Wednesday, March 25, 2015

阿元來了 Yuan Is Here - Taiwanese Street Food in Hong Kong

 Hong Kong has always had many Taiwanese shops,  yet those of us foodies in the clear can instantly tell if it has been commercialized as a concept and unfortunately those that retain the original Taiwanese spirit and flavors are far and beyond scarce,  which never made much sense.   Miraculously it has taken until the latter half of 2014 for someone like Yuan Is Here 阿元來了 to open up in town to emulate the authentic Taiwanese experience.   It was long overdue as a concept but then again that’s business opportunities for you with a sharper observation of what the market needs..   Nowadays, queuing for a table here can be quite eventful and during peak times could be up to 1 hour or more.  Someone must be doing something quite right to be attracting the crowd..

 


 

P1410245_edited
Loving the Signage and the Font -
So Taiwanese like if not a bit cheesy with the fonts..

 

 

 

P1410262_edited
Their Green Apple & Jasmine Tea here is very good -
Having visited here twice spanning over a few months and ordering exactly the same food,  so far the drink has been consistent and refreshing,  with very strong hints of green tea leaves infused.  Thoroughly impressed and one of the best Iced Teas in town.  Not to be missed.   ~  10/10

 

 

P1410256_edited
魯肉飯 Ru Lou Fan,  Braised Pork Rice with Pickles and Additional Egg – $27 + $8
A lot of false information is written online about this dish.
   This is a Braised and Diced Pork dish that is hand diced but not to be minced for texture.  肉燥 a similar dish is more minced but often confused with this,  despite a similar braising liquid.  Think of a real diced Italian Bologna Ragu,  vs a bastardized Bolognese Minced Meat.   The ideal 魯肉飯 Ru Lou Fan Rice will be julienned into long strips by hand, carrying some pork skin, fat, and mushrooms. The version here was mostly braised pork and sometimes non-swallowable soft bones.  No skin, fat or mushrooms as its Taiwanese counter part. Flavour wise,  my 1st visit was more correctly braised and slightly sweetish,  on a 2nd visit still good but became more savoury and drier.  ~ 7/10

 

 

P1410259_edited
Zoomed shot -
This time around more dense savoury too.   I prefer it more sweeter and fluffier.

 

 

 

P3080304
(Taipei,  Taiwan) – From the Historically Famous 金峰魯肉飯 in Taiwan
You can clearly see the differences.  More fatty layers,  some pork skins and mushrooms,  also julienne cut into strips on the Taiwan side.  So amazing over there if you can get over the guilt of the fatty strips.. 

 

 

 

P1410261_edited
Braised Egg Here -
True to it’s spirit.   But it could have received more braising liquid taste on the external marination..  ~ 7/10

 

 

 

P1410244_edited
Glad Hong Kong finally has this Option for Dining Out -
Wouldn’t say it’s as good as the Taiwanese equivalents,  but at least it is gaining traction as a plausible start..  Personally how hard is it to properly braise some hand diced pork strips, marinate an egg properly and scoop them onto rice and become a real winner?  

 

 

 

Price:  $27 to $47 + 10%
Food:   ♕♕♕♕


Address: 
西環西營盤第三街73號地舖
Shop 73,  3rd Street Sai Ying Poon,  Sai Wan,  Hong Kong
Ph:  3579 2460


 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...