Monja Taiker

Monja Taiker Restaurant Review:

Chef Paul Wang captures the feel and food of his Taipei neighborhood with Monja Taiker. The second branch of the eatery from Wang and his wife, Enya, features photo murals of his hometown night market, along with decorative red lanterns. The effect is one of scouring for street food, but in the comfort of a booth instead of on foot. Start with popcorn chicken, which consists of dark meat coated in a mixture of three flours and fried with basil. Taiwanese sausage is crafted with sorghum liqueur and comes with raw garlic to cut the fatty richness. Red grain pork sports crispy red rims and arrives with stewed pork, white rice and punchy pickled greens. Beef noodle soup, Taiwan’s national dish, touts juicy chunks of shank and tendon, tomato sauce, crisp bok choy and firm noodles showered with scallions and cilantro. Sesame oil noodle soup has a downright soothing broth, accentuated with sesame. Shaved ice is quite popular in Taipei. Monja’s volcano-shaped shavings are topped with brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, lychee jelly, black boba, taro and peanuts.