Taiwanese Treats

Due to the amazing phenomenon known as Linsanity gripping this nation and world, and in honor of his fantastic game against the Lakers last night, M and I celebrated with a Taiwanese meal split between the two of us.

The only place we know of that advertises straight-up Taiwanese fare is Bian Dang. Bian Dang has a storefront in the Food Gallery 32 Asian food court located in K-Town and also a food truck that is currently closed for the winter. We had a Groupon deal for one chicken or pork rice plate and an order of dumplings. M and I opted for the chicken plate.

Fried chicken with rice covered in pork sauce with vegetables, soup, and dumplings
The chicken at the store is fried a bit more than the chicken from the truck, and M and I both agreed that it's better from the truck. The rice and pork sauce, though, is always a hit. The scallion and ginger infused sauce mixed with the minced pork is heavenly on the palate, and the pickled vegetables accompanying it adds a nice crunch and a touch of sourness to everything. The soup was just sort of there. It was simply chicken stock with some diced tomatoes stewed into it. The dumplings came steamed. We were expecting pan-fried so the steamed was nice. Overall they weren't the best dumplings we've ever had, but they had a good texture, good flavor, and the added hot sauce finished the dumpling nicely.