Sen Style Books Store

For some delicious and creative teas, try out the Sen Style Books Store tea shop in Dashe. They have a fun variety of teas, including a green tea with frothy milk (pictured below) and good grapefruit green tea (葡萄柚綠茶 pú táo yòu lǜ chá). It's a bit more expensive than other tea shops (e.g 40 NT for the green tea with frothy milk), but worth it for a special treat. You can specify your desired level of sugar on most teas.

Directions from MAK: Go into Dashe on the main road (Jhong Shan Rd. 中山路).At the second major light (the intersection with the 7-11 and Family Mart and Watson's), you'll find this shop. It's a few doors down from the 7-11, on the same side of the street (across the street from Bridge Drugs). 


Parking: Limited on-street parking for cars.



Other notes: You'll know you found the tea shop when you see the many milk cartons out front and the comic book shop in the back. If you want to order the drink pictured above, you can simply point to the large sign with the drink pictured. It's one of their specialties.

Ah-Sing's Beef Steak

At Ah-Sing's Beef steak restaurant, you'll enjoy the friendly service of Ah-Sing and his wife while enjoying several varieties of fried steaks. Beef steak (牛排 niú pái) is the most typical dish and is available for 80NT, as well as pork (豬肉) steak and chicken leg (雞腿 jī tuǐ) steak. Salmon (鮭魚 guī yú) steak and a bit thicker beef steak are slightly more expensive. You can choose what kind of sauce you want on your meat: mushroom, black pepper, or a mixture of both sauces. All dishes come with noodles and a fried egg.

All meals come with a bowl of corn chowder (玉米濃湯 yù mǐ nóng tāng) and sweet black tea. Both of these items are self-serve, as is the silverware. After you order, Ah-Sing will tell you which table is available for seating. Your plate will be sizzling when it comes, so be careful. Additionally, you'll need to flip your egg over to let it finish cooking.

Directions from MAK: Go into Dashe on the main road (Jhong Shan Rd. 中山路). At the first major intersection (where there is a Hi-Life Convenience Store), turn left. You'll now be on the morning market road (Jin Long Rd. 金龍路). Follow this road until the next major intersection (again, with a convenience store on your right). Turn right onto Jhong Hwa Rd. (中華路). Go past the temple on your right, Turn left at the next intersection (where there is a large store on your left). The restaurant is the first one on the right and has many red plastic tables inside.  There is a tall, yellow sign with red lettering above the restaurant. You can pay on your way out, after eating. 

Parking: Moderate. You can park right next to the restaurant.

Costs: Moderately economical. Dishes range from 80 NT to about 150 NT.

Other notes: The Smuckers eat here nearly every Tuesday night. If you go, tell Ah-Sing that you're friends with Matt and Holly (我們是Matt 和 Holly 的朋友。wǒ men shì Matt hé Holly de péng yǒu) for an extra special greeting. Also, Ah-Sing is fluent in several languages, including Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka. He knows a little bit of English (e.g. the names of the food dishes), so he may be able to help as you stumble through any language barrier.

Red Bestial Superfine Beef Noodles

One of the most wide-spread dishes you can find in Taiwan is called "Beef noodles" (牛肉麵 niú ròu miàn). For a delicious, economical and local variety of beef noodles from a very hospitable owner, try the Red Bestial Superfine Beef Noodles shop in Dashe. Here's what you need to know:

Location: In Dashe, across the street from the temple on Jhong Hwa Rd. (中華路). It is located next door to the large tree where elderly people like to gather to chess and other games. 


Directions from MAK: Go into Dashe on the main road (Jhong Shan Rd. 中山路). At the first major intersection (where there is a Hi-Life Convenience Store), turn left. You'll now be on the morning market road (Jin Long Rd. 金龍路). Follow this road until the next major intersection (again, with a convenience store on your right). Turn right onto Jhong Hwa Rd. (中華路). When you see the temple on your right, look across the street for the Red Bestial Superfine Beef Noodles shop (sign is in English & Chinese). The kitchen is in the front and the seating is in the back. Walk past the kitchen to sit down and use the ordering form. You can pay on your way out, after eating. 


Parking: Easy. You can park right next to the restaurant. If the temple isn't busy, you can also park in front of it. 


Costs: Economical. Dishes range from 35 NT for a basic bowl of sesame noodles to 80 NT for rice and beef. 


Recommended dishes: The first five dishes on the menu are some form of beef noodles and all of them are delicious. Try the 4th one from the top for something special--it's shaved/handmade noodles with meat and vegetables (70NT).  (See picture below)

Their "economical" beef noodles (the first one listed on the menu for 55NT) is a reasonable portion and delicious, too:

If you like spicy foods, try the handmade dumplings in red sauce (18th on the menu and 40 NT for a plate, as pictured below). Yum! This works well as a side dish.

They also have lots of drinks for sale and side dishes, too, as is pictured at the top. 


Happy eating!

Sweet bean, ball, and peanut soup