Gallery: A Guide to a Traditional Taiwanese Breakfast

Taiwanese Breakfast

The typical Taiwanese breakfast consists of a lot of carbs and egg. It's heavy and usually washed down by a hot glass of soymilk. Yung Ho is one of a handful of restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley that recreates the traditional Taiwanese breakfast experience.

Twisted Cruller [You Tiao]

Twisted cruller, or "you tiao," which literally means oil stick, is a must in any Taiwanese breakfast. Dip it in soy milk or have it plain, but don't leave without ordering it. The cruller mix (flour and baking powder) is made the night before so that the dough can rise.

Baked Wheat Cake [Shao Bing]

The baked wheat cake, or "shao bing," is one of the most iconic Taiwanese breakfast dishes of all time. There are different variations of it and it can be stuffed with egg or beef. Because it's baked, it comes out with a flaky texture. Ingredients: water, flour, sesame seeds and yeast.

Beef Sandwich [Niu Rou Shao Bing]

The "niu rou shao bing" is another variation of the plain "shao bing." It's the same flaky bread, but stuffed with sliced beef, green onions and scallions.

Baked Wheat Cake with Egg [Shao Bing Jia Dan]

A third variation of the "shao bing." The wheat cake is stuffed with scrambled eggs.

Hot Soybean Milk [Dou Jiang]

Milk was introduced in Asia by Westerners and before dairy, soymilk was, and still is, the staple breakfast drink. Yung Ho makes their soybean milk from scratch and gives away the leftover soybean residue as fertilizer.

Black Soybean Milk [Zhi Ma Dou Jiang]

The black soybean milk is made with soybean, peanuts and sesame powder.

Northern Salted Soybean Milk [Bei Fang Dou Jiang]

Salted soybean milk is a Beijing specialty. "It's one of our more unique dishes," Tsang says. The soup base is made with mushroom, corn starch, preserved vegetable, wooden ear, shrimp and lily flower. The tofu, or "dou hua," is created by pouring soymilk over a powder. To finish off, the dish is garnished with cilantro and dry seaweed.

Thin Green Onion Cake with Twisted Cruller [Jian Bing You Tiao]

It's a green onion pancake rolled up and stuffed with sliced pieces of cruller, or "you tiao."

Leek Pie [Jiu Cai He Zi]

Another one of the restaurant's most popular dishes, the leek pie consists of leek, dry shrimp, vermicelli, egg and minced cruller. "It's actually more intricate than it looks," Tsang says. The filling is stuffed into a dough and then pan-fried.

Turnip Cake [Luo Buo Gao]

Yung Ho's turnip cake is actually comparable to its Taiwanese counterparts. Unlike a lot of the Americanized variations, they're not over-fried.

Ingredients: shredded turnip, shrimp and rice flour. The mixture is steamed which hardens it into a jello-like texture. The chef cuts it into pieces and then it's pan-fried with an egg on top.

Small Steamed Buns [Xiao Long Bao]

Also commonly known as soup dumplings, the "xiao long baos" here are made with cabbage, pork, and ginger.

Green Onion Pancake with Egg [Cong You Bing Jia Dan]

The pancake dough itself is made with flour, water and scallions. It's rolled up in a scroll, smashed so it looks like a cinnamon roll and rolled out thinly with a pin before cooked. The pancake is layered with a scrambled egg and topped with fresh scallions.

Turnip Bun [Luo Buo Si Bing]

The turnip bun is stuffed with pork, shrimp, and thin slices of turnip. Sesame is sprinkled on top after the bun is cooked.

Mushroom Pork Bun [Xiang Gu Rou Bao]

The dough is handmade and stuffed with mushrooms, pork, and scallions.

Beef Roll [Jiang Rou Da Bing]

The beef is marinated with spices, onions and vegetables for two to three hours, then it's sliced and rolled up with scallions and a sweet and spicy sauce.

Date Walnut Cake [Zao Ni He Tao Bing]

All the specialty cakes at Yung Ho are handmade and packaged. This particular version is stuffed with dates and walnut.

Sweet Pan Cake [Xiang Su Si Bing]

Topped with sesame seeds, this pastry contains milk, sugar and flour inside.

Special Wife Cafe [Lao Pou Bing]

Yes, it literally means wife cake. Though the story behind this pastry is ambiguous (has something to do with a lovesick couple), the ingredients are pretty standard. According to Tsang, it is filled with egg, milk, and butter.

Rice Roll [Fan Tuan]

These rice rolls are made with rice wrapped around a twisted cruller, egg, and pickled vegetables.

Mantou with Egg [Mantou Jia Dan]

Mantou is a standard Chinese plain pastry. Though it's rather plain by itself, this particular variation is stuffed with egg.