Taiwanese Gourmet
“My usual is fried stinky tofu (the sauce is heaven…), 3 cup chicken, fried pork chop.”
“The Shredded Beef with Basil was also very tender and velvety with a strong basil flavor and had small diced fresh hot red peppers.”
“Love their pork and bamboo shoot with spicy clams in black bean sauce!”
Taiwanese Gourmet
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Every time I crave Taiwanese food, I find a way to get myself to this restaurant ASAP! My friend and I were seated immediately, and the restaurant was definitely packed – so packed people were taken downstairs. We ordered the sautéed water spinach with garlic, 3 cups chicken, spicy beef sautéed with spring onions and chili peppers, and a bowl of braised pork belly rice to share. My friend and I have never been so quiet at dinner. We were so focused on eating that we didn't bother chatting. The portions sizes don't look too big but it'll still fill you up. The bill came up to $42 for two people…. it's a tiny bit pricey in my opinion, but it was worth it as we cleaned our plates… And bowls.
I've been back several times and loved the food more and more each time I came back. I didn't know, but they have a basement with round tables for large groups. It always seemed crowded whenever I came here, but glad to know they can accommodate large parties.
For all the times I've been here, these are my favorite dishes. I definitely recommend ordering these.
Any of the Kidney dish (炒要花) – I absolutely love the kidneys here. Very fat and juicy unlike some other places. They have three different kinds. I forget which kind we got, but I think it was the sauteed one.
Bawan (肉丸) – This was my mom's favorite childhood snack. They use the same bright red sauce they use for the oyster omelette, although in Tainan they use a brown sauce instead. Still this was pretty good here. Very QQ.
Glutinous Rice and Sausage (大腸包小腸) – So happy they serve this here. Also a delicious night market snack. The intestines part is nice and thick, but would have liked it better if it wasn't cut up.
Fly head (蒼蠅頭) – This consists of chives and ground pork with a black bean sauce. Slightly spicy and pretty salty. Eat with a lot of rice.
Sa-cha Chinese Watercress and Beef (空心菜沙茶牛) – My boyfriend's favorite dish here. Basically his go-to every time we come here. They make it pretty addicting here.
It's nice to get great Taiwanese food without going all the way to Flushing. Though Elmhurst is still kind of far for me. Side note, their stinky tofu here isn't very stinky.
I'm not sure how but the service and food have improved so much I had to update my review.
The staff is very friendly and attentive now, which is rare for a Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant.
The stinky tofu has become stinker, and the three cup chicken has become more flavorful. The oyster pancake is nice and chewy, and they don't skimp on the oyster.
I still like the intestine and blood hot pot, but I'm no longer opposed to their other dishes. I came here recently with a rather large group and tried what felt like half their menu, and almost everything was better than I expected.
I'm not sure what happened, maybe the chef or owner has changed but I actually enjoy the restaurant now.
They are open quite late, and have a late night special after 10pm with two dishes family style and congee for the table for under $20. Free parking doesn't hurt either in a crowded neighborhood such as this.
Taiwanese Gourmet is your low-key affordable Taiwanese restaurant that is great for family dinners or dinner with friends.
The food comes out hot and fast, which was perfect for our hungry crowd.
We ordered fried pork chop, fried stinky tofu, sautéed liver and kidneys, oyster pancake, crispy pig's intestine, udon soup with fried chicken leg, sautéed rice cakes with nappa cabbage, loofah, intestines in hot pot, and chives with shredded pork.
I loved the liver, pork chops, stinky tofu and the pig's intestines (all the organ meats). The salty fried pork chop was cut into thin crunchy strips, which were perfect for sharing. The liver arrived in shiny sautéed polygons and squares, cooked to firm tender texture. What a new fun way to eat liver!
The cubed and squared stinky tofu was crispy and pungent. You either love or hate this fermented pungent dish. I love it! The stinker, the better. We could smell the stinky tofu aroma from half a block away!
The pig's intestines were cleaned to a shiny white, then coated with flour and fried. Served with a side of pickled salty Chinese lettuce. Loved the crispy salty chewy textures of this dish. You have to eat it fast, because it gets unappetizing as it gets cold.
I was ready to give the restaurant 4-5 stars but I fear that something we ate was unclean. Two-three hours after dinner, three of us had horrible stomach pain that continued for most of the night. Perhaps it was my beloved organ meats.
Thankfully, I made it through the night but it was a restless, uncomfortable evening that makes me hesitant to return.
I was surprised to see a lot of customers when I walked into this restaurant on a weekday. Restaurant is busy and clean.
My family and I ordered the chicken with chili sauce, sauteed spinach and pork chops.
The chicken with chili sauce was the best dish we ordered. It was mildly spicy and salty at the same time. I was surprise that saltiness could go well with spiciness. It was salty but not too salty. Totally recommend this dish.
The sauteed spinach tastes like any ordinary sauteed spinach you would find in any Chinese restaurant. I find this dish to be quite expensive considering the semi small portion size.
The pork chops are great! They are seasoned with pepper and salt. Another great addition to our dinner.
Service is great. The waitresses refilled my cup of tea plenty of times.
The restaurant's name on the receipt s "Taiwanese Restaurant, Inc.", on the menu it is "Taiwanese Specialties", and on the sign outside is "Taiwanese Cuisine, Inc.". So I am not sure where "Taiwanese Gourmet" comes from, or what in fact the real name is…
That's besides the point of this review. I drove by during the lunch hour and ordered some Taiwanese snacks for nostalgia's sake. I tried Blood Rice Cake, Taiwanese Meat Ball, and Taiwanese Burger. I was very disappointed with the Blood Rice Cake. It's missing some crucial ingredients: peanut powders and cilantro!! What's a blood rice cake without these garnishes?! Boo!
The Taiwanese Meat Ball (ba-won or zou-yuan) was just OK. The pork inside was missing some defining seasoning and the wrap made of yam powder was too soggy. But the most unforgiving part was a piece of long hair was found in between bites. Yikes!
Finally the Taiwanese Burger (gua-bao). It was the best of 3 snacks. Plenty of pork belly, and the bun was steamed just right. Fully enjoyed it. If it weren't for this dish, and the fact that the staff was personable and friendly, I'd give a lower rating. Anyways, based on the total experience accounted above, I give a middle of the road rating: 3 out of 5.
Average. Good food but wouldn't go out of my way for it. The oyster pancake was pretty good but everything else was eh. Snow pea leaves are usually my absolute favorite but here they were a bit overcooked and under seasoned. The steamed whole fish was COMPLETELY under seasoned. Didn't taste like they even bothered to salt it, nonetheless add anything else.
Open until 2am!!! I know where I'm going to go next time I have a craving for some Taiwanese food late at night. The food is decent and the prices are amazing! The beef noodle stew was pretty good, but not perfect. The beef was very tender and the noodles tasted hand pulled. However, the broth left something to be desired. It felt like it was missing something but I couldn't put my finger on it. The best dish was the pork chop, seasoned and fried to perfection. My friend had the kong xing tsai and it was cooked perfectly with sa cha. It had a nice crunch to it and wasn't overcooked like more restaurants like to cook it. Tasted fresh. I would definitely come back, but I'm still on my search for my perfect bowl of niu rou mien in NYC.