Penglai Restaurant is famous in Beitou for its cuisine; don’t miss its signature dish “crispy spare ribs.”

Text and photos byXiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

Someone asked me what Taiwanese cuisine is? I think this kind of restaurant-style food is one of them. I’d heard of Penglai’s reputation as far back as five or six years ago and knew this place was known for serving the classic Beitou-style restaurant cuisine. Its signature is the “crispy spare ribs,” and this plate of “squid, snail meat, and garlic” is also an outstanding highlight.

Interestingly, I initially thought Penglai wasn’t originally this location but “Golden Penglai.” We won’t delve into the details and intricacies of that relationship, but according to a local named Brother Arno, this seems to be the original flagship store. The above story serves not only to set the record straight about “Penglai,” but also to reflect on Beitou’s glorious past and legacy, as well as to explain the origins of this “restaurant-style cuisine.”

Narrative

When we arrived, Penglai had just been renovated. Whether it was the dining tables and chairs or the food photos on the walls on both sides, everything looked brand new, giving off a bright and comfortable vibe.

If you’re too lazy to choose your own dishes or if you’re in a larger group, you can also opt for the pre-arranged set meals offered by the restaurant, with prices ranging from 2000 to 8800 NTD.

Alternatively, you could just go for the restaurant’s recommended signature dishes, though if you look closely, you’ll notice many famous restaurant-style dishes aren’t included.

This Penglai crispy spare rib is like the restaurant’s treasure—coming here without trying one would be a waste.

Penglai Crispy Spare Ribs. As soon as it was served, the aroma of frying wafted over, but I kept noticing why the fried spare ribs had a slightly yellow tint. When I took a bite, the coating was somewhat thick, but it didn’t feel overly heavy in the mouth. The main reason was that the outer skin was lightly crispy, slightly oily, and carried a hint of five-spice flavor. When you bit into it, surprisingly good juices (or maybe oil?) burst out a little hot, and the meat had a nice sweetness. Overall, the texture and taste were great—it truly lives up to being a signature dish.

Imperial Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. I’ve eaten countless versions of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at “banquet tables” since childhood and have also tried many hotel versions as an adult, but the taste has always felt a bit different. Regarding that, a food-savvy friend once told me it’s because the ingredients used in the past were different from those today. Many hotels boast fresher, better, and more ingredients, yet they often fail to recreate that childhood flavor. But Penglai’s version instantly transported my taste buds back to my childhood—the sweetness of the broth, its umami, the mixed saltiness from various ingredients, and the subtle oily fragrance. It was delicious. If I had to say how it differs from the childhood version, it’s that the broth is much clearer, and of course, the ingredients aren’t stewed until mushy like in banquet dishes.

Squid, Snail Meat, and Garlic. In the past—meaning when I was a child—I had never eaten this dish until I tried it at an elder’s birthday party a few years ago. To be honest, at the time, my taste buds told me what made it good: it was like the flavor of canned snail meat soup, just slightly adjusted to be less salty and intense. But at Penglai, I don’t know if they added something different in the cooking, but I found it particularly delicious—carrying the aroma of celery and a mild, soothing garlic scent. The only thing that stayed the same was that the squid was still tough to chew, though that might just be my sensitive teeth talking XD.

Penglai White Jade Free-Range Chicken. It tasted a bit like corn-fed chicken but with less oiliness. The skin was slightly chewy and had a good bite, while the chicken itself, more akin to free-range, had a firmer texture, though I found the oiliness lacking—it just wasn’t my “kind of chicken.”

Garlic Crisps on King Oyster Mushrooms. Just the fried king oyster mushrooms on their own were pretty good—the mushrooms retained decent moisture—but the garlic crisps on top felt like a separate flavor, meaning you wouldn’t really taste garlic unless you had some. Picking up a mushroom and then a few pieces of garlic crisp was also kind of tedious XD.

Soft Jade Tofu. This thing was huge—it was so big when it arrived at the table that everyone gasped. It was roughly the size of a woman’s fist.

The outer skin, though thin, had a slight oily feel, as if coated with something like egg yolk. The filling included emulsified tofu, the saltiness of ham, the fragrance of sesame, and the unique taste of cilantro, giving it a texture somewhat like a lobster sandwich.

Stir-Fried Three Delicacies. For some reason, what should’ve landed on the spoon ended up on the plate XD. However, even though my photo came out bad, the flavors were well-balanced—the oiliness and saltiness were just right. The sweetness of the squid and shrimp wasn’t lost due to the sauce, and the squid, shrimp, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms all had varying textures of crispness—a very satisfying example of Taiwanese flavor.

Sweet and Sour Fish. As a kid, I absolutely loved sweet and sour fish—or rather, I loved the sweet and sour sauce, especially the onions drenched in it, because I basically didn’t eat seafood back then XD. The seasoning on this dish reminded me of the taste from the stir-fry auntie downstairs in my childhood neighborhood. The sweetness was a bit stronger, the acidity mellowed on the tongue, and even more impressively, the fish was fried to a crisp—the skin was way more exciting than the flesh.

Kumquat Duck Rolls. This dish isn’t technically considered restaurant-style cuisine. It seems to have become popular in recent years, originating from Yilan. It mainly combines the natural sweet-tartness of kumquats with duck meat. The duck skin and fat parts especially carry a subtle sweet-tart kumquat flavor, and the mayo drizzled on top also seemed to have a slight tangy sweetness—though that might just be my imagination XD.

Egg Yolk Taro Strips. If I remember correctly, taro “dates” like these used to come without egg yolk, though I’m not sure when that changed. But honestly, I love this variation—the addition of egg yolk makes the fried taro less monotonous and greasy. The texture and flavor have more variety, and the taro itself is fried to perfection—crispy but not oily. Spot on.

Penglai’s Exquisite Taiwanese Cuisine

1F, No. 238, Zhonghe Street, Beitou District, Taipei City | Tel: 02-28912778

Business Hours: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

"Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog
If “eating” is just about filling your stomach, then “food” would be far too boring～～"