Mushroom Soup

Here is a simple recipe for a surprisingly flavorful, healthy and light soup. Bryan's parents were in Taiwan last year. While they traveled across the eastern side of Taiwan during a tour, they stopped at a small local restaurant. At the end of the meal, the waitress brought out a pot to the table and essentially cooked a whole variety of wild mushrooms in water with some tomatoes, scallions, salt and pepper.

Bryan's parents thought the soup was surprisingly flavorful, light, and delicious. His mom decided to try it out at home with random mushrooms from the supermarket, and the results were great!

After seeing her over Christmas break (and watching them make the soup once), I decided to try it myself as well. I went to a local Korean market and picked up about 7 types of mushrooms. I'm not sure I can even name all of them, but some examples would be shitake, enoki, portabella, hen-of-the-woods, oyster, white button mushroom.

I chopped up the tomatoes, scallions and mushrooms. I then put them into a pot of water, brought the water to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I'm not sure how long you need to cook it - it's possible that less or more is fine too. I would just taste it periodically.

Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. There's no chicken broth or any animal products in this meal. The mushrooms add a surprising amount of umami flavor, and the soup is flavorful, light, healthy, and satisfying at the same time.

It's a great summer soup, especially with the farmer's markets now starting!

Mushroom Soup

Here is a simple recipe for a surprisingly flavorful, healthy and light soup. Bryan's parents were in Taiwan last year. While they traveled across the eastern side of Taiwan during a tour, they stopped at a small local restaurant. At the end of the meal, the waitress brought out a pot to the table and essentially cooked a whole variety of wild mushrooms in water with some tomatoes, scallions, salt and pepper.

Bryan's parents thought the soup was surprisingly flavorful, light, and delicious. His mom decided to try it out at home with random mushrooms from the supermarket, and the results were great!

After seeing her over Christmas break (and watching them make the soup once), I decided to try it myself as well. I went to a local Korean market and picked up about 7 types of mushrooms. I'm not sure I can even name all of them, but some examples would be shitake, enoki, portabella, hen-of-the-woods, oyster, white button mushroom.

I chopped up the tomatoes, scallions and mushrooms. I then put them into a pot of water, brought the water to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I'm not sure how long you need to cook it - it's possible that less or more is fine too. I would just taste it periodically.

Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. There's no chicken broth or any animal products in this meal. The mushrooms add a surprising amount of umami flavor, and the soup is flavorful, light, healthy, and satisfying at the same time.

It's a great summer soup, especially with the farmer's markets now starting!

Suzuran (すずらん)

I just came back from an incredible trip to Asia (Japan and Taiwan), and I have lots of great food posts I plan on writing over the next few weeks.

One of the first places we visited was Suzuran, a popular ramen place in Shibuya.

Apparently this place is really popular because their broths are deeply flavorful and they make their own noodles. Unlike many other ramen places, you have the option of choosing the fat, pappardelle-like chewy noodles. Suzuran sells tsukumen, which is dipping ramen. Instead of serving everything in one bowl, the noodles are served separately (see picture above) from the soup. You then dip the noodles into the soup and eat it, not unlike soba.

The ambiance here is great. The small bar only holds around 13 people. You sit around the bar and order your noodles. Right when you enter, all the cooks yell out a loud greeting, "Irrashaimase!" When a customer finished her bowl of noodles, she yelled "gotirasama deshita!" and all the cooks yelled back something I couldn't quite understand. It was quite entertaining.

The place feels very authentic. The menu is only in Japanese, and the cooks don't really speak English. I used my broken Japanese to ask the cook to translate the menu. In the end, all he could tell me was that I could choose between soy sauce based broth or miso, and that the toppings were items such as char siu and wontons (I kind of wonder whether he thought we were Chinese and just picked the Chinese sounding toppings for us).

Bryan ordered soy based broth with wontons. I basically told the cook to make me his most famous dish. I received a miso-based broth with these stewed pork slices on top of the noodles. It was not until afterwards, which doing additional research, that I found out that I had eaten Kagoshima style pork belly (buta kakuni).

The noodles were fresh, chewy and delicious. The soup was very flavorful, although I found it a bit salty for my tastes. I typically don't eat much ramen, so it's hard for me to give it a fair review. Honestly, I have no idea how it compares to other ramen across Japan. I can tell you that the freshly made noodles were really good and the soup was satisfying to the soul.

If you like ramen, you should definitely check out this place. If nothing else, the experience of sitting at the bar watching the chefs make noodles and watching all the interactions between the customers and the cooks is worth it.

One note - it was a bit confusing to find this place. It probably did not help that we went on a dark, rainy evening; we didn't have a map; all we had were some directions written by someone on chowhound. It's not too far from the Shibuya JR station. See here for the directions that we used. Supposedly this place often has a long line outside of it. I guess we were lucky since it was a dark rainy weeknight.

Suzuran (すずらん)

I just came back from an incredible trip to Asia (Japan and Taiwan), and I have lots of great food posts I plan on writing over the next few weeks.

One of the first places we visited was Suzuran, a popular ramen place in Shibuya.

Apparently this place is really popular because their broths are deeply flavorful and they make their own noodles. Unlike many other ramen places, you have the option of choosing the fat, pappardelle-like chewy noodles. Suzuran sells tsukumen, which is dipping ramen. Instead of serving everything in one bowl, the noodles are served separately (see picture above) from the soup. You then dip the noodles into the soup and eat it, not unlike soba.

The ambiance here is great. The small bar only holds around 13 people. You sit around the bar and order your noodles. Right when you enter, all the cooks yell out a loud greeting, "Irrashaimase!" When a customer finished her bowl of noodles, she yelled "gotirasama deshita!" and all the cooks yelled back something I couldn't quite understand. It was quite entertaining.

The place feels very authentic. The menu is only in Japanese, and the cooks don't really speak English. I used my broken Japanese to ask the cook to translate the menu. In the end, all he could tell me was that I could choose between soy sauce based broth or miso, and that the toppings were items such as char siu and wontons (I kind of wonder whether he thought we were Chinese and just picked the Chinese sounding toppings for us).

Bryan ordered soy based broth with wontons. I basically told the cook to make me his most famous dish. I received a miso-based broth with these stewed pork slices on top of the noodles. It was not until afterwards, which doing additional research, that I found out that I had eaten Kagoshima style pork belly (buta kakuni).

The noodles were fresh, chewy and delicious. The soup was very flavorful, although I found it a bit salty for my tastes. I typically don't eat much ramen, so it's hard for me to give it a fair review. Honestly, I have no idea how it compares to other ramen across Japan. I can tell you that the freshly made noodles were really good and the soup was satisfying to the soul.

If you like ramen, you should definitely check out this place. If nothing else, the experience of sitting at the bar watching the chefs make noodles and watching all the interactions between the customers and the cooks is worth it.

One note - it was a bit confusing to find this place. It probably did not help that we went on a dark, rainy evening; we didn't have a map; all we had were some directions written by someone on chowhound. It's not too far from the Shibuya JR station. See here for the directions that we used. Supposedly this place often has a long line outside of it. I guess we were lucky since it was a dark rainy weeknight.

3D Cookie Cutters

These are really cute. I am so tempted to buy them!

3D Cookie Cutters

These are really cute. I am so tempted to buy them!

Shabu Square - update CLOSED

Bryan and I decided to try out Shabu Square, the new shabu restuarant in Harvard Square this past Saturday (coincidentally, it was Valentine's Day). Here is the quick summary of my opinion:

Prices: For Harvard Square, reasonable - $10 for a vegetarian shabu order and $16 for a "surf & turf" shabu shabu order. There is a minimum $10/per person requirement.

Ambiance: Nice. The space was completely renovated for this restaurant, so everything is nice and new. It has the ambiance of a Japanese restaurant - clean, simple, and sort of bamboo-y.

Quality: so-so. The vegetables were fine, but the seafood was lower quality. The scallops had no sweetness. In fact, they hardly had any flavor. The beef was fine, but nothing to write home about. They did not have some of the fancier cuts of meat we have seen at other shabu places. They also have a limited number of broth options: Spicy Chinese, Tom Yum, Korean Kim chee, and miso. We tried Spicy Chinese ($3), which was spicy but did not have much deep flavor. We also tried the plain chicken broth (free). In terms of food quality, it is definitely a step lower than the other shabu places we've tried (Shabu-Zen, Kaze, Little Q). [my absolute favorite hot pot place is Little Q, especially the mala spicy broth. SOOO GOOOOD! Too bad it's so far away in Quincy!]

Other comments: We ordered a funny appetizer, mostly because it sounded so strange. It was salmon sashimi rolled inside roti (Malaysian bread) with spicy mayo.

In theory it sounded interesting, but the taste was actually quite average. The roti was deep fried and quite greasy. Since the restaurant did not have a sushi bar, we started to suspect that they just used their hot pot salmon meat and chose not to cook it. Fortunately, neither of us got sick, so I'm going to assume that the fish was fine.

No alcohol, which might be a big negative for some people.

This place is almost like an Asian fusion restaurant run by Chinese people. On top of the shabu menu, they also have pho, Thai dishes (like pad thai and the like), Japanese noodles, etc.

Conclusion: I like having a shabu place in Harvard Square since we can just walk to this restaurant. It is a nice, healthy option in Harvard Square for a decent price. I understand that it's more expensive to run a restaurant in Harvard Square, so I appreciate their efforts to keep the prices reasonable. Just remember, you do get what you pay for. Bryan decided that, if he were to come again, he'd probably just order the beef shabu since the seafood was underwhelming. I would probably stick with the vegetarian shabu.

As a side point, recently my brother in law bought filet mignon from Costco and sliced it up for a hot pot that we were having at my sister's birthday party. It was sooooo good! Yes, he had to slice the meat himself, but the texture of filet mignon cannot be beat. Now that I've had filet mignon at a hot pot, it's hard for me to go back to eating normal hot pot meat. This is why I would probably order the vegetarian option at Shabu Square.

Shabu Square - update CLOSED

Bryan and I decided to try out Shabu Square, the new shabu restuarant in Harvard Square this past Saturday (coincidentally, it was Valentine's Day). Here is the quick summary of my opinion:

Prices: For Harvard Square, reasonable - $10 for a vegetarian shabu order and $16 for a "surf & turf" shabu shabu order. There is a minimum $10/per person requirement.

Ambiance: Nice. The space was completely renovated for this restaurant, so everything is nice and new. It has the ambiance of a Japanese restaurant - clean, simple, and sort of bamboo-y.

Quality: so-so. The vegetables were fine, but the seafood was lower quality. The scallops had no sweetness. In fact, they hardly had any flavor. The beef was fine, but nothing to write home about. They did not have some of the fancier cuts of meat we have seen at other shabu places. They also have a limited number of broth options: Spicy Chinese, Tom Yum, Korean Kim chee, and miso. We tried Spicy Chinese ($3), which was spicy but did not have much deep flavor. We also tried the plain chicken broth (free). In terms of food quality, it is definitely a step lower than the other shabu places we've tried (Shabu-Zen, Kaze, Little Q). [my absolute favorite hot pot place is Little Q, especially the mala spicy broth. SOOO GOOOOD! Too bad it's so far away in Quincy!]

Other comments: We ordered a funny appetizer, mostly because it sounded so strange. It was salmon sashimi rolled inside roti (Malaysian bread) with spicy mayo.

In theory it sounded interesting, but the taste was actually quite average. The roti was deep fried and quite greasy. Since the restaurant did not have a sushi bar, we started to suspect that they just used their hot pot salmon meat and chose not to cook it. Fortunately, neither of us got sick, so I'm going to assume that the fish was fine.

No alcohol, which might be a big negative for some people.

This place is almost like an Asian fusion restaurant run by Chinese people. On top of the shabu menu, they also have pho, Thai dishes (like pad thai and the like), Japanese noodles, etc.

Conclusion: I like having a shabu place in Harvard Square since we can just walk to this restaurant. It is a nice, healthy option in Harvard Square for a decent price. I understand that it's more expensive to run a restaurant in Harvard Square, so I appreciate their efforts to keep the prices reasonable. Just remember, you do get what you pay for. Bryan decided that, if he were to come again, he'd probably just order the beef shabu since the seafood was underwhelming. I would probably stick with the vegetarian shabu.

As a side point, recently my brother in law bought filet mignon from Costco and sliced it up for a hot pot that we were having at my sister's birthday party. It was sooooo good! Yes, he had to slice the meat himself, but the texture of filet mignon cannot be beat. Now that I've had filet mignon at a hot pot, it's hard for me to go back to eating normal hot pot meat. This is why I would probably order the vegetarian option at Shabu Square.

Lychee Martini

Bryan made one for me the other night, and it's pretty good! Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 oz SOHO brand Lychee Liqueur
1 oz vodka (we use Grey Goose)
Splash of lychee juice (from the can)
2 lychees (from a can)

We typically keep our vodka and the liqueur in the freezer (they stay liquid!) so there's no need to shake the drink in a traditional cocktail shaker.

If you like a bit of tartness in your cocktails, you may want to consider adding a splash of lime juice as well. We didn't have any around, but next time we may try that as well.

Lychee Martini

Bryan made one for me the other night, and it's pretty good! Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 oz SOHO brand Lychee Liqueur
1 oz vodka (we use Grey Goose)
Splash of lychee juice (from the can)
2 lychees (from a can)

We typically keep our vodka and the liqueur in the freezer (they stay liquid!) so there's no need to shake the drink in a traditional cocktail shaker.

If you like a bit of tartness in your cocktails, you may want to consider adding a splash of lime juice as well. We didn't have any around, but next time we may try that as well.

Korean Style Spinach salad

This simple, healthy, and tasty spinach dish can be eaten either hot or cold.  It works well as a side in many Asian cuisines, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.  It is a versatile dish, and can easily be tailored for any of these cuisines by the addition of certain ingredients.

1) First, cook the spinach.  You can either blanch it very quickly or steam it very quickly.

 

You want to make sure that you cook it quickly!  I typically steam for about 10-15 seconds (until the leaves wilt) and then I remove the leaves and quickly rinse with cold water to stop further cooking.  I do this in small batches.

 

You don't want to overcook the spinach because it loses its bright green color and becomes overly mushy.

If you blanch, I would only blanch for 5 seconds.

2) Next, try to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.  I typically take a handful of spinach at a time and squeeze it into a ball, as shown in the picture below.

3) Once most of the water has been squeezed out, I chop up the spinach using a pair scissors. 

4) Finally, add salt, sesame oil, and garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic) to taste.  Optionally, you can add soy sauce, sesame seeds, hot pepper flakes, or other cuisine-specific spices.

Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!

 

Korean Style Spinach salad

This simple, healthy, and tasty spinach dish can be eaten either hot or cold.  It works well as a side in many Asian cuisines, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.  It is a versatile dish, and can easily be tailored for any of these cuisines by the addition of certain ingredients.

1) First, cook the spinach.  You can either blanch it very quickly or steam it very quickly.

 

You want to make sure that you cook it quickly!  I typically steam for about 10-15 seconds (until the leaves wilt) and then I remove the leaves and quickly rinse with cold water to stop further cooking.  I do this in small batches.

 

You don't want to overcook the spinach because it loses its bright green color and becomes overly mushy.

If you blanch, I would only blanch for 5 seconds.

2) Next, try to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.  I typically take a handful of spinach at a time and squeeze it into a ball, as shown in the picture below.

3) Once most of the water has been squeezed out, I chop up the spinach using a pair scissors. 

4) Finally, add salt, sesame oil, and garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic) to taste.  Optionally, you can add soy sauce, sesame seeds, hot pepper flakes, or other cuisine-specific spices.

Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!

 

Ro Geng Mian (Ba Genh) - Pork, Bamboo, and Mushroom Noodle Soup

One of Bryan's favorite Taiwanese dishes is the pork noodle soup shown above. This very common Taiwanese dish is called "Ba Genh" in Taiwanese, or "Ro Geng Mian" in Mandarin, and consists of pork and fish paste nuggets in a thick soup flavored with black vinegar (or Worcestershire sauce), white pepper, mushrooms, and lots of cilantro.

This recipe is adapted from Taiwanese Homestyle Cooking by members of NATWA

Ingredients

6-10 dried mushroom pieces

1/2 lb pork butt or shoulder (can also use ground pork)

1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots

1/2 lb prepared fish paste

6 cups water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

------------------------------------

Marinade

1 T soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 t salt
1 T sesame oil
------------------------------

Soup flavoring

1 T minced garlic

1/2 t sesame oil

1/4 t white pepper (can add more to taste)

1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup cilantro (coarsely chopped)

------------------------------

Mix 4T cornstarch with 4 T water and mix to form a milky liquid.

click image to see larger image

Preparation

Wash 6-10 dried mushrooms and soak in hot water until soft (about 10 minutes). Slice to desired size.
Drain and rinse 1/2 cup of sliced bamboo shoots.

1) Cut up about 1/2 lb of pork butt into 1/2 inch pieces.

2) Mix the pork together in a bowl with the marinade and marinate for at least 2 hours.

After marinating, mix the pork with the fish paste (available in the freezer sections of a lot of Asian grocery stores. I have bought this both at Super 88 and also at C-Mart).

Combine in a pot the water (6 cups), salt (2 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Bring the pot to a boil. Form a ~1 inch "nugget" with a piece of pork and some fish paste and drop it into the boiling water.

Boil until all the pork nuggets are floating. The soup will look a little something like this:

At this point, you can do one of two things. If you want the thick soup by itself, stir the thickener into the soup and bring to a boil. You can then add the soup flavoring agents. Feel free too adjust the flavors to taste. Serve with chopped cilantro on top.

Alternatively, you can boil some noodles and add it to the soup. I used fresh noodles (purchased from the refrigerator section of Asian supermarkets). Because fresh noodles give off a lot of starch, I was able omit the thickening agent since the soup was already pretty thick once I added the noodles.

Final product with noodles!

Ro Geng Mian (Ba Genh) - Pork, Bamboo, and Mushroom Noodle Soup

One of Bryan's favorite Taiwanese dishes is the pork noodle soup shown above. This very common Taiwanese dish is called "Ba Genh" in Taiwanese, or "Ro Geng Mian" in Mandarin, and consists of pork and fish paste nuggets in a thick soup flavored with black vinegar (or Worcestershire sauce), white pepper, mushrooms, and lots of cilantro.

This recipe is adapted from Taiwanese Homestyle Cooking by members of NATWA

Ingredients

6-10 dried mushroom pieces

1/2 lb pork butt or shoulder (can also use ground pork)

1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots

1/2 lb prepared fish paste

6 cups water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

------------------------------------

Marinade

1 T soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 t salt
1 T sesame oil
------------------------------

Soup flavoring

1 T minced garlic

1/2 t sesame oil

1/4 t white pepper (can add more to taste)

1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup cilantro (coarsely chopped)

------------------------------

Mix 4T cornstarch with 4 T water and mix to form a milky liquid.

click image to see larger image

Preparation

Wash 6-10 dried mushrooms and soak in hot water until soft (about 10 minutes). Slice to desired size.
Drain and rinse 1/2 cup of sliced bamboo shoots.

1) Cut up about 1/2 lb of pork butt into 1/2 inch pieces.

2) Mix the pork together in a bowl with the marinade and marinate for at least 2 hours.

After marinating, mix the pork with the fish paste (available in the freezer sections of a lot of Asian grocery stores. I have bought this both at Super 88 and also at C-Mart).

Combine in a pot the water (6 cups), salt (2 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Bring the pot to a boil. Form a ~1 inch "nugget" with a piece of pork and some fish paste and drop it into the boiling water.

Boil until all the pork nuggets are floating. The soup will look a little something like this:

At this point, you can do one of two things. If you want the thick soup by itself, stir the thickener into the soup and bring to a boil. You can then add the soup flavoring agents. Feel free too adjust the flavors to taste. Serve with chopped cilantro on top.

Alternatively, you can boil some noodles and add it to the soup. I used fresh noodles (purchased from the refrigerator section of Asian supermarkets). Because fresh noodles give off a lot of starch, I was able omit the thickening agent since the soup was already pretty thick once I added the noodles.

Final product with noodles!

Wisteria

UPDATE: Now CLOSED - replaced by Unique Dumpling in the same location.  The Super 88 Allston location is still open

Wisteria is a Taiwanese restaurant that had been on Newbury Street for as long as I can remember. I think the first time I went there was in 1994 (!). Less than a year ago the restaurant closed its Newbury Street restaurant and opened up two restaurants - one at the Super88 Food Court and the other one in East Cambridge on Cambridge Street.

Initially I was really excited that Wisteria was finally moving to Cambridge. We always liked going there whenever we were on Newbury Street. They were one of the earliest Taiwanese restaurants in the Boston area (before Taiwan Cafe, Mulan, and Jo Jo Taipei opened). It was fun getting traditional Taiwanese dishes such as Three cup chicken, rice sausage, and peanut rice drink.

When it opened at Super88, the waits at that restaurant were super long, and yet we kept ordering food there. It was my favorite stall at Super88. I loved getting the pork and chive dumplings, sauteed veggies, and other Taiwanese specialties. I absolutely couldn't wait for the East Cambridge one to open, since that one would be even closer to my home.

The East Cambridge location finally opened last fall. We've probably been there a total of 5 times since it opened. I think the restaurant is a mixed bag. Some dishes are excellent. For example, I love the egg pancake and the Taiwanese style congee. Other dishes, such as the crispy seafood and oyster pancake, were greasy and bland.

I still really want to love the restaurant, since it would be so exciting to have a really yummy Taiwanese restaurant near my home. I will still continue to try it and figure out which dishes are my favorites. Any one have any suggestions?

I also heard that Mulan has been improving a lot, and it quite good now. Jo Jo Taipei has also been getting rave reviews. One of these days I'll have to do a full fledged Taiwanese food review.

We'll see - the elusive search for amazing Taiwanese food continues . . .

*Update*

We went back to Mulan last week, and this time asked our server (who I think is the owner) to recommend their best dishes. We ended up ordering the House special beef noodle soup, the handmade dumplings (boiled and pan fried), and a lamb stir fry dish (sorry, can't remember!). They also threw in twin lobsters (sauteed with ginger and scallions) for free since we ordered over $35.

This was definitely one of our best meals at Mulan. Even though it was still not amazing (especially compared to restaurants in California or Asia), it was still enjoyable. The House special beef noodle soup was tasty, and the handmade dumplings were pretty good too. The "guo tia" (pan-fried dumplings) are the the long-shaped kind, which I like. I also really liked the lamb stir fry dish.

As a side note, they do have some fun exotic drinks. They sell a whole variety of boba drinks, and they also sell a sentimental favorite of mine - peanut rice milk ("mi jiang" in mandarin, "bi lieng" in Taiwanese) - hot or iced!

Wisteria

Wisteria is a Taiwanese restaurant that had been on Newbury Street for as long as I can remember. I think the first time I went there was in 1994 (!). Less than a year ago the restaurant closed its Newbury Street restaurant and opened up two restaurants - one at the Super88 Food Court and the other one in East Cambridge on Cambridge Street.

Initially I was really excited that Wisteria was finally moving to Cambridge. We always liked going there whenever we were on Newbury Street. They were one of the earliest Taiwanese restaurants in the Boston area (before Taiwan Cafe, Mulan, and Jo Jo Taipei opened). It was fun getting traditional Taiwanese dishes such as Three cup chicken, rice sausage, and peanut rice drink.

When it opened at Super88, the waits at that restaurant were super long, and yet we kept ordering food there. It was my favorite stall at Super88. I loved getting the pork and chive dumplings, sauteed veggies, and other Taiwanese specialties. I absolutely couldn't wait for the East Cambridge one to open, since that one would be even closer to my home.

The East Cambridge location finally opened last fall. We've probably been there a total of 5 times since it opened. I think the restaurant is a mixed bag. Some dishes are excellent. For example, I love the egg pancake and the Taiwanese style congee. Other dishes, such as the crispy seafood and oyster pancake, were greasy and bland.

I still really want to love the restaurant, since it would be so exciting to have a really yummy Taiwanese restaurant near my home. I will still continue to try it and figure out which dishes are my favorites. Any one have any suggestions?

I also heard that Mulan has been improving a lot, and it quite good now. Jo Jo Taipei has also been getting rave reviews. One of these days I'll have to do a full fledged Taiwanese food review.

We'll see - the elusive search for amazing Taiwanese food continues . . .

*Update*

We went back to Mulan last week, and this time asked our server (who I think is the owner) to recommend their best dishes. We ended up ordering the House special beef noodle soup, the handmade dumplings (boiled and pan fried), and a lamb stir fry dish (sorry, can't remember!). They also threw in twin lobsters (sauteed with ginger and scallions) for free since we ordered over $35.

This was definitely one of our best meals at Mulan. Even though it was still not amazing (especially compared to restaurants in California or Asia), it was still enjoyable. The House special beef noodle soup was tasty, and the handmade dumplings were pretty good too. The "guo tia" (pan-fried dumplings) are the the long-shaped kind, which I like. I also really liked the lamb stir fry dish.

As a side note, they do have some fun exotic drinks. They sell a whole variety of boba drinks, and they also sell a sentimental favorite of mine - peanut rice milk ("mi jiang" in mandarin, "bi lieng" in Taiwanese) - hot or iced!