When we first visited Northampton, Massachusetts as a family a few years ago, T. Roots was recommended to us as a good place to get bubble (aka boba) tea. While it remains that, the restaurant is so much more.
One doesn't see many places that highlight Taiwanese cuisine. Most restaurants within the Chinese cultural sphere provide a highly Americanized version of Cantonese food. Finding anything even suggesting a different regional emphasis is a delightful surprise.
Much of the menu is familiar to any pan-Asian food enthusiast: dumplings, noodle soups, fried rice, etc. There are also less common options like dry noodles - very spicy, no joke, beware! The chef's specials menu is highly intriguing. The worldwide phenomenon of bubble tea itself is, in fact, Taiwanese in origin.
Since our first visit, we've been back many times. I was in a hot noodle mood on Sunday afternoon so T. Roots was an ideal choice. Our child and I both ordered chicken udon noodle soup. My wife got pork and kimchi fried rice. Mine was comforting but rather light on the flavor. Because of my adventure with dry noodles (see above), I've been shy about testing the dishes rated "spicy." Next time we go - and I can't imagine we won't be back - perhaps I'll be a little more daring.
I have never eaten in a Taiwanese Restaurant, but I have known two ethnic Taiwanese, who were very proud of their culture and hated being considered as Chinese.
ReplyDeleteYes... I found myself choosing my words carefully for this post. The Taiwanese government certainly sees itself as Chinese, though I can only imagine how much more complicated such labels are for people in the region. I definitely understand Taiwanese-Americans wanting people to appreciate the distinction.
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