Ya Rou Bian (Duck meat slice) 鴨肉扁

'Ya Rou' (鴨肉) literally means duck meat. However, this restaurant does not serve duck meat at all. Instead, they are selling goose meat (鹅肉) which is kind of weird based on the name of the restaurant. Based on the recommendations of several blogs and it having a history of 60 years, I decided to give it a try. Time for some wild goose chase.

The restaurant is situated at Ximending (西門町) so take the train to Ximen (西門) Station and come out from exit 6. Walk towards Zhonghua Road and you will be able to reach the restaurant. Their menu is quite small. You can either choose rice or noodles to go with the meat which comes only in two sizes, small or large.

It is a two-storey restaurant so I guess it can get pretty crowded at times. As I entered the restaurant, one of the staff came forward immediately and ushered me to a table. He asked whether I would like to have rice or noodles. I asked for noodles. Then he said that he would serve me a small plate of goose meat. I agreed to that. The food came pretty fast. 

The chopsticks were on the table if I remembered correctly. There was no spoon provided. I was ready to slurp the soup straight from the bowl when I spotted that they were in containers hanging on the wall. I was glad that I did not embarrass myself. Nothing fantastic about the noodles. The soup was nice and not too salty. I tried the meat. I simply do not understand what caused the hype for this dish. Sorry to say that I find the meat tough and not to my liking. I had so much difficulties pulling the meat from the bones that I think I almost pulled out my teeth. The meat were also too salty for me. Probably it is just me who doesn't know how to appreciate this dish. I will not go back for a second round.

Eatery: Ya Rou Bian (Duck meat slice) 鴨肉扁

Address: No. 98-2, Section 1, Zhonghua Roadd, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

                  (台北市萬華區中華路一段98-2號)

Contact:  +886 2 2371 3918

Operating Hours:  Mondays - Sundays (09 30 - 22 30)

                                                       

Nearest Metro line: Ximen (西門) (blue line (5))

Click for Google Map directions

Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken / Hao Da Chicken Schnitzel 豪大大鸡排

This is another must try when one visits Taiwan. Famous for its plus size, this chicken schnitzel has caused a storm and it has already blown all the way to Singapore with 7 outlets. 

There is an outlet at Ximending (西門町) and two outlets at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市), one along the street while the other is at the basement food court. I tried the one at Ximending. Take the train to Ximen (西門) Station and come out from exit 6. Turn right and walk all the way straight. The signboard is very noticeable, skyblue and there will be a queue of course.

Once you have placed your order and make payment, you will be given a queue number. Just wait around the area. Once your food is ready, the staff will call out your number and you may proceed to collect your food. It was before peak hour so my waiting time was short. It was about ten minutes. Be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes if they get really busy.

I ordered a chicken schnitzel, of course. I saw something else on the menu that interest me so I ordered that too. This is how the chicken schnitzel looks like, sprinkled with salty and spicy powder. The bones are kept so be careful when you bite into it.

This chicken schnitzel is actually quite a big portion so if you intend to try other food after this, especially at the night markets, you might want to share it. Compare Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken (豪大大鸡排) with Ji Guang Xiang Xiang Ji (继光香香鸡) in my earlier post, I prefer the latter. The chicken bites are smaller and easier to eat. The meat is so much more tender and juicier. I even went back to Ji Guang on another day to purchase the large pack!

The other item that I ordered was the deep fried king oyster mushrooms (杏鲍菇), something I have not tasted before. I brought it back to the hotel so it had turned cold but the taste was not too bad.

Eatery: Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken / Hao Da Chicken Schnitzel 豪大大鸡排

Address: *I could not locate the address (the outlet in Ximending) on Google Map nor on  
                         their website. I will update if I have any information.

Contact:  Not applicable

Operating Hours:  Not applicable

                                                       

Nearest Metro line: Ximen (西門) (blue line (5))

Website: http://www.hotstar.com.tw/index.html (in Chinese)

Ji Guang Xiang Xiang Ji 继光香香鸡

The reviews given for this store were so good that I had to try it out myself. I will not resist eating chicken. What more it is fried! The outlet at Ximending (西門町) is easily accessible. Take the train to Ximen (西門) Station and come out from exit 6. Turn right, walk a few metres more and you will see the store. There will always be a queue to indicate how popular the store is.

 The queue on that day was not that long, thankfully and it was moving pretty fast.

Too adorable!

Founded in 1973, their first store is located in Taichung. They have been into this business for almost 40 years. The recipe is heavily guarded. It is said that they make use of more than 10 spices for the food. No wonder they are still going strong! As I was reaching the counter, I got to watch the staff in action.

The staff in action

The best reason to buy from them would be that the chicken bites are fried to order which means they do not re-fry like some other eateries do. Your food will be served piping hot with the juiciness retained and not dry and hard. One admirable point was that the staff continuously promoted their food through a microphone while working on them. Don't worry. They had their Mouth Spit Guard Service Mask put on.

The menu right above

It was my turn to order. There are only two prices for the chicken bites - medium (中) pack (75NT) and large (大) pack (110NT). Apparently, prices had gone up. Some bloggers mentioned that they used to cost 55NT and 100NT respectively. For me, as long as the food satisfy my palate, is delicious and tasty, my money is worth spent. I placed my chicken bites order.

Salivating

My food being prepared

My chicken bites were then served and sprinkled with some herbal based pepper powder. If you like a touch of spiciness, chili powder can be added. The staff will ask how spicy you would like your chicken bites to be and add the chilli powder accordingly before they pack.

Be prepared to wait longer if you were to order the other items on the menu

The store is patronised by tourists and more importantly, the locals. Go where the locals go, eat what the locals eat. You can't go very wrong with that, especially food.

After paying, I took my food and I could not wait to eat them. In order to be environmental-friendly, most stores do not provide plastic bags for snacks and sometimes, food. The locals will bring their own for takeaways. Thus, I was thankful that the store actually provided the plastic bag as the food was still hot. Nice.

The chicken pieces were bigger than popcorn chicken. The first bite was memorable! The meat was hot, super moist, juicy and tender. It was not powdery and more importantly, it was spicy! I was eating chicken and not flour! You might want to take note that there are still bones attached to some pieces so do be careful while eating, especially for children. Other than that, no complains! I ate as I walked along, something that I do not do often. This tells you how good their chicken bites are!

How can one not drool just by looking at these?

Most customers come for their fried chicken bites. The other delicious items on their menu include fried squids (鮮炸魷魚) and crispy garlic mushrooms (蒜脆杏鮑菇). After visiting their website, I realised some outlets sell fries too. The latest news I came to know about is that they have an outlet in SINGAPORE! (Hungryboy) Oh, a side info. I researched on the names of squids and cuttlefish in Chinese following this post, just to make sure I got them right during translation. I get them mixed up quite often and still do! Call me 'Sotong'

Eatery: Ji Guang Xiang Xiang Ji 继光香香鸡

Address: No. 121之1號, Hanzhong St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

                  (台北市萬華區漢中街121-1號)

Contact:  +886 2 2388 2622

Operating Hours:  Mondays - Sundays (11 30 - 23 00)

                                                       

Nearest Metro line: Ximen (西門) (blue line (5))

Website: http://www.jgssg.com.tw/index.php (in Chinese)

List of other outlets: Click here

Click for Google Map directions

Modern Toilet Restaurant 便所主題餐廳

I remembered seeing this restaurant being introduced somewhere before. I wanted to try eating at the restaurant for uniqueness. I shall not go into details about the history of the restaurant for I will provide the link to the website later on. You can choose to read more about it from there. I finally got the chance to try out the food when I travelled to Taiwan in October. It was also my first official meal in Taiwan. How memorable is that!

I went there for a late lunch, hopefully the restaurant was not packed. I chose the branch at Ximending because it was supposed to be the largest in Taipei according to blogger Alec. I took the metro to Ximen Station and came out from exit 6. The place will be bustling with people as Ximending is popular with tourists and the young locals. The road on your left is Chengdu. You should see The Red House (西門紅樓) across that road. See picture below.

Leaving the exit, just cross that zebra crossing/traffic light and walk straight along Chengdu Road till you come to this intersection below. Do not cross. Turn right into Kunming Street and continue to walk straight.

Intersection of Chengdu Road and Kunming Street

Continue walking along Kunming Street. You will reach the intersection below. Turn right at this intersection. 

You will enter a small street. You should see the multi-storey carpark on your right. 

Continue to walk straight till you see 7-11.

Enter the alley on the left and you should see the restaurant on your left.

 

No one will be at the entrance but there is a menu for you to look through first. The restaurant is on the 2nd storey. Before you walk up, maybe you would like to take a few photographs with the display at the entrance. They change the display every once in awhile, I believe.

It was an eye-opener when I reached the 2nd storey. Things related to the toilet theme flooded the restaurant. From the seats, to the tables to the display, I was already looking forward to the food. I waited for awhile before I was ushered to my seat. The waiter explained a couple of things on the menu and I took my time to look through the food items.

The menu was customer-friendly. They had a whole menu on pictures of the food items so that you get the visual of the dishes. Even the menu was in the shape of Mr Poop.

Once I had decided what I wanted, I went to the counter, placed my order and made my payment. While waiting for my food, I went round the restaurant taking photographs.

The cashier

Items for sale

They were sitting on a huge toilet bowl

My food finally came. The presentation was also toilet-related. I shall not say much. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

After the mains, the dessert arrived.

It was indeed an enjoyable and authentic experience to dine at such a theme restaurant.As you walked down the stairs to leave, do listen for the toilet flush!

Eatery: Modern Toilet Restaurant 便所主題餐廳

Address: 2F, No. 7, Ln 50,  Xining South Road, Taipei City

                  (萬華區西寧南路50巷7號2樓)

Contact:  02-23118822

Operating Hours: Weekdays  (1130 – 2200)

                                 Holidays (1100 - 2200)

                             

Nearest Metro line: Ximen (blue line (5))

Website: http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/

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