Taiwan Bento--Oakland (Taiwanese cuisine)

For delicious and inexpensive Taiwanese food, we now have Taiwan Bento. Located at 412 22nd Street, they serve quick meals to go made with all natural, non-GMO ingredients. They do have a few tables to dine in, but the whole idea of a Taiwanese Bento place is basically to be a to-go joint.

As soon as I saw "tea egg" on the menu, I was interested. Below are some of the things I've enjoyed.

http://www.taiwanbento.us/


Pork Bun. With a moist dollop of ground pork on the inside, this bun is steamed and makes a tasty light snack.

"Fried Sauce Noodles". The literal translation of "Zhajiangmian", this is a wheat noodle dish with ground pork, bean curd, soy bean sauce, fresh carrots, bean sprouts and cucumber. The diner mixes everything up into a tasty meal. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, the noodles had the perfect chew, and the sauce was balanced with sweet and savory. Delicious.

Braised Pork Bento. Slow-cooked pieces of pork were served with some tangy pickled vegetables, a tea egg, edamame and rice. Tender and flavor-packed pork with a tea egg like my grandma used to make. So good.

Beef Noodle Soup. Thick udon noodles, tender braised beef, carrots, spinach and pickled vegetables soak in a rich beef broth. Warm and comforting on a cold rainy day or any day.

Taiwanese Sausage Bento. Chinese sausage is chewier and denser than American sausage due to the long drying/curing time. This removes most of the moisture, which makes for a really intense meaty taste. This was an excellent sausage and the accompaniments were delicious as well.

Gua Bao. This Taiwanese sandwich is made with steamed bread that is filled with succulent slow-braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and ground peanuts. This was small but very satisfying. The pork and pickles paired well together and the steamed bun was the perfect vessel for getting all this goodness into my mouth.

Taiwan Bento is constantly changing and expanding their menu. I believe they are now open for dinner as well as lunch. I look forward to trying out their dinner offerings and I encourage you to try them also.