Most “Taiwanese” noodle joints in town are just Cantonese noodle joints masquerading as “Taiwanese” by serving a crappy bubble tea, and the best way for Hongkongers to have authentic Taiwanese food is to take a one-hour flight to Taipei. So we were pleasantly taken aback when we discovered that a Taiwanese guy had opened a place called Seam Eett (Chinese name is Ximending) behind the stalls of Women’s Street market in Mong Kok. With its soothing brown wood interior and hanging lanterns, the small restaurant is a respite from the usually frustrating MK tourist crowd. The menu has lots of interesting items, and we chose chilled bitter gourd drenched in a superb, sweet sesame dressing, and yau mak choi in a minced pork gravy, with that real Taiwan taste (slightly more sweet, robust and peaty than Cantonese flavors). The bowl of Tainan-style noodles came with the same minced pork topping, but it was so good we didn’t care. Then we tucked into a substantial and satisfying snack platter, with a jellyfish and cucumber salad, fluffy fried chicken, deep-fried squid balls, braised pork ribs and squid stuffed with preserved vegetables. Yes, there are bubble teas, but we were too full and opted for fruit-flavored green teas, which quenched our thirst.