here taste better than the Costco I have been to in the US. Underskirt shot in fact shows an actually browning underneath.

I am happy that looks are very deceiving. Sure pizza purists and anybody on the VPN certification board is calling blasphemy on this right now, but hey this is Taiwan they are doing things differently here and if you do not want the pizza when you are here, there is always the clam chowder.

Minetta Tavern- We are not worthy of the burger

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If the Black Label burger had an entrance song, it would be Jay’s Public Service Announcement.

I joke about foods that are game changers, but the black label burger at Minetta Tavern is the epitome of a game changer, like Steve Jobs, wrapping things in bacon or Koreans playing StarCraft. This is the kind of burgers that ruin other burgers for you for you, and all other burgers seem pedestrian, I know some will disagree with me on this, but I guarantee this is a burger that you will not be forgetting. For my birthday this year, I decided to go and see if the Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern is truly the best burger in New York and in not, the world.

tl:dr- Yes, yes it is.

One thing that McNally restaurants has going for them, is that they are able to transform a space into some place entirely different like Balthazar is a French Bistro, Minetta Tavern takes you back in time to a speakeasy Americana joint that you would expect Sinatra and Ratpack Co. would be eating well into the night. The place is constantly busy and thankfully, I snagged an impossible reservation and allowed me to forgo the 45 minute wait time at 6pm, an hour after they opened for dinner service. More burger and then some after the jump!

Taiwan Dispatches: Shilin Night Market

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Lines in Asian Markets are always a good sign, we are impatient people. See a line, get in it immediately, you can figure out what they are selling later

Lady on Bottom Left- looks like she means business

I have not really written a lot of entries on Taiwan, but I figured that since I will be heading back again this year, I would recount my last visit to one of the most notable markets in Taiwan, the Shilin Market. Taiwan has an underappreciated foodie culture that has just the same fanatic food devotion in any other Asian countries. Taiwan night markets although you could shop for clothing and shoes that may have questionable copyright infringements; the focus if you ever visit a night market in Taiwan is the food. One that everyone hears about is Du Giang-long Market or Snakehead Alley and on instinct and the alluring name, you want to head there and hope for a Blade Runner-esque experience. What you will find there is a lot of tourists some food and cases of snake that do not taste very good and Taiwanese proprietors, waiting to overcharge the happy Mei Guo Ren in eat weird and chewy snake. There is nothing wrong with this, it is just the equivalent of going to Time Square and wanting a Dirty Water Hotdog, you do not really see any New Yorkers really doing this and you are buying a really expensive hotdog. You are much better off of going to Shilin Market, which can be just as touristy, but the food is good and still is frequented by all. 

Baked Bao Zi dude

Shilin Market is a bit of a hike to get to but thankfully the Taiwan subway/metro system was created in Japanese precision, it is clearly marked on the maps and has the names of the stops in English. Getting off the Shilin station, you are disoriented by the massive amount of people, strings of bare lights and stalls and people that are hawking food, tissues and other things at you. Shilin Market area has 2 parts to it, there is the actually market area that is covered, and open during the day and is basically a food court of multiple stalls. There you will find your Taiwanese street food staples like the fried chicken cutlets, meat is tube form and the oyster omelets just to name the popular. However, if you are like me and like the experience of eating on the street in a sea of people, let the bright lights and the throngs of people guide you to the street part of the Shilin Market. 

Pan Fried XLB innards

One of the first things that you should hit up, and jump in line for is the pan fried xiaolongbao (XLB). You will know you are at the right place with the line of people out this stall and pans of XLB being bathed in hot oil. The pan fried XLB are noticeably different not only by the lack of refined folding but it has a thicker skin and a crunchy bottom. The pan fried XLB are designed and made for street eating. They however do not lack any soup qualities as my first bite left me with roof mouth burn and soup dribbling down my neck. 

Pan fried XLB making

Any trip to Taiwan would not be complete without eating a bao zi, basically a meat filled roll and steamed. They can be found pretty much anywhere, but what you won’t find everywhere is baked bao zi that is done up in like this. The bao zi are baked in a tandoori-like oven and on closer inspection (after a few dirty looks from people in line), the process is similar to making nann, in which the bao zi is stuck to the side and the when they are ready, are peeled off. The result is a crispy slightly smoky exterior and a soft meaty interior. 

multiple oyster omelet making

Of course any trip to Taiwan would not be complete without an oyster omelet. It is not an omelet by your local diner standards and is a bit more similar to a crepe. It is a eggy mixture that is combined with oysters, eggs and a starch component that is blanketed over Taiwanese bok choy and smothered in a reddish gravy. The resulting combination of this is a textural and taste symphony that is unlike anything you have consumed. What makes the pancake is not the eggy crisp, sticky, gooey egg and oyster combination but it is that red gravy. The gravy is different from place to place, each putting something different, but they are all consistent with tomato/ketchup (Asian style Ketchup) and sweetness and maybe a slight amount for heat. The sweetness works magically and pairs wonderfully with the slightly bitter bok choy. 

Oyster Omelet

Another unique eat is the big sausage little sausage. The big sausage is composed of gluten rice and peanut sausage that has the similar composition of Cajun boudin and the little sausage is a plump, plum sauce sweet Chinese sausage. The big sausage is butterflied and the small sausage is shoved in and thick aged soy is squirted on top. To compare it to a hotdog is unjust and would not even be comparable, this thing is in a league of its own. 

Big Sausage little Sausage

Of course you’re in Asia, so dumplings are available and everywhere, and can get a bowl full for less than 1 US dollar. Be sure to add a good dose of hot sauce. 

Dumplings

Finally, my favorite street treat, and I guess the most adventurous eat is Pork Blood on a stick, Offal fans, take note. Most of the vendors that have pork blood on stick vendors are not brightly advertised and showing off their goods. You can recognize them by a simple rectangular wooden box that has wisps of steam permeating from the sides. The transaction feels a bit shady, as the vendor reaches into his box and pulls out a skewered rectangular block, but if this is wrong, I don’t want to be right. The block of blood is then coated in peanut sauce, a drizzle of aged soy and in my case, a bit of hot sauce. Surprisingly it is only slightly porky and does not taste minerally at all. The Pork blood is steamed with rice in order to give it some body and results in a gooey, chewy meaty stick and the texture kind of reminds me of being like extremely soft nougat. The crush peanut coating offers a slight sweetness and textural crunch and if you are all for textural foods and can embrace the love of gelatinous textures that Asians are so fond of, then give it a shot, besides, it cost less than a dollar and uhh good source of iron?

Pork Blood on a stick- Mobile Offal

Of course there are many things that I missed or did not take pictures of, like the oyster noodle stew or fried chicken cutlet but I was cursed with only one stomach. For first timers in Taiwan, Shilin is an experience that you should not mix. Despite the sea of people, locals and tourists alike, eating there is not as frantic as you would expect. There are bubbles and moments of serene eating as you stand in a pocket of free space between a juice bar and a Puma store eating a pan fried XLB. Though I am unsure if I will be making the ride out to Shilin Market this time around (got to try the other ones) there is no better way to immerse yourself into Taiwan and see firsthand what a food fanatical country is like. Oh by the way, the dudes with the surgical masks are not performing discount surgery, they are cooking stinky tofu so either steer clear or run towards it your choice, though I think you know what I would be doing. 

Yeah, insert your own inappropriate jokes here

The Spotted Pig

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Spotted Pig is not only a gastropub, but an art gallery for meat and pork centric art

I have never been to an April Bloomfield restaurant until this past weekend. I feel a bit ashamed given that the food at The Breslin, the John Dory and The Spotted Pig is everything that I like, which is fat and pork and in the case of the Dory, fat, pork and seafood. So for my birthday I decided to do brunch up at The Spotted Pig, where it all started. Located in the West Village the Spotted Pig is the original OG when it comes to the gastropub. They were doing the whole gastropub before it was like, cool. The Spotted Pig is still frequented by locals and tourists alike and on a Saturday at noon, there is still a sizable wait for a table. Onward Food!