xavvy-licious: 886 Bistro @Jalan Besar

Saturday, September 30, 2023

886 Bistro @Jalan Besar

Our last visit to Taiwan was about a decade ago, I am sure missing all the delicacies! And of course, we have no plans of visiting soon, I find comfort in the locally served Taiwanese food. Here's one located in town (if you know where the former Lavender Food Square was, 886 Bistro is just right across the road), walking distance from Boon Keng Station and Farrer Park Station. +886 is actually the international dialing code for Taiwan and I thought how unique it is, to name the bistro after the country.

Heard from the staff that 886 Bistro was a covid baby and yes, it's a survivor! A modern, simple and commodious bistro in blue and white, looks pretty family-friendly too if you have a pram with you and it is fully air-conditioned, you can dine in comfort.

Here you can find comfort Taiwanese street food, commonly sought after Lu Rou Fan and Bubble Tea since Taiwan is also known as the Land of Bubble Tea.

We ordered some of their signatures and highly recommended these dishes that we all loved:

Ah Bao Braised Pork Rice ($5.80)

cooked using Premium Japanese Rice using high quality superior soy sauce. The melt-in-your-mouth pork belly was braised for more than 24 hours and only this was used, not even minced meat. The taste was well balanced, not salty at all. Toss it up with the garnished spring onions and sweet turnips. It's comforting like this, just like how. You can also top up with the add-on of quail eggs, pork floss or miso soup.

Truffle Scallion Udon ($9.80) is similar to Truffle Chicken Rice, atop the ubon was moist and tender chicken strips. The aroma of the truffle was strong but not overwhelming. Toss the udon well and every mouthful was heavenly!

Ah Bao Braised Stew ($7.80)

Braised in the same goodness as the braised pork, I find this dish pretty unique though I am not a fan of white radish. This dish contained a medley of ingredients. From Taiwanese glutinous rice cake, something we did not try before and it had a pretty interesting texture, mushroom, quail egg, meatball and fish roe strip. (not that the ingredients are subjected to changes)

Golden Shoestring Fries ($11.80) covered with braised minced pork instead of the usual minded beef sold elsewhere, 3 cheese, mayonnaise and spring onion. No wonder it made it as one of their signature dishes. Even my mum gave praise for it.

Imperial Pork Chop, 2pcs ($8.80)

Recipe used was from founder of 886 Bistro's great grandparents, a family secret recipe for more than 3 decades! The boneless pork chop made it a breeze for the kids to sink their bites in. Fried to a crisp on the outside, succulent and tender on the inside, with a slightly chewy texture. Xav loved this the most, I saw that he almost cleaned up the entire serving until I had to asked him to leave me a piece to try. The spices on the pork chop enhanced the taste to something mildly sweet and aromatic. I am no fan of pork but I will not say no to more of it.

Honey Glazed Crispy Chicken ($8.80)

Fried chicken thigh chop, glazed to perfection with honey and topped with sesame seeds. This dish made it to the kids' favorite as well.

Under the beverage menu, it has a variety to choose from Yakult and Earl Grey beverage and Black Tea with fruity flavors (peach, lychee, mango, passionfruit and lemon). The youngster would probably fancy fruity sodas more! And since Taiwan is also known as the land of bubble tea, you can also opt to add in your favorite boba or jelly into the drinks. The refreshing and appetizing Sour plum lime juice ($4).

No matter how full you are, there should always be room for desserts! They have really nice Sweet Potato Taro Ball, 5pcs ($5.80) in my opinion!

The sweet potato taro balls were coated with sour plum mix, it was light yet appetizing to taste! For the yam lovers!! Go for this treat; Yam brûlée ($5.20)