Food
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How Good is Authentic Dim Sum In Taipei?
Dim sum is another one of those foods that I was really looking forward to having in Taiwan. I’ve always LOVED dim sum and have had it througout my life and was looking forward to see good it was in Taiwan.
I hadn’t run across any dim sum places through the first few days of my stay in Taipei but hadn’t exactly gone out of my way to find a place as I got acclimated to Taipei. I decided to stay in the Ximending district for a couple days and thought it would be a good time to have some dim sum.
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Hung Kan Dim Sum
Luckily, there was a pretty highly rated dim sum restaurant in the area called Hung Kan Dim Sum. I stopped by later in the morning for brunch and was definitely reminded of dim sum / Chinese restaurants back in SoCal. The restaurant was on the second level and was a massive floor with a ton of round tables with lazy susan’s on them. It was nice to be around that familiarity, even in another country.
The menu was HUGE. There were multiple pages dedicated to just dim sum items and the more pages with more lunch / dinner items. I was tempted to get some non-dim sum stuff since it looked and sounded really good but I had to go with dim sum only this go around.
There was just so much to choose from, lol, it was hard for me to narrow it down. I wanted to try new things but also wanted to try old favorites back home to see how they stack up against dim sum in Taiwan. I ended up getting creamy egg yolk buns (120 NTD, $3.76 USD), steamed glutionous rice with chicken and abalone (130 NTD, $4.07 USD), and fried dumplings with pork and shrimp (105 NTD, $3.29 USD).
That’s the big drawback with traveling solo, I’m not able to get and try as much food as I’d like!
The Food
Creamy Egg Yolk Buns
Starting with the creamy egg yolk buns.
These things were super light. The dough was incredibly light and airy and the egg filling was a little runny and surprisingly sweet. I wasn’t expecting that sweetness, but it was a pleasant surprise. The yolk was more like custard in my opinion. These were really tasty overall. Even better when they were first brought out and nice and warm. Yum!
Sticky Rice
Next up was the steamed glutionous rice with chicken and abalone which, seemed to be a long-winded name for sticky rice wrapped in a lotus leaf. This was pretty much like the sticky rice I have at dim sum down in Southern California. It had a rich, savory flavor to it, and was extremely sticky (of course). The bits of chicken, abalone, and mushrooms in it was tasty, and they all went really well together. It didn’t necessarily stand out from the sticky rice that I get back home but it was definitely solid.
Fried Dumplings with Pork and Shrimp
These dumplings had a super hard exterior. Trying to pick one up with chopsticks was like trying to pick up an egg, lol. Which is fitting since these were egg shaped. That was the initial impression I got of them. Once I actually picked one up and took a bite, it was pretty solid. The fried dumpling definitely had a very crunchy exterior as you’d expect since they’re fried. The inside portion was nice and gooey.
The filling was lacking in this though. It was pretty tasty, there just wasn’t very much of it inside of them. It seemed like the dough to filling, ratio was heavily tilted to dough. It was hard to taste the filling with so much dough. These would have been quite good if there was some more filling in them.
Was There Any Difference In The Dim Sum?
I really couldn’t tell too much of a difference between the dim sum in Taipei than what I have in Southern California. Although there’s way more items on the menu and a lot of different items that I hadn’t seen before in Southern California. It would have been nice to try way more of the menu and experience some of those other items that I don’t really see here in Southern California. BUT the items I did have, were really good and I enjoyed them. They just didn’t necessarily floor me.
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How Good Is Authentic Chinese Hot Pot In Taiwan?
Hot pot in Taiwan is without a doubt, a popular meal. Many different cultures worldwide have put their own spin on hot pot with different broth bases, spices, meats, and vegetables.
China is the home of hot pot and where it originates from. Though the origins may be debated, in terms of where within the country it originated from, hot pot is a uniquely Chinese meal and is immensly popular there.
It only makes sense that hot pot in Taiwan is also extremely popular, due to the close cultural ties.
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The Origins Of Hot Pot
Hot pot in Taiwan is not only a delicious, beloved meal, it’s also very, very, old. Its origins date back to the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD) which correlates with the creation of copper pots.
How it precisely evolved is a bit of a mystery. It’s said that the Mongols had a strong influence in it’s growth. It’s also rumored to have become more popular at the communal level within temples and other public spaces.
Regardless of it’s true origins, hot pot came to prominence during the Ming and Qing dynasties (late 14th century to early 20th century) when the meal started to be eaten and enjoyed by the upper echelon of society, most notably by the emperors.
Regional adaptions with different spices, broths, meats, and vegetables spread throughout the country over time and eventually the beloved Chinese dish spread throughout the world.
Hot Pot In Taiwan
I was a few days into my trip and was certainly looking forward to having my first hot pot in Taiwan experience. Love Hot Pot was right next to the hotel I was staying at in the Luzhou District, had great ratings, and most importantly, was BUSY (the photo below was in the morning before it was open, lol).
They had quite a large menu, with lots of different options and price points. It was easy to find something within my budget. It was tough to decide on just what I wanted to get though since there was a lot of items you could get on the side as well, which of course all sounded quite delicious.
I ended up getting the 14 oz. American Chuck Roast Beef which came with a big side of vegetables then as side additions I got two shrimp, hokkaido scallop, and two pieces of atlantic salmon (949 NTD, $29.54, USD). I went with Sichaun as my soup base, since I wanted that spicy kick!
While I was waiting for my food to come out, there was a dipping sauce station, with a whole lot of different items to mix and match and make whatever kind of dipping sauce you could want. I really have no idea what kind of concoction I made here. There was some soy sauce, garlic, daikon, onion, black vinegar, some green onion. So pretty much everything but the kitchen sink, lol.
The Food
The sichaun soup base was definitely tasty. It had a rich, deep, flavor to it, and as you might expect by how red it is, a hearty, spicy kick to it.
I got a huge bowl that was filled with veggies. There was napa, cabbage, mushrooms, lettuce, tofu, tomato, taro, and a ton of other stuff I wasn’t completely sure of, but it was a lot, and I ate all of it!
The plate of meat was quite hefty and definitely pretty tasty.
This was the extra seafood sides that I got. They literally came out on ice, nice!
Overall, this was a TON of food to get through, but I wasn’t complaining and was up for the challenge. I really enjoyed how fresh everything was.
The seafood was delicious, the shrimp nice and sweet and very meaty. The hokkaido scallop was sweet and delicious.
The vegatables were crisp, tasty, and really soaked up that spicy sichaun soup base.
That random dipping sauce concoction I made was actually really good. I dipped everything in it, haha.
To end the meal there was an ice cream station too. They had a handful of flavors, including Thai tea and tropical fruit, which is what I went with. I was quite full, but there’s always going to be room for ice cream at the end of a meal.
How Was The Experience?
All in all, this was a really delicious meal. For 949 NTD, $29.54, USD I got a ridiculous amount of food and stuffed my face. The meat, veggies, seafood, were all really fresh and delicious. I really enjoyed it. The dipping sauce bar, with its wide array of options and the ice cream were great little sides as well.
My first experience with getting hot pot in Taiwan was certainly a very enjoyable experience!
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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.
