The building at 236 Nassau St. bears the scars of a long history of turnover, and The Fortune City is the latest restaurant to occupy the space.
The sign of Olde English Fish and Chips still hangs over the storefront, but a plywood sandwich board advertising Taiwanese specialty drinks is truer to the restaurant's current focus.
The restaurant retains elements of past incarnations. Inside, chili peppers decorate the light switches - a remnant of its days as Santa Fe Express. One half of the menu lists Taiwanese dishes while the other half lists the English-style offerings of previous owners.
While it is possible to eat at the narrow counter looking out on Nassau Street, most of The Fortune City's business seems to be take-out.
The restaurant opened in June and seems to have a steady stream of mostly Asian customers.
Admittedly, The Fortune City is not the place to go if you're in search of a white tablecloth restaurant.
Befitting a place that does mostly take-out business, the service is highly informal. The staff is friendly and helpful, though a slight language barrier makes it important to clarify your order, particularly because many menu items are written in Chinese.
Taiwanese cuisine tends to be milder and less spicy than Americanized Chinese food. The Fortune City's dishes don't have the excess salt, garlic and grease sometimes found in Chinese food.
The menu has many seafood dishes, meat dishes and noodle soups. But one has to look hard to find vegetarian options — or even dishes with vegetables in them.
On a recent visit, we tried the celery and shrimp ($5.99). In this dish, simplicity was its charm. The flavors of each ingredient were accentuated rather than masked in a heavy brown sauce. The portion was large enough for two to share.
Unlike many of Princeton Borough's upscale restaurants, the prices at The Fortune City are geared to a student's budget.
There are many soup options on the menu - on both the Taiwanese and English sides.
A Taiwanese-style soup is the "no mien" noodle soup ($5.99), which consists of a generous portion of homemade flat rice noodles and velvety strips of egg, mushrooms and bamboo shoots in a brown broth.
Each order is a full quart of soup - steaming and satisfying on a chilly evening.
However, it would have been nice to see more vegetables peeking through the noodles.
Pearl Tapioca
The best menu item at The Fortune City is the tapioca pearl drinks ($2.85-$3.75). These creamy iced drinks come with your choice of flavored powder - like coconut, mango, black tea, orange and pineapple - and a thick layer of tapioca starch balls at the bottom.
With pastel colors and extra-wide straws, these drinks are a distinct tactile and aesthetic pleasure.
We tried the green tea and taro flavors. Both were tasty, but the fun lies in slurping the chewy tapioca pearls - a Willy Wonka-esque experience.
Tapioca drinks - also called bubble teas or bobas - are a big hit in big city "bubble bars."
The Fortune City is the first to bring the craze to Princeton. If these catch on, instead of going to T. Sweets, couples may head out to try their luck at The Fortune City.
With its urban influences and colorful bubble teas, The Fortune City is a good place to bring a hipster date.
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