Lin Yang Gang: Mala Stinky Tofu and Re Chao Classics in Taipei

We arrived after 7 pm on a Monday at Lin Yang Gang (臨洋港Lín yáng gǎng, roughly "harbour facing the sea")- no wait, but most tables were filled. The woman who seated us mentioned something about time, and I confirmed with Sammy, “Did she tell us there’s a time limit?” “Yes,” Sammy responded, “She said the kitchen closes in 4 hours, and hopes that’s okay.” Yes, that should be just enough time for us.

We got to our seats, and a Taiwan Beer lady immediately came over and told us about tonight's special offer: buy eight beers, get one free. Sammy and I looked at each other blankly, and decided we’d start with one. She wanted us to try Gold Medal One, apparently a zero-sugar beer. I’m not really concerned about the amount of sugar in my standard lager. We asked for the ol’ trusty 18 Days instead.

Lin Yang Gang is a 熱炒Rè chǎo stir-fry restaurant. The stir-fry place Sammy and I went to before was really good, but we hadn’t been in a few months. I did a little research and found that on Chang’an Road, where this spot is located, and right nearby on Linsen Road, there are large groupings of rechao spots.

The menus at 熱炒Rè chǎo can be daunting. I’m starting to recognize more dishes, though. This spot crosses the 100-dish threshold. We started marking items: beef with scallions (蔥爆牛肉Cōng bào niú ròu), kung pao chicken (宮保雞丁Gōng bǎo jī dīng), Hakka stir-fry (客家小炒Kè jiā xiǎo chǎo), shredded pork fried noodles (肉絲炒麵Ròu sī chǎo miàn), stir-fried cabbage (高麗菜Gāo lí cài). We were debating what else to get; there’s just so much. Then Sammy hit me with, “How about stinky tofu?” I’ve had it a few times now, once with Richard at Ningxia Night Market. It was in soup, so it didn’t smell as strong, and it was quite good. I said sure, let’s try the spicy mala stinky tofu (麻辣臭豆腐Má là chòu dòu fu).

With our order in and beer in hand, we waited impatiently for our food. The place was lively, people talking loudly, families with children, couples, groups of guys with beer. I pulled out my shiny new camera, ready to take some professional pictures. How did I do?

Photo by Kalen Johnson

Sammy grabbed us a bowl of rice each (free at this spot), and the beef with scallions came out first. The portions aren’t very big, but that’s the idea: order many dishes and have enough stomach space for them all. The beef was quite nice, lightly breaded and fried, with a savoury sauce and plenty of rough-chopped scallions. The shredded pork fried noodles followed, packed with flavour, and the noodles sopped up the sauce. This serving was one of the larger portions.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The kung pao chicken came next, always a favourite of mine. The chicken was also breaded and fried. Sammy said it was interesting that they used chicken breast here. I honestly didn’t notice; the chicken was juicy enough. I assume they do a thorough job of removing the seeds from the chilli peppers too; this one barely registered as spicy for me. I could eat the dried chillies without issue. I love that it was absolutely loaded with peanuts. Between kung pao chicken and that Sichuan soup with peanuts, I’ve been a bit obsessed with savoury peanut dishes.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The stir-fried cabbage was pretty standard, nothing to complain about, with a hint of garlic. Always good to get your greens in, and this is one of the tastier ways to do it. The Hakka stir-fry came at the same time. This is the only Hakka dish I’ve tried, but I always enjoy it at 熱炒Rè chǎo. The pork is crispy, and the sauce is salty and umami. Next was one Sammy suggested, 魚香烘蛋Yú xiāng hōng dàn, or egg with fish-fragrant sauce. Not one of my favourites; the egg was cooked nicely, and the sauce was not very fishy. However, that’s to be expected: fish-fragrant sauce traditionally doesn’t contain any seafood. It’s a Sichuan seasoning with pickled chilli, garlic, and scallion used to season fish. But this dish came loaded with chopped onions in the sauce. Not bad, but probably wouldn’t order again.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

Photo by Kalen Johnson

Finally, the smelly star came out, as if on a pedestal: stinky tofu in Sichuan sauce, on a metal chalice with a fire underneath, and the sauce starts to bubble. Even with cilantro, chillis, and fried garlic on top, you still catch whiffs of fermented tofu. I swear, each bite of tofu changes. One bite, I only got the sauce and cilantro flavours, but the next one sneakily hits you with that funky fermented flavour. The final bite of the night for me was the last piece of stinky tofu, and that one hit hardest. I washed it down with the last of my beer and told Sammy it was definitely fermented tofu. Afterwards, I picked peanuts from the kung pao chicken as we chatted a while longer. We didn’t hit the 4-hour limit we were told about; we only spent an hour at Lin Yang Gang.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The prices for everything:

• NT$180 (US$5.64) beef with scallions (蔥爆牛肉Cōng bào niú ròu)

• NT$160 (US$5.01) kung pao chicken (宮保雞丁Gōng bǎo jī dīng)

• NT$180 (US$5.64) Hakka stir-fry (客家小炒Kè jiā xiǎo chǎo)

• NT$100 (US$3.13) shredded pork fried noodles (肉絲炒麵Ròu sī chǎo miàn)

• NT$100 (US$3.13) stir-fried cabbage (高麗菜Gāo lí cài)

• NT$160 (US$5.01) egg with fish-fragrant sauce (魚香烘蛋Yú xiāng hōng dàn)

• NT$180 (US$5.64) spicy mala stinky tofu (麻辣臭豆腐Má là chòu dòu fu)

• NT$120 (US$3.76) Taiwan 18 days beer * 2

The total came to NT$1300 (US$40.72); for the amount of food and two beers, I’d say this place is pretty high CP (Taiwanese phrase for good value). The dishes are appropriately sized, and each one is affordable. Funnily enough, this place specializes in seafood, which we didn’t order. Perhaps next time! This time, we ordered what we normally get at 熱炒Rè chǎo places. I would order the beef with scallions, kung pao chicken, Hakka stir-fry, and possibly the stinky tofu again, depending on how I’m feeling. The egg with fish-fragrant sauce is an easy skip for me.

Overall, another great 熱炒Rè chǎo spot, one I’d gladly invite friends to. If you have wanted to do 熱炒Rè chǎo but felt intimidated by the huge menus, follow us on Instagram and join the newsletter; we’re cooking up a mobile app that will make ordering a lot easier than fumbling with Google Translate.