The best and worst Dishes to try and avoid from Nanmen Market’s Yi Xiang Zhai

2 best and worst Dishes to try and avoid from Nanmen Market’s Yi Xiang Zhai

(this post is the English review, for the Chinese version, please click o the link below🔗 / 此文為英文版開箱評價文，欲看中文版開箱文請點以下連結🔗):

https://fashionecstasy.com/2-zhong-canbian-chao-tuijian-vs-chao-butuijian-de-nanmenshichang-yixiangzhai-lengdong-shipin/

• Watch our Youtube Open Box & Mukbang video first:

In my last article entitled, “Award-winning, popular, and well-established store Nanmen Market Yi Xiang Zhai Puli Township’s drunken Shaoxing wine Ingots open box tasting and review,“I’ve introduced you to the origin and brand story of the popular, well-established store, Yixiangzhai (Yi Xiang Zhai), in Nanmen Market. This time, we went ahead and did an open box for two more dishes, both of which are from Yixiangzhai: one is a Yay, and the other, unfortunately, is a hard “Nay.”

Allow me to introduce you to the Yay dish first (drumroll, please!):

• Yixiangzhai’s Shaoxing Wine Drunken Chicken Legs (Boneless):

逸湘齋紹興醉雞腿(無骨) / Yixiangzhai boneless Shaoxing wine drunken chicken legs

The packaging of Yixiangzhai‘s Shaoxing Boneless Drunken Chicken Legs reads 350 grams. I’m often told that I have chicken feet arms and legs; maybe that’s what makes it so heavy for me to pick the whole bag up, or these chicken legs are too wasted, making it ten times heavier than a sober chicken. Each bag feels like it weighs at least one kilogram.
Yixiangzhai uses Taiwan‘s top-quality, carefully selected red-feathered local chicken legs prepared with various Chinese herbal medicines and marinated in pure Shaoxing wine using the ancient method for the best results. When eating, the outer skin is covered with a layer of crystal clear gelatin with aromas of Shaoxing wine. The texture is smooth and tender with the gelatin. The chicken leg meat under the skin is very chewy. The aromas of Shaoxing wine are marinated into the bones, and the taste is still there even after gnawing on the bones. My mom gets drunk after a single bite. While my mom prefers farmed chicken‘s smooth and tender texture, I vote for Yi Xiang Zhai‘s Shaoxing boneless drunken chicken legs. The chewy muscles of these free-range chickens highlight the local flavours of Taiwan. Upon closer look, this dish won the 2018 Belgian International Taste Institute‘s iTQi Superior Taste Award. Surprisingly, my Michelin inspector-level taste buds have stayed the same after three years of staying home, hiding from the pandemic.

Next, introducing you to Yi Xiang Zhai‘s most disappointing dish you should avoid: “Super Thick Moon Shrimp Cake“:

逸湘齋超厚月亮蝦餅 / Yixiangzhai super thick moon shrimp cakes

逸湘齋超厚月亮蝦餅 / Yixiangzhai super thick moon shrimp cakes

逸湘齋超厚月亮蝦餅 / Yixiangzhai super thick moon shrimp cakes

逸湘齋超厚月亮蝦餅 / Yixiangzhai super thick moon shrimp cakes

超厚月亮蝦餅 / Yixiangzhai super thick moon shrimp cakes

This Moon Shrimp Cake is about 2 to 3 times thicker than the usual Moon Shrimp Cakes served in restaurants and sold in the market. Although the portion is jumbo and significantly thicker than expected, the accompanying sweet and sour Thai sauce only comes in a tiny bag, which is not even close to enough for its serving. The smell was intriguing when it was just fresh out of the pan. However, once cut open, there was no trace of a single shrimp, and the colour was bland without the freshness of pink. My mom and I met eyes, and there was a heavy silence at the table. This open box marks the first time we do a tasting with no enthusiasm. The past few years have been great for Chinese New Years. I guess all good things must come to an end.
I take a bite of this jumbo plate of Moon Shrimp Cakes; it remains tasteless as I chew on it. I ignite my willpower and tell myself to focus on the fragrance of the flour. Despite risking my eczema flaring up again, to finish, I dip the moon shrimp cakes in sweet and sour Thai sauce, forcing the rest of this unpalatable “Moon Cake without Shrimp” down my throat.

• How to cook Yi Xiang Zhai’s “Super Thick Moon Shrimp Cake“?
  Yixiangzhai‘s “Super Thick Moon Shrimp Cake” can be deep-fried or pan-fried.
• Deep fry method:

Heat a pot of oil to 180°C. Without thawing, put moon shrimp cakes in the pot and deep-fry both sides until golden brown,
Note: It is unnecessary to flip constantly during the frying process to prevent the skin and con from separating. If the skin is soft, the product has not been fried until crisp yet.

• Pan fry method:

Add oil to a pan, and turn to low heat. Without thawing, add moon shrimp cakes to the pan. Fry one side first, and fry the other side until the same golden colour. Flipping is not necessary.

I rarely give bad reviews. Although the “Super Thick Moon Shrimp Cake” is a total miss, Yi Xiang Zhai‘s Shaoxing Drunken Boneless Chicken Legs are worth a try. Yixiangzhai still has many other food products available to get you through the Chinese new year!