Here’s a warning: the line at Tian Jin Flaky Scallion Pancake is probably going to be long, and it’s definitely going to move slowly. It was quite long when I showed up at around 9:30 on a Monday morning, and it was just as long when I finally got my pancake.
It’s a one-woman show, and as efficient as she is, there’s only so quickly that the line can move. It took about half an hour to get my pancake; it was totally worth the wait.
You can either get your scallion pancake plain, topped with a scrambled egg, or topped with a scrambled egg and various extras like meat and cheese. I went with the scrambled egg.
It just takes one bite for the line to make complete sense. The pancake is fantastic — it’s chewy and greasy in all the right ways, with a very mild scallion flavour and an addictive crispiness on its exterior.
The egg compliments it perfectly, as does the dark brown sauce she adds at the end (hoisin, I think?). It’s simple, but so, so tasty.
Location: No. 1號, Lane 6, Yongkang Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
How to find it: It shares a space with a Vietnamese restaurant called Thanh-Ky, so just look for the sign for that place. And the line, of course — look for the line. It’s hard to miss.