Dinner 14 hours after landing in Taiwan that morning, closing in on possibly 48 sleepless hours at this point, I stepped through the doors of a restaurant and almost had to do a double take. Pinching myself, I checked to see if I was dreaming or just plain delusional at this point. It felt as if I had just been warped through a time machine.
Emerging through the wooden doorway, I walked out into a
courtyard (well… I was still technically in doors) filled with large round
tables covered in red table clothes, tables filled with food, and shops lined
with the antique green wooden doors and window frames displaying memorabilia. A
rush of servers in old school uniforms from the 60’s serving out dishes carrying
scents that trigger a sense of nostalgia for those who still have the taste of
these familiar dishes lingering on their tongue. For those like me, who aren’t
familiar with this street dining culture, the bustle in the room was enough to
get me excited.
DISCLAIMER: One thing to understand about this restaurant before we start is that the food is not meant to be "high end". The food is made to resemble the simplistic, homemade, rustic feel of food eaten in a not so wealthy and gastronomical time. That being said, the you are going for the ambiance and the novelty of the restaurant, while enjoying decent tasting food.
As the dishes quickly began arriving, our table top began to disappear and will up with an array of different rice dishes (sweet potato on rice, pork lard rice, sakura shrimp on rice), oysters in black bean paste, steamed fish, pork belly, tempura battered shrimp, and more...
As the dishes quickly began arriving, our table top began to disappear and will up with an array of different rice dishes (sweet potato on rice, pork lard rice, sakura shrimp on rice), oysters in black bean paste, steamed fish, pork belly, tempura battered shrimp, and more...
For someone who doesn’t usually eat much rice (I know, I’m
abnormal for an Asian, it’s like an Italian claiming they don’t eat pasta), I
was shoveling the rice down like any normal Asian. The pork lard with rice (as
unappetizing as it may sound) was absolutely delicious. It’s like duck fat
fried rice, but with pork fat! The fragrant, al dente, individual grains of rice,
with just the right amount of fat and saltiness to satisfy any craving for carbs. As for the sakura shrimp on rice, the sweet, crisp texture of the
dried fried shrimp were a delicious contrast to the rice.
Surprisingly, the most memorable dish of the night was a
chicken broth. Filled with plump, firm chunks of chicken, with the spiciness of
whole pickled green chilies and sliced ginger. An absolutely perfect dish to
warm yourself up with on a rainy day sitting in a slightly overly blast
chilled (air conditioned) restaurant. After finishing enough soup to feed a whole family, I made a mental note to go out and buy a jar of pickled chilies to bring back to Toronto with me the next day for my future attempt in replicating this dish.
As the meal came to an end and my belly was filled with an array of seafood, meats
and carbs, food coma induced exhaustion and the lack of sleep started to
kick in. I took a quick walk around the restaurant and stood in the faux train station listening to the relaxing sound of the rain on the tracks while the "station" slowly emptied out. This signalled that it was time to head back into the rain and into bed back at the hotel. Good night world! Until
tomorrow…
鳳山懷舊餐廳
高雄館：高雄市鼓山區明誠三路1號
1 Mingcheng 3rd Road, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Tel: (07) 522-8852
Hours: 11AM - 12AM
Website: http://www.oldtaiwan.com.tw/
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