South Bay: Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks

Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks had been on my list of places to try for a long time before I finally ventured through its doors with my mother one Sunday afternoon:


We're always a bit skeptical of Taiwanese restaurants...because we've been hurt before.  We've tried many Taiwanese restaurants only to be disappointed again and again.

We wanted to keep an open mind though.  Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks seemed promising at first glance.  The place was bursting at the seams with people.  More specifically, Asian people (which is always a good sign at an Asian restaurant):


The interior was very narrow.  There was counter seating on one side, a couple tables on the other, and in-between was the line for the counter.

My mother and I were lucky enough to be standing next to a table right when the party decided to leave.  In typical divide and conquer strategy, my mother took a seat at the table while I continued to stand in line.

Given the number of people present, there was a bit of a wait after I placed our order.  But soon enough, our number was called and I went up to pick up our goodies.

Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks offered $1 off for any beverage with every purchase of a chicken steak or other main menu item.  So of course I had to take advantage of that.  (I'm a sucker for discount deals.)

I got the brown sugar pearl fresh milk (ordinarily $4.49) because I love brown sugar fresh milk drinks and it was the most expensive drink on the menu.  I got the lemon ai-yu jelly with honey ($3.79 at full price) for my mother:


My mother wanted to try the sweet potato fries with plum seasoning ($4.99):


Of course we had to get the XXL crispy chicken steak ($8.79 for leg and thigh) as that's what Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks is known for:


They cut up the chicken when I went to pick up our order and I was able to tell them how spicy I wanted it (mild because I'm weak sauce and I know it).

To make it a more balanced meal, we also ordered Grandma's braised meat rice ($7.49):


Just look at those greens!  Such a balanced meal.

Were we blown away by the food?  Nah.  But were we terribly disappointed?  Not really.  It was...alright.  I wouldn't go back for the rice bowl, but I wouldn't mind going for a fried chicken steak.  It's just so hard to find good chicken steak outside of Taiwan and the one at Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks is pretty decent.

And of course if I get a fried chicken steak, I'll have to get a drink too.  $1 off, yo!


Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks
522 Barber Ln
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 922-7271
http://www.shihlinca.com/

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