Tai Thai – Authentic Taiwanese Food

 

Food culture is one way which a country shows itself to the world. When I first get to know about Taiwanese food, it is only about Taiwanese bubble tea. Then, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snack came into Singapore and we started to get exposed to more Taiwanese cuisines with more taiwanese street kiosks entering into Singapore. Extra big fried chicken, oyster mee sua etc… However, these two years, I have seen more Taiwanese restaurant opening up in Singapore which strengthened the Taiwanese food market with the rise in local awareness.

 

Tai Thai was soft launched early this year in Faber Drive. It is another F&B establishment under Blooie’s Roadhouse which serves Thai and Taiwanese cuisines. The previous restaurant was Thai fusion, so the owner wanted to retain the Thai flavour and thus hired a Thai chef to be in charge of the Thai cuisine in the kitchen.

 

The owner, Sarge, is a friendly Canadian who married a pretty Taiwanese wife, Fiona. She has all along been passionate about Taiwanese street food and has a list of her own authentic recipes which she hoped to introduce locally. Thus, she decided to add Taiwanese cuisine and hence the name Tai Thai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the dishes here are made from authentic Taiwanese recipes and sauces are all imported from Taiwan. Fiona is very stern about the quality and takes a lot of pride in her home-made recipes and ingredients.

 

Braised Pig Intestines (卤大肠, $6.90) had been sliced thinly. When you bit into it, it was mild but had a hint of Taiwanese soy sauce. The texture was extra light with a very slight hint of chewiness.

 

 

We like the Taiwan Special Popcorn Chicken (盐酥鸡, $6.90) which are deep-fried with a thin, non-existent crispy skin. It’s nicely spiced with salt, pepper and five spice powder, very addictive.

 

 

 

In Snow Bean Curd (雪花豆腐, $3.80), the bean curd was first braised and then shredded to thin pieces which looks like snow flakes.

 

 

We enjoyed the Special Tofu with Century Egg (皮蛋豆腐, $4.90). The soft tofu was topped with spring onions and bonito flakes.

 

 

 

There is also Pan-fried Dumplings (锅贴, 8 for $8).

 

 

Taiwanese Prawn Cake (月亮虾饼, 4pcs for $12) is deep fried till the skin turns golden brown. Looks ordinary? The unique part is the dipping sauce which is a garlic chilli sauce. Dip a piece of prawn cake into the sauce and it just open up your appetite.

 

 

 

Pork Belly Buns (扣肉包, 3 for $8) is actually Taiwanese Gwa-Bao (割包, Braised Pork Wrapped in Steamed Buns). Gwa-bao is a kind of steamed bun filled with braised pork. As it is eaten like a sandwich, it is sometimes called a Taiwanese hamburger. It is similar to Singapore, except that our local kou rou bao uses pork belly.  The soft oval-shaped bun is filled with braised pork, pickled vegetables, Chinese parsley and minced peanut. The pickled vegetables and minced peanut gives it a nice smell.

 

 

If you have been to Taiwan, you definitely have tried Ah Zong Mee Sua before. Their mee sua is silky thin and cooked with intestines instead of the oyster mee sua we are familiar with.

 

Fiona commented that the oysters in Singapore are not the freshest, hence she only cooks Pig Intestines Mee Sua (大肠面线, $8). These mee sua are already pre-mixed with garlic, vinegar and chilli, just like what is served in Taiwan. It tasted very fragrant and every mouthful has a kick. The intestines are first braised, then fried and cooked with mee sua. It was very soft. Recommended!   

 

Pork Chop Rice (猪扒饭, $10) is another very famous Taiwanese dish. The pork chop is marinated in five-spice powder then pan-fried to a golden brown finish. It is topped with braised minced pork and braised eggs which gives a fragrant taste. It was served with pickled cucumber and vegetables, which give a refreshing mouth feel to the rice. Only complaint I have is, the rice I had that time wasn’t the typical rice which was used in braised pork. I guess they are still making amendments to it.

 

 

 

 

Tai Thai’s broths and gravies are all home-made and authentic. Beef Noodles (红烧牛肉面, $12) uses boneless ribs and tendons for their tenderness and chewiness. Wide type of noodles is used here, which absorb the broth and yield a robust flavor and a chewy texture in every bite.

 

They will be opening a new restaurant in Star Vista (Buona Vista) on 16 September this year, named Lee’s Taiwanese (台湾庙口小吃). This new restaurant will focus on Taiwanese cuisine and they only pick the more popular, well-liked dishes (based on customers feedback) to put on the menu.

 

Finally, an authentic Taiwanese restaurant is here in Singapore. Let’s REJOICE!