Dining Snippets Taiwan (2017) Edition: Ning Xia Road x Taiwan Brickkiln Restaurant
NING XIA ROAD
GERMAN PORK KNUCKLES
When one talks about the Taiwan night markets, Shilin and Raohe would arguably have the easiest recall. Most tourists and travel blogs can’t help but rave about the amazingly cheap finds in food, fashion, and everything in between, in these two shopping havens. However, due to their popularity, people really come in droves.
NING XIA ROAD
Fortunately, we learned about Ning Xia Road from our trusty tour guide, Xiao Huang. Ning Xia Road offers the best of both worlds: a night market solely dedicated to food, and a more manageable crowd. Since my dad didn’t like the idea of squeezing ourselves in the dining area, we opted for finger food that we can eat comfortably standing up. This meant forgoing its famed herbal soups, braised beef noodles, and rice toppings. Fortunately, we had more than enough choices to fill us up.
TORCHED WAGYU BEEF CUBES
We stumbled upon a Torched Wagyu Beef Cubes stall, which allowed you to choose your own seasoning (as we didn’t want to waste a good serving of Wagyu, we opted for the basic salt and pepper). These seem to be the purist versions of the Torched Wagyu Cubes I tried in Myeongdong which came dressed up with bonito flakes, and a whole lot of spice.
PORK BARBECUE WITH SPRING ONION (TWD 40/1 PC; TWD 100/ 3PCS)
After falling in love with the fresh (and insanely flavorful) green onion of Yilan, we became hooked on this vegetable. When we saw that there was a stall selling large chunks of juicy pork skewered and slowly grilled together with slices of spring onion, we immediately queued up and got a couple of sticks to share.
SPRING ONION PANCAKE
As proof of my family being bitten by the spring onion bug, my sister demanded to get a spring onion pancake before heading back to our hotel. We stumbled upon this small restaurant located right next to the food kiosks of Ning Xia Road. Our timing was perfect as we chanced upon the chef preparing a new batch of spring onion pancakes in his gigantic frying pan. Other delicious finds would be the Fried Chicken Roll (from a stall with a name that grammar Nazis cannot unsee, “Friable Chickenen Roll”), and an interesting German Pork Knuckle stall which comes with bizarre dips!
Ning Xia Road
Date of Visit: January 3, 2017 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua, Jem Chua, and Xiao Huang
TAIWAN BRICKKILN RESTAURANT
The Taiwan Brickkiln Restaurant served as our last stop and last meal in Taiwan before heading to the airport for our flight back to Manila. Another amazing suggestion by our tour guide, Xiao Huang, this restaurant was suggested primarily for its unique brick-kiln cooking technique which produces an unbelievably tender chicken.
Upon ordering your chicken, you can immediately go out of the restaurant to see how the chicken is prepared. The whole chicken comes out with crisp-thin glossy skin after being dipped and cooked inside a fiery brick well.
Back in the dining table, they give out gloves to diners to allow them to experience exactly how insanely tender the chicken became… by making them tear the chicken into pieces. Fortunately, Xiao Huang eagerly volunteered to do it for us!
BRICKKILN CHICKEN
The chicken reminds me of the famed Chicken Inasal due to its similar subtle smoky flavor, the fact that both came with a serving of vinegar, and that both taste amazing with a cup of rice (similar to our Inasal chains in the Philippines, they also serve unlimited rice in this restaurant).
CENTURY EGG
Although the chicken serves as the cornerstone of this restaurant, it’s still essentially a Taiwanese restaurant so you can expect a wide range of delectable dishes to pair with your chicken. My absolute favorite was the Century Egg dish. I already adore the typical century egg served in roast combination dishes; however, the restaurant amplified these eggs by sauteing them together with green onions and leeks. In doing so, the eggs possessed a saltier and crunchier bite to them which made them irresistible. For those who are afraid to try century eggs (or are grossed out about it), do yourselves a favor and at least give this dish a chance!
SQUID BALLS
One thing I’ve noticed in Taiwan is that they take their Squid Balls seriously. As Filipinos, we’re already happy with the artificially tasting ‘squid’ balls hawked across the metro; however, squid balls in Taiwan actually come with actual squid pieces you can bite through. As it’s meatier, expect these to be tastier that you won’t be looking for the mysterious sweet, spicy, and combination sauces we’re accustomed to. Of course, a little drizzle of mayonnaise and a handful of bonito flakes on top of these squid balls are more than welcome!
Other dishes to try would be their Mapo Tofu (beware though, as this dish definitely brings on the heat), and the Stone-Pot Squid with Rice Cakes (these rice cakes are similar to the Korean tteokbokki)!
Taiwan Brickkiln Restaurant
Date of Visit: January 4, 2017 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua, Jem Chua, and Xiao Huang
