19House炙燒牛排 (Nineteen House Steak) @ Fengchia Night Market in Taichung [Taiwan]

My visit to Fengchia Night Market back in 2014 was a bit of a rush as there were too many things to see and it was so crowded! Things were simpler with my dad and the first thing I did was to check out a place for dinner. 

19House炙燒牛排 - I found this eatery from Google Maps with a rating of 4.9 from over 1,700 reviewers! Do note that it was located in a food alley, next to a claw machine shop. 

Maybe because it was only 5.30 pm, the eatery was pretty empty and we got shooed in to a table immediately. Well, lesser people make it easier for me to take photographs. 

So many BE@RBRICKs on display! 

Let's order using this reusable ordering list! I am grateful I can read both traditional and simplified Chinese; former of which was learnt due to comic books either imported from Taiwan or Hong Kong. p.s. both territories use traditional Chinese.

Ordering the main course means your meal came with the free flow counter! Should you decide only to counter the free flow counter, it shall cost you NT$170 for anyone above 120 cm. Kids between 80 and 120 cm would have to pay NT$90.

I am impressed with the "offerings" from the counter and you would know why shortly. Rule of thumb: try a bit of everything and don't be too greedy since you do have a main course that will be served to you shortly.

A salad bar with fresh looking vegetables, four salad dressings, two kinds of soup (borscht and creamed corn), and even a popcorn machine! 

That's not all; you could also have noodles! 

Literally a full meal here.

In case you are wondering if that's it, not at all. There was also a rice cooker at the edge that had accompanying ingredients for white rice; for example, braised pork and blood beancurd! 

Drink dispenser comprised of usual carbonated drinks like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, and healthier choices like fruit and vegetable juice, calamansi juice etc. Given the cool Taichung temperature, I was more keen with hot beverages like mocha, chocolate etc. 

More drinks at the other side; milk tea, orange juice, winter melon lemon drink. For desserts, you could also consider having soft serve ice cream! 

Your ice cream wouldn't be just ice cream; you can also choose toppings like cornflakes, marshmallows and even milk tea pearls! I was honestly surprised by the variety offered, and all were free! 

The set of stacked bowls / plates on your table served a purpose and for a person with not much dining etiquette; I was befuddled with the usage for each of them! 

Getting ourselves 'educated' with the notice on the table. Actually, it's quite common sense; you would use a plate for the soups, would you? 

Starting with appetizer; a bowl of borscht soup and braised pork rice! The soup was peppery with a touch sour, appetizing flavor that I enjoyed. My dad got the creamed corn soup which was a tad too sweet for my liking.

Braised pork rice was so delicious; it's worth paying for the NT$170 just to eat my fill! Taste wasn't overly sweet and it came with so much fats; honestly, this put to shame many eateries that claimed to serve good Taiwanese style braised pork rice. 

Our mains had arrived; this was mine, the sirloin steak that came with a sunny side up, wedges, vegetables, sitting on a bed of spaghetti! 

I am not exactly a small eater but even I found this to be overly generous. And would you like to guess how much this cost? Only NT$280; about S$12! Key thing was that paying S$12 also gave me the free flow counter! 

Sadly, the steak was a disappointment; the texture was a bit strange and it was rawer than the medium doneness I requested for. Taste was still alright though. 

 

Spaghetti was a surprise as the noodles were al-dente and soaked in a delightful sauce that forced me to take another bite! As I am on a starch-restricted diet, and would prefer to spend the calories on other food in the night market; I had to limit the intake! 

My dad's crispy chicken thigh (priced NT$280 as well) was much better and it reminded me of those old school chicken chop in Singapore. The only thing lacking for me would be chilli sauce, which wasn't the norm in Taiwan. 

Ending the meal with soft served ice cream with cornflakes and pearls, and a cup of hot chocolate! Sinful end no doubt but so satisfying! 

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Overall, I really can't complain much for the price I paid for, especially when this didn't come with service charge and GST, which would have added almost 20% to my bill in Singapore! Furthermore, while the steak wasn't to my expectation, I am happy to just go with the chicken thigh that my dad had, and then loaded up with braised pork rice! That would have been 100% happiness! 

Address

No 71, Unit B9, Wenhua Road,

Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Menu (in Chinese)

As above.

Pricing

Sirloin Steak - 280 New Taiwan Dollar

Crispy Chicken Thigh - 280 New Taiwan Dollar

(NETT)

 

Additional Information

Do note there was a dining limit of 80 minutes! 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

Lunch @ Hua Lu Flower Home in Miaoli [Taiwan]

There are many advantages to join a tour package and for my dad; the provision of meals was a big advantage whereas I am definitely not as keen since it means I have lesser stomach space to try local food. 

I do recognize that it did save me a lot of time from thinking where to have food and what to order. For today, it's our first lunch of our Taiwan tour package last December and this took place in one of the eateries at Hua Lu Flower Home.

Despite being a relatively famous attraction, the restaurant didn't seem to have any customers except for tour groups. That, to me, was pretty telling but since this meal was already paid for as part of the package fee, I would go through the "process".

It would hard to blog as we would be dining as a group of ten, comprising of different families, and I don't think it's nice for people to stop people from taking food just because I need to take photographs. Hence, some dishes might be either missing, or missing a few portions.

Typical of tour package in Asia countries, you would have a variety consisting of at least one dish for soup, fish, vegetables, meat. Honestly, a balance meal that the older generation would prefer. p.s. I enjoyed the fresh and crunchy prawns! 

Another dish that I had been craving for since my last trip to Taiwan (in 2014 by the way) was guomai vegetables! This was memorable although it was a bit undercooked, resulting in a texture that was raw tasting and not as crunchy. 

Nonetheless, it was a slightly above average meal. 

Good enough to fill the stomach and tame the hungry monster.

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Location

369, Taiwan, Miaoli County, 

Zhuolan Township, Taiwan 

(Within Hua Lu Flower Home)

Map

As above. 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

Christmas 2023 - Unwrapping the Presents

It's more than a month since Christmas 2023 but as I was overseas (to Taiwan) and had been busy with work (and a study arrowed by my big, big, big boss); it was only in recent weeks that I finally got time to unwrap the Christmas gifts! 

Interestingly, I got many large parcels this year and befitting the more common environmental theme, some friends did away with wrappers and just put the presents in unsealed paper bags. p.s. that's fine for me actually. 

Some were double wrapped though! Like this humongous, and heavy, box that I had a hard time bringing home from work! Note that my commute from work to home is about an hour! 

Unwrapped presents, including mug, chocolates, tea, coffee, biscuits, spa treatment products; latter was likely because this particular friend was aware of the increasing stress I am having nowadays. I should also pamper myself by signing up for a snorkeling package to Tioman Island. 

Don't be mistaken by assuming this would be a perfume. It's perfumey alright although the purpose was more for your poo! I might be full of shit but how did this colleague know that my shit can be so insanely smelly that this would likely dampen the stench?! 

Two piggy banks to add to my stash! Just a note: I like piggy banks in the shape of pigs; even though the left one looked more like a reindeer, I believe drawing a pig snout might change its intended species. 

Orange rinds filled with white chocolate, from the famous Jeju oranges! This would be the kind of supposedly psychologically "healthy" snacks that I could indulge in. 

These were unhealthy but who can resist the delicious bar chocolate from Royce?! You know what's another thing I can't resist from Royce Chocolate? The potatochip chocolate and this is coming from a guy who doesn't crave for potato chips!

As a kid, there were things I told myself I would buy when I am older, and can earn my own money. Plasma balls were one of them and another would be the Sandscape Moving Sand Picture display! Only problem is that I don't really have much space for these displays, and I don't use night lights too.

Another reason why I was so delayed for this gift unwrapping post. I met up with a few friends recently and Christmas gifts were also passed round the table!

Thermal mug, tea bags from Gryphon Tea Company (where I typically paid S$5 per tea bag in ice cream parlors) and silicone straws; I am going to pass maybe one or two straws to my parents as they would be much safer than those metal straws.