This tavern is located in the bustling area of Hongdae, and although it may look quite distinctive from the outside, there are many diners inside the restaurant. After wandering around the area, we decided to take a chance and go in for a drink 🍷. To our surprise, no staff greeted us when we entered. After a while, a female server noticed us and spoke a series of words in Korean that we couldn’t understand. When we asked if she could speak English, she made an "ah" sound and then continued to talk in Korean. It seemed we had no choice but to take out our translation device for help… but regardless, she continued to speak entirely in Korean! It wasn’t until an Asian person who understood Korean helped us translate that we finally found a spot to sit on the top floor!

The restaurant was very noisy, making it hard to hear each other's voices; we had to lean in close to hear our friends! Now, regarding the drinks…
I ordered a very ordinary ❤️ Apple Margarita. It felt like... the syrup was spilled; this drink contained at least double the amount of apple 🍎 syrup compared to usual. Not only was it overly sweet, but the serious issue was that there was no taste of alcohol; I couldn't tell if I was drinking cold syrup for a cold or sugary soda water. In the end, none of us finished our drinks before leaving the restaurant!

As we left, we were relieved that we only came for drinks and didn’t plan to eat, especially since even my friend’s choice of the usually safe whiskey soda was as light as drinking water! It felt like this restaurant was relying on a great location and just casually preparing food and drinks, which was very disappointing! I specifically noted this experience down so that I wouldn’t step into this place again in the future!

Zhongpo Salt and Crispy Chicken is a place located between Hou Shan Pi MRT Station and Hsiao He You De High School. Many of the customers are regulars who have eaten here multiple times, especially those who live nearby. 🤣

#I really love finding hard-to-eat shops (thumbs up)

Dishes
Sweet potato balls (my favorite) – they are extremely crispy; even if I take them home and they cool down, they are still crispy! Plus, they're in a cylindrical shape, not round slices.

Hakka Sweet and Savory Rice Cake – I’ve only seen this one in the Xinyi District, excluding breakfast shops (?), it’s relatively thin, and its texture is chewier than taro cake (without being bouncy). It has a solid texture and the aroma of taro, making me want to take bite after bite. 🤤

Taro Cake – it is thicker and has a rich taro flavor, but compared to the Hakka Rice Cake, it’s not as chewy; I would say it has a denser texture that’s more suitable.

Chicken Gizzards – these are a bit tough; the last time I had them, they were softer, but this batch was less consistent in quality when fried.

Chicken Wings – they are most famous for their chicken wings! The price has changed from the past to now, around 30, but as long as it tastes good, it's fine. What makes it delicious? Well, on top of being crispy on the outside, when you eat them hot, you can see the chicken juice flowing out. You have to eat them quickly while shouting that they’re hot, or the juice will spill out. You can also take them home, but they won’t taste as amazing XD. Their wings do not have the taste of frozen or any fishy odor; if you like them, you should give them a try.

Service
The lady has maintained the same attitude over the years, speaking in a breathy, somewhat weak-sounding manner, but that’s just her way. 😆

Environment
Well, it's an alley with a road.

Conclusion
To introduce this shop, I rushed over straight after work to buy some. There are many delicious fried items here; this place really ranks high on my list.

Miscellaneous Student - What to Eat

This time at Wusow Western Cuisine, located in the northern part of Dadaocheng.

★ Dishes:
Appetizers:
Fried Oysters
Spicy Sichuan Eggplant
Main Course:
Fried King Oyster Mushroom Don with Mayonnaise

★ Thoughts:
The fried food at Wusow Western Cuisine is truly top-notch. It doesn't lose its crunchiness even when eaten a little later.

• Fried Oysters: The outer layer is coated with a Japanese-style batter. The inner texture is like a mix of tofu and some plant-based meat. Unlike the tenderness of real oysters, this dish doesn't have that soft texture. I wouldn't recommend it to meat lovers.
• Spicy Sichuan Eggplant: This eggplant is a specific variety. The Sichuan bean paste has a flavor similar to the sauce in fried noodle dishes, and it pairs well with the eggplant. It's a very appetizing appetizer.
• Fried King Oyster Mushroom Don with Mayonnaise: The king oyster mushrooms are coated with soybean skin before frying. Even with a bite, they're still fresh and juicy, highly recommended. The unfortunate part is that towards the end, there was still rice left. The rice has a wet and sticky flavor. I ended up using the vegan cheese powder provided on site to season it. The difference between the vegan cheese powder and regular cheese is that it lacks the milky aroma. I'm not quite used to it personally.

Next time, I would like to try the pasta series. Their pasta is Japanese-style, and I'm curious to give it a shot.

★ Wait Time:
Dishes were served in about 5 to 10 minutes, with the eggplant being the last to arrive.