No.1 Beef Noodle

I've been in Canada for three months, and before this, I hadn't eaten any Taiwanese food. Previously, when I mentioned to my Canadian friends that the Taiwanese cuisine at Jing Yuan was supposed to be excellent, they suggested we should give it a try sometime.

My friend mentioned that they had been there before with others, but they weren't Taiwanese, and the experience felt ordinary, mainly because they weren't sure what to order. Immediately, I offered to help with ordering next time!

One leisurely evening, my friend remembered that beef noodle soup place, and we all happened to be free. Spontaneously, we decided to head to Jing Yuan for a hearty meal.

Though I wasn't particularly hungry at the time, just hearing "Taiwanese cuisine" and "beef noodle soup" got me excited, even with my not-so-hungry stomach.

A smile unconsciously spread across my face, and I found myself humming a cheerful tune, happiness overflowing from the corners of my eyes.

I wanted to show everyone how delicious Taiwanese cuisine is!

Despite the crowded restaurant, we waited in line at the entrance, but it didn't dampen our excitement.

While waiting, I explained Chinese characters' pronunciation and development to my Canadian friend in front of the posters on the glass window, along with interesting translations on the posters.

For example, the poster's title read "The Taste of Home," but the English translation on the poster was "The Best and Most Famous Food." Such differences were fascinating to me. I loved these little discoveries.

Once seated, as expected, I took charge of browsing through the entire menu. The menu was in Chinese, with English subtitles written in small letters underneath. For someone homesick like me, it was genuinely touching to see such a familiar menu after a long time.

After perusing the entire menu, I recommended several dishes to my friends and discussed which ones to try this time and which ones to invite more people to try next time. After deciding on the general direction, I waved for the waiter to come over and take our order.

Ordering in fluent Chinese with the server, I requested a Three-Treasure Beef Noodle Soup, a single serving of Braised Pork Rice, a combo of Salt and Pepper Chicken + Squid, and Stinky Tofu for next time, plus a basket of Xiao Long Bao and drinks at the end!

After confirming what drinks my friends wanted, for them, tea was just tea, so I asked about caffeine preferences and flavor choices.

For myself, I ordered a "Four Seasons Spring Fresh Milk Tea," unsweetened with a little ice~

Familiar sweetness and ice cubes~ so wonderful.

Because I hadn't eaten at this restaurant before, despite its good reviews and satisfying experiences so far, I was still a bit nervous. I hoped it wouldn't disappoint me and wouldn't embarrass Taiwanese cuisine!

Fortunately, the food was perfect.

It catered to Western tastes but retained the Taiwanese flavor.

Three-Treasure Beef Noodle Soup

You must have the Three Treasures in beef noodle soup! Tripe, tendon, and beef~ and you must choose knife-cut noodles.

Fine noodles, oil noodles, or vermicelli won't do; it must be knife-cut noodles.

Though the knife-cut noodles weren't as substantial and chewy as those in Taiwan, they were up to standard in my opinion and didn't disappoint.

Since beef noodle soup is the restaurant's specialty, the broth is the most important. The braised beef noodle soup was rich but not too salty, and it didn't get greasy even after drinking a lot. It was accompanied by a bit of green vegetables and a touch of pickled vegetables as a finishing touch. It wasn't too spicy, making it a very appetizing soup.

I asked for extra spoons while explaining to my friend that you must use a spoon to scoop up some soup and slide the noodles into it. The noodles and soup must enter your mouth simultaneously for the best ratio of noodles to soup.

Gold Medal Braised Pork Rice

Braised pork rice must have collagen, and the ratio of fatty meat to lean meat must be balanced. The sauce should be poured over the rice, not too much, not too little. Too much would make it salty, too little would leave too much tasteless rice. Jing Yuan did this well, and I liked their sauce proportion.

There's also the yellow radish decoration that's essential for braised pork rice. Though I'm not a big fan, when I saw this little decoration when the dish was served, I was still moved; they noticed such a small detail.

The green side dish is cauliflower, not blanched, very Canadian. There's also a bit of pickled vegetables that's slightly different from what comes with the beef noodle soup.

I didn't think the pickled vegetables with the braised pork rice tasted as good, but it was enough.

After the two main dishes, I asked my friend, "Which one do you like better, noodles or rice?" This age-old question. Are you team noodles or team rice?

Although I asked about beef noodle soup and braised pork rice at the moment, I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

My friend chose the braised pork rice~

Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai style pork dumplings)

A basket of ten, called dumplings in English. Before ordering, I asked my friend if they had tried them before.

They said no. Great! That meant we had to order them~

And explain that the most famous and best-made Xiao Long Bao is from 'Din Tai Fung.' Surprisingly, a search revealed that there's no Din Tai Fung in Vancouver, which is quite unbelievable.

Sauce with ginger shreds and vinegar.

I carefully explained,

Use chopsticks to pick up the Xiao Long Bao; eat them while they're hot, making sure not to break them with the chopsticks.

Take a small bite first, be careful it's hot. Pour out some soup, dip it in a little vinegar sauce, not too much, just a little.

You can taste the soup first, then combine it with the Xiao Long Bao dipped in sauce and put them in your mouth together.

I also shared that if the Xiao Long Bao didn't have soup or if the skin was broken, you could tell the server, and they would bring you a new basket of Xiao Long Bao.

Salt and Pepper Chicken + Squid

As a Taiwanese, salt and pepper chicken is our pride. (Is that how you say it?)

I think everyone in the world must love salt and pepper chicken unless they're vegetarian. Who doesn't like fried food?

Jing Yuan's salt and pepper chicken, fresh out of the fryer, still had plenty of juices when you bit into them.

And unsurprisingly, being in North America, the squid was very large, much bigger than in Taiwan~

It was topped with a layer of shrimp chips and sprinkled with some fried basil for decoration.

The fried basil didn't taste like basil. The essence of salt and pepper chicken wasn't strong enough. So, I asked for a little stack of extra pepper powder to dip. Although the taste wasn't enough to give it a full score, I thought it was more than satisfactory, passing with flying colors.

Bubble Tea

The drinks tasted very authentic too. Although I didn't get to taste the pearls, I was very satisfied with my Four Seasons Spring Fresh Milk Tea. The fresh milk felt especially Taiwanese.

The most interesting part was the labels on the bottles' sides, all in Chinese, without any English. I wondered if English speakers wouldn't even know if they received the wrong order? Haha

After the satisfying meal, I was very full but still very happy. It's rare to taste the flavors of home.

I thanked my friends for being willing to try Jing Yuan again, giving me a chance to redeem Taiwanese cuisine.

Before leaving, I asked one more time, "What was the best food you had today?"

My friend changed their answer to "Beef noodle soup."

Very interesting~