Did I mention that Jeremy Lin and I are the same person? His maternal side is from China, his paternal side is Taiwanese, and he has a strong passion for Taiwan. BOOM. Our astounding similarities aside, I'd venture to guess that he's also passionate about Taiwanese food. Cue Jo Jo Taipei, a Taiwanese joint in Boston that I'm sure Jeremy has visited.
Today, Alex, Lauren, and I went to Jo Jo for their first Taiwanese breakfast experience. We started with sweet soy milk, without which Taiwanese breakfast could not exist.
Yes, Alex and Lauren are hilarious. Sometimes you catch them puckering lips at each other.
Reviewers raved about the fried steamed buns, and boy did these live up to the hype!
Covered with condensed milk, peanuts, and sugar, these arrived hot and fresh. They were slightly crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside, and just look at the beautiful doughy layers. Peeta would approve. The flavor combo was outta this world. I need to buy condensed milk from the grocery store and put it on everything.
We also ordered the scallion pancake with egg.
Hot, scallion-y, super solid. We particularly enjoyed the sauce that came with - most likely a mixture of soy sauce, water, sugar, and vinegar. Happiness.
Next came our pork belly gua baos.
The meat is not as tender as the ones at Baohaus, but its seasoning is spot on. These had a generous amount of pickled mustard, and I loved the sugar on top.
Of course no Taiwanese breakfast experience is complete without shao bing you tiao (flat bread with sesame and fried dough stick).
I taught Alex and Lauren how we eat it back home - we usually put the fried dough inside the flat bread, which results in a greasy all-carb sandwich, and dip it in soy milk or soy sauce. Perfection. Jo Jo's flat bread and dough stick were pretty good, but were denser and greasier than I prefer.
We finished our meal with an order of leek pockets, or what Alex said upon seeing them, "Chinese empanadas!"
I need to find a way to incorporate leek more into my daily diet, because it's just so yum-inducing. The pocket filling was amazing - perfect ratio of leek, egg, and noodles. The pocket itself was deep fried, and while it was very enjoyable, I prefer the dough of leek pockets to be a little thinner and pan-fried.
All in all, Jo Jo Taipei is not to be missed. Jeremy, lemme know the next time you're in town, and we'll go grab some Taiwanese grub together! <3
103 Brighton Ave
Allston, MA 02134
617-254-8889
pretty sure i could just live off of those fried steamed buns!
ReplyDelete