I’m not sure how the history started but we grew up with Mantao (Chinese Steamed Bread) paired with a pork belly dish with pickled vegetables (Khao Yok) This trip to Taiwan I was determined to try some – Many opened in Bangkok and i saw a few in the USA but i felt it seemed uniquely Taiwanese although i have read that it was inspired or brought by immigrants from Fujian Province. For those who haven’t heard a Gua Bao or Bao as it’s popularised from USA is the Bao (Mantao – Steamed Chinese Bread) + Pork belly cooked til soft and in 5 spice powder + sweetened roasted ground peanuts + pickled mustard greens + fresh coriander. In my next article i will explore how to make it on my own but this is what we had in Taiwan.
Hamburger Sized at this Tourist Market
I think this store had their own take on it which consists of the traditional 5 Spice Pork Belly + A thin Peppery Pork Chop Patty + a slice of Cheese and the traditional flavorings.
You can see the Peppery Patty & The Pork Belly Peaking Out
I thought it tasted alright but if they could melt the cheese somehow it would have been alot better.
Huge Steaming Buns Ready to GoCondiments in big pails.
Will try to create a homemade version soon, anyone with recipes please share them 🙂
You cannot just go to Taiwan and not experience the full on Taiwanese Breakfast Experience. We read through many blogs and wanted to try out what the fuss was about. We chose to go to Young He Soy Milk as there were so many reviews.
You can see the sign and the Ques from far away!To Go Que
How to order? There are 2 lines. The lines on the outside are the to go orders. At the left side of the restaurant are the lines for eat in options. Get your friends to grab a table and you go inside to order.
The line snakes outside for the eat in options.About 10 tables inside and more outsideSteaming Vats of Soy Milk on this side, the aromas make you hungry!
Now luckily there are menus in english however there are some decoding if you have never eaten this before. So tick on the paper given – We matched numbers on the english menu and when it’s your turn hand over your paper to the chefs/cooks behind the counter. (English Menu Pictures at the end of the blog.)
Tick the corresponding numbers on the English menu.Crueller Station and the Crepes and Crispy Thicker Pancakes.
They will put your food on the trays and calculate the bill according to the food they placed on the trays. They calculate real fast! To the right of the counter there are spoons, sauce bowls etc. Grab that and tissue and start eating.
Making our order now! We ordered 4 Trays of food!Working so fast but never splashing hot soy milk on themselves. Amazing!
At each table there are soy sauce, chilli oil, some salty bean paste and vinegar to mix your own sauce as well as salt and pepper. We made a blend of soy, chilli oil and vinegar for our table and we squished about 7 people so you can see there’s not much room for pretty picture taking.
Tiny Table for 7 people, and steaming bowls of various types of Soy Milk.
Lets talk about the real reason why i wanted to come here. In thailand we dont have salty soy milk but rather a more sweet version with some toppings like jobs tears, jelly balls, red bean etc. So i was curious about this savory salty soy milk that they call Dou Jiang here.
Condiment Tray for the Salty Soy Milk
As you can see at the counter the condiments are dried shrimp, scallions and i believe a bit of saly and sugar and vinegar to “curdle the soy milk”.
Looks like Tofu doesn’t it?
The result is a warm soft broken tofu in a savory “whey” soup? Honestly it’s like a soupy tofu soup with Yu Tiao or Crueller or Patongo as we call it in thailand – The long sticks of fried dough although i observed that in Taiwan they make it huge and long whereas In Thailand it’s more smallish in size.
You can see the huge cruelly and egg peaking our of the flat bread. Yummy.
Next order of business is the crispy flat bread wrapped around the Yu Tia (Fried Dough or Crueller) and a omelete with scallions. I think they call Shao Bing. Strangely if you put in some chilli sauce it actually tastes pretty good. The Flatbread is piping hot and crispy and with the chewy crispy Patongo and savory egg it’s kind of like a crispy burrito. The crepey one i think is called Jian Bing. Same Concept except this was more of a soft crepey version. I prefer the crispy one but other people in my crew were divided on this.
Thin crepey hotdog?Sticky Rice Roll with Pork Floss and Egg
The element of surprise was that the most memorable dish which was completely unexpected and i must say hands down the best best most delicious dish was…
Xiao Long BaoJuicy, soupy soft pork filling. The best i ever had.
Honestly everyone even said it was the best they ever had and sorry better than Din Tai Fung. The wrapper was not too thick and not doughy and lightly chewy. The pork was soft, oozing with juices very well seasoned and all around the best pillows of joy to eat.
The next dishes – Radish / Turnip Cake Lo Pa Ko was fine with the sauce – Now fine was quite good just the Xiao Long Bao just trumped everything. The Sweet Soy milk and unsweetened Soy milk here had a savory creaminess that we don’t really experience with bottled or boxed soy milk.
Still wondering why we ordered that lone fried egg….Pork Bun was Soft and the filling was great as well…He definitely prefers the crepey one….
So allocate about 100 – 150 Taiwan Dollar per person if you eat alot but definitely there’s so much more on the menu even though the english is a bit confusing…
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