Crispy Nian Gao Sandwich

My friend went to ICC Pudu again just to buy these deep fried snacks.

The deep fried bananas at MYR 1.50 nett each have all sold out so we only managed to buy deep fried nian gao at MYR 1.80 nett each.

The "Nian Gao" - 年糕 (chinese new year sticky cake) which is made from glutinous rice flour and brown sugar is sandwiched between a slice of sweet potatoes and a slice of yam, coated in batter and then deep fried. Best eaten hot or warm before it has cooled down.

Nian Gao

"Nian Gao" - 年糕 (chinese new year sticky cake) is made from glutinous rice flour and brown sugar. It is usually eaten during chinese new year but deep fried nian gao can be found sold in hawker stalls all year round. The "I love you" kiosk in the Midvalley mall sells deep fried nian gao now so we bought one to try at MYR2.40 nett.

Cross section. Thin slices of nian gao, yam and sweet potatoes so I prefer the thick SS2 deep fried nian gao at only MYR2.20 nett.

MYR2.40 nett for such a thin piece of deep fried nian gao so it is not worth it.

Texas Latest Chicken

I noticed this poster at Texas Chicken

A Taste of Korea. What taste is that?

Seaweed chicken it is! Anyone tried this? I have yet to try it.

Golden Egg Crunch

Deep fried chicken coated with salted egg yolk - 5 of us wanted to try this but they do not sell ala carte 5 pieces so I ended up with the most-value-for-money package:

KFC Golden Feast - MYR40 ++ (MYR42.40) - 9 pieces of chicken, 1.5L pepsi (keeping this for CNY to make pepsi ice cream floats), 1 large coleslaw and 1 large mashed potatoes.

Everyone ate one piece and left me with 4 extra pieces for lunch and dinner the next day and the day after next. Very crunchy, a bit spicy, the taste of curry leaves is very strong which I like and just a little bit of salted egg yolk taste. I think I can stay off deep fried chicken for the rest of the year now.

Not so tasty

I bought a bag of deep fried sweet potatoes with plum powder sprinkled over them to try at about MYR5 a bag after reading someone's post that this is just so tasty. They were deep fried upon order so I have to wait for quite some time for them to cool down before eating them.

They were crunchy to the point of being hard and I think maybe they were not deep fried long enough so the insides were still a bit raw. Taste ok only, I wonder whether the person who raved about it ate something totally different from this but I did buy the correct item. I ate only two pieces and let my family have the rest of them.

Bought them from this Shihlin stall in Midvalley. Deep fried chicken pieces and oyster mee suah are their best sellers. This Shihlin stall has outlets in most of the shopping mall.

Texas Chicken vs KFC

KFC Chicken (Original)

Texas Chicken (Original and Spicy)

Verdict: I prefer the Spicy Texas Chicken (which is not as spicy as KFC spicy chicken) to the original one and the taste of the Original KFC chicken is better than the Original Texas Chicken. However, the Texas chicken (breast meat) is more succulent than KFC chicken meat.

SS2 Goreng Pisang

A deep fried chempedak or cempedak (Artocarpus integer). Very tasty. It has no English name I think. The tree is in the same genus as breadfruit and jackfruit and some people say the fruit tastes of a hint of durian which I don't find it so. 4 seeds only for MYR5.

Deep fried Nian Gao (chinese new year sticky cake) - MYR2.20

Thick pieces of Nian Gao and the sweet potatoes and Yam.

This is the stall in One Utama

I have not been to their original stall in SS2 but I am happy that they have a stall in One Utama so that I can get to taste their tasty deep fried food. They have other types of deep fried food too. Yes, I know. I am supposed to not eat deep fried food at all but once in a blue moon, I excuse myself to indulge in this tasty morsel.

Long queue

 A long queue. Why?

To buy their breakfast of 燒餅 (Shāobǐng), 油條 (Yóutiáo), 豆漿 (Dòujiāng). Shāobǐng: Chinese flatbread, Yóutiáo: Chinese cruller, and Dòujiāng: Soya Milk.

 Preparing the dough for the Yóutiáo. See the Chinese crullers in the foreground of the photo.

 Deep frying the dough to make Yóutiáo

Making the Shāobǐng (flatbread).  

This was what I bought. Yóutiáo and omelette (egg with spring onions) wrapped in Shāobǐng. Two of the items cost TWD 13 each and one costs TWD 10 making a total of TWD 36 (MYR4). The Yóutiáo was a bit oily but the combination went well together.

This is a typical breakfast for people in Taiwan. I don't know the name of this shop. I heard it being referred to as "(原)西園橋下燒餅油條豆漿" roughly translated to the shop selling Shāobǐng, Yóutiáo, Dòujiāng  that used to be located under the bridge in Xiyuán Rd.

Anyway if you would like to try this breakfast that the locals eat, here is the address (nearest MRT station - Longshan Temple Station Exit 1):
台北市萬華區西園路一段242號
No 242, Section 1, Xiyuán Rd, Wanhua District
Taipei City, Taiwan
From 6am to 12noon (closes earlier when the items are sold out)