中南海桂花雞熱炒甕仔桂花雞 -淡水最正宗好吃的甕仔雞 / Best Taiwanese Urn Roast chicken in Tamsui- Zhong Nan Hai

中南海桂花雞熱炒甕仔桂花雞 -淡水最正宗好吃的甕仔雞 / Best Taiwanese Urn Roast chicken in Tamsui- Zhong Nan Hai

(Scroll down for English Version / 英文版向下看）

淡水甕仔雞出名，哪家最好吃？殘編告訴你！ / Tamsui (Danshui) is Famed for its Taiwanese Urn Roast Chicken, which restaurant serves the best?

先看時尚高潮ＹＴ食記影片 / Watch our Youtube Food vlog first:

感恩節是西方文化最重要的節日之一，等同咱們的中秋、過年，是親朋好友聚會並回顧自己所感恩的人、事、物的日子。 我記得當我還有姐妹時，我們那群好姐妹中的大廚負責最難搞的的火雞，其他的人就幫忙處理像擺碗盤、聊八卦等小屁孩做的事情。 感恩節對我和我的閨蜜來說是女生的「合法作弊日」，可以名正言順不顧形象大吃大喝。 火雞是殘編最喜歡的肉； 儘管在北美並不難找，但它難處理，也不是像義大利麵一樣樣十分鐘就能煮出來的家常便飯。準備一隻火雞起碼要耗上一整天。 因此每年我都很期待感恩節的這一天。

English Version / 英文版:
Thanksgiving is one of North America’s most important holidays when friends and family gather and reflect on the things and people they are grateful for. I remember back when I still had my sorority, the chef in our group would be responsible for the turkey while we do the kids’ stuff like setting up tables and gossip. Thanksgiving is also the “legit cheat day” for me and my besties to stuff our faces with food. Turkey is my favourite meat; Although it’s not hard to find inNorth America, it’s not a homely dish one can quickly whip up in 10 minutes like spaghetti either. Hence, each year, I always look forward to turkey day.

台灣一般家庭都沒有大型烤箱配備，已經夠悲哀了，也沒有慶祝感恩節的習俗，更沒有地方可以買到火雞。 所以對殘編來說，回台的這四年令我非常沮喪。於是為了發揚加拿大人的精神，即便在台灣，殘編每年也會在聖誕節、感恩節以及加拿大國慶日舉辦時尚高潮ＶＩＰ活動。 今年腦殘的我一個疏忽竟忘了揪團慶祝加拿大感恩節，當我正還在為自己的疏忽感到氣餒時，星期四經過久仰的中南海烤桂花雞熱炒餐廳，就下車外帶一隻嚐嚐。

淡水中南海桂花雞熱炒餐廳ZhongNan Hai Authentic Taiwanese Urn Roast Chicken Restaurant, Tamsui (Danshui)

淡水中南海桂花雞熱炒餐廳ZhongNan Hai Authentic Taiwanese Urn Roast Chicken Restaurant, Tamsui (Danshui)

English Version / 英文版:
It is sad enough that Taiwanese apartments are not equipped with ovens; we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and there’s nowhere to buy turkeys either. So it’s been a depressing four years without turkey for me. Usually, to keep the Canadian inside me alive, I host events on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Canada Day even when I’m stuck in Taiwan. As I am still furious at myself for forgetting this year’s Canadian Thanksgiving, I stumbled upon an intriguing Urn Roast Chicken restaurant just around the corner of our apartment on Thursday, so we got 1 for takeout.

甕仔雞雖然處處可見，美食家殘編慚愧的還沒吃過。既然餐廳的名字打著「桂花雞」，想必他們的招牌菜就是「甕仔桂花雞」了。 中南海烤桂花雞熱炒餐廳菜單選項不僅限於雞肉，還有各種適合辦桌宴席的合菜套餐。 菜單將台菜結合北方料理和廣東菜，除了有特色外、價錢也親民，一道菜從＄元起跳，非常適合公司尾牙等大型活動、親朋好友和和家庭的聚會。 由於這是我們第一次造訪，於是就點了招牌的「現烤甕仔桂花雞」。 甕仔桂花雞每隻$600元，準備時間大約要等待40分鐘。 外帶裝在一個巨大的紙箱中，一拿到手頗有重量、香味撲鼻到讓咱肚子立刻咕嚕咕嚕叫。 殘編想這隻甕仔桂花雞顧名思義應該就是用桂花料理的，味道濃郁持久。

中南海桂花雞熱炒甕仔桂花雞外帶盒 / Tamsui- Zhong Nan Hai Urn Roast chicken takeout box

中南海桂花雞熱炒甕仔桂花雞 -Tamsui Zhong Nan Hai’s “Osmanthus urn-roast chicken”

English Version / 英文版:
The restaurant’s name suggests that the signature dish is its “Osmanthus urn-roast chicken.” The menu options are not limited to chicken. A variety of Asian dishes and set-meals for group gatherings are available. The menu is a fusion of Taiwanese cuisine mixed with Northern Chinese and Cantonese Cuisine. Items on the menu start at an affordable $100NT. Set-menus are ideal for corporate events and large family gatherings. Since it’s our first visit, we opt for the signature chicken dish: the “osmanthus chicken,” priced at $600 each. The wait is about 40 minutes for each chicken to be ready. Takeout is boxed in a gigantic, weighty paper box, and once it’s handed to us, the aromas of the chicken gave our stomach an instant growl. The name suggests that the chicken is prepared with osmanthus, making the smell so strong and lasting.
We passed by in the afternoon, so it was about a 1.5-hour wait before we finally unboxed the chicken for dinner.
The packaging deserves a slow clap because the dish was still hot when we took it out. An explosion of aromas filled the air. The chicken is bigger than my face. I’d say close to the size of my shoulder width and similar to the size of a turkey.

我們經過中南海烤桂花雞熱炒餐廳外帶桂花雞時是下午時刻，放到晚餐時間約經過1.5小時。
不禁要讚賞這甕仔雞的包裝，儘管已過一個半小時，雞仍然是熱的。一開紙箱，整間屋子瀰漫著雞的濃郁香氣 空氣中瀰漫著雞的香氣。這隻 雞比殘編的臉還大許多、應該說和我的肩寬一般大，跟火雞有得比，（看上方影片就知道）。

English Version / 英文版:
We passed by in the afternoon, so it was about a 1.5-hour wait before we finally unboxed the chicken for dinner.
The packaging deserves a slow clap because the dish was still hot when we took it out. An explosion of aromas filled the air. The chicken is bigger than my face. I’d say close to the size of my shoulder width and similar to the size of a turkey (check out the size of the chicken in the video above)

一雞多味，滿足你所有「雞雞」的需求 / 1 Chicken, Multiple Tastes, Satisfying All Chicken Preferences:

中南海桂花雞熱炒甕仔桂花雞 / Zhong Nan Hai, Tamsui’s

一隻烤雞可以吃到多種烹製方式的雞肉風味。 偏紅的肉味道吃起來像火雞、 白色的肉味道乾淨、健康。 雞翅酥脆並帶有淡淡烤焦的煙熏味（看殘編的ＹＴ食記影片就聽得到殘編吃得不亦樂乎的「咖呲咖呲」聲音。盒中另附煮雞所熬出來的雞汁（油），可以配飯吃。
雞脖子到底該不該吃一直是個謎，但這個香味讓人無法抗拒，殘編破戒第一次吃雞脖子，吃完後深情的對著他說：「為了你，我願意」。

English Version / 英文版:
1 urn roasted chicken provides you the tastes of chicken cooked in many ways. The red meat tastes similar to a turkey; the white meat tastes healthy and clean. The wings are crispy and crunchy with a hint of burnt, smokey taste. Inside the box is a separate bowl of chicken fat (oil) to go with rice or bread.
There’s a debate on whether or not chicken necks poses health risks, it’s my first time trying chicken neck, and I’d say, “For you, I would.”

傳統手扒雞塑膠手套，饕客用手扒著吃到爽 / Plastic Gloves, The Traditional Taiwanese Way to Eat a Chicken：

盒子裡裝有兩副跟傳統手扒雞一樣的塑膠手套，暗示兩位消費者直接用手扒，於是我們就恭敬不如從命的不顧形象像野蠻人一樣吃得滿手、滿臉都是。看上方影片即可看到這雞肉 彈力十足，扒開還得花些力氣。當我正為終於找到可以代替火雞的雞來慶祝未來的感恩節而感到興奮時，赫然發現，這天竟然剛好是美國的感恩節！是不是很神奇？

English Version / 英文版:
The box comes with a pair of plastic gloves just like the ones they provide at a traditional Taiwanese chicken truck, a hint for consumers to literally “dig in, so we went all barbaric and did so. If you watch our vlog, the meat is bouncy and took us some effort to tear apart, but hells NOM! As I get excited about having found a substitution for turkeys to celebrate Thanksgiving in the future, finally, I found out it just happened to be the American Thanksgiving! What a coincidence!

時尚高潮殘編中南海烤桂花雞熱炒餐廳總評價 / Fashion Ecstasy Zhong Nan Hai Taiwanese Urn Roast Chicken Restaurant Review in A Nutshell:

淡水甕仔雞出名，但競爭的餐廳也很多家，殘編想我這次是走運，第一次就吃到了「出名」的那家。再強調一次「一隻雞可以吃到多種雞料理的味道」。你如果也是鬱卒找不到火雞的外國人，歡迎參加下次的時尚高潮ＶＩＰ聚會（影片看到最後加殘編賴）

Tamsui is famous for its urn roast chicken, but with so many competing restaurants, where does one start? I think I lucked out and picked the “original” one.” If you are also a depressed foreigner looking for turkey, you’re more than welcome to join our next Fashion Ecstasy VIP event (Watch our Youtube video to the end to get my contact information)