If you are a frequent reader of this blog, then you’ll know that I like to eat. I very much enjoy exploring all kinds of different restaurants, cuisines and cooking styles. As such, it should come as little surprise that I am trying to eat as much as I can while here in Taipei.
For the most part, I am reasonably familiar with a range of Taiwanese food since there are a lot of Taiwanese people in Vancouver. Even so, it’s great getting this level of authenticity. We eat at some chain restaurants, but I also try to visit some places that don’t have English menus too (I can’t read Chinese). So, what have I been eating?
Shown above is one of the stir fry dishes that we tried at a restaurant in the eastern end of town, I believe close to Houshanpi MRT station. Those peppers are quite hot, so you’ll want to consume them with discretion. We also got a variety of vegetable dishes, fried noodles, and other great stuff…
… like beer. I wouldn’t say that I consumed a lot of beer in the last week, but I’m not at all opposed to a little drink from time to time.
A trip to Taipei certainly wouldn’t be complete without a nice piping hot bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup. This is distinctly different from Vietnamese pho, as the slices of beef (as well as other various beef parts) are sliced thicker. The noodles are thicker too. I’ve had Taiwanese beef noodle in Vancouver, but eating it in Taipei is definitely better. This was at a restaurant near the Guanghua New Digital Plaza.
This photo was taken near our hotel on Linsen North Road, but there were many locations around town selling dong (zhong). You get sticky rice and an assortment of toppings, wrapped in a lotus leaf. The Taiwanese style is different than what I normally get in Vancouver, which may be closer to Taishanese style or Hong Kong style.
There is a lot of Japanese influence in Taipei and it shows. The manners and courtesy of the citizens are one indication of that. Another indication is the cuisine choices, as was the case with the shabu shabu hot pot we had at Mo-Mo Paradise. I believe this location was inside the Neo19, which is near Taipei 101.
With shabu shabu, you cook your own food in a simmering pot of soy sauce and water. Dishes include thinly sliced beef, sliced pork, mushrooms, tofu, corn, and a range of vegetables, as well as noodles and other goodies.
Continuing with the Japanese influence, we also visited Curry House CoCo Ichabanya near Taipei Main Station. They offer Japanese style curry, as well as omurice (rice wrapped in an omelette). I opted for the chunks of fried chicken, but you can also get other meats and non-omurice curry. I know it’s not Taiwanese, but Coco Curry is always a highlight for my visits to Taipei.
You’ll also notice that there are countless convenience stores around Taipei, including 7-Eleven and Family Mart. I buy a fair bit of iced tea and iced coffee while here, since it’s important to stay hydrated. I also enjoy the “localized” flavors of some junk food, like this bag of kyushu seaweed-flavored Lay’s potato chips.
While I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll be returning to Modern Toilet, I’m sure I’ll have many more food adventures before flying home to Vancouver. I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into my culinary quests. Do keep tabs on my Flickr photostream, as more photos will continue be posted of what I’m eating, as well as other sights in and around Taipei.
Bring me something nice
Lots of Taiwanese food in this post, but I’ll just talk about the dumplings (zhong).
How do the Taiwanese dumplings differ from those in Hong Kong? From the picture I saw in the post, it looks pretty much similar to what we have here in Singapore, which I’m incline to think is very similar, if not the same, as those in Hong Kong.
It was the Dragon Boat Festival on Monday, were you able to experience the Taiwanese celebration of this cultural event?
I’m used to having more “stuff” on the inside like the Chinese sausage, a duck egg, etc. Maybe it’s just because I got the cheaper, smaller one from a street vendor, but the rice tasted a little different too.
It all looks good Michael, but how do you keep your slim figure ;-).
I love the hot peppers in the Chinese type cooking, but you are right about how hot they are. I pick them out and add them back in bits to the food so that I can enjoy the heat without too much sweating.
What slim figure? 😉
Slimmer than mine that is sure.
Hey Mike, love your pictures, how do you like the Olympus E-PL1?
Having a lot of fun with it. Huge improvement over my old Canon P&S. I want to pick up the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens, but the price has gone up substantially since last year. 🙁 The kit lens only goes to F3.5 at its widest.
The food and the markets look amazing. I would drink a lot of beer, with all those hot peppers. Have great time.
awesome pics . makes me drool 🙂
Yummy food,I want to have it now.