Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant

I really love and appreciate that Seattle and the surrounding areas are one huge melting pot of cultures, filled with fantastic ethnic food to enjoy. Moving here from NY I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to find many of the international cuisines I had gotten used to, but I’m pleased to say I’ve discovered so many wonderful options here and even some that weren’t in NY.

Recently I took a trip across the bridge into Bellevue to try a Taiwanese restaurant that I have heard is the most authentic you can get in the Puget Sound area.  Facing East is located in a small strip mall just down the street from The Bellevue Collection. Be warned when visiting during peak dining hours that parking can be a bit scarce. They share a lot with Boiling Point, so it can fill up quick. There is an apartment complex across 10th St called Avalon Towers with a paid parking, I believe the cost was $1.50 per hour.

The interior decor of Facing East is modern inspired with cement floors and brightly colored art and seating. Because we came during lunch time on a Sunday there was a short wait. We were handed a wooden rice spoon with a number and within a short 15mins our number was called.

Once we sat down I excitedly opened the menu and found lots of great gems! There was beef noodle soup,  pork buns, and fried chicken steak (one of my favorite street snacks in Taiwan) just to name a few. My husband and I decided to order a couple of our  Taiwanese faves and one new dish we hadn’t tried before. 

The first dish that arrived was the Sakura Shrimp Fried Rice, $10.95.  This dish was new to us. It was served with a side of freshly made sweet pickles, which were quite refreshing when paired with the rice. The texture of the rice reminded me more of sticky rice in lotus leaf (lo mai gai) than regular fried rice and I believe the meat was pork but it didn’t specify on the menu. What I liked most about this dish was the dried shrimp, it gave the rice a nice bold umami flavor. 

Next, we were served Braised Pork Over Rice (lu rou fan), $6.95.  This is my husband’s favorite Taiwanese comfort food.  Overall this dish was tasty, it had a nice mix of the Taiwanese five spice flavor. I just wish there was a tiny bit more pork 🙂 Also, at this point, we realized we should not have ordered two rice dishes becuase rice is so filling. But at least that leaves a lot of other items to try when we return. 

The last dish to come out was my favorite, Five spiced beef wrap (niu rou jian bing), $6.75. I’ve had this at other places in Seattle and so far nothing compares to this version. The fresh cilantro and scallions were delicious and Facing East‘s hoison sauce had the perfect balance of sweetness. I also enjoyed the thickness, and slight chewiness of the scallion pancake. Overall, this dish was a big winner in my book. 

For some reason our drinks didn’t come out until almost the end of our meal. But that was fine with us because we were too busy stuffing our faces.  We each ordered the Chrysanthmum Tea with Honey, $3.75. It was light and refreshing and a perfect finish to our feast.