French Cuisine with a Taiwanese Soul in Dadaocheng – Yes, You Can Even Try Stinky Tofu Here!

Text and photos by /Xiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

I always love telling my friends that the inclusiveness of Taiwanese people when it comes to food is truly admirable; of course, if you want to interpret that as being overly Westernized, I won’t argue (laughs). Over the years, it’s been heartening to see many chefs using plenty of local Taiwanese ingredients and reinterpreting them with culinary techniques from other countries to create flavors that are uniquely Taiwanese. However, such creative cuisine often receives wildly polarized reviews—those who like it praise its creativity, while those who don’t say it’s a mess. Today’s restaurant, which proudly labels itself as having “Taiwanese soul with French technique,” is a place that uses local Taiwanese ingredients and French cooking methods to create a unique visual and flavor experience.

Dihua Street has always been one of my favorite streets for a stroll, even though I prefer the quieter, more run-down latter half and second section. It’s been a while since I’ve walked to the end near Taipei Bridge, and I noticed there are fewer old buildings and more new ones. As I walked, I suddenly sighed to myself that Dihua Street has changed a lot. Although the change isn’t in the direction I prefer, I’m actually quite happy to see it. This might sound contradictory, but it’s how I truly feel—maybe preserving old culture and developing tourism are inherently conflicting ideas?

Feng She is located roughly at the end of the first section of Dihua Street, near Taipei Bridge, right across from the well-known local souvenir shop “Jiang Ji Hualong.” Previously, Xiao Hu shared that the restaurant has a beautiful garden.[Taipei MRT Food] [Daqiaotou Station Food] D.g Café: A Secret Garden Breakfast in Dihua Streetnearby.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the appearance of this row of red-brick houses, but I really like this corridor. Even though I don’t have what you’d call a “photographer’s eye,” and I can never seem to capture the feeling I want....

Anyway, “Feng She” is located in the front section of this row. What’s particularly interesting is that these houses all have a front entrance—or perhaps it’s better to call it a front courtyard. That’s quite charming. And this front courtyard naturally becomes a fantastic waiting area. Clever!

From this angle, you might get a clearer view—the right side is the entrance we just came through, and the left is a row of buildings that look relatively new, creating a contrast between old and new, or perhaps you could call it a hidden gem??

At the very end, you’ll see this somewhat laughable-looking gatepost, seemingly called “Dihua Street New World.” Walking out this gate leads to Huanshui Road, meaning that if you’re driving here, entering from this end might be more convenient. Or you could just park at the parking lot under Taipei Bridge—it’s pretty handy too.

By the way, why is that guy in the mirror not standing properly and instead taking a photo while leaning sideways? Thinking he won’t be in the shot... Alright, let’s not worry about him—let’s go in and enjoy some good food (laughs).

I just said I didn’t like the exterior much, but I’m actually quite fond of the interior of the restaurant. The East-meets-West design is especially beautiful and atmospheric when sunlight streams in through the wooden windows, and it also fits the “Taiwanese soul with French technique” style. I looked it up and apparently it was previously called “Zhi Er,” and the decor hasn’t changed much.

● ETtoday News Cloud reminds you: Minors should not drink alcohol. / Don’t drink and drive, don’t drive if you’ve been drinking.

Speaking of French cuisine, you naturally need good wine. Here, they have both red and white, and you can choose your own or let the staff pair it for you. If it’s not good, I just skip it (laughs).

Actually, before my friend invited me to eat here, I had no idea what kind of cuisine they served. But when I saw the menu on the blackboard, I couldn’t help but smile—just reading the dish names was amusing enough XD.

Okay, when I saw “Taiwanese soul with French technique,” I didn’t quite get it at first, so I took another look at the dish names and then understood—it’s a restaurant that combines Taiwanese dishes, ingredients, and French cooking techniques.

They made the famous Taiwanese snack, eel, into a French-style salad starter. Without even thinking, I ordered a portion. The stinky tofu with thyme sauce at the bottom also caught my eye—it sounded funny, so I got that too. I was laughing as I ordered (laughs).

Then what the heck is this “One Table, Two Chairs, and a Painted Face”? Whatever, I’ll get that too... I also wanted to try “The Long-Tailed Bird in the Green Shade,” but the kind waitress reminded me that both dishes contain fish, so I had to... pass.

I actually wanted to order all three of these, but for some reason, the main dish I ended up choosing was the “Tomahawk Pork Chop”......

Alright, looking back, the two of us ordered the top three set meals (Pork 850, Beef 950), and then added a few more items.

I remember the bread was complimentary. The crust is thin and crispy—just squeeze it a bit and flakes fall all over the table. The inside is soft and fragrant, and when dipped in the red wine vinegar—which has a nice texture and taste—I ended up eating two pieces even though I usually don’t touch pre-meal bread.

By the way, they don’t serve plain water here, so I ordered a glass of sparkling water.

For our set meal appetizer, we chose the French-style marinated mackerel skin. When it arrived, I realized there was less mackerel skin than I expected—maybe you could just think of it as a salad appetizer.

It was paired with common salad ingredients like carrots, onions, arugula, and potatoes, and the presentation looked quite stylish—not like most salads where everything is just mixed together.

The highlight, the mackerel, seemed to have been marinated in oil. It was quite smooth and tender, with the skin retaining a bit of chewiness. The flesh was soft and delicious, and best of all, there was absolutely no fishy smell. The other ingredients were all fresh too. The only issue was that there might have been a bit too much olive oil drizzled on top—it started to feel greasy after two or three bites.

Thyme Sauce Stinky Tofu + White Mushrooms 280 NT$, this dish looked more promising than the previous one—at least the key stinky tofu was more visually striking and interesting.

As expected of stinky tofu, it arrived with that signature “stinky” aroma (laughs). Well, basically it tasted like steamed stinky tofu, but the texture was somewhat like fried—crispy-soft with a hint of bean juice, really quite delicious. The bacon, mushrooms, and arugula leaves were all tasty too, but it didn’t really create a new flavor experience. In other words, if you ate those elements separately, it wouldn’t be much different—though I still thought it was delicious.

For the soup, we chose the sesame oil, ginger, ham, and carrot soup. This soup was interesting—my first sip made me think it was a mis-served pumpkin soup. But because it was quite rich and delicious, I didn’t mind. It was only after my friend curiously asked that I learned it was indeed a carrot soup... The thick, sweet broth carried a delicate and enchanting ginger aroma at first, along with a subtle hint of salty ham, plus the fragrance of the drizzled oil. Though it became a bit salty and heavy toward the end, overall I’d give this bowl of soup a good rating.

“One Table, Two Chairs, and Painted Face” – 490 NT. When ordering, the female server actually explained the origin of the dish name once, but I might have been too busy taking photos to catch it clearly. When the male server brought it out, I asked again to understand. Basically, the fish is called “Painted Face,” and the owner of this restaurant, being a fan of Chinese opera, came up with a dish name related to it. Since a table and two chairs are basic props on an opera stage, and “Painted Face” is also a character name in Chinese opera, putting them together makes perfect sense.

Noticing we were taking photos, the server asked if we’d like to take a picture of the whole fish first before slightly breaking it down for easier eating.

If I had to say what cuisine this dish is, I’d lean more toward Taiwanese than French, whether in plating or flavor. Though there’s still a bit of Western influence, even a slight touch of Southeast Asian fish preparation, the star is still the tender, sweet fish itself—extremely delicious. The asparagus on top was also great.

The main course of the set meal was the red wine eight-treasure berry tomahawk pork chop. Alright, I’ll admit I decided to order it as soon as I saw “tomahawk pork chop.” As for the “red wine eight-treasure berry” part before it, I only asked after it was served. What are eight-treasure berries? The answer I got was exactly what I expected—it’s a type of berry... Apparently, it used to be commonly made into preserves, and it was cooked with red wine to make a sauce. But what’s special is that very little of this sauce was poured on, as they didn’t want to overpower the flavor of the tomahawk pork chop too much. Well, basically, the sauce was delicious—sweet and tangy with a faint hint of wine aroma, not too strong or greasy, just right, and it did serve its role as a flavorful prelude.

In terms of texture, the first bite was firm, the second soft and tender, but the level of fat rendering was slightly lacking for my taste. Fortunately, the doneness of the pork chop was grilled to perfection, with a tempting pinkish hue. It was still quite delicious, especially the parts with more fat around the edges—eating them together with the lean meat was insanely good. The side vegetables seemed only lightly seared in oil, but they were also quite tasty.

Pineapple coconut jelly cheesecake – 150 NT. If there was anything less special about this meal, it might be this dessert. But saying it’s not special doesn’t mean it wasn’t good—the cheesecake was decent in both texture and flavor. But maybe it lacked that “special” element I always look forward to getting more of (laughs). If I had to say what was special, it was the pineapple sauce with added coconut jelly at the bottom and the pink-colored dried fruits on the side, which were quite interesting.

Feng She
Address: No. 350, Section 1, Dihua Street, Datong District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2557-9935
Business Hours: 11:30–14:30, 17:30–21:30 (Closed on Mondays)

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