Ryan Wisniewski
Must love sour: Pickled Chinese cabbage with beef.
Middleton may have struck gold for Chinese food with the new Taigu.
Owner Hong Gao named the restaurant after the county in China’s Shanxi province where she grew up. Gao and her family bring diners the real deal. Portions are substantial — often big enough for two meals — and much of the food’s made from scratch, with fresh ingredients.
There are two menus, American-Chinese and “traditional.” Between them, you may feel overwhelmed. Staunch American-Chinese fans should be pleased; most of the standards are here; they’re all homemade and stand apart from their cornstarch-laden counterparts at other area takeout spots. Even the crab rangoon, a guilty pleasure of mine that can often taste like it was cooked in the microwave, is served as six large, crispy, handmade triangles accompanied by the usual sweet-sour sauce. The filling was a bit heavy on the cream cheese, but the crunchy pastry made up for it.
But the true standouts at Taigu are on the traditional menu. Especially fine are the noodle dishes, Shanxi style, which many Americans may be unfamiliar with. Noodles are made onsite by Gao and her brothers and father. Choose from either cats’ ear, shaped as such, or knife-cut, which are similar to fettucine in length and girth yet have even more body and chewiness to them; this allows them to hold their own in their simple sauces or broth.
The tomato and egg boiled knife-cut noodles — a staple from Gao’s childhood — is a bowl full of happiness. Long, thick noodles are completely slurp-able; they come in a hearty broth with chunks of stewed tomato and scrambled egg. The flavors are simple, yet delicious; this dish was a favorite even with the kids.
The scallion knife-cut noodles are done perfectly al dente, this time complemented with just a hint of soy sauce and chili oil — which added a definite heat — and a good amount of scallions and sesame seeds, which gave the dish a welcome crunch.
Spicy pork belly with dried tofu balanced rich pork belly with anise and red chili, which magically transformed tofu from bland to tangy. Green peppers and onion were still crisp, adding extra texture.
Pickled Chinese cabbage with beef featured large chunks of tender meat, green onion and cabbage along with hints of ginger and lemongrass. The cabbage is definitely pickled, so don’t order it if your palate doesn’t appreciate sour.
Make sure you give the specials board a glance on your way in. I took a chance on a spicy squid special and was thrilled when it came with generous portions of squid cut into large chunks and scored to allow the flavors of the spicy, salty sauce to soak in. Again, crispy vegetables, including green pepper, onion and a nice addition of leafy Chinese broccoli, rounded out the dish.
For families with finicky kids, perhaps choose the “small” portion of fried rice (in veggie, chicken, beef, roast pork or shrimp versions), which fed two hungry preteen boys at just $6. The rice was cooked perfectly with a good balance of meat, egg, carrots and peas.
Lunch specials ($6-$9), drawn from the American-Chinese menu, are another great value; they include a side of rice and two small egg rolls (the one item that left something to be desired, with little to no flavor).
The restaurant is devoted to large booths and tables, and huge windows let in plenty of light. The decor is enhanced with some of Gao’s original artwork.
Overall, I found the service attentive, but staff often seemed to disappear after they’d dropped your food at the table. While it’s not out of the ordinary to pay the bill at the counter, we also had to head up there to ask for take-out containers on a couple occasions. But that’s a small price to pay for knowing you’ll have another meal in your refrigerator for the next day.
And it’s clear that Gao, who is almost always there, takes great pride in the place and delights in sharing her family’s recipes with her customers.
Taigu
7610 Elmwood Ave., Middleton, 608-831-3458, taiguchineserestaurant.com, 11:30 am-8:30 pm Sun., 4-9 pm Mon., 11 am-2 pm & 4-9 pm Tues.-Fri., 11 am-9 pm Sat., $4-$16
