Eating Out: [台中市] 阿秋大肥鵝 (Big Juicy Goose, Taichung, Taiwan)

If you’re confused by my last two posts (the earlier one saying I was already back in Taiwan, the later one saying that it wasn’t worth $2000 to fly back to Taiwan to buy 杏仁餅); I definitely apologize . . . I am still in Taiwan, the post on black sesame polvoron was actually written prior to my coming back to Taiwan (saved as a draft).

I’m definitely enjoying my long stay here; my grandparents have been so gracious and have taken me to a bunch of restaurants here in Taichung. I’ve taken pains to capture every single meal that I’ve eaten out; my entire extended family is so used to me pulling out my camera that they actually rotate the lazy susan towards me with every new dish served so that I can take a photo first!

As I won’t be cooking much here, there won’t be much in the way of recipe posts; rather, I’ll be posting about all the great food I’ve been eating so far here in Taiwan.

The first week I was back, my grandparents took me to a restaurant near our home called 阿秋大肥鵝, literally “Big Juicy Goose”, a restaurant specializing in Taiwanese 小吃 (literally, “small eats”, can be likened to tapas, or small dishes) and what else, goose:

小吃 always pairs well with a cold glass of beer; they have specials on Taiwan’s ubiquitous Taiwan beer here and upon ordering a bottle (or 4 in my grandpa’s case) you’ll promptly be served by a Taiwan beer girl . . .

The menu here is quite cute; you take a crayon and just check off what dishes you’d like to order and hand it to your server.

First up: the house specialty, “fat goose”, slices of fatty dark goose meat, in a light soy broth, accompanied by pickled daikon and carrots. I don’t really like eating poultry, but I must admit this dish was tasty; the goose was moist, the broth was light and not greasy. If you’re a fan of eating the chicken/duck/goose skin with that thick layer of fat underneath, this dish is for you.

Next up: 南瓜炒米粉 (Pumpkin Stir-fried rice noodles), a typical preparation of rice noodles here in Taiwan. Not bad, but not great either.

Marinated and grilled eel. I always thought of eel as a “winter” type of food as it’s so warming, but apparently it’s also considered a “summer” food here as eel is supposed to have “strengthening” properties which help you get through the insane summer heat here. I liked this dish, the marinade was pleasantly sweet and savory and the eel was nicely grilled (crispy on the edges with a moist interior). I couldn’t eat too much of this though, as it’s quite rich.

Next: Stir-fried bean sprouts topped with deep fried shallots. Light and a good palate cleanser after all the meat. This dish was on the house; most Taiwanese restaurants serve a free vegetable dish if you order enough.

Those who know me well know I have a weird thing about not wanting to eat meat (i.e., the muscular part of the animal) but loving eating all sorts of offal (I’m the best and worst vegan ever). This dish was ordered for me specially; pig intestines with sour pickled vegetables. There’s an inordinate amount of ginger in this dish, but it serves the purpose of taking away any “smelliness” that the pig intestines impart. Personally, I love any kind of “stinky” or “fermented” foods (Taiwanese “stinky tofu” (臭豆腐) and 臭臭鍋 (stinky hot pot, a bubbling pot of sticky rice and pork blood cakes, pig intestine and pickled vegetables) are some of my favorites). Have I grossed anyone out yet?

阿秋大肥鵝
台中市朝富路258路(與龍門路交叉路口)
04-22512966
午餐: 11：00 ~ 14：00
晚餐: 16：30 ~ 01：30
365天全年無休

Big Juicy Goose
At the corner of Chaofu Rd. and Longmen 3rd St.
04-22512966
Lunch: 11：00 ~ 14：00
Dinner: 16：30 ~ 01：30
Open 365 days of the year.