There’s always a way to enjoy life. The popular hot spring Beitou area in Taipei has a lot to offer. You may easily spend a whole day walking around, visiting museums, enjoying hot springs, and have a nice meal in a private kitchen.
Locating in an old commercial/residential building, “A Jiao House” is a cosy private kitchen that offers creative Taiwanese cuisine. Like other private kitchens, there is no menu. Yet there are some signature dishes that are served often. There is a price range of TWD 1,000 to 1,500 per person. You may set your budget but it is also subject to the availability of food ingredients.
Smart Travel: please call in advance as soon as you confirm your trip. Last minute cancellation and no show will be very damaging because the owner has to prepare for all the logistics and shopping. There were only two of us during lunch hour in our last visit. Just think about how much work there were to prepare a full meal with so many courses for just two customers. Be a considerable traveller.
Dim lighting, book shelves and a set of traditional drum-shaped ceramic table by the entrance just look like someone’s home. 走進「阿嬌的店」，第一眼看到的是一桌中式鼓型陶瓷餐檯椅，旁邊有書架，整體環境像一個家。There are only a few tables that fits no more than 20 people at a time. 空間不大，每餐大概可以容立不超過20位客人。This analog projection clock is an interesting decoration on the wall. 牆上的投射時鐘是「阿嬌的店」的特色“擺設”。Each customer is served with a special Chinese tea that meant to be appropriate for the season. 每位客人進來都會先喝一杯養生茶，我這天喝的是「清草養肝茶」。The Taiwanese braised soy sauce eggs are braised by a secret recipe and took six hours to cook. 台灣到處都有滷蛋，這看似簡單的小吃，「阿嬌的店」是用秘製滷水汁，花六個小時煮出來的。這個滷蛋完全不硬！Appetizer: cucumber mixed with coralline algae with sprinkle of mullet fish roe sauce. The coralline algae was imported from non-polluted area, ensuring the highest quality. 涼菜：青瓜伴珊瑚草，珊瑚草是從沒有污染的地方進口的，確保最高食材質素。配上有烏魚子的醬汁，味道特別。The salted mullet roe with apple was the second appetizer on the side of the cucumber salad. The mix of salted fish roe and the fresh sweet taste of an apple is very creative and taste good! I give it a like. 烏魚子和蘋果是涼拌青瓜旁的另一種吃法。當然主角是烏魚子。帶鹹味的烏魚子夾清甜的蘋果一起吃，有創意，還好好味！一讚！Quality is key to good food. The “no menu” business model gives the owner the flexibility to choose the best food available in the market of the day. This is a steamed fresh squid. The highlight is the black bean soy sauce dip. 「阿嬌的店」堅持食材要新鮮，每天到市場買最好的食材，這「脆卷」是蒸魷魚，重點是配黑豆醬油，五味醬，突出鮮味。Stewed calabash or bottle gourd is the signature dish of “A Jiao”. It looks beautiful and tastes really good! Thumbs up! 碧玉瓢瓜（葫蘆瓜）可說是鎮店之寶，賣相已經像一副畫，一看就知道是相機先吃的一道菜。味道一流，從來沒有吃過這麼好吃的葫蘆瓜，入口即溶，讚！A Jiao’s cooking style: no stir fried, no deep fried, not oily. Most of the dishes take time to cook and are easy for the stomach. 阿嬌的宗旨：不炒不炸不油，要讓你的脾胃毫無負擔，吃了舒服就好。Marlin thick soup. The owner said that you are lucky to have this because blue marlin is only available in the winter and it’s rare. There were big chunks of fish meat in the soup. Delicious! To me, it’s lucky to be able to eat, not to mention good food. 髮菜旗魚羹：老闆說是福氣菜，有福氣才能嚐到的，因為白旗魚冬天才有，百中選一。羹內有大大塊的旗魚肉，味道一流。我覺得可以溫飽就己經是福氣！The Taiwanese braised pork with rice is appetizing. 滷肉飯一看就知道好味道，不用多說。The dessert was a sweet soup with grass jelly, osmanthus flowers and basil seeds. Every body has a separate stomach for dessert, right? Of course it is home-made and taste good! 甜點是仙草桂花山粉圓湯，有另一個胃放甜品嗎？口說飽還是會吃，這是老闆花功夫做的甜品，不太甜，清涼好味。
After lunch, the owner asked me: “would you like to walk or take the elevator?”. I don’t understand. It’s on the 4th floor so I suppose we could walk. Well, this patio connects to the back alley that leads to the main road. That’s why. Interesting. 吃完午餐，老闆問我要走路還是搭電梯。我想：這是四樓，是可以走樓梯的。結果，他指的是這個有盆栽的露台原來是後門，可以走到大廈後巷，再往下走到大路。真特別，前門進來，後門走。Address: Room 304, 4th floor, 220 Guangming Road, Beitou District, Taipei 地址：台北北投區光明路220號4樓304室
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