Shin Yeh is one of the best places to get traditional Taiwanese food. They have multiple locations in Taipei, Taiwan, and this is the original restaurant.
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Shin Yeh is all over Taipei like night markets. The chain restaurant is a sit-down restaurant serving traditional Taiwanese food. The upscale restaurant even comes with fancy tables and a “thank you, sir”. It’s something that I have yet to experience in other Chinese restaurants. I thought I was in an alternate reality.
Taipei is known for its night markets. At the night markets, a meal or a snack won’t cost more than a few U.S. dollars. My cheap ass was hesitate on trying a fancy restaurant in Taipei, but Shin Yeh is relatively inexpensive, which is a good thing for my bank account. I wanted to do brunch at Shin Yeh since I missed my schedule breakfast. My breakfast usually consist of a nice big cup of coffee. The breakfast of champions.
Shin Yeh’s decorI called a taxi from my hotel. Shin Yeh was packed when I arrived. It was filled with Taipei locals, which is a good sign. I’m glad I made reservations because I would have hated to wait in the increasing line. Plus, I’m not so pleasant when I’m hangry.
They threw me next to the window. I was able to watch the locals pick their nose as if nobody was watching them. However, I was watching them and giggling. The server drop off some tea and an English menu. She recommended some things; they were most expensive items on the menu. You gotta love their hustle.
I went with some traditional Taiwanese dishes. Here are my thoughts:
- Oyster Omelette – This was interesting. The texture was slithery with a pungent taste to it. It wasn’t crispy, but it was soft. It had a fishy taste to it because of the oysters. It was definitely not for anyone who isn’t adventurous or hasn’t gone streaking through the quad.
Oyster Omelette - Drunken Chicken – The alcohol marinated chicken didn’t have enough alcohol. How are you going to call a dish “drunken” when it was only a shot of alcohol? I was looking to get drunk off of the pleasant flavors and soft textures. However, I walked out of the restaurant sober.
Drunken Chicken - Beef w/ XO Sauce – The tender beef was thinly slice. The XO sauce was perfectly sautéed; but, it wasn’t spicy as I would have hoped. I was informed that XO didn’t mean spicy, but it was used to signal quality. Well, I did not know that. It was great to learn something new like the FBI on the Trump investigation.
Beef w/ XO Sauce
Overall, Shin Yeh is a great spot to get traditional Taiwanese food. It’s definitely different from the night markets where everything is less than 3 USD. It’s a good sit-down restaurant for a family and it doesn’t break the bank. So what does that mean? More money for alcohol, duh?
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