Apr 30, 2012

Brit Shake 英國ㄋㄟ ㄋㄟ

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In the Gong Guan nightmarket, there is a stall that is unique among the others. Amongst the uncles and aunties manning traditional and cliche foods such as chitterlings noodle and stinky tofu stands a petite Englishwomen selling  milkshakes and baked potatoes. A baked potato goes for 65 NT, and you get to hear the most adorable Chinese with an English accent.
Address: 台北中正區羅斯福路四段90巷2號
                No. 2, Lane 90, Section 4, LuóSīFú Rd, Jhongjheng District
Phone #: 0918256268
Business Hours: 18:00-22:00 closed Wednesday
Website: Brit Shake Facebook Page
Accepts Credit Cards: no
Price Range: $
Attire: casual
Good for kids: yes
Take out: yes
Waiter Service: no
Outdoor seating: no
Alcohol: no

Rating
Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Side Note: Baked Potato on the Go.
Review
I was kind of dissapointed because she had changed the look of her stall before I finally came to blog about it. The older stall was not called "English Milkie Milk", but more like English Nana's Baked Potatoes. The old stall had an even more otherwordly design to it. It had a very european feel and stuck out amongst the forest of uninspiring stainless steel stalls. There was also a oven with a very old-world look. You can see the portion of the old stall here. Because of the influence of the prior stall design, I was under the impression that this was a baked potato stall. Little did I know that the roots of this stall actually is the Brit shakes and not the baked potatoes. I will need to return and try their milkshakes at some point before I leave this island. And supposedly, the owner of the stall graduated top of her class from a culinary school in England and came to our island because of love. It's a very impressive background story and certainly personalizes this stall considerably. I felt like she put a lot of thought and design in the look of her stall. Usually, I would cap the points at "3 out of 5" for nightmarket decor, but this stall was just so remarkably different and well designed that she gets an extra point. Also, Her attitude in service was very kind and fast. She serves with a big smile and you can hear the smile in her voice too. That too is a very other wordly type of nightmarket experience. Nightmarket stall owners are usually friendly, but it's more of the local Taiwanese friendliness with a couple of rough edges. This owner gave off a vibe of gentleness and cleanliness that the other stalls don't really emit. They baked potato menu is now hidden on the desktop of the ordering area. I was not so adventurous and tried the "Bacon and Chicken Baked Potato." Perhaps I'll try a Mayo Tuna Potato one day along with one of their shakes.
The baked potatoes here are not what you would expect from a baked potato if you are familiar with the American style baked potatoes. It is a little soggier, which is enitrely the opposite problem since most baked potatoes i've had in the US had more of a problem with being too dry. The potato itself was baked very well. Soft yet firm and flakey but substantial. I was also impressed when she took a chunk of cheese and began to grate it onto my potato. I don't know if that is the most efficient way to complete orders, but it sure showed a lot of heart (用心) in the preparation. It felt more like a personally made baked potato. There were also diced chicken breast in here and she drowned the potato in this mysteriously orange sauce that was thin in consistency. It's a faint cheese sauce / gravy of some kind that flavored the potato and made it less dry. However, I don't really recall any bacon in this supposed "Bacon and Chicken" baked potato. Maybe it was dissolved in the sauce, but there was an apparent absence of crunchy, salty bits of bacon. But really, besides the fact that there wasn't a lot of bacon, it was an average potato. It is a niche product in the midst of more traditional Taiwanese options and i'm glad this woman had the courage to start up this stall.

I would probably like the potato more if it was slightly bigger (although a small Englishwoman selling petite potatoes might be part of the appeal..."so cute (好可愛!)"). There was a sufficient amount of cheese, but I would like some butter and sour cream too. These things were probably all dissolved into the mystery sauce, but the concentration seemed weak. Then again, for 65 NT and at a nightmarket you really can't expect too much. Check out this unique stall at the gong guan nightmarket if you get a chance.

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