Taiwan, Part XV - Bei Tou You Yu

We got a variety of Taiwanese dishes from Bei Tou You Yu one day to enjoy at the comfort of home.

All the dishes were small, but they certainly added up to quite a feast. The signature combination seafood soup (NT$75) had cuttlefish, squid, pork, and a Taiwanese specialty - that ground fish meat and bone into a paste then deep fried. The soup was very nice, the cuttlefish and squid were very tender, I thought the special deep fried fish paste was just OK.

I requested spicy stinky tofu (NT$55) since I felt it was something I had to try in Taiwan. Well, I couldn't even finish one piece of stinky tofu. The smell was just way too overpowering. I tried to eat the other ingredients in the dish, like pig blood sticky rice cake, etc. and didn't enjoy any. I guess stinky tofu is just not for me. I much more prefer the deep fried tofu (NT$30).

The spicy noodles (small NT$45, large NT$65) were tasty, but way too spicy. We asked for mild, yet it practically burned my mouth that I couldn't really taste anything else for awhile. The bean thread noodles (small NT$40, large NT$60) wasn't very memorable.

Bei Tou has quite a few dishes that are good, just not the best by comparison, like the Spiced Pork Stew over Rice (small NT$25, large NT$40) which was not as flavorful as Jin Xian's, or the wontons in spicy oil (small NT$55, large NT$85). The filling was very flavorful. I would have loved it if I didn't have Din Tai Fung's. Truth be told, I'm not sure if any place could make a better sauce. =) The spicy duck blood (NT$55) was in the same boat. It was good, better than Man Tang Hong's, just the exterior wasn't as tender as Tripod King's.

The braised pork belly wasn't exactly what I expected. In Chinese, the dish is called "Red Cooked Meat". I always thought that meant big pieces of pork belly braised for a long time in a soy sauce based broth. The result should be slightly brown, and very moist. But Bei Tou's version looks and tastes more like Chia Siu. Maybe this is the Taiwanese style?

"You Yu" means squid. You have to order squid from a place that has "squid" in the name. While the squid (NT$80) was very tender, it was a little fishy.

The winter melon tea with grass jelly (NT$20) was refreshing. It would be perfect for a hot summer day.

If you search for Bei Tou You Yu (in Chinese that is), there are a slew of bloggers singing its praises. It's unfortunate that I didn't find any dish outstanding. Maybe it was because we got takeout. I would give them another chance, but I would choose dine in.

Bei Tou You Yu (北投魷魚)
Address: 96 De Xing East Road
台北市德行東路96號 2832-0638
Address: 156 Fu Hua Road
台北市福華路156號 2832-1872
Address: 3 Lane 290, Guang Fu South Road
台北市光復南路290巷3號 2711-1128
Address: Xin Yi A-11 Shopping Mall, B2 Food Court
台北市信義A-11館B2美食街 2723-3639
Address: Nan Jing West Road, South West 1 Shopping Mall, B2 Food Court
台北市南京西路南西1館B2美食街 2567-5481
營業時間：11:00 - 22:00