Mai Mien Yen Tsai — Restaurant in Datong District

This place has been on my list of eateries to visit while in Taipei. The waiting line was 20 plus persons deep when my wife and I arrived around 11:30am on a Thursday in March.

As I came to find out, customers waiting to eat in and customers wanting to take out have to stand in the same line. After observing how the staff operates, I believe it will be more efficient for the two groups of customers to be separated. As it is, customers wanting to take out have to wait needlessly for the staff to handle orders for customers waiting to eat in.

After standing in line for close to forty minutes, it was finally our turn to order. Given the rave reviews online and the long wait, we went for more than we could possibly finish with the bill totaling NTD 610. After our order, we had to wait a further ten minutes for the order to be prepared.

Below are my impression of the items ordered:

Chicken: 4 stars. It is apparent that the chicken sourced is free range which is a positive. The flesh is tender and the natural flavor of the chicken comes through. It is, however, not five star worthy.

Pig Kidney: 4 stars. I rated it high purely due to the tenderness which is not easy to get right. The lack of layered flavor limits its appeal.

Pig Liver: 2 stars. It is slightly overcooked. Furthermore, the one served tasted not as fresh as the better ones I had in the past.

Roast Pork: 2 stars. Rather underwhelming. Meat was overcooked and the flavor lacking.

Taiwanese Style Wonton (扁食）Soup with Rice Noodle: 1 star. The filling in the wontons is less than appetizing. The soup is basically hot water with a bit of oil in it. Even the rice noodle is below average.

In summary, it is an acceptable place to fill one's stomach but it is definitely not worthy of waiting in line for. I, for one,...

I just had to try this place to see why it’s on the Bibendum guide. First of all, it would be very hard (not impossible) for foreigners to eat here. They do not have a menu and they mainly speak Taiwanese. The idea is that you are supposed to see what do they at the front and order only the items they have available now. I didn’t get to try their crispy pork, but I ordered enough to experience the legend. Overall I think that people here for simple comfort food and taste the freshness of the ingredients. The sesame oil kidney soup is my favorite. The kidney was so tender, and they clean it very well. Usually you can have a nice meal for $3-4 USD. I ordered a soup noodle, a crispy onion oil rice, a kidney soup and a plate of squid and pork belly. The total was about $7.5 USD. No wonder there’s...

If you’re craving for the simple kidney, liver and noodle combination, this little joint does only that and does it very well. The boss maitre’d (well sort of), is very polite, takes your order when it’s your turn in the queue. Showed me to my seat and the food came quickly within a few minutes. The key is to get there early. I was there at 12.30 and the delicious looking vegetables were already sold out. Many others orders the fried shark and the chicken but I was only there for the pork specialities. The seating is simple and not suitable for large groups, so go alone or with at most one other friend. The dongfen was nicely done and the soup was delicious! So happy I found this place and really glad I...