Tucked away in the Cupertino Village (which means awesome for pre- or post-Ranch 99 meals), this authentic Taiwanese cuisine "xiao chi," or snacky appetizer, house is small and definitely flavorful. We definitely got the hole-in-wall feel, and the service is actually surprisingly friendly for a Chinese/Taiwanese joint like this. I'm Chinese, and I should know.
Cultural note: Southland refers to Tainan (as you will see in the resto's URL), which is a big city on the southern tip of the Formosa Island, aka Taiwan. So this little joint should be a pretty authentic cuisine of a pretty specific neighborhood.
Small as it is, the menu is friggin' huge. Interestingly, there is an appetizer section, and then a "snack" section. The "snack" section is actually kind of like appetizers, but I think the difference here is that the appetizer section is actually pre-made since most of them are pickled dishes. The "snack" section is probably the cooked appetizer-size sections. Speaking of size, most dishes are generous in portions. At least for two people.
We ordered green onion jelly fish for the appetizer, and it came in a clear plastic bowl that looked like a take-out box - looks very pre-made. Delicious nevertheless! The jelly fish is crispy and tangy - great for whetting the appetite.
For entrees we had a nice plate of sauteed pea sprouts - a very simple, healthy and traditional dish, and a plate of mixed seafood and egg fried rice - mussels, clams, scallops, shrimps. The meal was very balanced and tasted great. The pea sprouts were fresh and crisp - every bite was juicy! The fried rice was excellent - y'all know how good fried rice taste like so I'm not gonna go adjective happy with this.
There are some very special dishes at this joint that I will definitely try once Lent is over - a lot of delicacies involving interesting parts of beef and pork = oOoOoOoOoOoOoooo :D
http://www.tainancafe.com/aboutus.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/southland-flavor-cafe-cupertino
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