Glutinous Rice Sausage There does seem to be recent trend of Taiwanese-themed establishments that seem to have been opening up all around the island recently — we have visited establishments such as Tai Shi Ke, KUMI and 老祖家滷肉飯 not too long ago, and we have caught wind of yet another new Taiwanese-themed stall that has opened their doors fairly recently at the Timbre+ at one-north. Named Taiwanese Izakaya, the stall can be found at Timbre+ facing inwards into the main dining area of the food centre — itself being neighbours with a stall that serves up mainland Chinese-style Mala dishes, as well as being situated opposite a stall serving up Korean cuisine and Five Grain Noodles. Considering its location within the food centre, Taiwanese Izakaya shouldn’t be a spot that is difficult to locate — the stall also features a red-coloured signboard of a rather clean and simplistic design. Being an establishment that primarily serves up Taiwanese fare as what its namesake suggests, the menu at Taiwanese Izakaya is split across sections such as Dumplings, Mains, Taiwanese Snacks and Sides & Drinks — some notable offerings at Taiwanese Izakaya includes dishes such as that of Honey Chicken Chop, Tempura, Minced Pork La Mian and Spicy Cucumber.
One thing that has caught our attention while skimming through the menu at Taiwanese Izakaya was the Glutinous Rice Sausage that is being listed in the “Taiwanese Snacks”. A dish that is also otherwise known as 大肠包小肠, it is also translated as “small sausage in large sausage” in English — some would describe the dish to come with Taiwanese Pork Sausage that is wrapped in sticky rice sausage; hence it namesake that seemingly suggests of sausages of two (2) different sizes here. The version at Taiwanese Izakaya comes with pickled cucumbers, as well as strips of pickled radish and carrots on the side. We felt that the rendition of the Glutinous Rice Sausage at Taiwanese Izakaya comes pretty close to what one would expect out of a truly Taiwanese rendition of the dish — being one item that is incredibly difficult to find around the island, we have only had the item at a now-defunct takeaway kiosk at Potong Pasir. The version at Taiwanese Izakaya does seem to match up well against what our experience from the now-defunct establishment; the glutinous rice coming all sticky and well held together by a snappy casing that made the glutinous rice keep its shape as well — all that whilst coming with a slightly hint of sweetness from the pickled cucumbers that also delivered a crunch, as well as from the Taiwanese Pork Sausage that also provided a soft meaty bite and also carried its own snappy texture. The pickled radish and carrots on the side provide a slight crunch and a refreshing, tangy note that refreshes the tastebuds from all of the meats and carbs.
We had also tried other dishes during our visit to Taiwanese Izakaya — the Braised Meat Rice was actually quite surprisingly well-executed here; coming with elements such as a sunny side-up, pickled vegetables and braised minced pork atop a bed of rice, we liked how there was a good proportion braised meat liquid that was drizzled above the rice to provide a savoury note to much of the rice beneath. With that being said, we did note that the braised minced pork came with rather lean cuts of meat that provided a bit of bite; we would have liked it more if they do have a good mix of both fattier cuts and leaner cuts that provide would have it gave it a more melt-in-the-mouth texture — more a matter of our own preferences. For the Oyster Mee Sua came with Mee Sua that we felt cooked have been cooked for a wee bit longer for a softer texture — that being said, we did enjoy the plump oysters that came with the dish; we also liked that it did come with sufficient minced garlic that made the dish strike a good balance of being savoury with a good zesty zing that tickles the tastebuds. Sharing the 6pcs Signature Dumplings, these came in a rectangular-shaped form and does seem to feature pan-fried, crusted undersides.
There is some element of crispness somewhere here, while the insides saw a filling of minced pork and cabbage that delivered a meaty note and a slight hint of sweetness from the vegetables. It also comes with a savoury chili sauce as well as vinegar with slices of ginger for patrons to pair the dumplings with to ante up the flavours for more contrast. Overall, Taiwanese Izakaya is an establishment that serves up pretty decent Taiwanese cuisine at rather wallet-friendly prices — with the exception of the 12 pcs Mixed Platter Dumplings that features four (4) pieces of Original Dumplings, four (4) pieces of Chives Dumplings and four (4) pieces of Spicy Dumpling in a single platter, all dishes are priced comfortably below $10; portions of their individually-sized dishes are also well-sized for a single diner as well. Whilst we did feel that some dishes didn’t necessarily suit our tastebuds, these largely felt like a matter of preferences and possibly do fine with other diners. We are definitely looking forward to returning to Taiwanese Izakaya some other time — their Glutinous Rice Sausage is an item that we are likely see ourselves craving to have again as time passes …
_(1)425_original.jpg?w=980&q=75&auto=format)
_(1)425_original.jpg?w=576&q=75&auto=format)