Rediscovering Ramen: A Chat with Toki Underground’s Chef-Owner Erik Bruner-Yang

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[caption id="attachment_9985" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Photo by Hannah Colclazier"][/caption] Erik Bruner-Yang may have opened Toki Underground in Washington, D.C. two and a half years ago, but lines at the modern ramen shop haven’t gotten any shorter. A casual survey of Yelp reviews shows three or four hour waits on weekends—and customers willing to stick around. “We’re lucky that we have such a good clientele and that we’re busy every day,” he says. “We’re still…

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Taiwanese Homestyle Cookbook Now Available

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We love Taiwanese food... It fuels us. We bond around it. Our friends and family ask us "chia̍h-pá—bē?" or "have you eaten yet?" as an expression of hospitality. Most importantly, it reminds of us home, family, and what it means to be of unique Taiwanese heritage. TACL-LYF and NATWA-NC have joined together to create the second edition of Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan. The book includes suggested menus for various occasions and quick guidelines for prep time, complexity level, and significance…

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Taiwanese Oyster Omelette Reduxe

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*This is a post-script to "Flipping Out: An Irreverent Photo Essay on Making the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette" (“Oh-ah-jen” 蚵仔煎) since people inquired about recipes As Mrs. Lin did not use a formal recipe (like all venerable grandmother chefs, she comes from the "a pinch of this" and "a handful of that" era), below are tried-and-true recipes from two tasty Taiwanese food sites: Taiwan Duck and its excellent step-by-step video on how to cook (and flip) the oyster omelette. Mrs. Duck—okay,…

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Flipping Out: An Irreverent Photo Essay on Making the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette

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Ah, "Oh-ah-jen" (蚵仔煎). Oyster omelette. Taiwan night market staple. Street food favorite—and rare find in the United States. McD's does not exactly have an Oyster McOmelette on the drive-thru menu. So, last Saturday, several of us made the pilgrimage out to Union Church in Astoria, Queens to take part in TAP-NY's "Cooking Series" (aka Cooking 101 with a Taiwanese "Ah Ma"). Mrs. Lin, our oyster omelette Yoda, introduced us to the main ingredients of sweet potato starch, eggs, oysters…

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TW in da House: Baohaus NYC

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TaiwaneseAmerican.org's special correspondent Jessica Kung chats with Baohaus' co-founder Evan Huang about the inspiration for their Taiwanese-themed restaurant. Evan and his brother Eddie started their trail-blazing journey in 2009 with a smaller shop in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Baohaus, now based in the Gramercy district, specializes in variations of "gua bao" or "koah-pau", the melt-in-the-mouth delicious Taiwanese-style pork belly bun. Look back to our first article about Baohaus…

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Bubble Tea with the Boba Guys

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TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai and his bubble tea tasting team visit with The Boba Guys, Andrew Chau and Bin Chen. In late 2011, they launched their "pop-up" bubble tea shop in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District to rave reviews. Guest correspondent Kristina Lin from Taipei, Taiwan joins the team and shares her thoughts about the experience. Watch the video, and read on! Having lived six years in Taiwan, the motherland of Pearl Milk Tea / Bubble Tea / Boba, I tried my best…

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Jen Che Delights Readers With Her Tiny Urban Kitchen

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It's not always easy to find a good, authentic recipe for traditional Taiwanese recipes, much less recipes with options for substitutions where the authentic ingredients are hard to find. When guest contributor Bettina Chang's mom didn't pick up the phone one day, she turned to an Internet search to get a recipe for sticky rice. And lo and behold, there was Jen Che's award-winning food blog, TinyUrbanKitchen.com, to save the day! Jen posts reviews and information about local restaurants and markets…

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Instant Noodles Crew on ABDC Season 6!

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Taiwanese American guys who can dance?! Uh, yes please. Congratulations to b-boy group, Instant Noodles Crew for making it to Season 6 of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV! Representing both Taiwan and southern California, these guys are truly talented and inspirational, and we're excited to see them go far on the show. Here are some videos from the crew for your viewing pleasure: Can't help but feel a little smitten by their sweet moves and quirky charm? All the more reason to watch…

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An Interview with the Owners of an Atlanta Original: The Flying Biscuit Cafe

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Check out the video interview above as TaiwaneseAmerican.org's Ho Chie Tsai stops through Atlanta, GA to meet up with two young entrepreneurs and brothers, Joseph and Matthew Hsiao. They now own and operate the very popular all-day breakfast spot, The Flying Biscuit Cafe. Joseph manages the original historic Candler Park location, while Matthew manages the popular Midtown location. There are currently 12 franchise locations in total, but these first two original locations are most often…

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NYC Cravings, Taiwanese-Style Food from the Truck: Like Your Grandmother Cooked It

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Update: NYC Cravings is now called Bian Dang! Where can one get Taiwanese-style fried chicken over rice, seasoned with a delicious home-cooked pork sauce, with tea eggs and handmade dumplings on the side? Earlier this summer, possibly the first Taiwanese-style food truck in the United States drove into town and opened for lunch at neighborhoods around New York City. The response? Long lines and lively word-of-mouth between friends and foodblogs—enough so that NYC Cravings sold out of…

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