Taipei Chef, Artarmon

Work has been pretty hectic lately, which means there's limited time to spend eating food in far away places - not that I go to many far away places anyway :/ We've been spending our lazy Saturdays stuffing our faces in Artarmon, and one of these eateries is Taipei Chef, which is absolutely packed at night but not so busy in the day.

We decided to order a banquet-style lunch and selected 3 meat dishes to share. Out of curiosity, I also requested a beef noodle soup, which turned out to be a clear broth with rice noodles and strips of beef. Something like the Taiwanese version of pho. The soup grew on me, so I drank most of that and gave the majority of the carbs to the Boy to slurp up. Despite what it looks like in the photo, it was actually a decent size. It's a good thing we didn't order rice as well, because then we would have had to take away the other three dishes.

Beef Noodle Soup ($11.00)

Next up was the Boy's favourite seafood - pippies! He wasn't too impressed with the taste - a little bit too fishy for his liking. I didn't notice though - pippies generally taste heavily of brine, don't they?

Pippies (approx. $25)

The scallops were cooked in a sauce similar to that which came with the pippies. Standard Chinese scallop dish, so I was quite happy.

Scallops (approx. $25)

Lastly, the Mongolian chicken - not that this is a Taiwanese dish (I'm not even sure if this is Mongolian). It came sizzling on a hot plate with onions and carrot. Tender chicken, tasty, lots of sauce. Clearly Mongolian meat dishes come in a wide variety of styles, as I remember other such dishes being drier/ having more spices.

Mongolian chicken ($15-20)

I'd imagine this place is great to come to if you're in the area and craving something non-Japanese, or if you're just keen to pick up some takeaway on your way home.

Hu's Inn, Chatswood

Hu's Inn has been around for quite a few months already. Every time we've walked past, its punny name would beckon like a siren to a boat of sailors. We eventually paid a visit when the Boy decided to side with millions in the New Year's battle against fat:

Him: I've put on weight since Christmas, but I can't just stop eating :(
Me: I'll eat half your food!
H: That's not really part of the plan...
M: Salads for you then!
H: *grunt*
M: What are we going to do for dinner tomorrow? :/
H: Japan City?
M: Closed for dinner until Thursday. Salad at Palings, Ivy? :D
H: No salads! >=[
M: Hu's Inn?
H: I'm innnn!

The group of shop lots that Hu's Inn now inhabits has housed a vast range of businesses, including a branch of Subway, a clothing shop, and the French cafe Le Petit Paris. Though I'm sad Le Petit Paris moved to Mosman before I managed to pay it a visit, it's great to see Chatswood now has two Taiwanese eateries (the other being Bao Dao). It'll certainly add variety to the "Chatswong/wu" stereotype. (Well, not really. It's still Asian. Whatever the case, it's not Thai/ Japanese/ Korean/ Cantonese/ Shanghainese. IT CAN ONLY BE A GOOD THING!!)

Condiments

Food

Ordering system is similar to Bao Dao and is as follows:
1. Be seated
2. Order and pay at the counter
3. Return to table and wait for food
4. Food comes to you

Condiments include pickled chilli and their specialty chilli oil - reported by the Boy to be pretty hot.

Cuttlefish ball soup and iced green/ black tea are half price when you order a main. I forget the prices but each were only a couple of dollars.

Iced black tea (~$2.00)

The traditional Taiwanese braised pork rice was pretty decent but probably wasn't good for the Boy's diet - the minced pork was slathered in liquid fat, reminding me of pork belly in gua bao. Although the meat was only laid out on top, the sauce had trickled through the rest of the rice, which is really all that matters.

Braised pork rice (~$6.00)

Wonton noodle soup was the other main we ordered. Portions were large considering we'd ordered  small dishes from the "Fried Delights" half of the menu as well, but would be what you'd expect from a casual Chinese restaurant. I'm always a sucker for clear broth, so where I have to prioritise my food, I'll go for the soup first. The wonton pastry and noodles were firmer than I'm used to getting in Cantonese restaurants - I'm not sure if this is typical of Taiwanese food in general...

Wonton noodle soup (~$8.00)

I avoided the offals and opted for the less adventurous "fried delights". The cuttlefish balls and American hot dog were sprinkled with a LOT of salt and pepper, making it difficult to taste anything else. While it looks pretty, it's probably better to serve it on the side (or to avoid it all together since condiments are displayed on each table).

Aside from the pepper, the cuttlefish balls and sausage were pretty standard stuff.

Cuttlefish balls ($4.00)

American hot dog ($4.00)

We had no idea what tian bu la is, but once I sank my teeth into one piece, I was relieved that it isn't a dish of organs. It's pretty much like the fried fish paste that my family eats at home with our laksa.

Tian bu la ($4.00)

I also had my first taste of American corndog, which was the sausage from the American hotdog coated in a thin layer of cornmeal batter. Sorry America, I don't think I'm a fan.

American corndog ($4.00)

Service is friendly, though a little difficult to communicate with in English - kudos to the Boy for speaking for me in Mando.

There's one thing that's been bothering me, though... Hu's Keith??

Bao Dao Taiwanese Kitchen, Chatswood

Bao Dao's fairly new to Chatswood, having been around for a little less than a year. Since it first opened, I've heard many good things about it. Indeed, it's one of the more affordable sit-down restaurants around the area, the service is fast, and the food is tasty - even according to my dinner buddy that night and one of my fussier friends when it comes to Shanghainese and Taiwanese cuisines.

Said friend duly noted that the lanterns as depicted in the photo below are pretty accurate replicas of the ones that those in mainland China use during lantern festivals. During these festivals, people write riddles on the lanterns for others to solve throughout the night in return for small prizes.

Service is semi-self-serve. You are led to your table and provided your food, but ordering and immediate payment occurs at the counter. The food didn't all come at once, so the order in which the dishes arrived was at random.

First was the fried basil chicken, which was surprisingly not too dry and bore a pleasant crunch from the light batter.

Fried chicken ($7.20)

 We ordered soup as a winter-warmer. Chicken and mushroom soup is usually standard chicken broth, but the herbs here gave it an extra punch of flavour.

Shiitake mushroom & chicken in master stock ($6.60)

The highlight for me were the pork wontons, the skin of which could have been fairly dry, if they had not been served in their 'house spicy sauce'. The sauce was more peppery than spicy, which is great for those who can't eat anything too hot.

Pork wonton x 8 pieces ($7.70)

We each had one braised pork belly bun. Garnished with chopped peanut and coriander, this was mouthwateringly good - though I think they're sold for less at their stall during the Chatswood markets.

Pork belly bun ($4.50)

I'm not a pork knuckle fan - biting into the fat was too overwhelming for me, but the sauce went well with it. Probably for the more traditional Chinese palate.

Pork knuckle ($7.70)

Bao Dao is definitely a welcome addition to the food scene in Chatswood. Next time, I'll be back to try their noodles and more of their wontons!