Cantonese food in Taipei doesn’t get much better than 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant. Expect a clean, yet no-frills interior that is complimented by simple, yet delicious Cantonese food. As you walk in there’s an open kitchen, allowing you to see everything as it is being cooked to order. You’ll find classic Cantonese food such as chow mein, Cantonese -style sausage, wonton soup, stewed beef brisket, porridge, and dim sum!
I’ve been coming here for years whenever I feel the urge to eat Cantonese food, and I tend to get the same thing again and again. I wasn’t here for dim sum this time, but perhaps next time I will come here solely to update this post. Have you had dim sum here? Is there anything you’d recommend? Comment on this post and let me know, as I’m happy to take recommendations!
There seems to be somewhat of a misconception that Cantonese food is overly salty and doesn’t hold much flavour. But I have to disagree. I think that while the flavours are typically a little stronger than some Taiwanese dishes, they bring flavour and a great balance. Whether that’s a spicy fried noodle (chow mein) dish or delicious stewed beef with rice, the flavours are great, and I am definitely a fan of Cantonese food here at 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant.
Table of Contents
You can see the menu highlighted on the walls of this restaurant, with some pictures showing more of the classic dishes that are on offer here. It’s not here to win design awards, but it’s here to bring delicious Cantonese food to your table that will happily fill your belly.
Be sure to get some of their Cantonese preserved sausage before you leave. Top tip – Wash it, peel it, cut it, and stick it on top of your rice before you put it into the rice cooker. The fat and flavour will seep into your rice as it cooks. A quick lash with some soy sauce and stir it all together once cooked – delicious Cantonese sausage rice.
If you aren’t sure how to order or what to do when you arrive at 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant, then this is the post for you. See below for How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
The Menu at 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant
While the menu is vast, we are helped with bilingual options throughout. The menu focuses on 7 main areas. Whether you're in the mood for dim sum, dry noodles, soup noodles, porridge, rice, soup, or main dishes such as braised beef, you'll find something for everyone here.
The Table Spread
Now let me be completely honest about how I feel about porridge in Taiwan. Typically, I find this porridge at hotel buffets where it's a vat of wet rice served next to a host of toppings. You spoon some pork floss on top, maybe some cured bean curd, and then you're pretty much done. I don't like that at all.
However, here at 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant, they bring Cantonese-style porridge to the fore, with a perfectly thick porridge consistency complimented by many ingredients and a wonderfully balanced flavour. This is where porridge gets the green light for me.
Baked BBQ Pork Cake
Char su is a Cantonese-style barbecued pork mix that is characteristically sweet, savoury, and sticky. It has a distinctive red colour due to the spices mixed in, and here is served inside a pastry. Sometimes served inside a steamed bun, I prefer the flakey pastry offerings right here.
Sticky, sweet, salty, flakey, crunchy. Everything here was right on the money. I could've finished off a couple of plates of these. Throw in a cup of Cantonese milk tea, and that's one hell of an afternoon tea set right there.
Rice with mix Cantonese style sausages
There's something I can't quite put my finger on with Cantonese sausages. It could be the fact that they tend to start off quite sweet, but then give way to an almost alcohol-like flavour that then gives way to saltiness before heading back to sweet. They're full of pork flavour and tend to be quite dense, but they are just so delicious. Made even better here with a soft-yolk fried egg to dip them in.
While the core ingredients remain the same among many variations of Cantonese sausages, it seems that the two above with the black one being made with pork liver, whereas the red one is the quintessential Cantonese sausage original. I love both. Yes, the black one does have a moderately heavier flavour to it, but not so that you would immediately identify it as being the iron liver flavour you are familiar with.
Rice porridge with pork meat, liver, and intestine
The hit of spring onions with that crunchy deep-fried dough stick crumbled on top adds a lovely contrast of colour to the savoury porridge.
Inside this one, we have pork meat, liver, and intestine. All are delicious. Of course, liver tends to be stronger in flavour compared to many other offal, but the balance with the flavours within this porridge is really good. The pork is delicate and remains juicy, not in any way overcooked. The intestines bring a great chewiness to everything, with the deep-fried dough stick bringing a crunchy texture with each bite.
The savoury porridge is balanced really nicely and is well worth ordering during the colder months here in Taiwan.
Sponge cake
I'm a sucker for cake. I love cake. All cake. This brown sugar sticky steamed cake is so fragrant as soon as it's put down, that I could bury my face in it and be very happy. You're served a big wedge of this cake, but it's so light and airy that you really won't mind that at all. Would it be better served with custard? Maybe. But, be that as it may, it's still delicious without it.
Fragrant brown sugar flavour sings throughout, with a lovely soft and chewy consistency to the cake itself. You're going to want to order this.
The Bottom Line
Is it worth it? Cantonese food in Taiwan is great. 1976 Hong Kong Restaurant is one of my favourite places to get Cantonese when I feel the urge.
What is the best dish? I like the Cantonese-style sausage with rice, but if you're feeling the cold then the porridge here is one of the best Cantonese-style porridge in the city.
Are there other places like this? There are plenty of Cantonese food speciality restaurants around the city.
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