In the past few years, Taiwanese specialties have found themselves in the spotlight. The biggest craze happens to be Taiwanese milk tea. When someone started the craze and invested in a milk tea shop business, others followed and did the same. Well, most of them are making money now simply because the demand is big.

PORK Xiao Long Bao. Chicken chops — deboned chicken, seasoned and coated with a special breading, then fried until the chops are golden brown and crunchy on the outside yet juicy on the inside — happen to be another Taiwanese specialty that has gone global in terms of gastronomic appeal. Since it goes very well with milk tea, it is one of only a few savory bites on the menu of most milk tea shops and they are a big hit as a snack pair.

Another big craze, this time in noodle shops and Chinese restaurants, is xiao long bao. It is a pouch-type, small dumpling with soup inside to go with the meat filling. Considered as a dim sum, it has long been known to be a “gourmet” treat. Served at the right temperature, the xiao long bao is placed carefully in the mouth and, with lips closed, is bitten into for that wonderful burst of flavorful soup in the mouth.

STINKY Tofu. All these Taiwanese specialties — milk tea, chicken chops and xiao long bao, and a whole lot more — are on the menu of Fat Fook Taiwanese Cuisine, which recently opened its fifth branch in the metro at The Globe Tower along 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Owned and managed by the same group that operates Ramen Nagi, Fat Fook was conceptualized by the group’s executive chef, Rachel Kao, who was born in Taiwan but grew up in the Philippines. A rather young player in the restaurant industry, having opened its first store only in 2016, the Taiwanese restaurant derives its name from the Chinese words “fa” and “foo.” “Fa” literally means “gaining,” and “foo” is a Mandarin term meaning ”prosperity” or “auspicious.” Together, the two words mean “increasing luck.”

chicken chops noodle set. Fat Fook serves authentic Taiwanese cuisine with a modern twist. A big percentage of the dishes found in its menu are heirloom recipes of chef Rachel’s family. She has just given them a modern twist so that the younger generation of diners will be able to relate to the restaurant. Since chef Rachel is Taiwanese and she spent long years in Taiwan, her cooking stays as true to Taiwanese cuisine as possible.

One good example is stinky tofu. It is called stinky tofu because it does — stink, that is. It is fermented tofu with a strong smell bordering on the not-so-pleasant. Fat Fook proudly serves stinky tofu just the way it is served in Taiwan, and though it is an acquired taste, the initiated love it.

Those who have dined at Fat Fook also love the Taiwanese restaurant’s house specialties, including chicken chops, which diners can order a la carte, in noodle-and-chops sets, and as takeout finger food. Its pork xiao long bao is a best-seller, although some branches with higher-end markets, such as Glorietta and BGC, also offer truffle xiao long bao. Imagine the burst of flavorful soup in the mouth with a truffle end note! Other branches have their salted egg xiao long bao in keeping with the salted egg fever, and it is just as good.

Other house favorites are Taiwan beef noodles, oyster omelette, salted egg shrimps, tofu century egg, beef tendon, oyster misua and string beans with minced pork.

Taiwanese street food options at the takeout counter. And since Taiwan is known for its street food, how does a Taiwanese specialty restaurant like Fat Fook showcase the street food culture of Taiwan? Why, open a takeout counter offering affordable Taiwanese street food, of course! Fat Fook’s takeout counter, situated strategically in front of the store, offers a myriad of flavor options — sweet potato fries, Taiwanese sausage, sweet corn, cuapao, tofu, salt and pepper chicken cubes, broccoli, chicken mushroom, pot stickers, fried squid, taro fish ball, golden fin fish cake, sea urchin balls, gindara tofu, sakura shrimp cake, crab roe bun and basil squid tempura. The takeout counter is a big hit in Fat Fook branches in malls with cinemas, since movie-goers would just order takeout with a big order of milk tea and get on their way.

Fat Fook is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.