One of the groups I'm in was at this restaurant a good while back as a happy accident. We were originally across the street at Kimura but as the wait was going to be 45 minutes or something similar for our big group, we decided to go here instead which worked out well as we had both heard very good things about this place. The place was busy as it was around 6 or 6:15 or so and the staff was rushing all over but they were still friendly. The seats were bit uncomfortable and quite close together but they do with the space they have and it's St. Marks so some of this is expected. I think I might have had the non-alcoholic version of the winter melon tea but I don't remember. The lighting inside is dark so many of my photos came out pretty bad so I like to give thanks to a certain someone for allowing me to use his. We shared a lot of dishes though I'll be discussing my favorite first.
The Zhu Xie Gao/豬血糕 with house-made pig's blood cake, garlic, chili, Thai basil, and cilantro for $15 was probably our favorite dish or tied. I've had this prior at only a handful of spots and I think I remember requesting it as I rarely see it. This is a Taiwanese night market staple and they make a very good version here. The cake had a perfect chewy texture from the sticky rice with a good hit of chili and garlic and I would highly recommend it with the portion size being decent also enough to share.
The most popular dish here is probably the Lo Ba Beng/滷肉飯 with shredded tender braised pork belly, soft egg, mustard greens, and koshihikari rice which is $15. There is a generous amount of pork with the bit of salty sour mustard greens being a good touch. The egg was pretty similar to a ramen egg with good richness with my only complaint being that the rice could have used a bit more flavor from the fat of the pork even though it was very good quality.
Largest of the plates was the Three Cup Chicken/三杯雞 with bone-in chicken leg, ginger, and Thai basil for $18. They gave it to you with the pot cover still on and instruct to wait a few minutes. When the top was removed, the chicken was still boiling and the aroma wafting from it smelled delicious. Nice tender chicken and a good balance as I find some places at either way too much garlic or are too sweet and this was just right.
The rest of the group loved the Scallion Pancake Beef Wrap/牛肉捲餅 with sourdough scallion pancake, shredded beef shanks, chili oil mayonnaise, hoisin, and cucumber for $16 a bit more than me. This came with four pieces with the last piece being much larger which makes it a little bit awkward to split but I don't mind. This shank inside while sparse was very tender and the pancake had a great texture with a good mix of flavors though personally I wouldn't have minded a bit more chili oil so the cake was my favorite.
The Sacha Black Pepper Beef/沙茶牛肉 with ribeye, a choy, and onions for $19 was tasty with tender beef though there was a lot more veggies than anything else. Not too salty and just well flavored but again they could give more beef.
The Fly's Head/蒼蠅頭 with garlic chives, ground pork, chili, and fermented black beans for $17 was solid. This is also available vegan which is a nice touch and makes sense as the primary flavor in this dish is said chives and the fermented bean. I wouldn't order this as your only dish or as the solo main as it's so strongly flavored/a bit salty but that's always the case with this dish. The price was also reasonable for the quantity.
The Oyster Omelette/蚵仔煎 with a choy, wok egg, Thai chili, and Thai basil for $15 was fine though it's hard to just go by my opinion because I'm never the biggest fan of said dish. The rest of the people liked it with the sweet chili and I had some of it and it did taste good.
Just OK was the Handmade Shrimp Cakes/月亮蝦餅 with gulf shrimp, ground pork, and sweet and sour sauce for $15. There was a bit of chew from the cakes with a light bounciness. These were fine though I would get other dishes for a buck or two more not to mention their signature which is literally the same price for a lot more food and quality.
Outside of the two beef dishes, the proteins were plentiful in every dish we had here which is saying something at this price range. They could honestly probably charge an extra 5$ here and there just because it's on St. Marks and get away with it because of the good quality and I appreciate that they don't. Mid 4 rounded up and one of the gems on St. Marks and popular for a good reason. Go here with a group and share a bunch. read more