Update: This outlet is permanently closed. 

A friend of mine went backpacking to Taiwan recently. I was piqued by all the photos he shared: beautiful parks and mountain regions, busy streets packed with delicious food, and modern architecture in a bustling metropolis. This relatively small island nation is one of the most densely populated places in the world and it’s people are mostly ethnic Chinese. You might even find some of their famous food brands in your own country, like Chatime which was what really kicked off the whole bubble milk tea craze!

In Malaysia, we have restaurants like Little Taiwan and the Shihlin Market (a very famous market in Taipei) franchise which serves oyster meesua and fried chicken chops.

I recently got to try the food at Taipei Taipei, which serves ‘traditional Taiwanese food’, but with a twist. Yummy but affordable, their outlet in Cheras Leisure Mall, KL is very popular with the lunch crowd. The owners are from Taiwan and Hong Kong respectively and were in the apparel business before they ventured into F&B. The entire decor of the shop gives off a cozy feeling, with old posters, records and various knick knacks.

Their signature dishes include the pork chop (left) and Szechuan Fried Chicken Chop. All dishes come with a bowl of rice topped with braised meat,boiled egg, fresh and preserved vegetables and tofu. Traditionally, a lot of Chinese people eat rice with sauces, so it was comforting to mix them all together in the bowl to be enjoyed. 🙂

I lovedd the pork chop. It was marinated well with a blend of spices, and was flavourful and crispy on the outside while retaining that firm yet tender texture on the inside. The Szechuan chicken chop was alright but a little too spicy with the chopped chillies and green onions on top.

Nothing more hearty than a bowl of steamed rice topped with all the goodies. The braised meat was very tender and the soy sauce had an aromatic, fragrant flavour which the rice sopped up really well. There’s no other way to put it, other than comforting. Gimme this over foie gras and fancy stuff, any day. Their other signature dishes are the Braised Beef Noodle and Rice.

Their lunch sets are very affordable and the setting is clean and comfy. They also have outlets in Alor Setar (kedah), Publika and Sunway Giza.

Taipei Taipei

Level 1, Lot L1-48-2, Cheras Leisure Mall, Taman Segar, Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Tel: 03-91339838

Opening hours: Daily (11am – 10pm)

Non- Halal

The mall still had some Mid Autumn Festival decorations. Colourful paper and plastic lanterns! Walking through the ‘forest’ really reminded me of my childhood.