Song Chu [宋廚菜館]

Visit: May 21, 2012
Address: 台北市信義區忠孝東路五段15巷14號
Number: (02) 2764-4788

I know that I always say that "I've been wanting to try this restaurant for a long time" and I mean, it's true every single time I say that, but man, in Song Chu's case, when I say this, I'm definitely not kidding. It was probably November 2011 that I've talked about Song Chu consistently with my friends. First we made plans for Thanksgiving break, then Winter break. Spring break seemed very likely... but none of those plans ever happened because of our schedules, but mostly due to Song Chu notorious reputation for the impossible reservations.

As you read this post, you might realize that the English names of the dishes might not accurately reflect the dishes, but I'm trying my best to translate it from Mandarin. If you have any suggestions, do tell me! I'm not going to be offended, and I'm feeling a bit lonely talking to myself on here all the time anyways.

Menu


I only have like 2 pages of the menu.

Mixed Cabbage, Peanuts and Bean Curd - Complimentary (松柏長青 -  招待)

Mixed Cabbage, Peanuts and Bean Curd

I think I've mentioned before that I'm really into sweet and sour Chinese appetizers, so the yum mixed cabbage really suited me.
Green Bean Starch Sheet Mixed with Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Ham and Egg in Sesame and Wasabi Sauce (兩張皮 - 小) 196 NT

Green Bean Starch Sheet Mixed with Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Ham and Egg in Sesame and Wasabi Sauce

Green Bean Starch Sheet Mixed with Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Ham and Egg in Sesame and Wasabi Sauce

Have you ever had the Chinese
cold noodles flavored with some sesame sauce? This is exactly the same thing except with a little twist. Instead of the usual noodles, they served it with the vermicelli sheets made from green beans which added to its texture. The dish also had a bit of the wasabi enough to make you want more, but not enough to be spicy.

Stir-fried Pig Intestine in Brown Sauce (九轉肥腸 - 小) 285 NT

Stir-fried Pig Intestine in Brown Sauce

The pig intestine was sweet and salty due to the brown sauce. I like the pig intestines, but because of its sweet and bold flavor as well as its oiliness, it's easy to get sick of it.

Steamed Beef Brisket (清蒸牛腩 - 中) 350 NT

Steamed Beef Brisket

Out of all the dishes, this was my least favorite not because it was bad, but because I thought it wasn't very special. My sister really liked it though.

Steamed Fried Tofu (鍋塌豆腐 - 小) 160 NT

Steamed Fried Tofu

I didn't quite fancy the dish that much, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I thought that this was a very standard dish.

Roasted Duck (烤鴨) 900 NT

Roasted Duck with Flour Skin

Roasted Duck

The star of the day! I really liked how there wasn't a disgusting huge layer of fat on the duck's skin. The meat was also tender and not too dry, plus the brown sauce was really yummy. We ordered more spring onions and brown sauce, and I have a feeling that we had to pay for those extra servings -.- I wasn't the one who sorted out the bill though, so I'm not completely sure.


Stir fried Duck in Brown Sauce (醬爆鴨) + 100 NT

Stir fried Duck in Brown Sauce

I think that this might be my favorite dish of the day. The stir fried duck was part of the duck we preordered. I'm really into the brown sauce, so the fact that the yummy duck is stir fried in my favorite brown sauce... there was definitely a party in my mouth~
Chinese Green Onion Pancake (蔥油餅) 40 NT

Chinese Green Onion Pancake

I read a lot of blogs, and the consensus was that the Chinese green onion pancake was really good. However, after tasting it, I wasn't impressed at all. There are many street vendors onthe alleys of Taipei that surpassed this.

Stir-fried Cabbage - Small (炒高麗菜 - 小) 190 NT

Stir-fried Cabbage

This is your everyday stir fried cabbage.
Bean Paste Pancake (豆沙鍋餅) 200 NT

Bean Paste Pancake

The bean paste pancake was really really good. The one flaw that bad bean paste pancakes have in common is that the bean paste is too sweet. The pancake here had a really fresh tasting and not too sweet paste, and the pancake skin wasn't soggy like many of the others I've tried. Make sure to eat this when it's sizzling hot :)

Song Chu is undoubtedly very good. Out of all the duck I've had, Song Chu and Dragon Restaurant are probably two of my favorites. I didn't think that the service was too great since the lady seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something The prices though were more than reasonable and I was surprised at how cheap everything was despite its demand The rest of the dishes at Song Chu are all delicious, so I'd definitely recommend this. Even though Song Chu did not disappoint, I'm still not sure if the restaurant was worth reserving one month in prior for...and I still only got weekday lunch reservations.