ALL ABOUT CEIL: 8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro

Friday, November 29, 2013

8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro

Taiwanese foods are always my love. I have heard and wanting to try this Taiwanese Bistro for quite a while.

I went on a weekday for late lunch.

This Bistro seems to offer an extensive menu of classic and contemporary Asian and Western Cuisine.

Their main feature has to be the Taiwan Street Favourite like the Oyster Mee Sua, Braised Pork Rice and different types of Bubble Milk Tea.

Their main theme is around Jay Chou though never a fan of him but still find it to be quite acceptable.

The cafe was rather quiet when we were there slightly after 2 pm. We were first greeted upon enter and ushered to a table for 3 right after then presented with the menu rather quickly. An order chit was given to indicate the orders. A friendly waitress approached our table and offered her assistance.

After some thoughts, we decided to have Stewed Pork Belly Rice 卤肉饭 ($3.80), Braised Beef Noodle 牛肉面 ($9.80), Salted Crispy Chicken 盐酥鸡 ($6.80) and Bubble Milk Tea 珍珠奶茶 ($4.80).

Some of their recommended dishes are XO Sauce Spicy Beef Fried Rice ($13.80), Golden Salted Yolk Prawn Balls ($14.80), Fried Shitake Mushroom ($8.80) and Taiwanese Meat Ball Soup ($5.80).

The Bubble Milk Tea came first. Though not the best one that i ever tasted but it was generally alright. It has an acceptable level of sweetness with a good handful of tapioca balls in it. These tapioca balls were slightly smaller in size but with a delightful chewiness at just the right level of softness. The fragrant of tea and milk was rather well-balanced to give it just the desired taste.

The Braised Beef Noodle was delightful. This was the best dish amongst all that we tried. It might not be as good as what i had in Taiwan but i would think its taste was rather close and pretty authentic. It was braised well with few Chinese herbs to give it the aromatic fragrance together with the right seasoning to acquire the flavor. It tasted slightly spicy as the spiciness was enhanced by the dried chilli added.

It was served with a few chunky pieces of beef. It would definitely be nicer if the texture of these beef was slightly softer. It was slightly more chewier than expected too. Though the texture was not as desired but it was flavorful. The noodle was cooked well to give it the likeable softness and springiness. It was one of the better bowls of Braised Beef Noodle that i tasted in Singapore.

The Braised Pork Belly Rice served last. A small portion of rice was served in a bowl covered with the braised pork belly then garnished with pickles and coriander. Perhaps it was the high anticipation that left me feeling disappointed. It did not taste as authentic as the one i had in Taipei and not even close to the one served by Shin Yeh in Singapore. The taste was rather mediocre with no distinctive fragrance of the braised sauce though the level of softness was a spot on.

The Salted Crispy Chicken did not fare as well as expected. It was slightly over deep-fried thus the color was a little darker with its taste slightly compromised. The taste of salt and pepper seemed missing. It tasted like normal fried chicken pieces. The good thing was its texture was rather dry and not overly greasy. It served with 2 sticks of Japanese cucumber.