101 Taiwanese Cuisine

I’ve gotten well-​acquainted with 101 Taiwanese over the years, thanks to Groupon’s amazing deals. I must have visited at least 3 – 5 times, sadly however, as another reviewer mentioned, I recently received an email from Groupon alerting me to the fact that they have closed. I called over the weekend to verify, but no one answered the phone. If they have truly closed their doors permanently, I’d be pretty upset as 101 Taiwanese — despite the lukewarm Unilocal reviews — was actually a really great restaurant in my opinion. The food was delicious and authentic according to my fellow Unilocaler and dinning partner, Isabella W. who hails from Taiwan. I especially loved their minced pork mini rice bowl, and their fish fillet and sour mustard hotpot which surpassed my expectations. In the summer they have shaved ice which is a favorite and the Asian version of an Italian ice but with a lot of crazy dessert toppings (hello, grass jelly!). Had it not been for the Groupon deals, the prices at this restaurant were slightly higher than the going rate for Flushing standards, and I suspect that is what did them in. But, I still have very fond memories of the atmosphere and especially the food at 101 Taiwanese. They will be (sorely) missed.

Hmm I’m confused. Groupon sent me an email saying this place was closed (which impressed me, talk about proactive) but it doesn’t say so here.
We’ve only come on Groupon deals ($ 30 for $ 60) and it was beyond worth it.
The food here is pretty authentic and just about all of it is delicious. Stinky Tofu anyone? Haha, yes — definitely an acquired taste. But we’ve ordered just about everytihng here and it’s all good so if it’s still open, give it a try!

I updated my review based on my last visit–
I have been here couple of times because of Groupon. The food is average border line below average. And for the price I can get much better food at other restaurants in the vicinity.
The last time i was there I was told the free parking didn’t applied because I used my Groupon and didn’t added up to the minimum of 20? So my bill was like 75 minus the 60 from groupon that I paid 30 for. But he did it as a curiosity. In my mind I was like do I still need to tip on the full amount because I did.
I think it was just nitpicking and bad customer service overall.

Spacious interior with A-​OK Taiwanese food. Staff is friendly and speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin. We saw their A rating at the door front so we decided to give it a try. The Five Flavors Squid was tasty but the Brown Sauce Pork Belly Over Rice fell below expectations. It wasn’t bad but since I compared it to the authentic Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork on Rice) I had in Taiwan, this one didn’t impress.
Main Selection:
— Five Flavors Squid ($ 8.95)
— Brown Sauce Pork Belly Over Rice ($ 4.95)

A few reviews here say that the prices are a bit steep, but I came with a Groupon so I’m a little biased. We had the three cup chicken (not a lot of chicken, but was damn tasty), some noodle dish (not very memorable), shrimp pancake (yum), fried pig intestines (totally awesome as a lot of fat was removed), stinky tofu (my first time ever — it was okay), and five spice squid (yum). Fast service. Might be worth coming back just for the lunch specials.

2.5 stars…
I am a snob when it comes to Taiwanese food because well, I am Taiwanese, and I was born and raised there. But I didn’t have too high of an expectations before coming here cuz I know most Taiwanese food won’t be too authentic in the USA, but this place was a disappointment
Here’s what we ordered:
1) popcorn chicken: way too greasy. Flavor was OK. but what was up with that sweet chilli sauce served on the side? very weird because thats not how it’s usually serve
2) minced pork over rice: big portion, and the best part of the meal. It was fatty, and greasy and the pork belly was cooked nice and soft. Just how it should be.
3) stir fried watercress with garlic: decent. but not easy to messed this up, since I can make the same thing at home really
4) Kung Po squid: it was just ok. A bit too bland and lack a kick like kung po dishes should have
5) Three cup Chicken: TERRIBLE! i can cook better than this! the chicken had no flavor like it should have, and it had some «chicken taste»…not cool!
6) Buffalo fish in spicy sauce: another FAILED dish… I can cook WAY better than this. The sauce and the fish lacked flavored… tasted like the fish was boiled…
Service: service? what service?! we were left in the corner with NO attention at all! had to flag down everybody to get anything done
Décor: big and nice with walls painted with Taiwanese famous tourist attractions
Overall: bland food and terrible service… I will not return again… I will go to Red Chopstick just a few blocks away if I am craving for Taiwanese food

Something must have happened, because I hardly ever disagree with the great Ju L.
This place was not up to par with anything that I have tasted on the island of Taiwan (well, very few things in New York actually are…).
Food: mediocre, at best, and very high in oil/​salinity, at worst. There must be a chef missing on weeknights because sometimes, there’s quality food coming out of here. Most days… meh.
Service: the guy will forget your order even though he repeats it back to you.
Décor: looks relatively clean and this isn’t a small restaurant by Flushing Taiwanese restaurant standards.

I came here on a sat around 5pm. Ordered the stinky tofu, duck blood with chive and buffalo fish in brown sauce.
I grew up eating stinky tofu from shanghai. 101 Taiwanese’s stinky tofu was mild, almost toned down. I can get a whiff of the stink as I was putting it into my mouth, but once I start chewing, I didn’t taste any stickiness. The tofu had a nice crispy skin. But it was too bland, it could used some salt. The larger pieces were also a bit too watery when you bite into it. The sauce was way too salty even for the bland tofu. They could have executed the dish better by having the sauce in a separated dish. Overall, it was a nice appetizer.
I was craving animal blood that night, so I ordered the duck blood with chive. The duck blood is all about the texture. Good duck blood should have the texture of silkened tofu. While the ones here had the texture of soft, almost semi firm tofu, which was not good.
The buffalo fish in brown sauce was good. The meat was melt in your mouth tender. It had good seasoning, but nothing spectacular.
The service was quick and that was about it.
For the quality of food served here, you don’t get what you paid for.
I would not be returning for another meal. There are better choices.

I saw a Groupon deal for this Taiwanese restaurant online, and being a native Taiwanese I’ve always been looking for the next best thing when it comes to authentic Taiwanese food. With Groupon is giving it a half price off, I figure this is a good chance to trying out the place, and it was a good experience.
Décor — Homage to Taiwan
The restaurant does a good job of incorporate some of the street scene into the interior theme without compromising too much of its overall decoration. If you have ever been to Taiwan and enjoy Taiwanese food, you would know the best food is always found at the night market after dusk. This place tries to give you a sense of street food by pasting menu sign on the wall and column post with some of the most popular dishes in the cuisine. It also has good decoration of the Tower 101 on the wall, and mahogany color table that match its theme. It gives you a coherent theme compare to other eateries in the neighborhood that is just plain wall paper and cheap plastic table.
Food Quality — A reminder of how it taste at home
I gotta say that I really enjoyed the food quality that this place offered, it does bring me memory of Taiwan when I tasted their food. Taiwanese food is my favor since I am a native Taiwanese, and although Flushing does offers Taiwanese food (66, red chopstick), I have not found their food to be an authentic taste of what’s like at home. However, 101 Taiwanese does a good job on many of the signature dishes such as the three cup chicken /​frog, stirfry basil with clam, and the infamous bake sea bass with crispy soy flake; these are just some of the dishes I’ve ordered with my family and we can’t stop eating and thinking how great it is.
On a side note: although their food quality feel authentic and great, the portion of the dish seem a bit smaller when compare to other restaurants. The pricing of their dishes were also a bit pricer when compare to similar restaurants around Flushing. They are not overly expensive and may seem just few dollars more than other places, it still adds up the total bill during checkout time. Just want to point that out so you know what to expect.
Service
This is one of the area that many restaurants in Flushing fail miserably but 101 Taiwanese shines beautifully; other eateries in Flushing seem to be ignorant of making sure customer feels comfortable and seem to be at the whims of the waitstaff when order in. The waitstaff in 101 Taiwanese was professional, friendly and flexible to what we need and took care of us very well with a smile on their face (which is somewhat rare in Flushing, if you have been to the restaurants…), it made us feel we are welcome and gives us a much better experience when dining in. My wife had recently had our first child and they were very accommodating to our need to make sure our baby and the stroller was in a good place, which gave us a peace of mind while eating. This alone made us want to come back and become regular patron of the restaurant.
Overall
I would definitely come back to the restaurant for second and third, in fact my wife already book reservation in advance for our next family dinner. I gotta say if you are a fan of authentic Taiwanese food, and enjoy good service when dining in, this restaurant should be on the top of your list when coming to Flushing.

101 Taiwanese is mediore Taiwanese food only, not the best by any means. I tried Stinky Tofu here for the very first time ever. It was … An experience. Once you get past the sewage-​stench it reeks of, it actually tastes quite good. I needed A LOT of the pickled vegetables and dipping sauce to get over that stench though because that ish is POTENT.
Also ordered their San Bei Chicken (Three Cups), Oyster Soup and some Sauteed Pea Shoots with garlic. The pea shoots with garlic were great, providing a nice health kick to the other items we ordered. Not a fan of the Oyster Soup at all. The pickled vegetables were plentiful, but the soup itself did not take in that flavor. At least it had a plethora of oysters though. I have definitely had better San Bei Chicken at other spots. The pieces of ginger were longer than my index and middle finger put together. Guess the chefs didn’t feel like chopping up the ginger that day.
Ordered the shaved ice for dessert — wish they had a larger toppings selection. We got it with the mixed beans, condensed milk and lychee. Pretty good end to an otherwise mediocre meal.
If you spend over $ 30, then they will validate 1 hour of parking for you at the lot next door. If you are using a Groupon discount like I did (pai $ 15 for $ 30 to use), it is based on the balance you owe after the $$ is deducted. Otherwise, they say they «don’t make no money.» This was the explanation I received. Customer service is definitely lacking a bit.

Came here with a groupon and it was still awesome! Ordered a 6 plates —
1) 3 cup chicken (not dry! moist and tasty)
2) THE pork taiwanese hamburger (pork belly and melt in your mouth)
3) huge plate of clams (I could eat 2 bowls of rice)
4) pork chop rice (not the best IMO but the sauce still yum)
5) stinky tofu (I almost ate the whole plate, DH wouldn’t touch it) was grrreat
6) small bowl of ice
I didn’t even use the full amount of the $ 60 groupon. The staff was very attentive and didn’t brush me off as other Groupon restaurants would. The décor was nice and the table spacious. Not a hole in the wall! The prices were a little higher than other places (they were somewhat holes in the wall though) but I feel the portions were higher. This is my new favorite taiwanese joint! I can’t wait to go back and nommmm some more! Thanks Paul H for letting me know about the Groupon!

Ok ok… I’m glad we gave them yet another try… But it took a while for them to step up their game, it feels, but better late than never, yes? :D
Came here yrs ago when they first opened, no good –_​-​. Came back many more times intermittently, still not palate happy. It was usually a table of unhappy ppl and leaves with faces like this =\
Well… Some friends and/​or Unilocalers have suggested I give ‘em a try again, and we were so please that we did! The only down side was the pricing, VELLY EXPENSIVE for TW food –_​-​; but I’m still willing to return.
Food: better flavoring & presentation now! Some of them might just be salty, but my party enjoyed each dish (this is a REALLY big plus considering we nvr enjoyed ANY dish before).
Worth noting* Smelly Tofu (good sauce)
3-​cup mushroom and 3-​cup squid (fragrant & goes well w/​rice)
Shredded beef w/​spicy peppers (good balance of beef & small spicy kick)
Lu Rou Fan AKA minced pork over rice (excellent Lu Rou sauce and comes with egg! lots of other places dun give egg no more)
And most importantly, SHAVED ICY (must get taro balls & condensed milk as toppings, u’ll like it, trust me ^_​~)
Service is awesome when the young waiters are around (bilingual, super nice, super cool). They greet, are speedy, and was nice enough to settle my friends’ lock-​less bikes in the restaurant without a single word of complaint. Very glad to have a friendly place like this in stink-​face-​heaven Flushing.
Last but not least, pretty décor plus private party rooms available for big groups. Closes around 10PM so come early!

Came here with a groupon deal.
My initial thoughts when I walked into this restaurant was how big and spacious it was! I was surprised that the tables were so spread out because they can probably fit a couple of more tables and get more customers. But that’s probably not a good idea, cause it was pretty empty when I came here and their service was still slow. Don’t think they will be able to manage with any extra tables.
We ordered the big soup casserole bowl with veggies, shrimp, and minced pork balls. The bowl is enough to serve about 5 people. The soup is very soothing on a cold winter day. We also ordered the oyster pancakes, which was really gooey. I think it was mostly starch. The three cup chicken was also dry.

Do you miss Taiwan? Have you heard of all the great things about Taiwan’s food, but never had a chance to sample it? If so — this place is for you.
Over the years we’ve come here a lot for family dinners. It’s a very inviting place, with a big, spacious dining area and very friendly staff. The owners are very good to the customers and are mindful of their regulars. It’s also got a lot of party rooms, which is great for hosting big dinners and banquets.
As for the food, they’ve got a down pretty good. The variety is exceptional and they’ve got the bases covered, from big fancy dishes to simple down-​to-​earth comfort food. If you’re looking to dine here for a quick lunch, definitely try their tasty pork chop over rice. The beef noodles here aren’t what you’ll get in Taiwan (you’ll never get that kind of amazing goodness unless you fly there) but it’s still pretty good. The meat is tender and the broth is very tasty. The stinky tofu here is also decent, and so are their tasty little cold appetizer dishes that you can find near the front counter (ala Taiwan style).
As for the big dishes, I know this seems to overgeneralize, but since I’ve eaten so many different varieties it’s hard to pin point what’s good/​not after all these years. But I can say with full confidence that I’ve rarely encountered a dish that I didn’t like. If I had to pick something that stuck out at me, I definitely recommend their lobster. They make it in a variety of ways (fried, sauteed etc) so you should just ask the waiter/​manager what they recommend and see how it meshes with your preferences. Personally I really look forward to ordering their lobster dishes when I eat there. I also enjoy their chicken soup. The broth is tasty, but also very homey and reminds me of the soups they serve in Taiwan.
All in all this place is a decent ambassador of Taiwanese food. For me it serves as a nice reminder of where I am from and the home that I miss very often.

Came here for the Taiwanese shaved ice. They serve it it 3 size portions. Individual, large, and party size (size of a big mixing bowl). The group of 10 of us went with the large and it was large enough to serve us all. Great toppings of fruit, syrups, beans. I’m a fan of the condensed milk, lychee balls, and mango. Flavors were intense and mixed well with the ice.
The service was friendly and nice. The manager actually was quite funny almost like a stand up comic as we partaked in the shaved ice as he went through his comedic set. We found out from him that the establishment has gone full taiwanese cuisine and isn’t focussing much on the shaved ice anymore. After our lil group i think they will be changing their mind and bringing back the shaved ice more front and center.

Big, clean, pretty space. The food served here is well-​executed, traditional Taiwanese — actually GOOD, and better than Gu Shine (no contest). As for service, they refilled our tea promptly but seemed to be ignoring us when we were about to order. Annoying.
Let’s get down to it:
— Stinky tofu ($ 8.95) — Great texture, huge pieces, not too smelly. The giant, entrée-​sized portion came with pickled cabbage piled on top. I’ve never seen a stinky tofu platter made to look pretty, but 101’s came awfully close!
— Lu rou fan ($ 3.95) — One of the better renditions of this classic Taiwanese dish that I’ve had in NY. The «lu» sauce had the requisite shallot flavor, and the meat was clearly hand-​cut instead of machine-​ground. And it came piled with suan cai (pickled mustard greens), yay! I would buy this stuff home and hoard it in the fridge.
— Yan su ji ($ 6.95) — It’s chicken fried in sweet potato starch, a.k.a. the best finger food ever; what’s not to like? 101’s rendition was yummy but had no unique «yan su» (salt and white pepper) flavor, and came with a strange Americanized-​Thai-​like dipping sauce. Just use the sambal on the table. I appreciated the fried basil leaves that came with this.
— 3 cup pork intestine ($ 12.95) — Excellent flavor with lots of ginger and basil, instead of one-​dimensional sweet/​soy-​saucy. My only complaint is that it didn’t come with rice. Restaurants: If a dish is meant to be accompanied by rice, include the damn rice.
— Xiao jiao niu noodle soup ($ 6.95) — Pretty good, just xiao jiao niu (sliced hot peppers and beef) in a clean, clear broth. Not too salty at all.
I really liked that they didn’t go overboard with grease, salt, or sugar in any of the dishes. There were a ton of other things we saw people ordering that looked great. The item listed as «casserole» on the [non-​takeout] menu is a giant pot of stew with various items cooked in it. This could feed 2 – 3 people for $ 15 and looks so perfect for a cold evening.
The prices seem high for Flushing, but especially considering portion sizes, it’s really not bad! $ 7 for a noodle soup is reasonable, kids.
Beyond that, 101 is a great option for a banquet-​style meal for a group. As far as banquet restaurants go, it’s actually kind of… cheap. You can tell that’s closer to the owners’ intent, because they bring out edamame in the beginning and red bean congee or sliced oranges as dessert.
Bonus: An extensive (albeit not very Taiwanese looking) lunch special list: $ 6.25 on weekdays, $ 6.95 weekends.

got a groupon for $ 60 and went to town with the ordering of food. We were waiting around for someone to come get our order for a good 20 min though. But once ordered, the food came pretty quickly. We got a plate of pickled lima beans. They were delicious!
small eats:
— salty crispy chicken — YUM! boneless and even the fried basil leaves were tasty
— pork blood rice cakes — too soft and the sauce too sweet. meh
— gua bao similar to Baohaus — pretty tasty. The meat was not as fatty as I’d like but it was still pretty decent.
— stinky tofu — liked the kimchi and the sauce with slight kick. Tofu wasn’t stinky enough. but still good.
carbs:
— shrimp fried rice — large shrimps, big portion, but slightly less flavored than i’d like
— beef soup noodle — good hearty broth, 4 large pieces of tender beef + lots of noodles
— braised ground pork rice — about 2 bowls of standard rice bowl. yummy!
main dishes:
— sesame oil kidney — so tender, so fragrant, so good… too many pcs of ginger tho!
— 3 cup chicken — pretty good. decent flavor.
medium sized shaved ice **** — highlight of the meal. The lady recommended this for us (5 adults + 2 kids). Even after all the food we had eaten, we still devoured it. Lots of topping: D

Authentic Taiwanese restaurant with traditional «street» food, of course with NYC prices.
It’s an extremely spacious place with smaller tables in the front and larger 10+ people round tables in the back. It’s really perfect for groups & Asian banquets as they even have private rooms with tables. My family asked to sit in the back area where we saw a beautiful photo mural with images of old Taiwan blended together (see photo).
Anyways, we ordered some of the basics eg the oyster pancake, fried stinky tofu, stir-​fry water spinach (kong xin cai), pork braised rice (ru rou fan), and beef noodle soup. And customary to many Chinese restaurants, they also provided complimentary red bean soup for dessert. Surprisingly, none of us had any complaints. All the food was spot on and made my family quite nostalgic of our times in Taiwan!
Since my mother was here previously with some Taiwanese ambassadors, I think the waitstaff was more attentive than normal with us; they were all very friendly and even tried to make small talk. That’s quite impressive in an Asian restaurant haha.
Place was pretty empty for a Saturday night, I imagine because of how pricey and how fairly new it still is. I’m not sure how long this place can last, but I’d only come back for special occasions or if my pocket doesn’t mind satisfying my craving for good TW food. :P

We came with friends and we went crazy ordering a whole table of Taiwanese dishes out of nostalgia and homesickness. 101 Taiwanese is one of the more high-​end Taiwanese restaurants in New York and it is perfect for a big group.
The décor is a flashback of Taiwanese famous tourist sites and the place itself is clean. We tried almost 10 dishes and satisfied our hunger and desire for hometown food. The highlights are the sauteed pork kidney with ginger, water spinach stir-​fry, three cup chicken, cod fish with sauteed pin enuts and stinky tofu with Chinese basil leaves. The best part is their pork belly bun. It is big, meaty with this crushed peanut crunch on top with Taiwanese pickles. It is better than any pork bun you get in the city and I am talking about Momofuku, Baohaus, etc. And by the way, they are cheaper too!
The owner came by at the end of the dinner to deliver some special jokes and on-​the-​house red bean soups himself. He reminds me of how nice us Taiwanese people are.
I am coming back for more!

Grand opening is not official yet, but the place has been open for business since Thanksgiving day.
I came here for lunch and got the lunch special.
As for the food:
–Fresh ingredients.
–Good portions.
–Reasonable price.
As for the place:
–Spacious and modern décor.
–Private rooms with karaōke.
–Friendly staffs. Hostess was exceptionally friendly.
I was told the beef noodle soup is one of their specialties. I will definitely come back for that.