Enjoying Taiwan food far from the jostling crowds
Print Edition
The Taiwan Food Festival in Jinjiang Park has been a popular event this summer. But if it’s Taiwanese food you crave, you don’t really need to be stuck in crowds and long lines to enjoy it.
It is not hard to find authentic island cuisine in Minhang. As large numbers of Taiwanese came to inhabit Hongqiao Town in recent decades, their favorite food followed them. Restaurants specializing in Taiwanese delicacies have opened everywhere.
The trick is to find those that retain the authentic style: homemade, down to earth, light in flavor, delicate in taste.
Minced pork rice immediately pops to mind when people think about Taiwanese signature dishes. It falls somewhere between a snack and a meal, and can be found in almost every Taiwan restaurant.
In Minhang, the A Yong Minced Pork Rice and the Taiwan Auntie Minced Pork Rice restaurants on Hongjing Road are considered the best places to savor the dish.
The dish’s popularity lies in its simplicity. Rice is cooked with minced pork in soy sauce and served with pickle or a green vegetable on the side. The minced pork is called rou zao (肉燥). It is juicy, rich but not greasy. The restaurants take care that it is not too dry, allowing the meat juices to permeate the rice.
“The minced pork rice served at these two restaurants is very tasty,” said Yu Da, a resident who frequently orders take-away from either of the restaurants.
“Unlike many other places, their rou zao doesn’t use excessively fatty meat, which really makes the dish hit the spot,” she added.
Yu said she also recommends the oyster soup at A Yong, describing the shellfish as “the biggest and freshest among all the restaurants in the area.”
Another Taiwanese dish that is equally popular is Chiayi chicken rice. The restaurant that first served the dish in the 1940s was located beside a fountain, so the dish is also called “fountain chicken rice.”
Originally, the dish was made with turkey. Shredded turkey was mixed with rice, allowing turkey juices to flavor the rice. Chicken was later used to replace the turkey, but foodie purists still prefer the chewier texture of turkey.
The Chiayi Fountain Turkey Rice on Hongjing Road is always busy. The dish there is served with scallion oil, homemade sauce and pickles. Frequent patrons say some people may find the scallion oil too greasy, but they applaud the taste and aroma.
There are also numerous Taiwan-style snack bars in Minhang featuring food typical of island street stalls.
The Pingtung Wanluan Knuckle on Ziteng Road is widely praised online for its stewed knuckle and other snacks.
“Unlike local knuckles, which are very soft, the Wanluan knuckle is quite chewy,” said user “tzjncathy” on dianping.com, one of the country’s leading restaurant information websites. “I didn’t know I would like knuckle like this until I tried it.”
The restaurant’s owner also recommends the pepper pie. It’s stuffed with pork and scallions and seasoned with pepper. The fresh baked pie is the best when the crust is very crisp and the stuffing exudes a very rich aroma.
The snack bar also sells a soup called si shen tang (四神汤), which literally means “soup of four gods.” The lotus seeds, gorgon fruit, pearl barley and poria mushrooms in a pork tripe broth are really divine. Rice wine is an essential seasoning for the soup. In Taiwan, it’s considered a great tonic for new mothers.
The last stop in finding the best Taiwan food is the dessert. In recent years, grass jelly and taro balls introduced from Taiwan become very popular in Shanghai. The owner of Lianlian Grass Jelly on Hongjing Road insists that he is the one who introduced the dessert to the city.
Grass jelly is made from the herb mesona, which is a traditional remedy for heat stroke. No wonder the jelly is regarded one of the best desserts in summer.
The grass jelly and taro balls are dipped in sweet soup and topped by chopped peanuts, giving the dessert a rich texture and light flavor.
“The dessert served in the store is hand-made, and the price is very down-to-earth,” said user “aileenyu617” on dianping.com. “The owner is from Taiwan, so the taste is quite authentic.”
Where to find the food:
A Yong Minced Pork Rice
Address: 803, Hongjing Rd
Taiwan Auntie Minced Pork Rice
Address: 797, Hongjing Rd
Chiayi Fountain Turkey Rice
Address: 3787, Hongxin Rd
Pingtung Wanluan Knuckles
Address: 234, Ziteng Rd
Lianlian Grass Jelly
Address: 514, Hongjing Rd
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