Henry's Bento
502 S King St
Seattle, WA
(206) 624-2611
Cuisine:
Taiwanese, Eatery
December 8, 2008
Hole-in-the-wall Taiwanese eatery is the real deal
This new eatery finally brought my search for a great local Taiwanese restaurant to a happy end. This chef sold Rocking Wok in Wallingford and brought his nuanced, robust traditional Taiwanese flavors to the International District. The authentic stuff is handwritten on wall posters—my mom and I didn’t try the “bento” items listed on the small index-card-size menus at the tables. My mom is from Flushing, NY which is like NY’s second Chinatown and she says it’s one of the best she’s ever tasted in the states. We went numerous times in 2 weeks
Dishes I tried:
classic BEEF NOODLE SOUP--YEAH!
Comes out fast with substantial portions of fall-apart-tender meat and robust spicy-tangy-sweet flavors in a huge bowl. Do not miss this!
STICKY RICE HANDROLL
It’s made with that purple rice that I had never tried before is supposed to be healther for you. The purple rice but actually made it that much better with a hearty, springy texture. Filled with dried pork sung, fried cruller, and some crunchy pickled veggie if I remember correctly.
PAN FRIED LEEK "BUN"
Also stuffed with minced pressed tofu and glass noodles in a potsticker-type skin. With two large buns per order, it’s almost too much. They will also serve you soybean milk hot or cold, which I like with the leek buns since I think of it as a brunch item.
HOT RED BEAN DESSERT SOUP
I died and went to heaven. Instead of lotus seeds, we asked them to substitute homemade small sweet taro rice balls the owner told us they had that day and weren’t listed on the menu. This is the real deal, with the essence of red bean and taro perked up by the aroma of the grated tangerine peel which rose with the steam. (The second time I ordered this, they didn’t have the taro balls and they forgot the tangerine peels so it was disappointing.)
Rocking Wok Taiwanese Cuisine
4301 Interlake Ave N
Seattle, WA
(206) 545-4878
Cuisine:
Taiwanese, Chinese, Vegetarian
November 20, 2008
original chef sold this, opened new store downtown
This place is now eh, but I just found out the original owner has opened a hole-in-the-wall eatery 4 mo ago in the international district called “Henry’s Bento”. I didn’t know this until I started talking to the guy at Henry’s Bento. Henry’s is sooo much better!
Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant
1075 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA
(425) 688-2986
Cuisine:
Taiwanese, Chinese, Small plates
November 20, 2008
Henry's Bento(new Taiwanese eatery in ID) has better flavor!
I’ve been looking for good Taiwanese food since I’ve moved here from the East Coast, so I was eager to try this one. Menu seemed extensive but flavor was only eh. Definitely not enough to make another trip out to the Eastside. My mom also went with people she knew when she was visiting from NY and said the same thing. But we’ve just been to a new hole-in-the-wall Taiwanese eatery called Henry’s Bento in the international district. Their menu is more limited, but what they do it well. My mom tasted Henry’s Bento and said it was the best Taiwanese food she’s had in the US—and she lives near Flushing, NY!
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