12/04/2013
小王牛肉麵 Xiao Wang Beef Noodle
鑽石山龍蟠街3號荷里活廣場3樓373號舖
Shop 373, 3/F, Plaza Hollywood, 3 Lung Poon Street, Diamond Hill
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/a-nice-selection-of-taiwanese-fare-%E5%B0%8F%E7%8E%8B%E7%89%9B%E8%82%89%E9%BA%B5-e2291931
Xiao Wang Beef Noodle is from Taiwan which has been established since 1973 by Mr. Wang Shih Chun, current Chairman of Cook’s Association of Kaohsiung City.
Xiao Wang Beef Noodle became a legend in the industry after clinching the dual championship in “Marketing Competition” and the“Most Popular Delicacy Award" in the 2008 Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival.
I have never been to Taiwan before so I cannot comment whether it tastes authentic or not, but all I can say is that it tasted nice.
At the Diamond Hill branch of Xiao Wang Beef noodle, they have a snack counter at the front selling Taiwanese sausages and a small snack shop selling beef jerky, sauces etc.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hot winter melon tea:
The hot winter melon tea was a nice drink to start off with, it was sweet and had a really soothing taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
White bitter melon with honey yuzu sauce:
I have always wanted to try this because I have never tried white bittermelon before.
The honey yuzu sauce was really nice because it was not sweet but tangy.
The bitter melon was lovely and crisp because it was chilled in iced water prior serving.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Guava with preserved plum:
The guava was cut into cubes and nicely arranged in a chequered pattern.
The guava was refreshing and the hint of preserved plum made you hungry and ready for noodles.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Thickly sliced marinated beef stomach:
I got a surprise when this arrived because it looked different from the stomachs I have seen before.
It looked like abalone slices.
The beef stomach served here is prized because not all cattle's stomach have this quality to qualify.
The texture was really meaty and similar to abalone, hence it is called Taiwanese abalone in Taiwan.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Pan-fried baby oysters with egg:
The pan-fried baby oysters with egg have been slightly modified and the shape is like a pizza making it convenient to eat.
It tastes delicious eaten hot and I really loved it because it was not greasy, and the spring onions and plump oysters made it enjoyable.
The oysters were clean and did not contain any sand.
I would have eaten more but I had to leave room for other foods I was going to try.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Xiao Wong signature beef noodle in soup:
The beef used was meat taken from in between the ribs, so it was very delicate and soft like scrambled eggs hence the name "foo young" in Cantonese, "Fu Rong" in Mandarin.
Only 10 bowls are served per day.
I tried the beef first and it was as soft as stated and it was infused with the soup.
Many reviews have said the soup did not have much herb taste but that night I could taste the herbs and it reminded me of bak kut teh but it did not have much beef taste.
After reading Lemon Tea's review, I really want to try the XWBN in Taiwan because the broth looks stronger and reminds me of liver broth at Wai Kee's in sham shui po.
The noodles were similar to the Chinese flat ho fun, but they were slightly irregular and squiggly.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef tendon and beef noodle soup:
The broth was the same as above and the beef had an equal layer of meat and collagen which was lovely and soft.
(see Lemon Tea's photo)
The beef tendons were clean and soft.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef belly - off menu:
Tried a piece of beef belly without the noodles and it tastes like the beef above but even softer.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Salted Egg in Squid:
I have always wanted to try this at Grand Hill Taiwanese Restaurant in TST but I was too lazy to go there.
The slices of salted egg in squid look really nice and pretty complemented by the green beans in it.
The egg yolks are seriously delicious and not too salty.
The egg yolk was slightly opaque too.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sweet potato latte:
In Taiwanese Sweet potato is "day gua" which is directly translated as ground melon so I thought it was a potato.
It was actually purple sweet potato hence the lilac colour.
On top of the drink there was whipped cream.
The taste was slightly similar to taro but it was more fragrant and rosy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Red beans with herbal black jelly:
This was a simple but delicious dessert.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Taiwanese style cheese cake:
Although it was a cheese cake, the taste of cheese is very light and it tasted of chocolate more.
I have tried them before locally and did not like it because it was just fake cream, but this one was really delicious and I have changed my mind.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I will be back for more desserts, salted egg in squid, pan fried oysters and beef.
