GO! MaGaZINE • PAGE 13
Thursday, July 29, 2021 • ThE BullETIN
FOOD
TRUCKS
& CARTS
p.14
bendbulletin.com/goeat
Continued from previous page
The wheat noodles in the soup, chow
mein and dry noodle dishes were brought
to Taiwan by postwar USAID in the ’50s
and ’60s. The sweet, hearty flavor of the Tai-
wanese minced pork is Fujian.
Huang, the chef at Tin Tin, is Taiwanese.
(I was told that his second name doesn’t
translate well into English.) He is well ac-
quainted with the Taiwanese flavor profile
as he had opened several noodle houses in
Taiwan. He had been working as a chef at
the local Sora Sushi restaurants. The pan-
demic closed down the Sora Sushi restau-
rants for months. Restaurants such as Tomo
Sushi were shuttered permanently. With the
added challenge of sushi supplies, owners
Shu Chen and Sky Deng saw this as an op-
portunity to use Huang’s talent and experi-
ence in Taiwanese cooking to open a new
restaurant. They could move into the Tomo
Sushi space at the south end of Third Street
(61160 S Highway 97, Unit C) with no con-
struction and minimal decorative changes.
Tin Tin’s decor is casual. A giant “Chinese
waving cat” welcomes customers at the front
of the counter. Several booths are wallpa-
pered with pictures of giant chefs and noodle
satisfying. Rice flour dough balls covered
soup bowls. The booth dividers are printed
in sesame seeds surrounded sweet red bean
with the menu so you can look above the seat
paste. Some say it has a sweet potato fla-
across from you to choose your meal.
vor. I’ve loved good red bean paste since the
Until business returns to normal, the menu days I lived in Southeast Asia. I was not dis-
is limited and includes starters, soups, noo-
appointed.
dle soups, dry noodles and chow mein. The
My third starter was the Taiwanese Pop-
wheat noodles and sauces are made in-
corn Chicken. This fried chicken dish
house. The pot stickers and other
is a staple in the night markets of
starters are brought in from a
Taiwan. Bite-sized chicken ten-
Portland distributor, as it is
ders are dipped in flour and
currently too labor-inten-
double-fried for a crunchy
sive to make the stuffed
exterior. Its unique Asian
dumplings from scratch.
flavor comes from five-
I dined in on my first
spice powder and white
visit to the restaurant, or-
pepper. The pepper and
dering enough food to
added chili flakes give
bring home. Before I dis-
the chicken bites a kick.
covered the starters weren’t
It’s mixed with light, crispy
created in-house, I
flash-fried Thai basil
ordered three starters
leaves. The flavor is
Spicy Shrimp Wontons with chili flakes
and a main dish. Tin
unique and addictive.
Tin’s source makes ex-
Of course, my visit
cellent starters, and they are cooked to order.
wouldn’t have been complete without noo-
The pot stickers were steamed then quick-
dle soup. The Szechuan Dan Dan Soup with
fried in a flour-coated pan. This created a
spicy minced pork caught my eye. While
crispy pancake that held the five pot stickers
not a traditional Taiwanese noodle soup, its
together. The minced pork mixture stuffed
flavor was strong and different from other
into the crescent-shaped dumpling had a
Dan Dan soups I’ve tried. The herbs and
mild combination of flavors. Strong season-
spices were uniquely from Taiwan. Tsaoko
ing came from a soy-based dipping sauce that or Chinese black cardamom gave the soup
included garlic, ginger, onion and black vine-
a barbecue, smoky overtone. It’s also used
gar. It was the perfect accompaniment.
medicinally to aid in digestion. All of the
The sesame balls were likewise tasty and
soup stocks are made in-house and sim-
Sesame Balls and Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken appetizers
Tin Tin Taiwanese Noodle House
61160 s highway 97 unit C, Bend
tintintaiwanesenoodlehouse.com
541-797-0747
mered for over six hours. A generous serv-
ing of wheat noodles in the soup is topped
with spicy, minced pork. While the spice lin-
gers on the tongue, the soup’s strong favors
were satisfying.
On my return visit, I ordered food to go.
Delivery is available through GrubHub, but
$9 items were almost $12 through the app, so
I instead ordered on the website for pickup.
This time I started with the Beef Shank
Roll. Tender beef is rolled in a crispy fried
pancake with a pickle, cucumber, and let-
tuce. Smeared with a thick sauce made from
black beans, it is reminiscent of Hoison
sauce as it added a strong sweetness.
Spicy Shrimp Wontons seemed a good
way to try seafood. Soft steamed wontons
were generously filled with a minced shrimp
mixture. As with the pot stickers, the stuff-
ing was mild. This was offset by chili oil and
chili flakes that brought strong spice and fla-
vor. It was topped with fresh cilantro. It was
a good appetizer to get the meal started.
For the main dish, I opted for the Satay
Beef Chow Mein. As I had quickly learned,
the flavors would not be as I expected. It
was nothing like Thai Beef Satay. The meat
The Szechuan Dan Dan Soup with
spicy minced pork caught my eye.
While not a traditional Taiwanese
noodle soup, its flavor was strong
and different from other Dan Dan
soups I’ve tried. The herbs and spices
were uniquely from Taiwan. Tsaoko
or Chinese black cardamom gave the
soup a barbecue, smoky overtone.
was thin-sliced and tender, but there was
no peanut flavoring with it. Instead, it had a
mild black bean sauce. There were no strong
flavors in this dish. It was a bit dull. I would
take a pass on it in the future.
On the other hand, I picked up some Ja
Dang Myeon “dry tossed noodles” with
pork and vegetables. The noodles were not
dry as the rich spices in the pork’s sauce fla-
vored the wheat noodles. Cucumbers and
shredded carrot balanced the thick dark
sauce with freshness.
Owner Sky Deng explained that they did
not want to overwhelm the Western palate
with the traditional strong Taiwanese spices.
Nonetheless, the flavors come through, cre-
ating a unique, authentic dining experience
that I imagine is similar to a casual noodle
house in Taiwan.