Michelin Guide Taipei 2018

The Chinese name of the place is misleading, its actually from Singapore. HK style chicken but from Singapore. Michelin Guide as far as Chinese food is concerned is a total joke, IMO. No credibility at all.

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These Michelin stars seem a bit random.

Food is good mostly exactly what you would expect, not Taiwan-eased, yet.

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Most of the Michelin stars awarded to Asian restaurants, I felt like I could get some of the dishes better at some mom and pop place I know.

Hawker Chan serves more-than-competent Cantonese BBQ. (The vast majority of places in Taiwan, by contrast, are far below the competent level.) It’s also in a sweet location, on Zhongxiao West Road just across from Taipei Main Station.

The key to enjoying this place is NOT to order the rice (which may be good in Singapore—it is not good here) and instead go with the lo mien option. IIRC, it’s NT$20 more, and it gets you tasty noodles, XO sauce on the side (yay!), and a small side of bitter greens. With the soya sauce chicken, this is a nice light lunch.

Guy

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Went back again and empty. It’s right across from Taipei Main, lots of people around but no one goes for the Hong Kong style.

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Thanks for posting the menu as well. I guess if I want to try it out, I’d better get there in a hurry.

Does the same chain have a branch in the Taipei 101 food court? I semi-noticed a sign for first hawker stand with a Michelin star, so I guess it’s the same place.

Have you tried the lo mein?

Guy

The one in Songshan station was full everytime I was there. Tasty.

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That really doesn’t look Michelin star. Does it taste a lot better than it looks?

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Remember: Hawker Chan is the now-globalized version of the hawker stall in Singapore that won a single star from Michelin. It’s not the original guy making the food, and we are not in Singapore. But the Taipei version is competent, and this places it well above the standard of the typical Cantonese BBQ joints in Taipei, which are for the most part unacceptably bad for anyone with even a passing familiarity with this genre of food.

Guy

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Michelin is a scam especially when applied to Chinese food.

Total joke.

Pardon my French but what the fuck do the French know about Chinese food?

The Emperors new clothes of cooking.

Now they have Michelin starred nightmarket stands lol.

A poll setup by Mad Masala would be a hundred times more convincing and I’m not even joking.

Sorry Guy I also know dozens of very good Cantonese Shao La places in Taiwan, many are actually run by Hong Kongers as well going by the accents. They open them in towns and cities all over Taiwan not only in Taipei… Also having been in Hong Kong recently I found it easier to get a decent Shao La in Taipei than Hong Kong. I also visit Singapore quite often I have no idea why this kind of BBQ would be better in Singapore .

I believe Taiwan probably is the easiest place to find a decebt shao la place in the world including Hong Kong. You just go out in your neighbourhood you are bound to find more than a half decent one without even trying.

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I can’t agree more. The world famous chef Ferran Adria said Chinese food is simplistic because its all served at the same temperature. If you know Chinese food, you know that’s not true. Plenty of cold appetizers to speak of. The fact that he said it just shocked me. The Tripadvisor rankings of the best restaurants in Taipei are also a total joke IMO. But then again, there are many Forumosans who say they miss American style Chinese food, so who am I to judge? Different strokes for different folks and there’s no accounting for taste.

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That’s incredible ignorance that he didn’t know that.

For me Chinese food is very very interesting in terms of fermentation . Their use of fermented food to create different aromas and textures and new kinds of food is mind blowing. But it’s not for everybody , same as spicy food or cheese is not for everybody.

I also love the medicinal aspect of Chinese food. The medicine can be food and the food can be medicine. They aren’t distinct and they can serve two purposes at once but have incredible flavour . That’s sophisticated. There’s a billion dollar opportunity in marketing that in the West.

The third thing I appreciate about Chinese food is the emphasis on freshness.

Not just cold appetizers - for hot foods, quite a lot of skill is needed to cook at high temperatures because getting the timing a little off is the difference between undercooked and burnt.

Start watching this at 15 minutes

(even the time it takes to serve the food should be factored into the cooking time)

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Another Hawker Chan shop tried at Songshan station.

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That looks like pants.

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You have weird pants.

At least I got pants.