Bringing street food of Taiwan intown

Service: nice, but understaffed for peak hours

Best dishes: beef noodle soup, hot & sour soup, dirty bird bao

Vegetarian selections: few — veggie bao and tofu rice plate

Price range: $

Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express

Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch, 5-10 p.m. dinner Mondays-Tuesdays, closed Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch, 5-10 p.m. dinner Thursdays, 5-10 p.m. dinner Fridays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch, 5-10 p.m. dinner Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch, 5-9 p.m. dinner Sundays

Children: only the most adventurous

Parking: Midtown Promenade lot

Reservations: no

Wheelchair access: yes

Smoking: no

Noise level: quiet to moderate

Patio: no

Takeout: yes

Address, phone: 931 Monroe Drive, Suite A-108, Atlanta; 404-549-9848

Website: facebook.com/ahmasatl

Same cuisine, more options

NORCROSS

Bento Cafe

A departure from many of the street food-oriented Taiwanese restaurants in town, Bento Cafe has earned a loyal following of those looking for truly authentic, home-style cuisine. Make sure to try the pork dumplings or any of the myriad fried treats like fish balls. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Sundays. 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd, Suite A-4, Norcross. 770-300-9798, bentocafe.com. $

DULUTH

TJ House

After spending the first five decades of the 20th century under Japanese rule, the influence of that country on Taiwanese cooking can still be found today. TJ House specializes in just this style of cooking. The pork with bamboo shoots is not to be missed, as well as the tea-smoked duck or the pork and tofu with spicy sauce. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays. 3780 Old Norcross Road, Suite 113, Duluth. 470-545-0431, tjhousega.com. $-$$

NORCROSS

Kan Pai Cafe

Specializing in the street food of Taiwan, Kan Pai Cafe is a great spot to try a wide range of small plates. It's also a great spot to bring friends and share. Make sure you don't skip the sweet and salty Taiwanese sausage. And if you are feeling particularly adventurous, try the glutinous meatball, a ball of stewed beef wrapped in tapioca flour dough and topped with chili sauce. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. 3466 Holcomb Bridge Rroad, Norcross. 770-840-8999, kanpaicafe.com. $

It’s no secret that if you want a taste of authentic ethnic cuisine, the pickings get a little slim the closer you are to the city. However, thanks to brothers Andy and Alex Chen, along with their father Shane, the intown crowd can get a convenient taste of Taiwan.

The Chens are the heart of Ah-Ma’s Taiwanese Kitchen, with Alex and Shane sharing duties in the kitchen while Andy runs the front of house — when he isn’t in the back helping with prep. The dishes are their take on the street food that Shane grew up eating in the night markets of Taiwan.

Opened in August, Ah-Ma’s took over the space in Midtown Promenade vacated by Rice Bowl, near Trader Joe’s. While intimate — the restaurant seats only 34 diners — Ah-Ma’s design is decidedly bold, punctuated by a blood-red wall in the otherwise bright room, offset by dark wooden tabletops and an exposed ceiling.

There are two types of people when it comes to eating pig ear ($4.50) — those who shudder at the thought and those who squeal with excitement. But it should only take a few bites of these crispy and surprisingly tender bits to convert even the most wary at your table. The Chens slow-braise the ears before crisping them in the fryer, breaking down the chewy cartilage into a luxuriously smooth and fatty center. This one is great to start with and to share.

The Chens also clearly know a thing or two about making a good bowl of soup, as you can’t really go wrong with any of your options. My litmus test for any new Chinese restaurant is the hot and sour soup ($2), and by my second spoonful I was feeling pretty optimistic about the rest of my meal — this strikes just the right balance of heat, sour vinegar and salt. And my companions and I happily ordered additional rounds of the wonton soup ($5), the lightly flavored broth at once comforting and refreshing. The hearty serving of shrimp and pork wontons resting at the bottom makes this a dish that can fill you up quickly.

But if there is one soup you must experience here, it is unquestionably the beef noodle ($9). A heaping bowl of noodles, tender chunks of flank steak and pickled mustard greens, this is a meal unto itself. The true star is the rich, mahogany broth — I debated ordering a side of extra broth to drink on the ride home.

Another great option are the bao — fluffy, steamed buns made by hand in-house. While I enjoyed the pairing of pickled greens and dusting of sweet peanuts in the savory pork belly bao ($4.50), the juicy fried chicken and sharp wasabi aioli in the dirty bird bao ($4.50) made a much stronger impression. The sour pickled cucumber and carrot reined in the punch of the aioli just enough to keep the wasabi from totally dominating each bite.

But as I ate my way across the menu, I noticed Ah-Ma’s greatest weak point — redundancy. Taken by themselves, many of the dishes feel unique and full of flavor. But things here can quickly start to seem very one-note.

Given that five spice is the chief seasoning in Taiwanese cuisine, I wasn’t surprised to find it in most of the dishes here. But after a while I was looking around for some sauce — any sauce — to break the monotony of the five spice-heavy salt and pepper chicken ($5.50). The same can be said for the rich profile of that beef broth I love so — I’m wondering if it isn’t the base for half of the sauces on the menu.

Reminiscent of the disappointment I felt after my first piece of fruit-stripe gum, the cup of sticky rice ($4.50) teased me with a jolt of richness that quickly gave way to the mundane. The rice comes topped with a deliciously savory topping of pork and black mushroom in a thick, beefy reduction. But after the first few indulgent bites the toppings disappeared all too quickly, and I was left with little more than a bland plateau of rice.

The Lu Rou Fan ($5.50) nearly suffered the same fate — the hearty minced pork atop the bowl of steamed rice tasted eerily similar to the sticky-rice topping, and could have used a little more flavor to carry me through.

One of the few true entrée-sized dishes here, the braised oxtail rice plate ($14) was a winner, suffering only because it was my fourth plate in as many dishes with the same hearty, beef-based flavor profile. But the execution was superb and each bite of rich, tender meat pulled cleanly from the bones.

The Chens have gotten things off to a strong start with Ah-Ma’s, but there is certainly more ironing out to do. With a little more diversity to the menu, and a few tweaks, the misses here can quickly become hits. I’m looking forward to seeing how things evolve, and you should, too.