What to do when you are ever in Taipei City?

EAT! Yes, you should visit the countryside for scenery, the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Palace Museum for history, and even the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Arts for culture, but I am a strong believer of learning about different cultures and places through food.

That’s what I did for four full days in Taipei – I munched my way through the city, Pacman style.

Taipei is the capital and largest city of Taiwan Province; it is one of the food, creativity, and culture hubs of Asia. Taiwan, also known as Formosa (meaning “beautiful island” in Portuguese), is a “Treasure Island” blessed with an abundance of natural resources and climate suitable for many sorts of agriculture. Within every ten steps you take, I guarantee that there is a restaurant, small snack shop, or a street vendor selling a specific type of Taiwanese food.

It is difficult to pinpoint what is “Traditional” Taiwanese food, because of the history of Taiwan; food you find in Taiwan illustrates the influence that has been left through the succession of foreign settlements by the Dutch in the Seventeenth century; and through occupations by the Spanish in the late Seventeenth century, the Japanese between 1895-1945, and the Chinese Republican troops in 1945.

When you are in Taipei for the first time, the selection of foods can be overwhelming and daunting, so, here is a shortlist of the Top 5 things you must try when you visit!

1. Taiwanese Beef Noodles

You can find a beef noodle shop in Taipei on almost every single corner of the street. Taiwanese Beef Noodles is served in two main kinds of broths: Spicy Sichuan Braised Beef, and Clear Braised beef. Each of the broths is cooked under slow simmer (“dun”) for over 8 hours for the flavor of the beef to fully release into the soup, and makes the beef tender and succulent. The white noodles that accompany the broth is my favorite part! It is chewy (“Q” as the Taiwanese say), and the noodles have a little texture that allows the soup to cling on to. The bowl of broth and noodles is then topped with a generous helping of chunky succulent beef. The beef used comes from local “Yellow Cows”, giving the broth a rich and authentic flavor, and from the slow simmer, the meat is so tender that it can almost melt in your mouth.

2. Super Mango Crushed “Ice Mountain” Dessert

THIS WAS A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The idea of “Ice Mountain” desserts is a Japanese influence to beat the heat in the summer, but the Taiwanese added their own flair by adding locally grown mangoes. Unlike the imported mangoes you can find in your local supermarket, these Taiwanese mangoes have a distinct sweetness to them… Not to over exaggerate, but it tasted like as if the mangoes fell naturally from the trees, and were immediately cut and piled atop a pile of fluffy crushed ice. It doesn’t stop there, this “mountain” of goodness is then topped with delicious mango sorbet, and a generous drizzle of mango sauce reduction and condensed milk. Do I need to say more?

3. Peanut Floss, with Red Bean Ice Cream and Taro Ice Cream Wrap

Another delicious dessert.

The Taiwanese people have added their own flair to the European crepe. You might have come across peanut brittle, but have you ever had peanut brittle floss made with malt syrup?

A sheet of thin white-flour crepe is used as the wrap, and then the server shaves a huge block of peanut and malt syrup candy and sprinkles the flossy shavings on top of the crepe. I thought that was already pretty awesome…BUT WAIT…The server reaches for an ice cream scoop and adds one scoop of taro ice cream, and one scoop of red bean ice cream.

The locals suggested I add coriander to the wrap, but my taste buds have yet to comprehend that pongy flavor. Maybe next time.

The layered depth of the a chewy sticky peanut caramel floss, complimented with cold, smooth ice cream then contrasted the warm crepe…

The moment I took a bite, my taste buds were dancing in joy.

4. Worker’s “Been-Dong” (Lunch Boxes)

Again, a food item that roots from Japanese influences, the bento (lunch box).

These lunch boxes were originally meals for workers who were mining in the mountains, and building the Taiwan railroad. A typical “been-dong” consists of a bed of steamed rice, a layer of stir-fried minced pork, a side of Chinese radish pickles, a hard-boiled-soy sauce-stewed egg, topped with a lovely piece of fried pork chop.

Simple and down to earth, yet extremely fulfilling.

5. Taiwanese Breakfast: Savory Soy Milk Soup, Glutinous Rice Wrap, and Flaky Sesame Pastry Sandwich

This is another simple and down to earth local favorite. Locals would probably have only one of the above items for breakfast, but I had a taste of all three.

The Savory Soy Milk Soup is a concoction of soy milk, a dash of sesame oil, black vinegar, soy sauce, dried baby shrimps, minced pickled radish, topped with rings of dough fritter and green onion. Might sound strange, but this concoction results in something quite extraordinary, plus the soy milk is not the same kind of soy milk as the ones you find in a carton at your local North American supermarket.

A Glutinous Rice Wrap is made of glutinous rice as the exterior, and the inside is filled with crunchy dough fritter, and tasty pork floss, you can add an egg if you desire. This wrap is a clever on-the-go meal that is extremely delicious and filling.

A Flaky Sesame Pastry is used like sandwich bread; you can choose to have it plain, with a red bean paste filing, an egg and pork chop filling, or pork floss. I chose pork floss. Pork floss is a Taiwanese specialty made with finely minced pork and tossed and tossed and tossed in a big wok until it is golden brown, dry, flaky, and crunchy. Yummy!

In my opinion, this beats coffee and donuts any day.

Taiwanese Drinks

Drinks in Taiwan deserve a designated section of its own, so here is a quick glimpse. There is freshly blended pink guava juice, sour plum tea, lime lemonade with jelly, papaya flavored milk, black sugar and winter melon tea, kumquat tea, the list can go on and on!

One thing I want to point out is “Pearl Milk Tea”; yup you got it, that’s Bubble Tea! As you might know, Bubble Tea was originated from Taiwan, but I am not talking about the Oreo slushy with tapioca, that is like the equivalent of saying Sweet and Sour Pork is Chinese food. These items were developed by Chinese immigrants to cater to “fool the White Man”, as Cantonese people put it, to gain Western patronage.

So what’s real Bubble Tea? It is a rich and smooth concoction of black tea with evaporated milk and tapioca. You must try the real thing!

*Note: All of the items mentioned above are simply entry-level eats, I will let you decide whether you want to try things like Stinky Tofu, Solidified Chicken Blood Rice Cakes, Duck Tongue, Skewer-Grilled Chicken Bum, Grilled Duck Heart, Pig’s Intestine Soup, Asparagus Juice etc…The list goes on!

Tip: When “Pacman-ing” in Taiwan, I highly recommend that you never order a portion each (i.e. four bowls of noodles for four people). It is the best to order just a few things to share, and have a taste. The point is not to get stuffed, but to try as much as you can…plus, with the dizzying array of extremely reasonably priced foods in Taiwan, you will never be hungry.

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