Taiwan Restaurant

Blast from the past… Ron and I used to go to Taiwan Restaurant in Berkeley on weekends for Taiwanese breakfast. We were driving on Clement the other day and noticed Taiwan Restaurant… Ron got excited since the way the name was displayed seemed almost exactly like the place in Berkeley. So we decided to check it out this morning.

We were disappointed the restaurant still treated Friday after Christmas as a weekday so they didn’t have all the weekend specialties. Oh well, just means we’ll have to visit again on a weekend! Also, it looks exactly the same as the Taiwan Restaurant in Berkeley so we think it’s the same owner, the decorations are the same, the menu is the same… yay!

We ordered soy milk, hot and sweet. It actually wasn’t very hot so when you add your own sugar, it doesn’t quite dissolve.

I can’t remember what this dish is called, I know it as bamboo rice with meat in a can. Ron says when he was a little kid in Taiwan, they would eat these as a late night snack. It was kept in a tin can and heated until ready to eat.

Fried turnip cake.

The youtiao was a bit more dense than we usually like it but it does soak up the soy milk well.

This is my favorite Taiwanese snack, called ba-wan. Outside is a glutinous rice “shell” and inside usually is pork with bamboo shoots and mushrooms. The “shell” can be yummy when its the right amount of stickness but can also be quite tough if overcooked or reheated too many times. In Taiwan, they are kept warm in a large vat of heated oil, sounds disgusting but it does keep it at a very nice temperature. It’s served with two sauces, sweet and savory.

Our breakfast came out to be $13, plus $2 tip.

Afterwards we went to check out Marley & Me. I cried. I don’t want a golden retriever and I love my cats, but I still really want a dog.

Taiwan Restaurant
445 Clement Street

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

12 − 11 =