Taiwan G Soup

Taiwan G soup is an interesting restaurant. They have multiple locations. They seem to be interested in healing and the beneficial effects of their soup. It’s truly the type of place tourists may stumble upon and have little chance of actually trying, given the lack of English menus and a semi-inviting atmosphere. Originating in Tamsui, they now have multiple locations around Taipei and New Taipei, so there is certainly demand for them.

I tried the one in Tamsui, not the original location, but their second location up a bit further north in the Danhai New Town area. A perhaps 10-minute walk from either the Xinshi 1st Road or Tamsui Administration Office stop on the Light Rail.

It was after the lunch rush, so there were only a couple of other people and me. I ordered the sesame oil chicken soup; I believe this is what they are most famous for. It took about 10 minutes to come out.

The soup contains pieces of chicken, ginger, cabbage, and optional noodles for 40 NTD. I got some noodles, and they were okay. Cabbage in soup isn’t something I’m really accustomed to, but it’s similar to boiled cabbage that’s very common in Taiwan, so it was also just fine.

The amount of ginger they add is kind of ridiculous, between 10 and 15 large slices of ginger. It doesn’t seem like it was boiled with the soup; taking a bite of one tastes rather fresh and only slightly cooked. I assume if they do boil it in the soup, it’s only for the few minutes of prep before serving. That, along with the broth not tasting very gingery, seems to prove my hypothesis.

The chicken is pretty good, if not a little challenging to eat with chopsticks. There is not a piece without bone or cartilage. Real home cooking! The bone is certainly by design, and I don’t really mind other than the difficulty of eating it without dropping it and spilling hot soup all over my face. The chicken keeps the skin on, which adds a little richness to the broth.

The broth is certainly sesame, but not over the top like you can get with too much sesame oil. I’d classify it as under-seasoned as well, but my salt threshold is higher than a lot of Taiwanese, as demonstrated by my love of salt and vinegar chips, which are still not sold at any convenience store and are only available randomly at Carrefour. However, the broth has a rather rich, deep flavor. This is the second time I’ve had it, and it is certainly comforting, especially on the cooler winter days in Taiwan.

Overall, I can see why people enjoy this place and why it now has about 20 locations in Taiwan. I’ll definitely look forward to trying another soup in the near future. Something I did not get this time but will next time is the sesame oil vermicelli noodles or the chicken fat rice. I did see others order these, so it’s on the list.