nanamoose Musings

Taipei Finds: The Best Late Night Binge

Published in HK Magazine, March 10, 2011

Sure, we might have our Tsui Wahs and our Ebeneezers, but if you are looking for some real round-the-clock dining action, head to Taipei. Don’t be fooled by Taipei’s laid-back and relaxed vibe. Here you can find night markets, cafes, bookstores and even optical shops open ‘til midnight and beyond. First off, head to Cashbox 錢櫃(Branches citywide, including Section 4, 22 Zhongxiao East Rd., 886 (2) 2771-5000, open 24 hours) the city’s best-known KTV (karaoke) empire. After a few tunes, commence your late-night snacking binge, because believe it or not, Cashbox is known to whip up some of the best beef noodles in town.

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If you are looking for a more authentic beef noodle experience, however, head to Bade Road for another local favorite, Lin Dong Fang Beef Noodles 林東芳牛肉麵 (Section 2, 274 Bade Rd, open 11am-6:30am). Here you will find a queue of varying sizes at any time of day outside its rundown shack, a testimony to its exceptional food—beef soup with a dash of Chinese herbs, noodles cooked to perfection. Don’t forget to add the chili-satay-butter for an added umami kick.

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Another local after-party destination is Chen’s Cold Noodles 陳家涼麵 (Lane 123, Section 5, 29 Nanjing East Rd., 886 (2) 2766-0171, open 24 hours). On a Friday night, this section of Nanjing Road is jam-packed with cars fighting to squeeze inside this small alley for food. “Unlike most other noodle shops, which simply rinse the noodles with cold water, we air it with a fan, which is much more time-consuming but produces noodles with much better texture. This is why our customers keep coming back!” says proud proprietor Ms. Chen. Indeed, the 30-year-old establishment’s noodles are exceptionally chewy, and its perfectly mixed sauce of vinegar, garlic, chili and sesame paste is so fragrant it can certainly wake up a few drunken souls.

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On a night when you feel like stretching your feet in the comfort of a clean, serviced restaurant, Ding Wang Hotpot 鼎王 (89 Guangfu North Rd., 886 (2) 2742-1166, open 11am-3am) is your best option. Here the traditional Taiwanese “mala” (numbingly hot) hotpot is given a modern twist with smaller, more delicate portions, fresh quality food, swanky décor and waitresses who bow down to you at a 90-degree angle every time they leave your table. The only catch is that the wait can be long, so reserve in advance and expect an allocated eating time of 90 minutes—they will unceremoniously kick you out after your allotted time.

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For something lighter on the palate, Fuxing South Road offers a vast selection of “light congee small dishes” restaurants and even a shaobing youtiao (fried dough and flatcakes) shop for you to choose from. At Xiao Li Zi 小李子 (Section 2, Fuxing West Road [between Xinyi Road and Heping East Road], 886 (2) 2709-2849, open 5pm-6am), for example, row upon row of little dishes are stacked across the length of the dining area and are served at lightning speed by the ever-efficient waitresses—it is almost lethal to stall and be indecisive.

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When you are hungry (but not drunk), Taipei night markets are the best places to venture into, with their wild array of food snacks, little knickknacks, fortune-tellers and even beauty parlors. There are numerous street markets in Taipei, but Raohe 饒河街夜市 (Section 4, between Bade Road and Fuyuan Street, open 5pm-midnight) is a good starting point with its smaller and more navigable streets. Xia Gang Peng’s 下港彭 stinky tofu, Jin Lin’s 金林 medicinal braised pork ribs and lamb, and Orange Elephant’s 橘象 Thai-style fried pancakes are all must-eats here.

AND…. If all fails, even if you are dressed in pajamas at home at 4am in the morning, there is always 7-11 downstairs. 7-11?! You say? Yes, but the 7-11 in Taiwan is unlike any other. You can do most anything here, including sending and collecting deliveries of all imaginable sorts. But that is beside the point. The point is, at 4am in the morning you will find at 7-11 fresh coffee, oden, steamed buns, and even half-boiled tea-smoked eggs.

Food Wizards of Oz | Crave Magazine

The above article was published in the June 2011 edition of Crave Magazine in Hong Kong

Here's a question you ask at your peril: What exactly is Australian cuisine? In response, expect either blank stares or longwinded lectures that involve the indigenous hunter-gatherer diet, colonial influences and the influx of globalization. However, although it is true that the technical and historical composition of Australian cuisine is a rather complicated one, the heart of the matter is in fact quite simple. When you have a free, fertile land and a hodgepodge of different peoples, what happens? They mingle and get creative. There is no reference, and hence no pressure. Imagination runs wild, and a new cuisine is born.

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Make a visit to a local coffee joint and you will see what I mean. I was in Melbourne during the annual Food and Wine Festival and when online lifestyle magazine, Broadsheet, was hosting a pop-up coffee store on Crossley Street as a way of promoting the local coffee culture. Not that Melbourne needs much promoting in terms of coffee in fact, because every cup you have there will likely be at least twice as good as your regular Hong Kong version. Why?

“We had a lot of immigrants coming in from Italy, and they heavily influenced our coffee culture. In fact, Australia is one of the few places where the Starbucks giant could not penetrate – they closed over two thirds of their 85 stores countrywide in 2008,” says Nick Shelton, founder of Broadsheet over a cup of perfectly blended flat white from Seven Seeds. “Here in Melbourne, coffee is treated with almost as much esteem as wine.” When you manage to turn coffee into something so distinctively “Melbourne”, credit must be lauded for. The same goes with everything else, from food to wine.

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At Da Noi, your Sardinian feast is one that evolves as much with season as with the whim of the kitchen. Candlelit, with creaky floorboards and decked in simple white linen, Da Noi in South Yarra has no menu but serves whatever Chef Pietro Porcu feels befits his customers for the night, and hence no two tables are likely to have the same food. The usual suspects such as osso bucco are paired with an unusual lime scented semolina salad – just don’t expect your waitress to be able to tell you what you’re eating, as they too, get confused by the ever-evolving menu.

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Further into town, Cumulus Inc. is your destination of choice if you’re looking for something fun and unpretentious. Located conveniently in the CBD on Flinders Lane, Cumulus Inc. is a “eating house + bar” in a converted warehouse-like space with high ceilings, large windows, and a black-on-white décor. For those of you who have had enough of the minimalist trend, don’t fret, since what Cumulus Inc. lacks in warmth they make up for with an ever-buzzing atmosphere and a busy, friendly, open kitchen. The menu is strictly Australian, with oysters shucked to order, 12-hour cooked lamb - crispy on the outside but a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness on the inside, and an extensive wine list. There is nothing else you can ask for.

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My interview with Yes Style!

Very honoured to have been invited to do an interview with Yes Style, an Asian online fashion and lifestyle store and blog created by the people behind YesAsia. Those of us who have studied abroad will know that YesAsia is the online purveyor of all drama and music Asian, and therefore a lifesaver when it comes to dreary boarding school days.

Here's a transcript of the interview: -

Nana Chan, also known in the blogging and YouTube circuit as “NanaMoose”, is a lawyer-turned-blogger and food writer here in Hong Kong. She traded her power suits and legalese for the wonderful flavors, textures and smells of Chinese cooking, and now stars in her own YouTube cooking show with fellow HK blogger Josh Tse, aka Cha Xiu Bao. “Wok With Nana” features recipes for different Chinese dishes, including her famous Taiwanese beef noodles. But that’s not the only thing she has up her sleeve.

One sunny afternoon, I sat down with Nana on her roofdeck, with a view of downtown Hong Kong skyscrapers framed against Victoria Harbour. Amid the mouthwatering smell of her Taiwanese beef noodles and the honey-and-red-date milk tea she demonstrated for our PeopleStyle readers, our talk turns to her love for the good things in life and paying homage to her Chinese heritage.

K: Tell us what started “Wok With Nana”.

N: Aside from being food bloggers, both Josh Tse and I have previously worked with foreign chefs, like Anthony Bourdain and Kylie Kwong for their TV show episodes that focused on Chinese cooking. However, we both realized that there were no cooking shows in English about authentic Chinese food. With my love for cooking and Josh’s skill in photography and filming, we thought of putting together a Chinese cooking show on YouTube. We started last August 2010 and made 10 episodes so far. We’re starting small but we’ve been getting good feedback from people so far so we’d like to continue this.

K: I imagine food was a very big part of your growing-up years, as most Asian cultures are centered around food in general. Can you share with us any of your favorite food memories?

N: I remember that we always had a lot of food at home. My mom cooks every single day and she’s such a great cook that I think we became really picky eaters because we were spoiled by all that good food. There was always fresh soup, afternoon tea at five and we’d have desserts afterwards. However, my favorite food memory would have to be my maternal grandmother’s Shanghainese dish called Lion’s Head Dumplings. Hers was the meatball variety and it was her signature dish. I’ve made it many times but of course, I still think my grandma’s version is the best!

K: Was there a pivotal moment in your life that made you decide to switch from being a lawyer to blogging about and cooking Chinese food?

N: My love for food and cooking has always been there, ever since I started cooking while at boarding school. Here in Hong Kong, there is so much society and family pressure to go down that route of being a lawyer, banker or doctor, joining the rat race, etc. I took an MBA course a few years ago to buy myself sometime before making this huge change in my life. I have to admit, my income now is very far from what I used to make as a lawyer but I’m very lucky that my family has supported my decision. I have never been happier, honestly!

K: Aside from your blogging, writing and “Wok With Nana” show, you’ve also started a pop-up tea stall called “Teakha”. It sounds very new and surprising!

N: (Laughs) It is! Well, the name “Teakha” is an anagram for ‘HK (Hong Kong) tea’. I went trekking in Nepal and learned that in the Nepalese language, the word for “okay” is “tikcha”. I thought that it sounded quite catchy and cute so when I conceptualized my pop-up tea stall venture, I decided to do a variation of that word.

Why “pop-up”? Because it doesn’t have a permanent location! Outside of Hong Kong, hawker stands, food stalls and food trucks are common but it’s so rigid and regulated here. Teakha stands for spontaneity, good food and a fun experience. My pop-up stall usually runs during the weekends that I’m here in Hong Kong as I often go to Taiwan, too. And the menu is pretty simple: my special tea and home-baked scones plus other goodies. I have about 40 to 50 regulars who now follow me wherever and whenever Teakha “pops up”.

K: Aside from the obvious food connection, is there a shared philosophy behind all that you do?

N: I think I’m over that phase of going to Michelin-starred restaurants and now, I’m focusing more on the simpler things like enjoying the whole process of making and savoring my own food. The fact that “Wok With Nana” is on the “small tube” and not on mainstream TV is an advantage. There’s a more intimate feel to it and a better connection to our audience. It’s the same with Teakha – there are no frills to it. It’s mostly a small gathering, punctuated by homemade food and in a ’spontaneous’ setting so that you create an entire experience that is not only about food.

The Darjeeling Limited | HK Magazine

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My article on Darjeeling is out in this week's HK Magazine!

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It is drizzling again this afternoon, at almost exactly the same time as it did yesterday at around 3pm. The air is filled with the smell of rain, musty yet refreshing, and tinged with a hint of smoke, possibly from burning pinewood. Along the way, a handful of Nepali homes stand sparingly in the mountain terrain. An odd rooster, all shiny-feathered and exuberant, starts cuckooing out of nowhere, and children whizz by down a muddy slope, chasing one another in a rickety skateboard.

My Article on Shanghai is out in this month's Crave Magazine!

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(But they messed up my story and grammer,so please red the following instead)

For quite some time, Shanghai had been relegated second to Beijing on my list of top Chinese cities. The people are rude, there are no historical or cultural sights to explore, and the city reeked of a guilty obsession with cash and all things glamourous. It was also the transcendency perhaps, the fleeting nature of people coming and going that me put off. When is she ever going to slow down and live a little?

Then, magic happened. I think she heard me. Because this time I went to see her, she changed. She slowed down, embraced herself, and emerged more confident and natural than ever (at least the Puxi side of her has). She engaged her past - the little alleys behind brick-walled lane houses, the quiet platane-lined streets where Shanghainese still paddle nonchalantly on their bikes - so that, in the midst of the Expo fervour, she still looked as composed and relaxed as ever. All this, I realized through a sampling of the latest restaurant scene in Shanghai.

Start with Oyama, a fourteen-seat omakase-only restaurant headed by chef Takeo Oyama, who had previously worked with some of the biggest names in sushi in Hong Kong. A short walk from busy Huaihai Zhong Lu, enter through a vaulted corridor on Donghu Lu with dim lights and stone walls to a courtyard opening, where you will be greeted by the laughter of guests from El Willy’s, a Spanish restaurant on the ground floor. A story up, however, and the mood is completely different. Chef Oyama is serious about his food, yet loves to create a bit of a playful banter with his guests which makes dining here more like eating at a friend’s. The omakase menu costs RMB800 per head, but who cares when you have sake, interesting company, and fish fresh from Tokyo and Nagasaki?

Just a short distance from Oyama is the Wagas compound on 195 Anfu Lu, a converted colonial building with high ceilings and a gabled roof housing Baker and Spice on the ground floor, a Thai restaurant on the second and finally, the eponymous Mr. Willis on the third. Baker and Spice is your bread-lover’s-dream come true with its wood-grained marble storefront, rough-hewn communal table and all things artisanal from baguettes, bagels and jams to cupcakes. Mr. Willis is an extension of this theme with its rustic chic designs. Think rough reclaimed wooden floor, Japanese ceramic vases, low-hanging lamps and warm rugs. The fare is simple, comfort bistro style – fig and prosciutto salad, warm goat’s cheese soufflé, and a full pizza menu. In other words, this is the apartment and the dinner party you’d like to have, but never will.

While we’re in the French Concession, hop over to the cutest pho café in town – Pho Real. At first glance you will never have guessed it to be a pho joint with its whitewashed exposed brick walls, baby blue tables, bar seating and fish baskets tastefully hanging from the ceiling. However, the secret is out so expect a half hour wait during lunch times. The pho with beef flank is better than any I’ve had in Hong Kong.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, trek over to Table No. 1 at the Waterhouse Hotel and tackle Jason Atherton (formerly of the Gordon Ramsey clique)’s take on a Shanghainese version of Maze – modern European fare in portions small enough to share – all in a “social dining” environment. This means long unfinished wood communal tables, grey brick floors, and glass panels on either side; one overlooking the street, and one the minimalist interior courtyard. We are located in a half-demolished lanehouse on a remote corner of the Bund, with an “urban-decay chic” design featuring broken tiles, exposed brick, lots of rust and scuffed concrete. The interiors might not be your cup of tea, but do come here for the food – the razor clams with chorizo and coriander were particularly memorable.

For a taste closer to home, try Guyi and Lost Heaven. Guyi is an institution of sorts in terms of Hunan cuisine in Shanghai, with its original location on Fumin Lu perpetually crowded with diners who are willing to wait up to hours for it authentic, fiery food; unaffected by local tastes. Try the cumin-crusted ribs (ziran paigu) and fish-head with picked chilies (xiangxi yutou wang). Lost Heaven, on the other hand, is Chinese ethnic cuisine at its best. Housed in an old colonial house in the French Concession, Lost Heaven is like Yunnan’s version of Hakkasan with its dark wooden beams, embroidered drapery, chic, ethnic décor, and very good food indeed. I came to Lost Heaven for the first time in 2006 and have been coming back on all my visits ever since. Prepared to be spoilt by choices from Dali, Lijiang, and even Burma.

If you have time for only one Shanghainese restaurant, come to Jesse, the cornerstone restaurant of Shanghainese cooking that has sprawled a chain of new “Jesses” around town. This is however, by far the best with its no-nonsense Shanghainese staples like red-braised pork, sticky rice-ball with Chinese dates (xintairuan), and a fish head covered in fried spring onions. Expect drab but clean interiors. Reservations essential.

Finally, although I’m not the biggest fan of Shanghainese street food, preferring the healthier, more delicate Taiwanese xiaolongbaos and shengjianbaos (pan-fried pork bun) to Shanghai’s more rugged versions, a visit to Jia Jia Tangbao and Xiaoyang Shengjian would bring a nice, local touch to this rather sophisticated eating itinerary. The dumplings at Jia Jia get 10 pinches as opposed to Din Tai Fung’s 18, but at RMB19.5 for a basket of a pork and crab xiaolongbaos, what is there to complain? Hit Jia Jia and Xiaoyang in one go at Huanghe Lu, and cross Shanghai street food off your list.

Then of course, if you want the glitz, there is still Prive, M1NT, and hoards of expensive chain hotels mushrooming all over Pudong. But, for those who know her better, Shanghai has a quiet, more cultured side; its in the food, and its here to stay.

OYAMA
2/F, 20 Dong Hu Lu
Tel: 02- 5405 7705

BAKER AND SPICE / MR. WILLIS
1 and 3/F, 195 An Fu Road,
near Wulu Muqi Road
tel: 021- 5404 0200

PHO REAL
166 Fumin Lu,
near Changle Lu
tel: 021-5403 8110

TABLE NO. 1
1/F, The Waterhouse Hotel,
1-3 Maojiayuan Lu,
near Zhongshan Nan Lu
tel: 021-6080 2918

GUYI
89 Fumin Lu,
near Julu Lu
Tel: 021- 6249 5628

LOST HEAVEN
38 Gaoyou Lu, near Fuxing Xi Lu
tel: 021- 6433 5126
(there is a new branch on the Bund at 17 Yan'an Dong Lu, near Sichuan Nan Lu, tel: 021- 6330 0967)

JESSE
41 Tianping Lu,
near Huaihai Xi Lu
tel: 021- 6282 9260

JIA JIA TANGBAO / YANG’S FRIED DUMPLINGS

90 and 97 Huanghe Lu,
near Beijing Lu
tel: 021- 6327 6878 / 5375 1793

My article on Taitung is out in this week's HK Magazine!

For the full readable article please visit the HK Magazine website.

My article on food in Taipei is out in October's CRAVE magazine

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Unsung Heroes Under the Michelin Stars

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Letter from Taiwan’s East Coast

The air along the road that meanders in front of us is tinged with a hint of saltiness. You tend to think that this comes from the ocean to our left, driving down from Taipei along Taiwan’s atmospheric east coast. However, hidden beneath that briny smell of the ocean is a peculiar fragrance of charcoal fire. Stomachs grumbling, half starving from the small breakfast of shaobing youtiao (燒餅油條) we had back in Taipei we sniff around for the source of that smell.

We trace the smell to a shop selling charcoal grilled flying fish; some small, some large, some roasting in a dark oven blackened by smoke, and some drying under the sun. We buy some of each, plus a jar of preserved salty pork belly, all traditional foods of the aboriginals living in this area. The woman selling us these local delicacies is plump and cheerful, with the usual tanned skin and grubby teeth you expect from Formosan aboriginals caused by a lifetime of beetle-nut chewing. However, with her grey, coarse hair and half squinting eyes, trying to fend off the reflection of the sun against the glittering azure of the Pacific Ocean, she seemed almost beautiful.

This is en route Taiwan’s east coast, a thin strip of land hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean to the right and the Yushan Mountains to the left. Historically thought to be of little use to the majority Han Chinese who flocked to the island with Chiang Kai Shek’s army in 1949 (the KMTs 國民黨 were then dreaming of re-conquering China and hence habituated themselves mostly on the west coast, facing their enemy and homeland), this eastern part of the island has been left almost untouched for decades, allowing it to escape the havoc of modern civilization.

Driving further south we arrive at a nondescript restaurant for lunch in Hualian. This restaurant, if you can even call it that, comes with no signboard and no menu along Route 11’s Dagangkou Village. If not for Mr. “Spring” (an aboriginal who looked very much like he could have attended a Mister World pageant) who comes out to greet us, we will have easily mistaken this place for a derelict factory of some sort. Two bucolic wooden tables pared with blue plastic chairs sit sparingly in a worker’s shed that is to be our al fresco dining area. Nearby, Mr. Spring’s three young daughters and their cousins are playing on a straw mattress. There is nothing here to suggest that we might be having the meals of our lifetime, but just as we begin to harbour this thought, out come pieces of aboriginal smoked bacon, beautifully presented with a twig of flowered garlic. Then there is seaweed sitting on a bed of bamboo shoots, sea salt encrusted fish, baked jackfruit, and many more little surprises, all with the presentation of a Michelin restaurant - at the price of a pittance. We later learn that the name of this restaurant, “Urn, Lily, Spring” literally comes from the names of the elder daughter Atomo (meaning “Urn”), second daughter Arifowang (“Lily”) and the chef himself, Canglah (“Spring”).

From Hualian we then head straight down to Dulan in Taidong, an area recently made famous by the First Wife when she carried the bright red schoolbag of Dulan Middle School to see her daughter off at the airport in Taoyuan. However, those in the know will tell you that this area has actually long been the playground of anyone from literati and artists longing for serenity to delinquent teenagers and surfers escaping responsibility in the cities.

Our guesthouse here “Come Feel the Breeze Again” (再吹涼風) is an eco-lodge consisting of a handful of individual villas constructed on the principles of modest simplicity and respect for the environment. What “Come Feel the Breeze” lacks in luxury and style with its bare concrete walls, stainless steel roof and natural wooden interiors, it makes up for with dramatic ocean views, natural breeze (literally!) and the hospitality of its owner. We freshen up and head to a dinner party at the house of BK and Faye, a most interesting architect and restaurateur couple who splits their time between business operations in Taipei and architectural projects in Dulan. I am immediately arrested by the fully equipped open kitchen, the food going around the table and the cheerful conversation flowing amongst the dinner guests, many of whom have businesses in Taipei but were all somehow united in spirit by their love for this land. The house, designed by BK of course, is an architectural marvel in itself with exposed wooden beams and split level design, sitting comfortably on a 20 acre land complete with coconut trees and ocean view. It is easily the dream house of any.

After dinner we move on to the Sugar Factory in downtown Dulan, where local celebrity Uncle Long is performing, singing aboriginal folk music in his husky voice. By about 11pm the small café is jam-packed with locals, Dulan converts, and even a few foreigners, and the mood is ecstatic. Relaxed by Uncle Long’s mellow singing style, the crowds mingle, dancing, singing, and sipping beer. I sit back in my chair, beer in hand, smiling.

Few at the Sugar Factory tonight will know the historic tension between the aboriginals and the Chinese. For many years the aboriginals have been subject to oppression from the majority Han Chinese, very much like the situation in China today with Tibet and Xinjiang. The aboriginals, Austronesian peoples with a language system very similar to Filipino, are arguably not Chinese at all. However, they were forced to adopt a Chinese way of life, and as a result lagged behind in almost every aspect on a Chinese scale. Luckily, the situation is now changing with increased interest and effort from the majority in cultural preservation, and the scene tonight at the Sugar Factory is evidence of that.

Taiwan is still a long way away from genuine respect without patronization, but from what I saw along Route 11 so far, at least this journey has begun.

My article on Nepal is out on this month's MUSE Magazine!

尼泊爾傳書

距離加德滿都 Boudhanath (博拿佛塔) 大約二十分鐘腳程的地方，有個叫做Pashupatinath (帕斯帕提那) 的寺廟，附在Bagmati (巴格馬蒂) 河岸上，是印度次大陸四大供奉濕婆的寺廟中最神聖的一座。 濕婆是印度教三大主神之一，負責毀滅的工作。印度教認為「毀滅」有「再生」的含義，故表示生殖能力的男性生殖器「 林伽」 是他創造力的象徵。Pashupatinath 寺廟只供印度教徒進出，我們這些非教徒，就只能眼巴巴地在Bagmati對岸的林伽神龕前遠遠觀望。

說穿了，大部分來到Pashupatinath 的遊客，也絕非為了一睹Pashupatinath 寺從一百米以外的風采， 而是專程來看Bagmati 河畔的火葬場－Arya Ghat (阿里雅火葬場 )－的燒屍表演的。把這麼沈重的儀式說成是表演不免帶有不敬，可是當你看到河邊那有一搭沒一搭的收費模式還有穿著North Face 外套在那兒猛拍照的金髮小姐，你就懂我的意思了。