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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Taiwanese bowl cakes 碗粿 and meatballs 肉圆 in Singapore?

NTDTV program: Taiwan snacks  - bowl cakes and meatballs
【经典天下】台湾小吃米食篇 - 碗粿与肉圆

(Visit http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2012/10/25/a785828.html)


Where to find Taiwanese bowl cakes 碗粿 and meatballs 肉圆 in Singapore? Visit Shin Yeh 欣葉!


Good Taiwanese Street Chow in a Restaurant

 by Sheere Ng @ Makansutra 
Crispy fried chicken, oyster mee sua, and Taiwanese sausage have been popular in Singapore for years, but decent versions of these Taiwanese street food are few and far between.
At pasar malams (night market), snack bars, hawkers or restaurants that tout this foreign street fare, the crispy chicken is coated with a ridiculously thick and half-heartedly crispy batter skin; the oysters was sickly even before their unfortunate demise and then dunked it a mee sua soup that is at best a desperate blend of water and oyster sauce; and the sausage tasted waxy and oily.
Now there is an honest interpretation of these authentic street chow in town. The catch is, although it comes very close to Taiwan street stall quality, it does not come close to those street prices.
In early October, Shin Yeh, a restaurant that touts Taiwanese cuisine, added street food to their menu. It includes the above mentioned dishes, to the lower profile snacks that only Taiwanese (and fans of Taiwanese TV programmes) would know.
Makansutra tasted them during a media tasting – they were, of course, decent. But it was at another trip back there, incognito, that we base this review on.
Zhang Hua Meatballs
Zhang Hua is a northern city in Taiwan. It was said that about 180 years ago, the city was hit by a massive flood that resulted in food shortages. The survivors gathered sweet potato and created dishes out of them. One of which is the Zhang Hua Meatballs. The translucent sweet potato flour skin that wrapped around the marinated meat was thick but soft, chewy and not sticky. It came with a sweet, tangy and garlicky sauce that would have been a greater complement if they had given more.
Good Taiwanese Street Chow in a Restaurant
Oyster Omelette
Taiwanese oyster omelette, unlike our local Teochew version, is done moist and slathered with a layer of “hai san jiang”, literally translated as “ocean’s three sauces”. This sauce is sweet, tangy and slightly spicy. While Shin Yeh’s version didn’t sting as much as we would liked, it came with a layer of omelette over another layer of chewy fried potato starch and topped with the sauce. A nice mix of textures and flavour. The oysters atop were big, fresh and briny.
Good Taiwanese Street Chow in a Restaurant
Crisp-fried Chicken
One of the best versions we’ve had in Singapore. The fried floured skin was thin, light and crispy while the meat was juicy. It came with a salt and pepper dip on the side.
Good Taiwanese Street Chow in a Restaurant
Tai Nan Wah Kueh (Bowl-shaped rice cake)
Rare in Singapore but widely popular in Taiwan. Grounded rice and water mixture was steamed in a small rice bowl and then topped with soy sauce, meat, egg and stock. Instead of using ready-made flour, the Shin Yeh folks blended their own rice to produce soft, dense but cottony rice cakes.
Good Taiwanese Street Chow in a Restaurant
Taiwanese Sausage
We’ve all had, or are familiar with fried or grilled Taiwanese sausage at pasar malams and at home parties by now. But have you tried the steamed version? With the absence of oil (from deep-fry) and smokiness (from grilling), the taste of the meat and five-spice powder stood out clearly. A manager there said Taiwanese sausage, compared to the Cantonese lap cheong, is sun dried for a shorter period, hence, the meat and contents are juicier.
Mr Ricky Ng, chief operating officer of Tunglok Group, the organisation behind the restaurant, said that they hope to attract younger people with the new menu items. While these dishes are sold at restaurant prices, they are reasonable, comparable to the mid-range restaurant’s dim sum prices – Zhang Hua Meatballs costs $4.80, Crisp-fried Chicken at $6 and bowl cake at $4.80 (before tax and service charge).
If the yearn is there but not the time nor will to travel to the Shilin Night Market in Taipeh, this can be a good temporary fix here.

An Introduction to Shin Yeh 欣葉

Expanding from a shop in Taipei’s back alley to the business districts, and then from Taipei to Beijing and Singapore, Shin Yeh, deeply rooted in Taiwanese cuisine, has inherited generations of traditions. Nurturing insistence, innovation and inclusiveness, Shin Yeh has evolved into a unique and international gourmet brand.

Company Mission: Preserving the Taste of Taiwan

On their 20th anniversary, Shin Yeh published two cookbooks “Authentic Taiwanese Cuisine” and “The Best Selection of Taiwanese Cuisine” to provide a historical overview of the innovation and development of their many dishes. On their 30th anniversary, ShinYeh published their third cookbook “Heart and Soul - Taiwanese Cuisine from the Shin Yeh restaurants”, and it was promptly awarded “Best Cookbook in the World” at the renowned Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007.

The MENU
SHIN YEH TAIWAN STREET SNACK
FROM 1 – 10 OCTOBER 2012, ENJOY THEM AT A SPECIAL WEEKDAY PRICING OF ONLY $4

(1) 大鼎肉羹湯 $5.80
Pork and Golden Needle Petals Broth (per person)
(2) 章化肉圓 $4.80
"Zhang Hua" Meatballs (Limited to 20 servings a day)
(3) 士林蚵仔煎 $6.80
"Shih Lin" Pan-fried Oyster Omelette
(4) 盐酥雞 $6.00
Crispy-fried Chicken served with Dip
(5) 麻辣豆腐 $4.80
Fried Beancurd and Minced Pork with Mapo Spicy Sauce
(6) 台灣香腸 $4.20
Taiwan Homemade Sausage
(7) 台南碗粿 $4.80
"Tai Nan" Rice Cake (Limited to 20 servings a day)
(8) 府城刈包(二件)  $4.80
Steamed Bun filled with Lean Pork and Pickled Vegetables (2 Pieces)
(9) 蚵仔麵線 $5.80
Taiwan-style Braised Oyster “Mee Sua”
(10) 滷肉飯 $4.80
Taiwan-style Rice with Soya Sauce Lean Pork


Shin Yeh Restaurant is located at

177 River Valley Road 
Liang Court Shopping Centre, #02-19 
Singapore 179030

Tel: 6338 7337

From - http://www.shinyeh.com.sg


While enjoying your Taiwanese bowl cakes 碗粿 and meatballs 肉圆 , and please take a look at the beautiful painting below! ^o^

Below is Painting By Falun Gong Practitioners 法轮功学员的绘画....

Do you know the Truth About Falun Gong? - http://thetruthaboutfalungong.blogspot.com



(Painting from - http://minhgui.org)

Falun Dafa is Good!

Falun Gong teaches Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance! And it is embraced in 114 nations! 

Pls do not believe the Chinese Communist Party's lies. 

请了解法轮功和中共残酷迫害法轮功的真相。法轮大法(法轮功)好,114个国家都热爱她,请不要被中共的谎言欺骗。