taiwanese/snack: xinglong handmade cold noodles (興隆手工涼麵)

date: june 10, 2014
contact: no. 2-1, alley 333, sec. 3, roosevelt rd., daan dist., taipei city/台北市大安區羅斯福路三段333巷2-1號旁/02.2363.0429
hours: 7 days a week 11:00-23:20 (as according to ipeen)
price: <100NT (CASH ONLY)
rating: ♥♥♥♥ (4 out of 5 hearts)
nearest mrt: MRT Gongguan (捷運公館站)

Okay. It’s been about a year since I last updated this blog. Terrible, I know. However, I will try to do better.

It’s June in Taipei, summer is fast approaching, and well, it’s muggy out. Perfect time to eat some cold noodles. The first time I went to Xinglong was sometime last fall. I meant to write something about it then, but obviously that did not happen.

Located near National Taiwan University (NTU [台大]) in Gongguan (公館), Xinglong is located in alley 333 off of Roosevelt Road. If you’re coming from the MRT Gongguan Station, take exit 3 and head north on Roosevelt towards MRT Taipower Building. You’ll need to cross Xinsheng North Road (新生南路) and continue north on Roosevelt–alley 333 will be your first right. When you hit the fork in the road veer right–you should see Xinglong on the right. Alternatively, you can make a right onto Xinsheng (on the side of the street opposite NTU) and make your first left–the “restaurant” will be on the left.

As you can see from the outside shot of the shop at the top of this post, Xinglong is just a little stand on the side of the road. There are a few tables inside and a few outside. In terms of cleanliness, this place is like anything else you expect to find on the side of the street: clean enough to eat at, but I wouldn’t eat anything off the table.

the things we ate:
– Cold noodles with tomato “salsa” (蕃茄沙沙醬涼麵) 45NT
– Braised fried/oily bean curd (油豆腐) 10NT
– Braised radish (菜頭) 20NT

The menu is all in Chinese. Ordering is done through a standard order sheet where you mark what you want. There is also a menu on the wall (also in Chinese). There are a few random photos of food around, but nothing that helpful.

Really, this place stands out because it has something I’ve never seen before: cold noodles with tomato “salsa” (蕃茄沙沙醬涼麵). For 45NT you get a plate of cold noodles served with shredded cucumber, bean sprouts, and most importantly some tomato “salsa.” Now I put salsa in quotations because if you’re American like me, I’m guessing when you hear the word salsa you start thinking about Mexican food. This is not that. It is, however, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and some other stuff mashed into a salsa-like sauce. Mix it all up, throw on some chili oil if you like (which I do) and eat. On a hot day, this perfectly hits the spot. It’s light and pretty refreshing. The portion size is probably too small to be a meal in itself, but you can order some side dishes to supplement that.

We decided to get some braised fried/oily tofu (油豆腐) and radish (菜頭). Again, the serving size is pretty small, but good enough for a nice side dish. Both the tofu and radish were good. Add some chili oil (if you are so inclined)–it adds a nice little kick.

Overall, this place is pretty great for a light meal or snack on a hot day. Really, it’s pretty good for a non-hot day too. The first time I came here my friend and I split an order of the fried stinky tofu (炸臭豆腐). The tofu was pretty standard fare–not stinky enough for my particular taste, but okay. Really, the best thing is the cold noodles with “salsa.” Very tasty. I kind of love it.

taiwanese: stinky tofu at shen keng old street (深坑老街)

date 12.05.2009

contact Shenkeng Old Street, Shenkeng Township, Taipei County/台北縣深坑鄉深坑老街

rating ♥♥♥♥♥ (5 out of 5 hearts)

If you love stinky tofu you have to make a trip to Shenkeng Old Street (深坑老街). I’ve heard a lot about Shenkeng’s famous tofu street so I had to go. From anywhere in Taipei, Shenkeng is easy to get to. Just take the MRT to the Taipei Zoo Station (台北動物園站) and then get on a bus to the 深坑 stop (we took the 237).

shenkeng old street (深坑老街)

From the bus stop just go follow where the people are coming from. Overall, Shenkeng is rather empty and there are no real signs pointing to the stinky tofu street. Shengkeng street is lined with stands and restaurants that not only sell stinky tofu, but regular tofu as well. We didn’t know which restaurants were famous for which ones were better than others, so we just chose at random.

steamed garlic stinky tofu (蒜泥臭豆腐)

Our first stop was 王水成臭豆腐店. There were a lot of people inside so we figured it was a safe bet. We ordered the steamed garlic stinky tofu, bamboo and fried tofu. We liked the garlic stinky tofu except it wasn’t stinky at all, which was disappointing. The flavor was nice though and the chunks of garlic good. You could also tell that the tofu was fresh because it was the right sponginess, just needed to be more stinky.

fried tofu (炸豆腐)

The fried tofu was good, but it was just fried tofu. Nothing that special.

lugui bamboo (魯桂竹筍)

The best thing at this place, that we had, was the bamboo. It was well seasoned, tender, and just plain good. I probably wouldn’t come back here for the tofu, but I’d definitely come back for the bamboo.

japanese style green tea tofu ice cream 30NT (日式抹茶豆腐冰淇淋）

We saw this and had to try it. Bad decision. It definitely took you back to the days where you were a kid and eating play-doh cause that’s what it tasted like. I could not taste green tea and it didn’t taste like tofu. The minute my friend said it tasted like play-doh it dawned on me, and yes, it tasted like play-doh.

fried stinky tofu 50NT (炸臭豆腐)

Our second stop was at 好鄰居 (Good Neighbor). They sat the four of us down at a huge table and we ordered our one tiny portion of the fried stinky tofu. It was pretty good. Nothing that spectacular, but good. The pickled cabbage (泡菜) was pretty good, and if you got a bite with the tofu, the sauce, the hot sauce, and the cabbage, it was even better.

fried stinky tofu 40NT (炸臭豆腐)

This place had my favorite stinky tofu. I have no idea what the name of this shop was, but it’s the first sit down shop on the left when you enter the street. The pickled cabbage was really good as was the sauce. The tofu as actually stinky too, which was nice. The rest of my group thought the sauce was too salty, but I loved it. Definitely my favorite.

bbq stinky tofu（串烤臭豆腐)

Since we had already gotten fried and steamed stinky tofu, all that was left was barbecued. We chose this stand at random because the stand we wanted to go to was already closed. The stinky tofu here was really good. The sauce on it had a peanut sesame taste that was unique and tasty. The stand guy sliced the tofu down the middle and put some cabbage in it as well which added the crunchiness it needed.

Overall, Shenkeng is a great place to just walk around and snack. If you like stinky tofu Shenkeng is a must.