Author Trent Jackson
Photographer Vision
Among Taiwan’s earliest Han Chinese settlers, the Hakka brought a distinctive cuisine that has profoundly shaped the island’s culinary landscape. Characterized by its unique textures, Hakka cuisine is known for a variety of dishes that incorporate braised/minced pork and preserved/salted vegetables, usually crafted using locally sourced ingredients. This culinary tradition reflects the Hakka people’s resourcefulness and their deep connection to the lands they settled.
In this article, we’ll explore two upscale dining establishments in downtown Taipei offering traditional Hakka cuisine. First, we’ll visit May Snow Hakka Food, a Michelin-recommended restaurant that honors classic Hakka flavors. We’ll then move on to Kitchen Restaurant, another esteemed Hakka eatery, which has recently garnered attention from a notable patron. Both venues embrace the communal spirit of Hakka dining, serving shared plates and generous portions.
May Snow Hakka Food
According to the MICHELIN Guide Taiwan, this restaurant offers a refreshing take on traditional Hakka cuisine, featuring lighter flavors and innovative twists.
On a recent visit to the restaurant, we tried three dishes: Salt baked chicken, Fried soft silk noodles pickled with red yeast rice, and Stir-fried minced pork with long cowpeas. True to its name, the signature salt-baked chicken arrived well-seasoned, presented in traditional style with bones intact. What elevates this dish is its accompanying dipping sauces. While the hot sauce, a piquant blend of soy and chili pepper, offers a spicy punch, the real star is the kumquat sauce. This zesty condiment perfectly balances citrusy tang and subtle sweetness, harmoniously complementing the chicken’s flavors.
The second dish, which, despite its English name, contains no noodles, had a delightful mix of textures. Its tender cuttlefish contrasted pleasingly with the onions. The defining feature was undoubtedly the red yeast rice sauce, deep-fried onto the cuttlefish. Red yeast rice dishes are commonly prepared during festivals, celebrations, and special family gatherings, highlighting their cultural significance in Hakka cuisine. This technique not only imparted a rich, complex flavor but also created a visually striking dish with a vibrant red hue.
The stir-fried minced pork stood out as a dish particularly appealing to Western palates. The pork and beans had a fragrant, irresistible aroma and surprisingly, the pork’s taste and texture were so refined that it more closely resembled well-seasoned fish than a traditional pork dish. The accompanying buns were an inspired complement to the savory meat, their subtle sweetness balancing the meat’s richness.
The restaurant’s interior creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Round tables are a prominent feature, ideal for sharing meals with friends and family. Delicate paintings of flowers and birds grace the walls, adding a calming touch of nature to the space. The wait staff, dressed in traditional attire, provides attentive yet unobtrusive service appealingly synchronized with the comfortable, friendly ambience.
May Snow Hakka Food 五月雪客家私房珍釀
🚩16, Ln. 329, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Daan Dist.
📞(02) 2700-6248
🔗www.maysnow.com.tw
🕝11:30am-2:00pm, 5:30pm-9:00pm
Kitchen Restaurant
Close to Nanjing Fuxing Station on the Taipei Metro’s Green and Brown lines, Kitchen Restaurant serves up a traditional Chinese dining experience with a distinctive Hakka flair. The restaurant’s exterior catches the eye, with the prominent display of a photograph of Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, a testament to the recent visit of perhaps the establishment’s most high-profile guest to date.
During our visit to the restaurant, we sampled two distinctive dishes: the Hakka-style braised pork with pickled vegetables and the Rice flour with flag fish and taro.
The first dish featured guabao, which is often described as “Taiwanese hamburgers.” We were served six steamed buns, folded in half, accompanied by succulent braised pork, fresh cilantro, and crisp onions. You craft your own perfect combo, which adds a playful element to the dining experience.
The Rice flour with flag fish and taro was a rich medley featuring fried sailfish, pork, onions, octopus balls, shrimp, and rice noodles. The soup this medley comes in had a creamy overlying taro flavor and included interesting textures, notably those of the chewy fried sailfish and the crunchy celery. The octopus balls were soft and succulent and added their own hint of spice. This was a hearty and satisfying dish, packed with textures and flavors from crunchy to chewy and savory to soft, offering a delightful combination in every bite. The ingredients all played their part, without any one overpowering the others. The portions served by this restaurant are generous, filling, and meant for sharing, so come with at least three or more foodie buddies.
Kitchen Restaurant 廚房客家美食
🚩20, Ln. 120, Dunhua N. Rd., Songshan Dist.
📞(02) 2546-5186
🔗www.taipei-kitchen.com
🕝11:00am-2:00pm; 5:00pm-9:00pm
Both restaurant are upscale traditional Hakka Chinese restaurants that have limited seating and fill up quickly, so reservations are recommended, even on weekdays. Each features large round tables accommodating up to ten diners, but there are also smaller tables seating four. The hospitable atmosphere in both places makes it easy to relax and linger. Note that the English on the menus may not always accurately describe the dishes served, but I believe most foreign diners will love any of these dishes from the first bite.
This article is reproduced under the permission of TAIPEI. Original content can be found on the website of Taipei Travel Net (www.travel.taipei/en).
