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    Home » Restaurant

    Jo Jo Taipei

    Published: Sep 23, 2009 · Modified: Oct 29, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    I remember the hype of Jo Jo Taipei when it first opened. Word of mouth about the restaurant spread like wildfire throughout the Chinese community - especially among the Taiwanese - and crowds of people frequently lined up trying to get into the restaurant.

    _MG_1414I think the hype has died somewhat, maybe partly due to the recession.  At 6:30pm on a Monday night recently, only two of the tables were filled. By 8pm, however, the place was about half full, completely with Asians.  Last night I visited with my Taiwanese friend.  After seeing the menu, we went a little berserk and ordered three dishes plus the infamous shaved ice dessert. Needless to say, we were stuffed.

    Over all, JoJo Taipei is definitely one of the best Taiwanese restaurants in Boston.  The menu has a lot of uniquely Taiwanese dishes, such as 3-cup chicken, stinky tofu, duck tongue, and ba genh (pork, bamboo, and mushroom soup).  They also have several Sichuan dishes such as spicy bean vermicelli with ground pork (ant up a tree) and mapo tofu.  What really sets them apart, however, is their awesome dessert menu.  The shaved ice is phenomenal and better than any I've had in Boston.  More on that below!

    _MG_1410

    3-cup Eggplant ($9.99)  Similar to its more famous cousin, the 3-cup chicken, this dish is also made with the namesake sauce that consists of 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup sesame oil, and 1 cup rice wine stewed together with tons of garlic, ginger, and glorious amounts of basil.  This magical combination of ingredients creates spectacular flavors, and this dish was no exception. It was flavorful, fragrant, and delicious.  The eggplant pieces were also tender, moist, and full of flavor.

    _MG_1415

    Salted Crispy Chicken ($6.99).  This is a very typically Taiwanese "snack" - crispy fried chicken with hot peppers and basil.  The flavors were good -(love that salty mix of hot peppers and basil - YUM!) though the dish is a bit greasy.  Careful!  The chicken pieces include bones!

    _MG_1406

    The mapo bean curd is actually a Sichuan dish, but I thought they did a good job on it.  The dish was quite spicy and had the unmistakable flowery and numbing notes of Sichuan peppercorn powder (which I LOVE!).  The dish leans on the salty side, so I would definitely eat it with a lot of rice.  Other than that though, the flavors were fantastic and I actually couldn't stop eating this one.

    Boba Shaved Ice

    Small Bow bin ($4.95) This is truly the BEST part about this restaurant - the desserts!  I absolutely love, love, love their "bow bin," a massive shaved ice dessert.  Essentially, you get this huge bowl of shaved ice sweetened with condensed milk and topped with a generous array of condiments such as boba (tapioca balls), mung beans, red beans (azuki), sweet boiled peanuts, mochi balls, and gelatin.  The mix of textures and flavors is incredible.  You crunch on the ice, chew on the bobas, munch on the sweet beans, and slurp the slush. So satisfying.  This is super refreshing on a hot summer day, though honestly, I could eat it any day.  It's so good and it's so Taiwanese - sigh - reminds me of the amazing shaved ice I had in Taiwan.

    But I digress . . .

    Definitely try this place out, if nothing else at least try the shaved ice!!!  Mmmmmmm . . . .

    JoJo Taipei
    103 Brighton Ave
    Allston, MA 02134
    Jo Jo Taipei on Urbanspoon

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    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

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