Food
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Is Go Dumpling A Legitimate Go To Restuarant In Taipei?
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In Taipei there is no shortage of places serving dumplings. That’s an understatement. You can find dumplings everywhere within this foodie haven of a city. It takes a special dumpling to really stand out within the city. After having spent my evening watching a Wei Chaun Dragons baseball game (a professional baseball team in Taipei) I was looking to cap my night with delicious food and stumbled upon Go Dumpling as I was walking back to my hotel.
The Go Dumpling Experience
Go Dumpling is pretty small and non-descript on a street in the Shilin District. What caught my eye was the green door, the violin menu holder (or whatever stringed instrument that may be lol), and the pig in a bowtie cutout that are all out in front of the restaurant.
Intrigued by these quirky items and colorful door and most importantly hungry, on the verge of hangry (lol), I decided to check out the menu.
There were definitely a lot of interesting items that caught my eye. The menu wasn’t huge but what they had sounded pretty tasty! There were six different sections on the menu: dumplings, noodles, soup, private home cuisine, braised dishes, and frozen dumplings. and the prices were certainly reasonable, so it was an easy choice to stop here and grab some food!
The Food
So, here’s what I ended up getting during my visit to Go Dumpling: dumplings in spicy sauce (220 NTD, $6.86 USD), hot and sour soup (50 NTD, $1.55 USD), and sesame oil noodles (50 NTD, $1.55 USD).
The Spicy Dumplings
Eating at place called Go Dumpling, it was a no-brainer to grab some dumplings here. Spicy dumplings? Sold! I liked the presentation of these. There were about six or seven of these in the bowl with finely shredded cucumber layered over the top with green onion and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top.
The dumplings were really tasty. The dough wasn’t too thick and seemed quite fresh. The meat filling was well seasoned with some green onion mixed in providing a different texture and crunch to the mix. The spicy sauce had some chili oil and sesame in it and packed a pretty decent punch. It certainly left the mouth burning a little bit, which is always the tell tale sign of a good ol’ fashioned spicy dish! The cucumber provided a nice little crunch and blended in well with the dumplings and sauce. The dumplings themselves were well coated in the spicy sauce which helped to enhance the flavor of them even more.
Hot And Sour Soup
Hot and sour soup, of course is something that’s popular world wide and isn’t some unique soup found only in Taiwan. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d had it, and being a soup lover, I thought it was a good time to get myself a bowl during my Go Dumpling visit.
This was a good sized bowl of soup and was only 50 NTD ($1.55 USD)! The soup had carrot, a couple of different types of mushrooms, egg, chicken, green onion, and tofu. Typical trimmings for a hot and sour soup.
The soup was flavorful and tangy with that familiar balance of spicy, sour, and savory flavors. After a long day of going all around Taipei this was a nice comforting bowl to sit down and enjoy. After eating a few spoonfuls I quickly remembered why I enjoyed this soup so much and questioned why I hadn’t had it in so long, lol. The complex combination of tangy, spicy, and savory flavors, the thickness of the soup broth, really makes the soup memorable, especially when it’s well-made, which this one was.
Sesame Oil Noodles
Something that I hadn’t had, but sounded simple yet tasty, was the sesame oil noodles.
It didn’t get much simpler than this dish: noodles, sesame oil, minced garlic, and some green onions, that’s it. I enjoyed this dish. It was flavorful due to the sesame oil, the noodles were thin, quite soft, and very fresh. The noodle dish overall was very, very light and would go well as a side dish with just about anything, especially a heavier kind of meal.
Final Thoughts
Go Dumpling is a solid little restaurant to grab some food if you’re in the Shilin area. It’s not necessarily a place that you’re going to go out of your way to put on your foodie list when visiting Taipei, but it’s a good option that serves some great dishes. I found the food to be well-presented and just flat out comforting. The prices are incredibly cheap which is another bonus and adds to the allure!
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Is Shilin Night Market A Great Night Market To Visit In Taipei?
Shilin Night Market is one of the largest, if not the largest, night markets in not only Tapei, but all of Taiwan. This makes Shilin one of the most popular night markets in the city, especially amongst tourists.
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The Shilin Night Market History
The Shilin Night Market dates all the way back to 1909, so it’s definitely been around and has a long history. It originally started out as a day market, with two long market buildings built across from the Shilin Cixian Temple.
These buildings were quite popular and busy and space within them were soon snapped up. Due to the lack of space within the market buildings, vendors and stores began opening up and spreading throughout the neighborhood. Through this growth and popularity over decades, the market morphed into the Shilin Night Market we see today.
At its peak the market was home to over 500 stalls. I’m not sure if there’s that many today, but the market is definitely expansive, with a ton of stalls to explore and more importantly eat at!
The Shilin Night Market Food
Like at every food market that has a million different food stalls, deciding on what to get can be very difficult since there’s SO many different options. As someone that is always eager to try new foods it can be very difficult to decide on what to get since I only have so much stomach space, lol. This is what I ended up getting during my visit to Shilin Night Market.
Cheng Zu’s Pepper Pork Buns
I had seen some videos about these buns so this was definitely a place I was looking forward to trying.
They have a few variations of these buns, and as you can see by the “Sold Out” tags underneath the majority of these options, they’re very popular. I got here early as well, around 530 pm, which is early and most everything was sold out already. Luckily, the OG pork buns, the option that I would have wanted anyways was still available. I got two of them (120 NTD, $3.75 USD).
First off, these things come out PIPING hot. Even holding them with the paper wrapper was hard since they were so hot. Secondly, these buns were BIG. I wasn’t expecting them to be as big as they were. Definitely well worth the price.
The buns are nicely roasted, with a little bit of char and heavily coated with sesame seeds on the exterior. When you take a bite, you better take it with caution, due to the amount of scaldiong hot juice coursing through these. I took a bite and some juice went squirting out of it past my shoulder. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone walking by at that time lol.
Nice and crunchy on the outside, the inside was nice and doughy. You can really taste the freshness of these. Not only were these buns packed with juice, there was also a LOT of meat in there as well. It’s a really well-seasoned, juicy filling, that has a strong peppery taste to it. There’s onion and another green veggie in the filling. Not sure what it was, it wasn’t green onion though. These were really good and a great way to kick off the night. My lips were burning from all that peppery goodness for quite a while after I dusted these off which speaks to just how seasoned they were!
Peanut Ice Cream Roll
I located a small stall selling peanut ice cream rolls in the Shilin Night Market near Cheng Zu’s and knew what I was eating after I dusted off those pepper buns. This was something I had seen in YouTube videos of Taiwan night markets and was looking forward to giving these unique treats a try.
Why are they unique? These are called a “roll” but to me it was pretty much a dessert burrito. The “tortilla” in this instance was a thin roll, which reminded me of a spring roll. It’s not quite that but the texture of it was similiar and was the thing I instantly thought of.
Within this “burrito” is shaved peanut brittle. These are big blocks of Taiwanese peanut brittle which they literally shave down and then use those shavings in the “burrito”.
After a nice layer of this covers the “tortilla”, two scoops of ice cream were added. Popular flavors are taro, pineapple, passion fruit, and vanilla. I opted for vanilla here. The ice cream is more icy than creamy too, which seems to work well here.
The last ingredient added was cilantro. Yes, cilantro! It’s not something you’d associate being paired with a sweet dessert with peanut brittle and ice cream and yet it’s a key ingredient here.
This was the end result, hence the burrito comparison!
It somehow all works. The combination of all the ingredients, the roll texture, ice cream, peanut brittle shavings, and ESPECIALLY the cilantro, just seem to jive well with on another. From the textures of the roll, the sweetness from the ice cream, slight crunch from the peanut brittle shavings, and the diffent kind of crunch and flavor from the cilantro, it just works. This roll was a very light dessert and extremely tasty and was very cheap (50 NTD, $1.56)!
Deep fried crab meat on a stick with spicy sauce
This wasn’t something that was on my list of “must try” items but was something I came across while walking through the Shilin Night Market. I love all things crab and all things on a stick, so this was just too tempting to pass up, lol.
It also helped that it looked like a big chunk of crab and a lot of interesting dips and seasonings you could coat the crab with. I grabbed one of them and got it coated in a spicy sauce (80 NTD, $2.50 USD)
The crab meat was quite sweet. It wasn’t fried for long, just a quick dip, the outer coating and crab itself was soft. The meat wasn’t very firm at all. The spicy sauce added a nice kick. It was a little tangy, a little sweet and savory with a decent spice to it. Overall it was pretty solid, nothing to really write home about, but pretty tasty and enjoyable.
Taiwanese cold noodles with sesame sauce
This stall earned a Michelin star back in 2019 and 2020 and was clearly a very popular place. There was a pretty sizable line into the restaurant and they also had a bustling to-go set up as well. This to-go area was nicely organized and efficient. Even though this line was also busy, the line went fast.
I got a small noodle cup (50 NTD, $1.56 USD). The sauce is defintely on the thicker side and really coats the noodles well. The noodles reminded me of ramen noodle and were pretty firm, tasted pretty fresh and were overally solid.
The sesame sauce had a peanutty, slightly sweet taste to go along with a great sesame flavor. You can order it spicy as well, which I clearly had to do, lol. This added a nice little kick to a very flavorful sauce. A little sesamey and peanutty with a hint of sweetness to it and overall quite tasty. The more I ate, the more I appreciated it. It was pretty addicting to be honest. I was impressed with the flavor. Also, that spice definitely started creeping up on me and my lips were burning for a while after finishing them. This was a satisfying end to my Shilin Night Market experience, with that sauce really making these noodles pop.
The Shilin Night Market Experience
If you’re in Taipei visiting a night market or night markets, Shilin Night Market, being one of the most popular night markets in the city, is certainly worth a visit. It will very crowded so if you’re not a fan of fighting through crowds for food, this may not be the place for you.
Otherwise, this is a massive night market with a ton of food stalls and restaurants to experience. You will almost certainly find something that tickles your fancy as this has all the Taiwanese Night Market foods you’d expect to find, along with places that are just specific to Shilin Night Market!
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Is Linjiang Night Market (Tonghua) A Great Night Market To Visit In Taipei?
Taipei has many, many, sights and attractions to visit and experience. One of the highlights – especially if you’re a foodie or night market enthusiast – is the vast number of night markets spread throughout the massive city. The city is absolutely jam-packed with night markets. Some are more notable than others, with some night markets including Michelin Star stalls!
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Linjiang Night Market
Located near the popular Taipei 101 building and Elephant Mountain, Linjiang Night Market, also known locally as Tonghua Night Market, is one of the more popular night markets in Taipei. I had visited Elephant Mountain earlier (definitely recommend!) and saw that Linjiang was the closest night market in the area so thought I’d give it a try.
Serving traditional and classic street food, there’s about 200 hundred stalls located at Lingjiang Night Market.
There’s obvioulsy a ton of food to choose from and if you’re new to the Taiwan night market scene, like myself, choosing just a handful of items to try can be challenge since there’s so many interesting, delicious looking food items!
The Food
Fried Sweet Potato Balls
I had heard about these fried sweet potato balls (50 NTD for a medium bag $1.56 USD) and they were definitely on the list of things I wanted to try. A night market staple, fried sweet potato balls can be found at every single Taiwainese night market, including Linjiang Night Market. They’re a very, very popular street food so I was excited to give them a try.
Let’s just say they didn’t disappoint! Freshly made right in front of you, these are given to you piping hot. Luckily, you’re provided with a tooth pick to stab at the balls to eat.
The different colors were all different flavors. There was seaweed, sweet potato, and black bean from what I could tell. They each had a distinct flavor, and they were all good! These things were light and airy, crispy on the outside, with a gooey, chewy texture on the inside. The inside of these things reminded me of mochi, so I loved it.
The flavors here aren’t overpowering either. A little sweet, a little savory, it was just the right amount of both. They’re quite addicting, especially straight out of the wok when they’re extremely hot!
Fried Dumplings
Dumplings, another night market staple, was another easy choice to grab at Linjiang Night Market. With this being my first Taiwan night market I absolutely had to get some dumplings! I found a stall that was pretty large and was definitely the most popular at the night market based off the line of people waiting to purchase them.
The stall is bustling as the staff stays busy preparing the buns and dumplings. There’s nothing pre-made here so you know what you get will be extremely fresh. It’s fun and interesting to watch the dumplings being made while waiting in line. The staff is a well-oiled machine in prepping and serving them and the dumplings get pumped out efficiently.
They have a couple of options: pan fried buns and pan fried dumplings. I decided to go with the fried dumplings (5 for 75 NTD, $2.34 USD).
Once you get your fresh dumplings, or buns for myself, these things come out piping, piping hot. I could barely hold them to even get some pics of them. Sure, you could wait, but I mean, who can actually wait to eat freshly made buns?
The bun skins were fairly thin, and these things were PACKED with filling. The filling was ground pork, green onion, and onion. It was well-seasoned, not overly savory, and tasted great. I just wish I had some chili sauce or some dipping sauce for them. They probably had those, I just didn’t see them.
Snow Ice
Taiwanese snow ice was something else that I had read about and had wanted to try. I’m a shaved ice fan to begin with and Taiwanese snow ice was something I was certainly looking forward to. Linjiang Night Market had a couple of snow ice shop options to choose from. I went with the one that had a watermelon snow ice on display (140 NTD, $4.36 USD) since I LOVE watermelon.
This is a little bit different than other shaved ices that I’ve experienced over the years. Instead of using ice, milk is frozen, and then shaved down. It took me a while to figure this out as I ate it. Initially it was a very confusing experience for the taste buds. The snow ice tasted like a light vanilla ice cream. It was fairly sweet but not overly so. This also come in a massive, deep bowl, it’s probably a dish for two people or just one hungry tourist, lol.
You get a ton of snow ice and very generous amount of watermelon with condensed milk drizzled over the whole thing.
The watermelon itself wasn’t too sweet, but it was decent.
Linjiang Night Market Experience
I enjoyed my time at Linjiang Night Market. I didn’t have any other night markets yet to rate it against but I thought Linjiang Night Market was a lively, fun, place to be. With this being my first exposure to the Taiwan night market scene it was a little intimidating and overwhelming initially. The vast number of food stalls lined up in long rows, the different types of foods and smells wafting through the air, and the night market itself being packed with people, it’s a lot to take in all at once.
It’s a good thing to take in though, since I was surrounded by food, much of it comprised of new and exciting items to try. Plus, the food is so AFFORDABLE. For the three items I got it was a total of $8.26 USD and it was all really tasty stuff.
There are probably some unique stalls serving items you can only find at Linjiang Night Market which makes it all the more enticing to come back to and explore at some point. I look forward to it!
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How Good Is Taiwan’s Famous Fried Chicken Master Chain?
For my trip to Taiwan, one of the foods I was really looking forward to was their fried chicken. It’s extremely popular in Taiwan, especially at night markets. I got into Taipai late at night and found Fried Chicken Master right across the street from the place I was staying at. What better way to kick off the trip then by grabbing some food at a popular national chain?
Fried Chicken Master is a national fried chicken franchise which was founded in Taiwan. It has expanded to 110 locations globally and can now be found in countries such as Canada, Malaysia, and Jakarta.
Fried Chicken Master specializes in Halal Fried Chicken, which I’ve never seen from any major fried chicken chain in the world up to this point. You’ll find the normal fried chicken options on the menu: wings, popcorn chicken, breast, thigh, but with the Taiwanese fried chicken spin on it.
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How Is Tawainese Fried Chicken Different?
Taiwanese fried chicken has its own distinctive flavor and texture as one might imagine. The batter and coating which often uses sweet potato starch and tapioca flour, gives Taiwanese fried chicken a distinct crunch. After the chicken is deep fried it can get sprinkled with a bevy of different seasonings from salt, pepper, chili powder, and other Chinese spices.
The huge flattened cutlets, which are a staple on any menu that’s serving fried chicken, are definitely unique as well. These are huge slabs of chicken and come wrapped in a plastic sheet, piping hot. For myself that’s the picture that was engrained in my head when it comes to fried chicken in Taiwan and is what I had to get (and got often) when I visited Taiwan.
Fried Chicken Master Experience
With ample combo meals to choose from and several a la carte options, I was looking forward to getting this after I had checked into my room. It may have also been the fact that I was absolutely starving too lol.
I went with the #2 Fried Chicken Breast meal (129 NTD, $4.02 USD). This included french fries and choice of drink, so I went with an iced black tea. They had a choice of seasonings that you could choose and I went with the Taiwanese salt and pepper.
The Food Experience
Seeing photos of these flattened chicken breasts is one thing, but to actually hold it in my hands was another. It’s a huge piece of chicken. Like ridiculously so. It was heavily seasoned as well. A little too much for my liking. The exterior was very crunchy and the meat was tender and juicy in some parts. Other parts seemed a little tough and even a little under cooked. So overall it was pretty uneven. It put a smile on my face one bite and then had me frowing the next.
The seasoning was quite sweet overall too. I wasn’t expecting that flavor from Taiwanese salt and pepper. I’m pretty particular when it comes to sweet and savory on things like chicken and then tilted towards being too sweet for my liking.
The fries were decent, but nothing overly special or memorable. I’d never gotten a cold black tea before but it was quite good. Black tea is immensely popular in Taiwan and can be found everywhere. This cold black tea reminded of me a sweetened ice tea essentially.
Is Fried Chicken Master Worth A Visit?
If you’re in a pinch and in need of something cheap and fast and on the go, then sure, it’s worth stopping by and giving it a try. It by no means was horrible, but it wasn’t anything special in my books either. There’s a million of other places that sell fried chicken too so this isn’t the only option in town. I may have just ordered the wrong thing though and there may be a more popular item(s) on the menu, so I’d be willing to give it a go again.
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Hole In The Wall Taco Grill Delivers The Goods
Taco Grill is one of those taco shops you love to see. A little hole in the wall restaurant nicely tucked into a non-descript strip mall on a sleepy street. Southern California has many many taco locations scattered throughout (I’m very lucky to have so many options!) and it can be difficult to stand out amongst all these great taco locations. With great reviews on both Yelp and Google I was looking forward to giving it a try and seeing if it’s worthy of a spot in the taco rotation.
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Taco Grill Experience
Located in Westminister, CA, I’d seen Taco Grill several times over the years driving by on my way to other places. I’m always intrigued by these types of hole in the wall places and always wanted to try it, just never did until the other day. I’m glad I did! The restaurant is indeed tiny, a handful of tables inside with a few tables outside in the front with a convenient salsa bar also located in the front as well. There’s pickled onions and jalapenos and a few different types of salsas to choose from.
The menu is quite large. There’s a large variety of tacos: soft tacos (chicken, asada, carnitas, al pastor, chorizo), blackened fish or fried fish, grilled shrimp or fried shrimp, hard shell tacos (chicken, potato, beef), nachos, quesadillas, tortas, burritos, and carne asada fries. There’s a lot to take in for such a small spot. This go around I was focused on the tacos though.
The Food
I ended up getting the asada soft taco ($2.75), blackened fish taco ($2.25) (which seems to be one of the most popular items at Taco Grill), and hard shell beef taco ($3.00).
Carne Asada Soft Taco and Blackened Fish Tacos 
Hard Shell beef taco The food came out quickly, probably within 10 minutes, even though the restaurant was quite busy, so service was great. The first thing I noticed was that the tacos weren’t huge, they’re pretty small in size. BUT they’re packed with meat and toppings. They don’t skimp here.
I tried the hard shell taco first. I liked the fact they provide a dollop of sour cream and guacamole with the hard shell tacos that you can include in the taco. It’s a nice touch. The taco had a good amount of tasty meat and ample amounts of lettuce and cheese.
What stood out most to me was how crisp and thin the taco shell was. It wasn’t oily at all either. It’s definitely one of the better hard shell tacos that I’ve had. it was very good.
The second taco I went with was the blackened fish taco. This had a big chunk of fish in it with lots of cabbage and pico de gallo and sauce. The tortillas are very fresh. Overall a very solid taco. Plenty of fish which is seasoned well, tortillas are great, there was a little bit too much sauce for my taste. It kind of overtook the overall flavor of the taco but that’s nitpicking to be honest.
Last up was the carne aasada soft taco. This is generally a staple as a must try taco for me at every new taco place I venture out to. This came with the basic onions and cilantro and those same delicious tortillas. Again, the asada is well-seasoned here and quite tasty. The meat was good as well. There weren’t any really chewy, fatty pieces to be found in this taco. I was a little surprised since generally there’s always a few pieces like that in the carne asada mix. I wasn’t complaining though, it was good.
Is Taco Grill Worth A Visit?
In my opinion Taco Grill is certainly worth a visit to at least give it a try. All the tacos are pretty small but packed with meat and toppings and the fresh tacos were really delicious. The hard shell taco was the real standout to me at Taco Grill. I loved the crispness of it and how it wasn’t greasy at all. I’ll definitely come back here to try some more food. I definitely want to try their burritos. Either the bean and cheese or the California burrito, I’m thinking, but I’ll definitely make room for that hard shell taco as well.
Taco Grill
Address: 8481 Heil Ave H, Westminster, CA 92683
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How Delicious is Pholicious In Fountain Valley, CA?
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The Pholicious Background
Pholicious in Fountain Valley has been around for quite some time. I’ve been coming here for at least 15-20 years but hadn’t eaten here in a few years. Somewhere along the line the restaurant changed ownership but the restaurant itself looked exactly as I had remembered. I was curious to see if the pho tasted the same from what I had remembered when used to frequent it often or new ownership introduced new pho broth.
The front of Pholicious The Experience
I stopped by for lunch on a random weekday recently. It was fairly busy since it was lunch but this is a larger strip mall with ample parking so that’s not an issue here, which is always nice. I was able to find a table and seat with no issues. Service was extremely fast and the menu seemed like it was pretty much the same as I remembered. No big surprises or noticeable changes, which was nice.
The menu at Pholicious After taking a quick one over of the menu I opted for the #9 ($14 USD) – the Pho with rare steak, which is always my go to pho order. Like all pho restuarants the food came out within minutes, piping hot.
The Food
The bowl of pho came out with all the usual side trimmings – bean sprouts, jalapeno, lime, cilantro – you expect to get with a nice bowl of pho. The pho was topped with green onion and white onion. The bowl itself wasn’t overly large or too deep either, so I wasn’t sure if would be enough food at first glance.
Before digging in, the first thing I always do is get a nice spoonful of the broth. This particular broth was pretty mild. It wasn’t overly savory and had a hint of earthy sweetness from the star anise. That deep, rich flavor was missing here but the broth was still decent.
For the size of the bowl there was a good amount of steak in it. It was thinly sliced and tender. I think when it comes to the steak in pho it’s generally always pretty similar and hard to REALLY stand out. So long as it doesn’t stand out for the wrong reasons, it’s always pretty solid. This was no different here. The steak was what I would expect and was good.
The noodles were nice and fresh, with a good texture and a good bounce to them, they tasted great. I did feel like there could be more noodles though. Maybe due to the size of the bowl they just can’t fit much more in there but it certainly left me wanting a little more.
The Verdict
Having been a few years since I’d eaten at Pholicious there was still a sense of familiarity and comfort with both the restaurant and bowl of pho.
There were some things that seemed different as well. The pho broth seemed a little lighter than what I remembered and the serving size seemed smaller.
Maybe it’s due to having expanded my pho taste buds and gone to several other pho places over the years, I can’t say.
But this didn’t quite hit home like I remembered. It’s still a solid option which I enjoyed, but in terms of pho places in the area it probably got pushed down my own personal pho list a bit.
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Does Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Live Up To The Hype?
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Hokkaido Ramen Santouka – The Background
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is a ramen chain from Japan that’s made its way over to the US. The chain originates from Japan’s northern most island, Hokkaido, and has restaurants all the way to one of it’s most southern islands, Okinawa. It’s truly a nationwide restaurant but doesn’t have a ton of restaurants in total.
The first Hokkaido Ramen Santouka opened its doors in 1988 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido with a single type of ramen: shio (salt). The base broth consists of boiled down pork bones. To produce a milder flavor the bones are boiled down over a long period of time. When the white colored broth is complete, it’s never re-boiled. This is to protect the overall flavor and smell.
The menu and selection of ramen has since expanded quite a bit. Miso, soy sauce, and spicy miso have joined the salt ramen as options on the menu.
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has found success both domestically and abroad. Locations have expanded throughout Southeast Asia and also in the US and Canada.
I went and visited the location in Costa Mesa, CA, located in the Japanese grocery mart Mitsuwa’s food court.
The Experience
I’ve been to the Mitsuwa food court before and they’ve remodeled it. The space is much more open with a lot more seating. Seating had previoulsy been problematic at peak times here. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has been a staple in the food court for quite a while. It had been YEARS since I’d eaten it so I was certainly looking forward to grabbing a bowl here.
There’s a lot of selections to choose from. Much like in Japan, there’s a large array of plastic food in the display case showing what they offer. It’s a lot to sort through, so choosing while waiting in line can certainly be difficult!
I opted for the Chashu Pork Soy Sauce Ramen (L) ($16.45). It doesn’t take too long for the food to come out, about 10 minutes or so. You get handed a ticket with a number and they’ll call it out over a microphone when it’s ready to pick it up.
The Ramen
The large is a pretty massive bowl. You get a lot of food with this. There were about 5 pieces of thick chashu in it along with bamboo shoots, green onion, a piece of nori, and the famous Santouka red pickled plum.
The broth offers a blend of both savory and a hint of fish, enriched with the addition of the soy sauce. It’s not an incredibly rich or deep flavored broth, which is a nice change of pace if you’ve had a lot of tonkatsu broth of late. That doesn’t mean the broth isn’t satisfying. It’s a well-balanced, almost comforting, kind of broth, which is always enjoyable.
The noodles are fairly firm. A little thick for ramen noodles but have a nice bounce to them and a good overall texture. Quite delicious!
The chashu pieces were meaty, fairly thick, and well seasoned. The chashu is very flavorful, with minimal fat. With the large bowl you get a lot of pieces which was awesome.
The Verdict
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is an excellent choice for ramen in the Costa Mesa area (which has a TON of ramen places). What’s most enjoyable about it is that they specialize in shio and soy sauce ramen, which you can find at other ramen locations, but it’s not their specialty like it is here.
The soy sauce ramen is definitely a different tasting experience than the usual tonkatsu and I’d highly recommend giving a try if you’re a ramen lover wanting to try something newish.
Afterwards you can also walk around Mitsuwa and do some shopping and grab some Japanese snacks to boot. Not too shabby!
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How Does Phoholic Compare To Other Pho Restaurants in Orange County?
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The Background
Phoholic first opened up its first location in Westminister back in 1991 and has since expanded to three total locations, all in Southern California. It’s best known for it’s rich beef broth. I’ve never had Phoholic (which is pretty surprising) before and was looking forward to giving it a try since it’s a well-known pho restaurant in Orange County.
The Experience
The first thing you notice, before you even step into the Phoholic, is how incredibly small the parking lot is. I got here about 11:30am and was lucky to get a spot. I can see parking being a major problem at peak hours. Just something to be mindful of if planning a visit for the first time.
The restaurant itself is quite small and was filling up quickly when I got there. Luckily, I was able to grab a table without having to wait. Definitely would not have been the case 30 mins later.
The menu is laid out nicely. Especially for pho noobs. They have a lot of pho options and do a good job of separating out the different bowls and even have a handy key to translate the Vietnamese. I haven’t been to a pho restaurant that offers two different types of noodle options. It was a nice twist!
I ended up going with the Steak Pho – yeah I know, I’m boring – with the fresh noodles ($12.99). I can never pass up fresh noodles if given the opportunity!
Literally less than five minutes after I placed my order a big ol’ metal bowl of steaming pho came out. It’s seriously a VERY sizeable metal bowl.
The broth looked incredibly rich. And it didn’t disappoint! There’s a deep, beefy rich flavor to the broth. It’s also very savory. The lime helps to soften this. The tanginess, which always go well with pho, seems even more pronounced when added to this particular broth.
You really don’t need to add anything to the broth like the usual hoisin sauce and Sriracha. It’s good on it’s own with the lime. Due to my spicy preference, I still added some Sriracha to go along with the jalapenos slices.
I was a little torn on the fresh noodles. First off they’re delicious. They’re silky smooth, thin, and very light. They definitely taste fresh. My only gripe was that they were too soft. Not sure if they’re usually served like that or perhaps this batch got cooked a little too long.
The steak was very tender. Usually the steak in pho is nothing of note for me personally. But that isn’t the case here. It’s actually legit tender and genuinely good. The best part is the amount of steak in the bowl. There’s a LOT of meat included. You won’t get cheated on the quanity nor the quality here. With such a massive bowl they don’t skimp on the amount of food they give you too, especially for a very reasonable price.
The Verdict
Phoholic has been an iconic pho restaurant in Orange County for 30 plus years for a good reason. They know how to make pho that’s immensely enjoyable. The broth offers a unique rich flavor and the meat portions are not only generous but also quite good to boot. The overall portions for the price are great too. For only $12.99, the huge bowl of pho is well worth the price.
Whereas the noodles taste good and are definitely fresh, the firmness was a little too soft for my liking which dampened my overall experience, to an extent. But not so much where I wouldn’t go back, which I think speaks volumes to the overall quality of the broth and meat at Phoholic.
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Shin-Osaka Station: Great Food Options to Try While Waiting for Your Bullet Train
If you’re taking a bullet train out of or into Osaka, you will end up at Shin-Osaka Station. Fortunately, there’s a number of restaurants and places to grab snacks at here. I was at Shin-Osaka Station a couple of times and ate at two of the restaurants there.
Hokkyokusei at Shin-Osaka Station
Hokkyokusei is a restaurant that specializes in omurice. A Western influenced dish, omurice is a very common and popular Japanese dish. The beloved dish traces its history all the way back to the early 1920s. Its origin is a bit hazy, with some believing it started in Osaka, while others claim a restaurant in Tokyo was the first to offer the tasty dish. Regardless of its origin, omurice is now a national dish and another iconic food in Japan.
Omurice includes ketchup fried rice, yes ketchup fried rice, wrapped in a very thin omlette with ketchup drizzled over the egg. The egg is very crepe like, it’s a very thin layer. The ketchup fried rice is generally mixed with chicken and vegetables.
The Omurice
The omurice I got was the traditional chicken fried rice encased in the thin crepe like egg (970 yen, $6.65 USD).
This came loaded up with chicken fried rice. A little sweet, a little savory the pieces were nice and tender as well. The sauce drizzled on the plate was pretty much like a thinner, bitter ketchup. Interesting flavor to it.
Despite the omurice being loaded to the gills with fried rice, this was stll a very light meal. The egg is so light and airy. I really have no idea how they’re able to wrap the rice inside of it like they do. It seems so delicate and easy to rip. This was my first experience eating omurice and it was definitely an enjoyable breakfast. It’s certainly something I’d enjoy trying to make in the future myself. I doubt the presentation will look as good as this though!
Dashi Chazuke En at Shin-Osaka Station
Dashi Chazuke En is a chain restaurant in Japan that is know for serving ochazuke with various toppings over it.
What exactly is ochazuke? It’s a simple Japanese dish that includes a bowl of cooked rice with hot tea or dashi poured over it. You add toppings such as Japanese pickles, nori (seaweed), salted fish, and really any other topping which sounds appealing to you, you can throw in there!
This is something that I’ve eaten with my family after certain Japanese meals, essentially my entire life. We use the rice left over from the meal for it and pour tea over it and eat with pickled vegatables.
I’ve never seen ochazuke in any restaurant in my life before so I was actually quite excited to see there was a restaurant in Shin-Osaka Station whose menu tilted towards serving the dish.
It was definitley helpful that the menu was in English as well. I went with the grilled salmon and sesame kelp option (650 yen, $4.10 USD). This little meal set comes with the bowl of ochazuke a couple of side dishes and some pickled vegetables. You get your own personal teapot and pour the tea in yourself. There’s also a seasoning packet provided that you can pour into the ochazuke to add some additional flavor.
I dumped in all the side dishes and pickles as well. It all combines to make what could be considered a type of stew. With rice, salmon, pickled vegetables, there’s a whole lot of different textures to enjoy with this meal. This is definitley a comfort food for myself and it was great to be able to enjoy it in Japan. This was a perfect breakfast as I waited for my train. Light, yet filling, warm, and comforting, it was a great way to kick off the day and was extremely affordable as well!
A Lot Of Options
These are just two of the restaurants you can eat at. There’s about 10 total restuarants but over 36 total shops / restaurants / cafes within this area in the station. If you don’t want or have time for a sit down restaurant there’s a ton of places with pastries, sandwiches, sweets to choose from within Shin-Osaka Station. I wouldn’t necessarily worry about grabbing a bite to eat prior to heading over to the station, there’s plenty to choose from here!
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10 Amazing Foods In Japan That Are A Must Try
There’s no question there’s a ton of unique attractions and sights to see while visiting Japan. It’s a truly beautiful, bustling country which never ceases to amaze me. One of the biggest draws of the country for myself is the food. To say the food in Japan is delicious would be an understatement. It’s absolutely amazing.
Here are some of the standouts that anyone visiting Japan must try!
Table of Contents
Mochi
Mochi is certainly one of the most 10 amazing foods in Japan. A traditional rice cake, mochi is chewy and has a chewy texture and can be either savory or sweet. It’s a versatile rice cake which can be filled with various fillings like red bean paste and have different types of toppings like fruit on top. The freshness, and how soft and chewy the mochi is in Japan really stands out. While mochi can be found worldwide, the mochi in Japan is on a different level!
Ramen
Ramen is easily one of the top 10 amazing foods in Japan. Everyone knows ramen, let’s be honest. Ramen is everywhere in the world but it’s something that absolutely must be tried in Japan. The number of ramen places and different types of ramen are insane. The atmosphere itself, with many ramen shops just being a counter that seats 15 or less is a pretty cool experience. The ordering process, with the ordering machines in the front of some ramen restaurants is certainly an experience as well.
Sushi / Sashimi / Chirashi
Without a doubt, sushi in all it’s variations is one of the 10 amazing foods in Japan that you must have. Japan has some of the best quaility seafood in the world and the quality of the sushi / sashimi / chirashi certainly reflects this. Whenever I go to Japan I eat as much tuna as I possibly can. It’s the best tuna I’ve ever had. The crab, scallop, uni, it’s all outstanding. Whatever your fish of choice is, you will not be disappointed by the quality.
Fruit
Speaking of high quality, the fruit in Japan is on another level from what I’ve ever had in the United States. Quality takes precedence over quanity when it comes to Japanese fruit. Farmers are very attentive and closely monitor their crops to insure their fruit meets lofty standards in association with the fruit texture, sweetness, size, and shape.
These high standards, along with the country being smaller, which leads to less time for the fruit to make it from the farm to the store, leads to some exceptionally high quality fruit.
The melons and strawberries I had were the juiciest and sweetest I’ve ever experienced. With quality comes higher prices though. The fruit is definitely more expensive, but it’s well worth it. Fruit may not be on the radar as one the 10 amazing foods in Japan, but it certainly deserves to be!
Japanese Curry
Japanese curry is a very popular food in the country and is considered a comfort food and is one of the 10 amazing foods in Japan. Japanese curry is its own unique curry and different from other types of curry found in the world. It’s a little bit thicker and is more sweet and savory. Commonly made with both a protein (beef, chicken, or with tonkatsu) and vegtables, it’s more in the vein of curry stew. Served with Japanese short grain rice which is stickier than basmati rice, the rice also really soaks up the curry.
Outside of rice curry, there’s other ways to enjoy Japanese curry as well. One of those “other” dishes is curry soup. A staple in Hokkaido, this is Japanese curry in soup form. While I’ve had curry rice many times, I’d never heard of curry soup before. If you’re a curry fan than this is a must try while traveling through Japan. I actually enjoyed it more than the curry rice. Very tasty with different vegetables and fall- off-the-bone chicken, this was one delicious dish!
Kobe Beef / Wagyu
Kobe beef is a worldwide delicacy renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture which easily places it amongst 10 amazing foods in Japan. As the name implies, Kobe beef is cultivated from Japanese Black cattle which is raised in the Hyogo Prefecture region of Japan, near Kobe. It’s considered the highest quality beef that Japanese cattle can produce and is a must try! There’s various cuts of this and obviously the higher the price the better the cut and quality. So the experience can certainly vary upon how much you’re willing to spend.
But it’s an experience that must be tried!
Omurice
Omurice includes ketchup fried rice, yes ketchup fried rice, wrapped in a very thin omlette with ketchup drizzled over the egg. The egg is very crepe like, it’s a very thin layer. The ketchup fried rice is generally mixed with chicken and vegetables. It’s an all-around unique looking and tasty dish that must be tried while in Japan! It’s a very common and popular breakfast item which is why I’m including it on the list of 10 amazing foods in Japan.
Tempura
Another food on the 10 amazing foods in Japan is tempura. Tempura is very famous in Japan and you’ll be able to find it thorughout the country. Tempura, for those who haven’t had it before, consists of seafood (shrimp is a staple) and vegetables coated in a thin batter and deep fried. The quality can differ, but the outer batter should be light and crispy and not saturated in oil. It definitely makes a big difference while enjoying this classic meal.
Tonkatsu
A classic food in Japan, tonkatsu, is certainly on the list for 10 amazing foods in Japan. Tonkatsu is a breaded pork cutlet that’s deep fried in oil. The breaded exterior is nice and crunchy, while the pork, which is generally a pork fillet or tenderloin, is juicy and tender. Served with a side of cabbage and a thick Worcestershire-style sauce, this is a must have while in Japan. Certainly do your research and find a quality spot to enjoy this Japanese comfort food.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a popular, savory pancake dish that is found throughout Japan. Consisting of a flour batter and cooked on a teppan, common ingredients include cabbage, meat, and seafood, with toppings including a thicker worcestershire type sauce, dried seaweed flakes (aonori), bonito flakes, Japanese mayonnaise, and ginger. There’s two distinct types, one hailing from Osaka and one from Hiroshima. The Hiroshima version is layered instead of mixed and uses 3-4x more cabbage.
