Match² Taiwanese Kitchen 麻吉灶咖 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Ever since I returned from Taipei last month, I've been on the lookout of a good Taiwanese restaurant in town. It took me a while but I finally got the chance to check out Match² Taiwanese Kitchen (麻吉灶咖), a relatively new Taiwanese eatery in K11 Art Mall which has been on my radar screen since its opening.

I really enjoyed the décor here. The design elements including the high ceiling and "tent-shaped" sofa seats made it very eye catching.

The other side of the dining area was a blurred image of a "secret garden"? OK, it was my imagination only.

Assorted beef with handcrafted noodle (總裁牛肉人工麵) ($128) – I was going for the home run here with their signature handcrafted noodles served with assorted cuts of beef including beef shank, beef short-rib, tendon and ox tripe.

First up, the ox tripe. Slightly chewy in a very good way and for the most part, very tender. 

The slippery beef tendon wasn't bad.

The shank, shaped like a slice of Chinese sausage, was soft, tender and delectably gelatinous. I missed taking a photo of the beef short-rib but by far, it was the best of the bunch. Really succulent and like the ribs, gelatinous and full of flavors.

The soft-boiled egg was served up on top of the noodles like the Japanese ramen.

The noodles have been chopped into small pieces so no slurping needed!

For the broth, I had a choice between braised and mala; and since I couldn't bear the numbness from a mala soup, it was a no-brainer for me. I noticed there were carrots and cordyceps floating atop the broth. I wonder if it's intended to enrich the flavors of the broth or......next time, I will ask....

Well, this was much better than the beef noodles I had at Tien Hsia San Chueh Noodle Cuisine (天下三絕 牛肉麵). Not sure if it's just me but the noodles is definitely worth a return trip. And I hope to get up close and personal with their duck blood too.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop B226 & B227A, B2/F, K11 Art Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852 2321-2881

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm daily