With Taiwan just a short plane ride away, it’s a popular place to visit for Hong Kong residents. But if a two-hour flight is too long, you could always head to Mei Taiwan Cuisine in Wan Chai for a taste of some of Taiwan’s most popular dishes.
We ordered the famous three cups chicken (HK$128), which gets its name from three key ingredients: sesame oil, Chinese rice wine, and soy sauce.
The dish was served within 10 minutes as a sizzling casserole filled with savoury hunks of golden brown chicken meat. A mix of basil leaves, spring onions and garlic added fragrance, while onions and red pepper gave the dish a sweet-spicy flavour.
Three kinds of mushrooms were in the casserole – pearl oyster mushroom, king oyster mushroom and poplar mushroom, which gave the dish additional texture, while also soaking up the luscious sauce.
A Sichuan dish of boiled sliced beef (HK$138) was strongly flavoured, spicy and oily, as it should be. The beef was cooked with crunchy bean sprouts and konjac noodle knots, as well as baby napa cabbage and celery. The plentiful vegetables balanced the heaviness of the oil and chilli, while the beef was tender but sliced a little too thick.
Braised minced pork rice (HK$28) was soft and juicy. The minced pork and rice should be mixed together, which balances the flavours so the meat tastes less salty and the rice grains are coated with the sauce.
The restaurant also offers Taiwan bubble milk tea and other drinks. Iced tea (HK$22) was a cooling accompaniment to the spiciness of the boiled beef.
The food was served quickly, and the waiters were helpful.
Mei Taiwan Cuisine, Rialto Building, 2 Landale Street, Wan Chai, tel: 3996 9220. Open: 11am-10.30pm
