Food Talk Cafe--Fremont (Chinese cuisine, Taiwanese style)

Since my last post was about Americanized Chinese food and my negative opinion of it, I thought I'd write about one restaurant that does serve "real" Chinese food and make some helpful recommendations. Located at 43755 Boscell Road in Fremont, Food Talk Cafe serves mostly Taiwanese style food. It's difficult for me to explain the differences between the different regional foods, so I won't (I am also not an expert). But just like Chicago is known for hot dogs and New York is known for pizza, each city or region in China have their own regional food. One city might be more heavy on noodles, while another is more heavy on dumplings, etc.

During my most recent visit, a friend and I ordered the Imperial Duck with Mandarin Pancakes and Won ton Soup. The Imperial Duck is another name for Peking Duck, which is roasted duck, after which the skin is separated but not removed from the meat and then the skin is fried so it's nice and crispy. Usually boiling hot oil is ladled over the skin to fry it without further cooking the meat. This is then served with Hoisin sauce, Chinese chives and the Mandarin Pancakes, which are steamed buns made with rice flour. Into the bun, you place a piece of meat, a piece of skin, some chives and some Hoisin sauce and eat it like a sandwich. Delicious.

At Food Talk Cafe, they make this fairly quickly, which probably means it was prepared ahead of time and finished when a patron orders it, but the taste and texture is still excellent. Also, this dish is typically super expensive at other fancy Chinese restaurants, whereas here it is rather reasonable at under $30 for the whole thing.

The won tons here are Taiwanese style, which means they are filled with shrimp rather than a mixture of ground pork and shrimp. I love shrimp, so I have no complaints. The portion is decent for $7.50, the skins aren't mushy and the shrimp on the inside are flavorful and fresh.

So if you feel like venturing out and experiencing good and real Chinese food, Food Talk Cafe would be an excellent choice. Don't be alarmed that everyone there is Chinese; this is a good sign. Plus, they all speak English.