HOME  TAIPEI DINING
TAIWAN
FUN MAGAZINE  February 2008
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Jin-Jia-A-Tu Sesame Oil Chicken Stew
552-2, LinSen N Rd
(02) 2597-7811
Hours: Mon-Sat 11-12 am, Sun 11 am-9 pm
Credit cards not accepted.
No service charge.
If you happen to pass by the back door of Chung-Shan Elementary School in Taipei during the winter, you will find a crowd of people gathering around a shop. Jin-Jia-A-Tu sesame Oil Chicken Stew, a long-standing restaurant, is everyone's number one-choice when they feel like eating sesame oil chicken stew. This shop started out as a street vendor 30 years ago and now was expanded into a two-floor restaurant along with an adjacent branch. By now, the original management has been passed on to the younger generation. They only use the finest ingredients. Large pieces of fresh kidney cooked in black sesame oil and aged ginger give Sesame Oil Kidney Stew (NT$100) the most lingering aroma! Furthermore, you ought to try their most popular side dish, Rice Cake (NT$30), made with rice and chicken blood. Put some ground peanuts on the surface, take a bite and you'll be asking for more! Their successful formula consists of good food and reasonable prices. Sesame oil dry vermicelli (NT$30) is a highly recommended pairing with Sesame Oil Chicken Broth (NT$90). --By Sharon Huang, translated by Diva Yang
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Xiang-Zai-Nei Sesame Oil Chicken Stew
(02) 2518-4866
22, Lane 281, LongJiang Rd
Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30 am-10 pm
(closed on Sundays and national holidays)
Credit cards not accepted.
No service charge.
MRT:
Chungshan Middle School Station
Xiang-Zai-Nei Sesame Oil Chicken Stew hides in an alleyway with a down-to-earth storefront. Owner Mr. Chen is a true gourmet guru who cares about your overall health. He uses very little oil and salt and never puts MSG in his cuisine. Before he started his restaurant, he spent a year searching all over Taiwan for the most ideal ingredients and trimmings. From rice wine and vermicelli to soy bean paste, he only purchases from suppliers that are well-known and products that are free of preservatives. And he insists that his cuisine must have a good texture and delicious taste. His secret of making good sesame oil chicken stew is to avoid overcooking aged ginger and to add the appropriate amount of rice wine and water. The dish has to be put aside for three to four hours before serving. His sesame oil chicken stew has a refreshing yet sweet taste and the meat is tender. If you wish for more rice wine flavor in your dish, you may add a cup of ginseng wolfberry liquor for more fragrance. Aside from the signature sesame oil chicken stew, there is Clam Chicken Stew, Chinese Herb Chicken Stew, Chinese Yam and Chinese Date Chicken Stew and Grass Jelly Black Chicken Stew for you to choose from. Combo specials are between NT$159 and NT$179 and worth the money you spend. --By Sharon Huang, translated by Diva Yang
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Yuan Fu Sesame Oil Chicken Restaurant
252-1, JiLin Rd
(02) 2571-9266
Hours: 4 pm-2 am
Credit cards not accepted.
No service charge.
The four main ingredients used to make a good sesame oil chicken stew are the oil, chicken, ginger and the liquor. The recently-opened Yuan Fu uses what the owner Chang believes to be the best among the four above ingredients, with the goal of creating a tasty stew that will win over a large number of customers. Mr. Chang and the owner of the 200-year-old Yuan Fu Oil Factory are long-time friends--legacy of a five-generation relationship--and they work together to provide the finest-quality, sweet and mild flavored sesame oil for the stews. The chefs carefully adjust the amount of the oil used to boost the flavor while keeping it healthy, which has won over diners of all types in all seasons. The restaurant also selects the best quality chickens, weighing four to five kilograms, and only uses natural-grown mountain ginger, known for its fragrance and spiciness. Of course, a decent amount of rice wine is also used. All this has helped make Yuan Fu a success with customers. Apart from Sesame Oil Chicken Stew (NT$120), there are also side orders like the thin noodles and the healthy pork kidney dish. If you come with a big group, order a pot of Winter Chicken with Bamboo Shoots (甜冬筍雞, half-chicken NT$600, whole NT$1,000). --By Josie Wu, translated by Ann Lee
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He Shou Wu Emperor Chicken
8, Lane 69, SongJiang Rd, 1F
(02) 2508-4838
Hours: 11:30 am-2 pm,
4:30-9 pm
Credit cards accepted.
10% service charge.
Experienced restaurateur Mr. Chen decided to open a one-and-only place that offers healthy cuisine made solely from Chinese medicinal ingredients. Since opening, He Shou Wu has been widely popular with customers around town. Even after 19 years in business, Chen still insists on making his dishes flavorful, yet truly healthy, for all his guests. "The difference in what we have to offer here is that we cook the soup and the ingredients separately," says Chen. "And [we] cook them right when the customers order them, because every type of ingredient, especially medicinal ingredients, have different functions for the body, and it is only when we cook it right after the order, that the patrons can really enjoy the benefits of the ingredients we use in the dish." Apart from signature dish He Shou Wu Emperor Chicken (NT$1,000, serves 2-3), the Sesame Oil Chicken (NT$250 set meal, NT$165 a la carte) is also outstanding. Imagine grilling old ginger pieces with black sesame oil, then braising chicken in the pot aftewards--the fragrance of this dish is just fabulous. Chen often gets creative with the menu items; several of his nutritious dishes include Yi Pin Tiger Palm (一品虎掌 NT$460), made with pig's knee, sea cucumber and chuanxiong(川穹). You can purchase a jar of high-protein honey (small NT$330), and Honey Pork Ribs (small NT$280), cooked for two days with red and black dates. The honey is added to offset the strong medicinal smell, giving the whole dish a naturally sweet flavor. --By Josie Wu, translated by Ann Lee
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