Meili Restaurant for Authentic Taiwanese Food in Taipei 美麗餐廳

Restaurant name: Meili 美麗餐廳
Address: No. 146, Jinzhou Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei
GPS: 25°03'37.1"N 121°31'45.1"E
Nearest MRT: Xingtian Temple Station 行天宮站
Tel: +886 2 2521 0698 (advance booking is highly advised)
Hours: 5:30pm - 9:30pm

Meili is a 30 year old restaurant which is named after its founder Meili 美麗 (her nickname). Meili Restaurant is now run by second generation owner - Meili's daughter, her husband and two sons. The popular little eatery specialising in traditional Taiwanese cuisine, has lots of loyal fans but is under the social media radar. This relatively low profile gem was awarded the Bib Gourmand in the inaugural Taipei Michelin Guide 2018. Michelin has inspectors in the know in Taipei 👏👏👏

Meili's signature dishes are old school, home style Taiwanese - they include poached chicken, braised pork intestines, pork liver in herbs, stewed crab with mung bean noodles, fried luffa gourd pancake, and their luxurious "Buddha jump over the wall".

Meili's pork liver is marinated in Chinese herbs. The blanched liver is done just right with light springy, tender crunchy texture.

Their braised pork intestines are served in a claypot with bubbling hot braising stock. The large intestines are packed with small intestines and braised with vegetables for sweetness. Customers like the springy tender bite of the intestines and the old school flavour of this braised dish.

Meili's "Buddha jump over the wall" is an indulgent stew of pork belly, chicken, yam, abalone, scallop, shark skin, chicken skin, pork trotter etc. The stew is held together by thick gummy collagen and gelatin, melted from all the rich ingredients in the pot.

煎丝瓜 Luffa gourd pancake is made by mixing luffa mash with shrimp, enveloped with potato flour, then pan fried till it is crisp outside. The sweet pancake is moist and juicy inside.

Stewed fish with a sweet zesty sauce is made with vegetables, pineapple, sea cucumber, tendon etc. The sea fish is first pan fried to seal in the natural sweet juices and to stiffen the meat, so that it can withstand the stewing.