We’re back in Taipei after leaving Jinshan
where we had the most relaxing time at that hot spring.
Yes.
It left us very relaxed but also very hungry.
Very hungry.
We are starving.
We’ve come to this beautiful hotel.
This is the Grand Mayfull
and we’re here to go to a restaurant called Mipon.
They have a Michelin star
and they specialize in Taiwanese cuisine so we are certainly in the right place.
There are a lot of choices on the menu here so we got some suggestions about what they recommended
because we wanted to try some of the traditional things and also some of their specialties
and there is a whole table full of beautiful food that has now arrived.
Kind of like a procession, just one by one coming to the table.
So I want to show you what we’ve ordered.
The first is the pan-fried pork liver and this is very traditional to eat in Taiwan.
It’s served with radish here.
So we had to try that.
That was one of their top recommendations.
We also got something that I’ve never tried before.
This is jellyfish salad.
It’s served cold and I guess there are different ways of preparing it,
so we’re looking forward to trying that.
These are the honey mustard glazed ribs and they smell divine, I have to say.
And we didn’t really realize this until later but we actually got two orders of ribs
because they’re both recommended and this is actually billed as the chef’s special
so of course we had to try that.
This is the roast bone-in short rib with a lovely looking sauce.
Also smells fantastic.
We were trying to decide about whether to get fried rice or noodles
and in the end we went with fried rice because they very highly recommended this.
It’s the fried rice with mullet roe.
They also brought over a tray of side dishes that you can choose from so we selected the cucumber.
Thought that would be nice and kind of cooling to have on the side.
In terms of drinks we started out with some green tea
and there’s a nice place on the table to keep it warm
and then we also got kiwi juice
and we’re both big fans of kiwi but I don’t think we’ve ever had kiwi juice.
Never.
If you have let us know but it’s certainly not something that’s commonly offered
where we’ve been anyway.
These dishes are meant to be shared so we have two sets of chopsticks:
one for serving and then one for actually eating with.
And they all look delicious so we’re going to tuck in before they get cold.
The dish with the most appetizing name definitely goes to this:
it’s the white water snowflake.
It’s called snowflake because the flower of the plant looks like a white snowflake.
This is actually the stems of the plant
and we’ve heard that it’s really nice and crunchy.
I’m going to try the jellyfish salad
It does not taste what I…how I expected.
If I didn’t know that was jellyfish, I would swear to you that was a vegetable.
It’s crunchy.
To me, it tastes exactly like a vegetable.
Interesting.
In fact, if I didn’t know any better I would ask if they mixed up our order because…
Wow
It just tastes like a crunchy vegetable.
It’s delicious.
You’d have no clue that that’s jellyfish.
This was one of my picks.
Well we agreed but I really was… I was rooting for the honey mustard ribs.
You were.
The Canadian in me is quite excited to try the white water snowflake so..
It looks like chives.
Like a chive salad but I know it’s not.
It is nice and crunchy.
We were not led astray.
It’s delicious.
That is really lovely.
I’m really glad we tried that.
Yeah me too.
Fried rice with mullet roe.
I just love fried rice.
It’s so good.
No rib left behind.
This is the chef’s special.
So tender.
Yeah, I think they make it in quite a special way that it’s just falling off the bone.
Oh I love both.
I might like the honey mustard one better.
You are quite the honey mustard gal. -Not to pit one rib against the other but...
...you know, the mind does go there.
I just tried one of the cucumbers, the side dishes, which I had thought would be cooling.
I failed to notice the chillis and, I think, chilli oil on top,
so now I really do need something cooling, so I’m going to try the kiwi juice.
That should cool you down.
Why isn’t kiwi juice on more menus?
That’s really good.
I haven’t even had a sip yet and I’m already thinking, “Where have you been all my life?”
I know.
Dessert has arrived.
Of course we had to try more than one.
So first these are the deep-fried taro balls
and I’m really excited for this one.
It’s like a soup so I have to be careful holding it.
It’s grass jelly with mung bean and you serve it like a soup into little bowls.
This is a very traditional Taiwanese dish.
They have it cold in the summer and hot in the winter.
We also got coconut milk with sago.
Sago referring to the little white pearls inside.
I have no idea what it’s going to taste like based on the scent.
It almost smells like flat root beer.
Oh!
I love flat root beer.
That’s the first thing that comes to mind.
Ok.
I like it, it’s delicious.
I feel like the contrast of the texture of the mung bean with how slippery the jelly is, is really nice
and I would — this is cold — but I would love to try it hot sometime as well.
Have to have that in the winter.
This — the coconut milk with sago — I love the texture of the pearls.
It’s really nice.
Very mild flavour.
On a hot day, this is perfect.
As cute as this fork is, I think I’m just going to use my hands.
More fun that way. -The deep- fried taro ball.
Ooh, it’s still warm.
It’s not sweet at all.
I like that it’s warm,
but I think because it’s hot out, I am definitely favouring these I have to say
because they’re so nice and cooling, both of them.
Pearls versus jelly.
That’s a tough call.
Classic debate.
This is…this good.
I just think because it’s warm, it’s hard to compete with the more cooling ones.
That was so nice to try new dishes.
It really was. -Yeah.
Did you have a favourite?
Yes, although it’s so new I kind of forget the name.
The white water snowflake.
Yes, very Canadian of you. -Very.
With the snowflake.
It was delicious.
It was.
Yeah, I would order that again.
Me too.
I loved the jellyfish…the jellyfish salad.
You’ve got some jelly in your brain there. -I think so.
My…yeah, mouth is sticking together.
It did not taste how I expected it. -No.
More like cabbage.
Totally or like sea…sea…weed?
He’s really struggling!
Really struggling, guys.
It’s been a long day. -Really struggling.
I think I’m partially asleep still after the hot spring we went to.
That’s true.
You’re still relaxed.
But we’ve made a lot of other food videos all over Taiwan. -Yes.
So if you’d like to see more we will link those down in the description box
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go follow us over there.
We really hope that you enjoyed this video.
It’s been another incredible day in Taiwan.
So many highlights.
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Goodnight!