#soft power

Taiwanese breakfast is pretty elite with a bunch of different options that are all pretty great but one of our favourite items has got to be the dan bing, or egg pancakes. They come in all different styles, with some crispy on the outside, others with a much softer pancake base but to be honest we love them all. Now there's a lot of places in Taipei that's known for its dan bings but one that has been making waves is Soft Power. The main branch is near Xin Tian Gong and often has some pretty long waits. However, what a lot less people know is that they have a 2nd branch in Da-An that, while it is quite a bit smaller, has a lot less people going to it. That's the one that we went to and only had to wait 20-30 minutes compared to the potentially hour or 2 at the main branch.

We started with their Taiwanese onigiri or fan tuan. These are another highlight of Taiwanese breakfasts that can be pretty heavy but these had a really nice ratio of filling to rice.

You can see clearly the super airy crispy you tiao (fried dough) with egg, pork floss and a pork chop. The crispiness of you tiao and the softness of the rice and then the saltiness of the pork floss and chop all comes together to a delicious self contained breakfast item; so good!

Then it was onto what drew us here, the dan bing. We ordered the version with the pork chop and peanut butter which sounds like a weird combination but actually works really well. The actual pancake was crispy on the outside but also surprisingly fluffy on the inside. It's that fluffiness that made this thing quite unusual and really very good. The pork chop and crunchy peanut butter also added to a nice mix of textures. It came with a slightly spicy peanut-ty sauce (which you can just see in the background). Out of all of the many dan bing options in Taipei (and there are many), this, for us, is definitely up there.

We were pretty hungry that day so also got a side of sweet potato balls. These were different to the normal ones you see in the night market in that they were filled and chewier rather than airy and crispy. They were nice but we think we prefer the light crispy street food version.

Overall, this place was really good and that dan bing was pretty special. It's not quite worth the really long waits at the main branch but if this Da An branch stays as quiet as it was when we went, it's definitely worth a visit!

Soft Power Da An branch, No 27, Lane 1, Section 3, Heping East Rd, Taipei