Ice Monster 冰館

This place used to be on Yong Kang Street (永康街) but because of a nasty divorce, the owner moved it to its new location on Chungxiao East Road (忠孝東路). After 17 years of business, Ice Monster is still super, super popular--so much so that people are willing to wait a good half hour (or more if you go on the weekends or at night) just to get a seat.

All over the restaurant you'll see this illustration; it's supposed to be the owner's face. I've never seen a picture of him, but this motif is super cute.

Ice Monster has always been most famous for its mango sorbet. They have a ton of dishes with it, but we just got the one called Mango Sorbet (芒果雪酪). It's a scoop of mango sorbet on top of shaved ice and a mango compote. It's so juicy and refreshing, and actually has tiny chunks of mango in the sorbet. I really wish that they'd given us a bowl full of sorbet, because I can literally go to any nightmarket and get a bucket of shaved ice for free. It's just a little expensive (150NT, about $5) for what you're getting.

We also got the Rye Beer Sorbet (黑麥啤酒雪酪), which is supposed to be really popular right now. I'm a bit too much of a girly girl to like beer, but this is actually quite nice! It's not bitter and doesn't have a strong alcoholic taste, and it has pop rocks candy in it, which makes eating this really fun. It also has coffee-flavored jello cubes, which complement the rye flavor really well. If actual beer tasted like this... I think I could like beer.

For Taiwanese standards, this is not a cheap place, and they really enforce the 120NT per person minimum (about $4). Because I am greedy and impatient, I rarely say something is worth the wait, but I think this is. If you come here, be a nice person and get out of there quickly; there are other people waiting in the heat!

Ice Monster 冰館
No. 297, Section 4, Chungxiao E. Rd.
台北市忠孝東路四段297號
http://www.ice-monster.com/

Papa C. Kitchen: Jajiangmian 炸醬麵

Jajiangmian is noodles with a soybean-based sauce. Every family has its own recipe, but obviously this one is the best. My dad is kind of a free spirit when he's cooking; he doesn't really follow a recipe, so the one below is my best guess from observing him. Keep in mind that you can customize the condiments--the ingredients below is a rough estimate. The two main condiments that you really need are spicy bean paste (豆瓣醬) and sweet bean paste (甜麵醬)--you can get both at any Chinese mart for really cheap.

Also, real men have knife skills. That is all.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1 small bunch scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons spicy bean paste (豆瓣醬)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground pork
1 medium carrot, finely diced
200 grams tofu (豆乾), finely diced
160 grams sweet bean paste (甜麵醬)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
4 large handfuls noodles
2 medium cucumbers
Optional: cornstarch

Procedure
In a pan, heat oil and saute scallions and garlic until fragrant. Add spicy bean paste and saute until fragrant. Add onions and pork and saute until the meat is browned. Add carrot, tofu, sweet bean paste, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, and two cups of water, and simmer until carrots are cooked through and desired consistency is achieved (you can always thicken it with one teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with a half cup of water). Meanwhile, cook your noodles in unsalted boiling water and julienne your cucumbers.

Assembly

Noodles

Sauce

Cucumber

Super easy, and if you can't get really good noodles, you can eat it with rice too!

Photo diary: A trip to the market

Find out what my dad made tomorrow!