Ming Fu Restaurant 明福台菜海鮮 @ Taipei
1 Michelin star and possibly one of the hardest to book to date. No email addresses only phonecalls and the Hubba made countless calls to the line that never gets picked up. You can only call 2 months ahead of time so when the call was finally picked up and we secured a date, it was jubilation.
We were definitely looking forward to this meal.
Only if...I did not screw my dates up. Panic is standing in the cramped restaurant searching for your reservation and they only have 2 seatings and 6 tables...all on a Saturday night. What are the odds of having an available table on a rainy Saturday evening? Zilch. Turns out, I forgot the date, was supposed to be 1 day later and I already made reservations at another restaurant and paid my deposit. Clearly in a fix but thankfully there was an available table over lunch 2 days later - thank goodness!
Appetisers of marinated black fungus and clams in vinegar were charged at NT$ 80 each and both so good!
Tender black fungus with copious amounts of garlic and those clams were the best I have eaten. So small yet juicy and the surprise sour finish makes it absolutely appetizing.
一品佛跳牆 NT$3600
We pre ordered a number of dishes and the Buddha Jump Over The Wall was one of them. The highlight of this mini cauldron of goodies is the chicken testicles, abalone and shark's fin whilst the other cheaper ingredients like bamboo shoot and chestnuts fill it up considerably.
Very nourishing and comforting and I even tried the testicles - chewier than tofu otherwise it really just tastes like a stiffer version of beancurd.
Glutinous Rice Chicken 糯米雞
Another pre order of a whole chicken stuffed with steamed glutinous rice and served with red dates and chicken broth.
Yet another soup here except this was thicker in consistency and was collagen laden. The threenager enjoyed this tremendously, I love how the meat still had some bite to it, as opposed to being so tender it barely has a bite.
Steamed Glutinous Rice with Crab 紅蟳米糕 (seasonal price)
More glutinous rice came our way with crabs. This was less stellar though, the rice and crabs somehow did not work its magic being cooked together.
Fried Intestines
I'm not quite an offal fan and ordering this was more of because its a Taiwanese specialty and I was not disappointed. Fried till crisp without any of the offensive smells, this dish was really competent and truly representative of taiwanese street food.
Ngoh Hiang (NT$ 240)
This goes by price per piece and these prawn rolls were rather ordinary.
Garlic Soy Oysters (NT$ 300)
The taiwanese do their oysters very differently, comes with fried egg omelette and some starch and the key is in the ratio of egg, starch and oysters. These juicy bulbs were on point - the fine line between cooked perfectly and undercooked.
Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetables (NT$ 300)
So good, we had two servings of these crunchy greens.
Fried Taro Balls (NT$210)
These crispy delights store a red bean surprise within, yum!
This is worth more than a visit and thank goodness we managed to pay this a visit this trip.
Ming Fu明福台菜海鮮
18-1, Lane 137, Section 2, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan, Taipei, 110
中山北路二段137巷18之1號
Tel: +886 2 2562 9287
Opening Hours: Lunch 12:00pm – 2:30pm, Dinner 6:00pm – 9:30pm (Mon – Sun)
We were definitely looking forward to this meal.
Only if...I did not screw my dates up. Panic is standing in the cramped restaurant searching for your reservation and they only have 2 seatings and 6 tables...all on a Saturday night. What are the odds of having an available table on a rainy Saturday evening? Zilch. Turns out, I forgot the date, was supposed to be 1 day later and I already made reservations at another restaurant and paid my deposit. Clearly in a fix but thankfully there was an available table over lunch 2 days later - thank goodness!
Appetisers of marinated black fungus and clams in vinegar were charged at NT$ 80 each and both so good!
Tender black fungus with copious amounts of garlic and those clams were the best I have eaten. So small yet juicy and the surprise sour finish makes it absolutely appetizing.
一品佛跳牆 NT$3600
We pre ordered a number of dishes and the Buddha Jump Over The Wall was one of them. The highlight of this mini cauldron of goodies is the chicken testicles, abalone and shark's fin whilst the other cheaper ingredients like bamboo shoot and chestnuts fill it up considerably.
Very nourishing and comforting and I even tried the testicles - chewier than tofu otherwise it really just tastes like a stiffer version of beancurd.
Glutinous Rice Chicken 糯米雞
Another pre order of a whole chicken stuffed with steamed glutinous rice and served with red dates and chicken broth.
Yet another soup here except this was thicker in consistency and was collagen laden. The threenager enjoyed this tremendously, I love how the meat still had some bite to it, as opposed to being so tender it barely has a bite.
Steamed Glutinous Rice with Crab 紅蟳米糕 (seasonal price)
More glutinous rice came our way with crabs. This was less stellar though, the rice and crabs somehow did not work its magic being cooked together.
Fried Intestines
I'm not quite an offal fan and ordering this was more of because its a Taiwanese specialty and I was not disappointed. Fried till crisp without any of the offensive smells, this dish was really competent and truly representative of taiwanese street food.
Ngoh Hiang (NT$ 240)
This goes by price per piece and these prawn rolls were rather ordinary.
Garlic Soy Oysters (NT$ 300)
The taiwanese do their oysters very differently, comes with fried egg omelette and some starch and the key is in the ratio of egg, starch and oysters. These juicy bulbs were on point - the fine line between cooked perfectly and undercooked.
Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetables (NT$ 300)
So good, we had two servings of these crunchy greens.
Fried Taro Balls (NT$210)
These crispy delights store a red bean surprise within, yum!
This is worth more than a visit and thank goodness we managed to pay this a visit this trip.
Ming Fu明福台菜海鮮
18-1, Lane 137, Section 2, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan, Taipei, 110
中山北路二段137巷18之1號
Tel: +886 2 2562 9287
Opening Hours: Lunch 12:00pm – 2:30pm, Dinner 6:00pm – 9:30pm (Mon – Sun)
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