Restaurant Review: Taiwan Cafe

Taiwan Cafe is definitely my favorite restaurant in Boston's Chinatown.  It's our regular Friday night haunt, because the food is seriously amazing.  The restaurant was recently renovated (it was closed for almost a year, breaking my heart), and the new design is small but cozy.  I'm usually skeptical of restaurants with huge menus, but everything I've tried has been delicious.

My favorite appetizer is roast beef with scallions in scallion pancake.  The pancake is soft and not overly greasy and the beef is tender and flavorful.  The braised pork with peanuts and sour mustard greens in steamed bun is also super tasty.  The pork chunks melt in your mouth, but the bun has a little too much sugar in the filling for my taste (but you can always remove some).  The bun itself is light and pillowy.  I'm a huge fan of xiao long bao, or mini steamed dumplings with pork and crabmeat.  Each dumpling explodes in your mouth, expelling fantastic broth and a sizable chunk of ground pork and crab.

The hearty noodle soup with pork-fish drop is pretty delicious, very chunky and rich.  It tastes basically like a thick hot and sour soup with noodles.  Wonderful on a cold day.

My absolute favorite dish from Taiwan cafe is the simmered Chilean sea bass and tofu hot pot.  It is out of this world.  Breaded, flaky fish with juicy tofu chunks in a delectable sauce with plentiful sliced scallions.  The fish barely has any bones and the ratio of fish to tofu is about 1:1.  (I pretty much cried everyday for two weeks when they were out of sea bass.)  A must-order.

The sauteed beef with long-horn peppers is fantastic, but be prepared with a large box of tissues and a pitcher of water.  Many times, I've traveled for 6 hours with this dish in my duffel bag to deliver it to my family; they love it that much.  Very spicy, very worth it.

Ma po tofu is a favorite of mine, and Taiwan Cafe does it better than anyone.  Big chunks of meltingly-soft tofu in a slightly sweet, spicy sauce.  Szechuan peppercorns give the tongue a strange, pleasant buzz.

The sauteed pork with bamboo tips is a safe choice.  Not too spicy and not terribly adventurous but really good just the same.

If you're (unfortunate enough to be) a vegetarian, the sauteed lily buds with broccoli and vegetables is great.  The lily buds have an almost sandy texture that may take some getting used to.

Bottom line: go to/order from Taiwan Cafe.  Like, right now.  You definitely won't regret it.

Taiwan Cafe
34 Oxford Street
Boston, MA 02111
617-426-8181