Taipei Taipei! (CLOSED)

I went to Taipei....errr.....at Damansara Kim for dinner. heh...heh... Sorry, lame joke. This was the same day when I had lunch at Ante@1-Utama.

It was my partner who spotted this place earlier and he thought it would be a potential dinner spot for us. We used to frequent Magic Wok but on our last visit, we noted that our favorite dishes did not taste the same. After dinner we found out from the wait staff that the cook left and a part time cook was holding the fort in the kitchen. No wonder.

When I stepped into Taipei Taipei, I was quite drawn to the decor. To me it was simple elegance and I found it very tasteful. I liked the ambiance. It's a small restaurant and there were only two other tables occupied when we arrived.

There's more seating room upstairs. Next door is The Kitchen Table and from the window I could see that it was almost fully occupied and in full swing. That's another place we should check out one day.

The menu consists mostly of set meals of rice and noodles. Apparently the selling point here is the deep fried pork chops. My partner prefers ordering rice with side dishes, so I had to abandon the beef noodles set hah..hah...

There were not many choices for side dishes since this restaurant concentrates on set meals. Maybe we could try those on our next visit. Since I'm the "boss", I chose the dishes.

This is the Three Cup Chicken. It was flavorful and the aroma of the basil shone through. It's a bit on the salty side for me, but I liked it.

This Pork Rib and Bittergourd Soup is a one person serving but I shared it with my partner. It had a very strong smell and you can see those impurities floating on the soup. I suspect the kitchen did not blanch the pork ribs first to clean it. I'm afraid I did not enjoy this soup.

Kangkung fried with garlic and pork using castor oil. Castor oil? Up until now, I only know that castor oil is used for medicinal purposes and I have not ever tasted it. And yeah, the kangkung had some kind of smell (castor oil?). It was not unpleasant but it was not what I am used to. I'll have kangkung belacan anytime. But I ate this strange tasting kangkung anyway since I love the vegetable.

Ah! Pork belly! This was the something-something stew. It's what I know as tau yew bak. Besides the belly, there was an egg and some tofu slices. It was just alright. Maybe it's because I wasn't that hungry.

For drinks, we had the Lemon Honey. Before he took his drink, my partner asked me "Do you have to take photos of the drinks?" hah..hah.. I almost forgot and it looks like he is getting the hang of me taking pictures before we eat.

So what did I think of the food? I don't know, I find Taiwanese food quite mild tasting. Perhaps I am more accustomed to the robust strong flavors of Nonya and Malay cooking. 

But still, this is way tastier than the food at a Taiwanese restaurant I had in Boston. That restaurant was in the vicinity of Harvard University. I was actually quite shocked when I tasted the food. The egg fried rice was bland and the sweet and sour pork was deep fried pork balls doused in some kind of strange tasting chili sauce.

The worst was the vegetables with mushrooms. It was as if the vegetables were simply blanched and plonked on the plate. No seasoning no nothing. Pity I did not own a smartphone back then or else I would have had photos to show you. It wasn't my idea to eat there, I mean if I am in  the USA, I want American food! It was a revelation, really. I am sure there are good Chinese restaurants there, just that we picked the wrong one.

I don't know if the food at Taipei Taipei is authentic Taiwanese but I won't mind going back there again to try the other items on the menu. And perhaps someday, I'll get a chance to go to Taiwan and eat the real deal. Sigh...