Taipei 101 Taiwan Cuisine Restaurant at Penang

I guess the mention of Taipei 101, the first thing that comes to mind would be the Taipei 101 tower. But lo and behold, there is actually a restaurant in Penang, right across Queensbay Mall, that as one will guess, serves Taiwanese food! Was lucky enough to get to sample some of their food and I must say, they do have a pretty comprehensive menu with a good variety to choose from. So do read on if you are a fan of Taiwanese Cuisine and I will tell you my thoughts about this place!

I was thinking which photo to use as the cover for this and I guess its non other than their fried sweet potato with plum powder! This is one very nice appetizer that is very well made and affordable!

You can't miss their signboard! Its at the row behind Kapitan. Its at 35G, Persiaran Bayan Indah, Sungai Nibong, 11900 Bayan Lepas Penang. Phone : 604-6421399 Opens daily for lunch and dinner. 

The nice and cosy interior

Their menu! Good thing is that it comes in English and Chinese and even has pictures.

To start, this is the Ginger duck with wood fungus. Its slightly spicy from the ginger and chinese wine but it was pretty well made. The duck flavor was still well preserved.

This is the lemongrass chicken rice bento set. The chicken is supposedly marinated in lemongrass but sadly I could hardly make out the lemongrass taste. The batter was overwhelming. The rice was lightly topped with some minced pork sauce but I was really hoping for some fatty pork with gravy which the Taiwanese are so famous for. For RM9.90, this set is surely filling though

You will get a good slice of chicken here

Braised pork trotter is a locally created dish and it blends pork trotter with a mushroom stew. I kind of like it other than the fact that it was slightly sweet. Good chunks of pork pieces and this one will surely go well with rice. This dish costs RM12.50

This is another picture of the fried sweet potato. The pieces of sweet potato was so crispy and every bite was happiness. Moreover, it only costs RM4.80. This side dish alone is probably worth the visit!

A close up of the eggs that practically comes with every bento set

This is the garlic sweet with pork slice bento. The pork slices is cooked with a very unique garlic sauce. For garlic lovers, this dish is a good option. Interestingly this bento comes with a soup as well and it was fu chuk or bean curd skin soup for the day. The disappointment was the brinjals which had a very tough skin to it.

This is the Spicy Pork Ribs at RM11.50. The use of chilli with beancurd paste makes this a very appetizing dish to be had. The pork was tender and well cooked. Suggested improvement would be if the sauce was thicker by either cooking longer and let the excess water evaporate or using less water from the start.

As with any Taiwanese venue, we can't get away from Taiwanese Sausages. The ones here at RM5.00 was reasonable and it was served lightly grilled and sliced. A pretty standard affair and it would go well with some added sauce.

They have a wide variety of drinks but the notable one is their Papaya Milk Shake (RM4.50), Winter Melon Lemon Tea (RM3.90) and their Mango Smoothie (RM5.90).

They have a Mee Suah series where one can choose the different condiments available. As fresh oysters were not available today, the condiments used were crab stick and abalone slice. A standard portion starts from RM7.80 and goes up depending on what other condiments is chosen. The Mee Suah is of the fried variety and not the typical one and it has a slight springy texture. The soup is similar to Miso soup where one can taste the bonito flakes used which gives it a very distinct flavor! Also of note, the noodle goes well with the dry chilli in oil that is available on each table.

Lastly, we tried the popcorn chicken at RM5.00 per servings. The serving size is pretty decent and the fried chunks of chicken is tossed in a mixture of fragrant powder, pepper and salt giving the chicken its flavor. A good attempt at this.

Overall, Taipei 101 serves some pretty decent food though I wouldn't call it purely Taiwanese food. There are still room for improvements but if the chef continues innovating and upgrading, I'm sure the place will do well moving forward. Do let me know your thoughts if you have been to this place too ya!