Mala Miso Ramen (麻辣味增拉面)
Dinner @ "鬼金棒". (Based on the recommendation of this blog: www.thanislim.com/2017/03/taipei-food-guide-must-eat-plac...)
Believe it or not, the Taiwanese do love their "Ma La" (Spicy & Numbing) - a cuisine so synonymous with the Sichuan province of The People's Republic of China. But the Taiwanese love their version milder (a lot milder as my mainland colleagues used to mutter).
So intrigued by the review (and the fact it was just a 5 minutes walk away from my Hotel) even though I was still trying to purge a recalcitrant cough....I joined the queue to try to slurp a bowl!
And despite all accounts, I opted for the "normal" chilli and "lower" sichuan pepper version. Frankly, I thought the former could still go up a notch or 2 and the latter, I think was just perfect. I am not a fan of excessive numbing as OTT numbness not only deprived one to taste the real flavours of a dish, it can also get overly metallic and "bloody"....not side tastes I tend to favour.
The soup was just perfect - brothy and decadent - one can still enjoy the savouriness of the miso, the tenderness of the "Cha Siu" (braised pork) and the al dente noodles, which I slurped up with gusto! The addition of the torched baby corns added a playful crunch.
There is a delightful je ne sais quoi which made this bowl really enjoyable; I could go for more; stubborn cough be damned!
Mala Miso Ramen (麻辣味增拉面)
Dinner @ "鬼金棒". (Based on the recommendation of this blog: www.thanislim.com/2017/03/taipei-food-guide-must-eat-plac...)
Believe it or not, the Taiwanese do love their "Ma La" (Spicy & Numbing) - a cuisine so synonymous with the Sichuan province of The People's Republic of China. But the Taiwanese love their version milder (a lot milder as my mainland colleagues used to mutter).
So intrigued by the review (and the fact it was just a 5 minutes walk away from my Hotel) even though I was still trying to purge a recalcitrant cough....I joined the queue to try to slurp a bowl!
And despite all accounts, I opted for the "normal" chilli and "lower" sichuan pepper version. Frankly, I thought the former could still go up a notch or 2 and the latter, I think was just perfect. I am not a fan of excessive numbing as OTT numbness not only deprived one to taste the real flavours of a dish, it can also get overly metallic and "bloody"....not side tastes I tend to favour.
The soup was just perfect - brothy and decadent - one can still enjoy the savouriness of the miso, the tenderness of the "Cha Siu" (braised pork) and the al dente noodles, which I slurped up with gusto! The addition of the torched baby corns added a playful crunch.
There is a delightful je ne sais quoi which made this bowl really enjoyable; I could go for more; stubborn cough be damned!