📍Coordinates: Taipei, Taiwan
The Shiong Shi Xue Wu (Snow House) near National Taiwan University of Science and Technology offers all-you-can-eat white rice and lemon iced tea, which really caters to students’ demand for value for money. The combo of one pot of soup plus one main dish seems to emulate the business model of popular noodle shops, making it feel particularly cost-effective. Therefore, it’s a restaurant my family and I often visit.
Here, the ordering method is to first choose your main dish, then select the soup base for the mini hot pot. This time, the two of us ordered:
Herbal Royal Beef 🌶️🌶️ + Milk Soup Mini Hot Pot ($249, Milk Soup +39)
The herbal royal beef is quite spicy; even those of us who usually eat mild to medium spicy fare found it a bit much, so I’d recommend telling the staff to reduce the chili. The beef is well-seasoned and comes with some vegetables and lotus root slices, although I think it lacks a bit of sweetness and is only salty. Overall, though, it’s still quite good. The milk soup must have cream added because it’s very aromatic and rich, making it quite tasty. It’s perfect for countering the spiciness, and I think this pairing is great.
Sesame Oil Exploded Beef + Herbal Soup Mini Hot Pot ($249, Herbal Soup +39)
This dish was ordered for the first time and matched my expectations; it was quite delicious. However, I again feel it could use some sweetness. I believe this is an issue with most of the dishes, which might just be a matter of personal taste. The herbal soup is very sweet and delicious, none of that blandness. I highly recommend this soup; I almost finished it all, as it helps cut through the greasiness. You can also find goji berries and red dates in it, which is also recommended.
The dishes at Shiong Shi Xue Wu are usually on the heavier and slightly oilier side, making them very rice-friendly and prompting one to dig in heartily. My favorite is still their mini hot pot, as they pack in plenty of vegetables, and the combination of spoonfuls of soup with rice is fantastic and very filling.
🥣 The milk and herbal soups are my top two recommendations 👍👍. Choose the milk soup to cut spice and the herbal soup for greasiness.
This place also sells desserts 🍧 that look very appealing, though I haven't ordered them yet. It’s a comprehensive restaurant that caters to customers in both summer and winter! Highly recommended to everyone~
Located on Gongzheng Road in Luodong, 🔸thirtea 30 Tea🔸 specializes in incorporating plant nutrients and natural ingredients into their tea drinks, creating a distinct difference from the beverages found in typical hand-shaken tea shops. The menu indeed features quite a few uncommon plant and fruit-inspired items. However, as someone who loves pure tea, I opted for tea items. 🤣
(⚠️ My personal preference leans towards thick pure tea, no sugar, and no ice.)
✅ Winter Melon Green Tea 🥤
They have released a series of seasonal new products inspired by winter melon. I tried this cup. The sugar and ice level is fixed—feels like about half sugar and half ice. The first sip made me think of the winter melon tea that comes in the silver soft bags from lunch box shops during my childhood (the straw has to be inserted quickly for drinking). The green tea flavor is not very pronounced, but it is quite refreshing and thirst-quenching. Still, I’m really not used to such a large amount of ice. About an hour later, the drink was completely diluted, and the astringency of the green tea became more pronounced.
✅ Qingjing Old Oolong 🥤
The tea broth is rich, and the oolong aroma is quite pleasant. The fragrance lingers in the mouth after swallowing. There’s a slight toasty flavor, and it feels like a fairly good quality tea.
"I'm really hungry. Every time I pass by this place, I hesitate about whether to try it or not, but today I finally made up my mind." by Sister
<About the meal 🥣>
I ordered a chicken cutlet and a chicken wing.
The original price was 100, but since it's Wednesday, they have a 10% discount, so I saved 10 dollars.🤣
Now, to get to the point, first let's talk about the chicken cutlet. The skin of the chicken cutlet is slightly thicker, and the flavor is not very strong, but the chicken itself is well-marinated and a bit salty.
Next, about the chicken wing, it has a bit of a sweet taste? I'm not sure how they did that; I initially thought it would be similar to the chicken cutlet (since they look alike), but it takes 10 minutes to fry fresh, so if you're in a hurry, you might want to call ahead or just avoid it!
<About the staff 👨🍳>
The staff consists of two young people, and the young man at the counter has a pleasant voice (please allow the voice control to chime in here).
One of them seems to handle the food while the other takes orders, and the service is quite good; they seem to be very polite people.
<About the environment 🐾>
The store is located on a corner, which makes parking a bit inconvenient, but there are chairs set up for customers to rest in front of the shop, so I personally think walking over there is fine, as you won't have to worry about standing around waiting for a long time.
A restaurant with a unique flavor, suitable for group dining and family gatherings. Reservations for dining during the New Year period are also available. Last year, I had our New Year’s Eve dinner here with my family, and there was a singer performing on-site, making it quite lively.
✨ Salt-Grilled Fish
The fish has a tender texture and is one of the restaurant's signatures.
(Please be careful not to eat the fish skin covered in salt 🤣)
🍴 Honey Pumpkin Shrimp Balls
A standard dish. The pumpkin and shrimp balls are drizzled with mayonnaise, creating a sweet flavor dish. However, you can enjoy whole shrimp inside the shrimp balls.
🍴 Roselle Pineapple Ribs
This is also a sweet dish. I’m not sure if it’s because I took my portion from the top, but I could taste the roselle but didn’t get the flavor of pineapple. The brightly colored red bell peppers are beautiful, and the ribs are quite standard.
✨ Goji Leaf
Fresh and refreshing, I couldn't help but keep taking bites.
✨ Signature Bucket Roasted Chicken
Well-deserved of its name, it is very delicious. The chicken isn't dry, with tender meat that retains all its flavorful juice. Whether eaten directly or dipped in pepper salt or chicken oil, it’s delicious. After devouring one piece, I didn't feel greasy or full; the chicken skin is just right and bursts with the most appetizing chicken juice, perfect for someone like me who enjoys chicken skin.
🍴 Hand-Pounded Hualien Snail Meat
The snail meat is a bit tough and requires some serious biting. Stir-fried basil and ginger with the snail meat makes for a dish that pairs well with rice or serves as a great drinking snack.
✨ Cold Tossed Betel Nut Flower
A refreshing appetizer. Eating it between heavier meat dishes makes it particularly enjoyable and helps cleanse the palate.
✨ Salted Fish Bamboo Rice
The subtle fragrance of sesame and seaweed, combined with the taste of salted fish, makes the rice even more delicious.
✨ Breadfruit Hot Pot
The soup contains many ingredients; I could roughly identify breadfruit, king oyster mushrooms, sweet potatoes, clams, and ribs with red dates and goji berries. Overall, it's a light and comfortable soup. The breadfruit is yellow and has absorbed the broth; there’s a good amount of king oyster mushrooms, giving the strongest mushroom flavor; the sweet potatoes and clams bring their own sweetness without feeling out of place, making it worth a try. The red dates and goji berry ribs do not have the herbal taste I expected, and the ribs are well-seasoned.
A surprisingly delicious pot of soup.
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❗️Drinks and alcohol are charged separately
❗️Roasted fish and roasted chicken can be pre-ordered
❗️There will be live performances at fixed times; you can inquire about the performance schedule with the restaurant
❗️The above are personal preferences and experiences; please consider accordingly, thank you~
🚩 Banfang Breakfast Shop: A Kind and Caring Breakfast Spot
Banfang is located in the Eastern District of Taipei City, with the nearest MRT station being Zhongxiao Dunhua Station, about a 3-minute walk away. The front half of the shop is the kitchen area, while the back half has around 18 seats. The previous dining space was a bit worn out, but it underwent some minor renovations in September this year, including new wallpaper and a ceiling replacement. Now, the dining experience is much better than before.
Ordering is done via a menu card handed to the staff. After the meal, you pay at the counter and can only use cash.
(Thoughts on the dishes are written under the photos)
Although this place mainly serves breakfast, I usually come for lunch.
The lunch hours are until 1 PM, and the shop often has many customers during lunchtime, as there are times when people want to eat breakfast! 🤣
The owner is very friendly and remembers regular customers. Once, when I accidentally ordered too much, she asked when serving the food, "Are you all very hungry today?" 🤭 After dining, the payment is placed directly on the counter for self-service in getting change, making it feel as warm as visiting a relative.
Located in Xindian, Yulon City, on the B1 food street. The restaurant has quite a few seats.
This shop does not charge a 10% service fee.
Ice cream, white rice, and miso soup are available for unlimited enjoyment at no extra charge. As for the drinks, they are also unlimited, and it costs $49 per person.
This time we ordered the sukiyaki hot pot, with 120g of meat, so it was $299. Overall, the hot pot tasted very good; the beef, udon noodles, and the side dish of cabbage soaked in sauce were all delicious. The sukiyaki hot pot comes with four small side dishes, and besides the kelp strips being quite tasty, the other three—tofu, sweet potato, and kimchi—seemed very average.
For the miso soup, you can add as much kelp, green onions, and tofu as you like, depending on personal preference.
What makes this restaurant special is the ice cream, which is made from Hokkaido milk. There are some toppings available that you can add yourself. The milk ice cream itself is already very delicious, and it's also available for unlimited enjoyment without any extra charge.
🚩Location🧭
Located at the intersection of Dongfu Road and Dongmen Road in the East District of Taichung City, next to the Hanxi Dongsheng Bridge.
🪑About the overall atmosphere🎡
It's a shop that can easily be overlooked. Although it's in a triangular window position, a large tree nearby partially obstructs the view. The signboard has a white and cement gray color scheme, and there are no chairs provided for waiting. However, when you're indecisive about what to order, the owner offers taste samples of the drinks and carefully helps you make a decision. The triangular windows are painted with red lines, but there's little traffic here, so a brief parking should be fine.
💰About the prices💰
Mochi Green Bean Dessert with Thick Soy Milk - $80
🍴About the food☕
I'm not quite sure what mochi is, but according to the description on the menu, it states:
"Made from tapioca flour and sweet potato flour, the mochi is golden and delicious, soft and chewy with a unique syrup drizzled on top, it’s a honey-coated mochi." As someone who enjoys beverages, I had to try it! The mochi has a chewy texture like QQ jelly and tastes pretty good. Since it’s a smoothie, the ice cube sweetness can't be adjusted; the soy milk and green bean dessert are both very rich. However, it feels a bit too sweet overall. In general, it's quite unique, and I haven’t had such a drink elsewhere.
🤨Conclusion♥
I stumbled upon this little shop and found out there seems to be another location in Changping according to their official website. However, in terms of overall pricing, I believe the cost-performance ratio is slightly low. I originally wanted to order the matcha series, but it costs $145; if it were reduced to under $100, I would definitely consider purchasing it again.
I couldn't decide what to have for dinner, and seeing this place, I thought I'd give it a try.
The restaurant is quite spacious and also clean and comfortable, with a nice atmosphere. After arriving, we were shown to a table by the staff and then scanned a code to place our orders ourselves.
This time, I ordered tomato cheese beef meatballs with flat noodles. First of all, the seasoning felt a bit salty, and I couldn't really taste the tomatoes or cheese. As for the meatballs, they were a bit dry and had a hollow center, with just a little cheese inside. Personally, I hoped they would be juicy. Lastly, the noodles were cooked a bit too soft and lacked chewiness.
Overall, I wouldn't say it was inedible, but considering the price, the value for money feels low.
I have tried quite a few beverage shops, but I haven't tried Kang Qing Long yet, so I decided to give it a go.
This time, I ordered the black and white pearl milk tea, choosing it hot, with half sugar for sweetness adjustment.
To be honest, this attempt was a bit disappointing. The milk tea tasted pretty bland and felt somewhat watery, and the pearls weren't very tasty either.
Overall, for the black and white pearl milk tea alone, I wouldn't recommend it, but since I haven't tried other items, there might be some differences.
🌶️ Kaohsiung Qianzhen ▫️ Dream Mall
🌶️ A chain Korean restaurant where even the side dishes are delicious.
If you can't go to Korea to eat the chef's omakase dishes, then just find a place in Kaohsiung to satisfy your cravings. 🇰🇷
Although this is my first visit, my family has had good feedback from previous visits. To avoid a bad mood from eating something unsatisfactory, I of course chose a restaurant with guaranteed quality that offers online reservations. 🫶🏻
On Double Tenth Day, it coincided with the anniversary celebration of Dream Mall, so I accidentally parked too long and missed the reservation hold time. Fortunately, there happened to be an available table, and I was able to dine with my family smoothly. 🥹
As a country bumpkin, this was my first time coming to Jun Tofu, and I just realized they provide free hot tea. And, like typical Korean restaurants, they also have unlimited side dishes. Besides the common kimchi, bean sprouts, and seaweed, they also offer shredded potatoes and seaweed which are excellent. The seaweed, especially when paired with plain stone pot bibimbap, makes for a perfect seaweed wrap. 👍🏻
This time, I opted out of a large set menu and chose dishes that everyone wanted as individual orders. The must-try seafood and meat tofu pot can even be made non-spicy, and if you don’t want the beef broth, you can switch it, which is very considerate. ❤️ Even the seafood pancakes can come in the thickness you prefer, and this time I chose the less common thick version. To my surprise, I bit into an oyster; it was rich in ingredients and flavors, truly impressive! 🦪
Other dishes such as fried soft tofu and lettuce wraps (forgot the name) also did not disappoint. After finishing, each person had dessert tofu pudding to enjoy. The three of us were so full that we even had some to take home. Personally, I think the value for money is quite high and I will definitely revisit next time. ✨