The Week Continues....

 For the first several days in Taipei I had to find a place to stay during my studies which is going to be challenge....

But believe it or not, I have another worries in my mind which was finding food to eat.

I have very limited Chinese vocabulary, I mean I can say simple things like I want this and that , but once the laoban say things I would not understand at all!! (even up until now it still is quiet hard)

Another thing is it seems that very little Taiwanese understands English, so basically if you speak English well or don't speak at all, it's all the same! 

Anyway..for the next couple days I wasn't able to try all local food, only managed to get my hand in some Taiwanese food and more convenience store food;

YONG HE SOY MILK KING

Address: No. 102, Section 2, Fuxing South Road, Da'an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106

Operating Hours: 24 hours

Taiwan is well known for its breakfast, whether you like it or not..

It has a very famous breakfast options which ranges from bread, rice, to xiao long bao! However the one thing that I need to mention is that it seems that Taiwanese really like to drink Soy Milk for breakfast.

To start my first morning in Taipei, a friend bring me to an eatery near the home stay I was staying in. It was called YONG HE SOY MILK KING (I'll try to include the map soon), located in DAAN area, near the Technology Building mrt station (BROWN LINE). It's a pretty well known place which is always packed with people, so I couldn't really say what's the best time to come... but the 2 times I went here luckily I still managed to find a table.

Menu Board on the Wall

I have no idea what to order at first since I couldn't read any of the Chinese characters, but with the help of my friend I got something to eat (later I found that the place has an English menu with pictures so no need to worry!). 

Before coming to Taiwan I did some browsing on what to eat, and I found this interesting sandwich that you get at a soy milk breakfast shop.. So it was a flaky bread with some fried Chinese cruller as the filling, but my friend mis-order it, so maybe next time...

For now, I got a similar thing which is called 蛋餅夾油條 (dàn bǐng jiā yóutiáo), which means egg crepe/thin pancake, wrapping a fried Chinese cruller;
→ 蛋餅 dàn bǐng = egg crepe / thin pancake
→ 油條 yóutiáo = fried Chinese cruller (Indonesian would call this cakwe)

And a glass of iced sweet soybean milk 冰 [甜清] 豆漿 (bīng [tián qīng] dòujiāng);
→ 冰 bīng = ice
→ 甜清 tián qīng = sweet clear
→ 豆漿 dòujiāng = soy milk

In my opinion the dàn bǐng jiā yóutiáo was interesting for sure!
On the first layer was a thin soft crepe, rather than sweet it was more savory. Then there's egg fried with some scallions attached to the crepe, lastly the yóutiáo. 
The think I notice while biting it is the different texture that I get, the crepe and egg are soft, then I get to the middle which was really super crispy! I would say this was the best yóutiáo I have ever had, better than the one I had in Indonesia, crispy but not too oily.
This so called sandwich was alright on its own in terms of flavor because the scallion egg really adds a nice flavor of...oh well...egg and scallion.. hahahaha..
But if you're looking for extra flavor, you can add any of the condiments that are provided such as soy sauce and Taiwanese style hot sauce 辣醬 (làjiàng). Instead of being liquid such as Tabasco, or thick like Shiracha, it has a consistency more like the Indonesian Sambal, but with a very strong Chinese fermented bean sauce and VERY extremely salty, so please do take it easy!! (ps. it'snot spicy at all, so don't worry!)

Oh,,and also this was really filling!! 

蛋餅夾油條 (dàn bǐng jiā yóutiáo)

As for the soy milk, I was never really a fan of soy milk because of the bean smell. This was the same as well. In comparison to the one I tried back home, this was actually very light in consistency, I thought it was quite thin but still has a strong soybean smell. I think that soy milk lovers would still love this anyway, it's just it's not my favorite thing :)

My friend got herself a much more interesting item in the menu, which to be honest I have never heard of or even imagine what it would taste like. So it was called 鹹豆漿 (xián dòujiāng) or also known as salty soy milk! Can you imagine it? It sounds strange to me, but you know..I didn't try it in this store, but I eventually tried in another place which I will review some time later.

Xián dòujiāng with an extra of over-easy

Price:
- 蛋餅夾油條 dàn bǐng jiā yóutiáo, Egg crepe with fried Chinese cruller: NTD 35 (IDR 16,000 or US$ 1.2)

- 冰(甜清)豆漿 bīng (tián qīng) dòujiāng, Iced sweet soybean milk: NTD 25 (IDR 11,500 or US$ 0.8)

- 鹹豆漿 xián dòujiāng, Salty soy milk: NTD 30 (IDR 13,500 or US$ 1)
- 荷包蛋 hébāodàn, Over-easy/Fried egg: NTD 10 (IDR 4,500 or US$ 0.4)

ICHIGEN RAMEN

Address: 110, Taiwan, Taipei City, Xinyi District, Songshou Road, no. 30

Operating Hours: 11.00-15.30, 17.00-22.30

I came across this Ramen shop with a friend just right after looking for a place to stay. We were strolling around Taipei 101 area, one of the malls was filled with literally just food, and we decided to go with ramen.

There were quite a lot of people. Once we were seated we found out that it was a special ramen shop that specializes on a shrimp based soup. To be honest I don't understand the menu at all, so I can only explain based on what I tasted.

For ramen, we basically has to pick what kind of soup we prefer. There were 3 type (which I guessed, I'll edit the post once I am sure of it); tonkotsu (pork bone), shrimp broth, shrimp tonkotsu.
Then. you have to pick the topping, which again I forgot what are the options.But the one I picked was the 1 slice chashu, ajitsuke tamago (marinated soft boiled egg), and shrimp salt (the pink powder on top of the noodle). In addition, there's a spoonful of sliced leeks.

Pink Shrimp Salt on top of the Ramen

I got the shrimp tonkotsu based which was really deep in flavor. I tried my friend's shrimp broth which was the same in color but has a lighter flavor. The mix of deep umami pork flavor with an addition of the sweetness of shrimp really mixes well. 

The chashu was nothing so special, same goes for the egg. The noodle has a nice chewy texture, it was done nicely, not too soft, not too hard. Shrimp salt on the other hand is something I've never heard of, it was slightly salty, not too much though. Instead of  diluting in the soup, it was more 'bloomed' when it hits the soup, kinda remind me of a shrimp paste but not the sticky type.... Definitely a little hard to explain, one must try to find out.

Overall, to be honest I would say it's quite a special ramen since I've never find anything like it. However did I like it so much that I would return for multiple visits? No. 

The main reason for this is that as an overall dish it was really oily, I guess it was because of the shrimp within the broth.

Price:
All kind of Ramen: NTD 250 (IDR 113,000 or US$ 8.4)

ZAKU ZAKU

Address: 110, Taiwan, Taipei City, Xinyi District, Songshou Road, no. 11 新光三越信義新天地

Operating Hours: 11.00-21.30

The thing I have noticed the most in Taiwan is people like to line up for food. To get a taste of being local, we went and line up at a store in one of the mall, which we didn't even know what they were selling.

We then realized that it was a pastry shop which literally just sell kind of pastry which was a Croquant Choux. The shop was actually a Japanese franchise shop which apparently is very well known. 

It has quite a fancy name using some French in it, but if you ever try eclair before, it is basically a longer eclair with some croquant or crisp on it. The outer part has a similar resemblances to Japanese Cream Choux which has a craquellin that's made out of sugar, butter, and a little flour. But I guessed that this ZakuZaku eclair has some type of caramelized nut incorporated into the craquellin. I might be wrong but it does taste a little like caramelized hazelnut....

The cream inside was a simple vanilla creme patissiere or commonly known as custard, BUT it has a much more liquid and smoother consistency, which could be because of the less amount of corn starch used. 

The Lava Cream Inside

The cream was not sweet, but it was balanced out by the choux which was really sweet because of the craquellin. I would say that this is a love and hate thing, it's either you love it or hate it! I'm personally not a big fan, wouldn't want to come back, it was just too sweet for me! My friend however love it, so I guess if you have a sweet tooth, this would be a nice treat.

With the long queue, I thought it wouldn't be too pricey, but it was outrageously expensive, NTD 88/piece! If you buy 6 pcs it'll be slightly cheaper (NTD 500 if I wasn't wrong). 

I guess it's the power of popularity!!

Also a good tips was that the cashier told us that don't leave the choux outside the fridge for more than 6 hours. We weren't sure why, but it could be to keep the craquellin crispy. But then I thought that it will become soggier inside the fridge, then I though maybe because of the cream. Because the creme was made with egg and milk, so in order to keep it fresh and set, it should be kept inside a fridge.

Price:

Croquant Choux: NTD 88 (IDR 40,000 or US$ 3) / piece
                             NTD 500 (IDR 225,500 or US$ 16.7) / 6 pieces

7-11

Operating Hours: 24 hours

One of the most talked thing and definitely not to be missed in Taiwan is its 7-11. 

So what is so special about it? Simply because it has EVERYTHING! 

You can basically live by going to 7-11. 

Since I was very curious, I went to one and bought a couple things for dinner. I decided to go with a bottle of Japanese Style Green Tea, an Onigiri (Japanese rice triangle), and what seems to be a rice sandwich.

Dinner

First of all, I don't even understand what the filling of the onigiri was.... Please let me know what it was! I know for sure that it was chicken, just not sure whether it was blanched, steamed, fried, roasted, smoked, or what sauce it has. The filling was alright actually nothing to be wowed about.

The nori or seaweed on the other hand is what makes it soooo good! You can see on the right side of the label, it says 酱油海苔 (jiàngyóu hǎitái) meaning soy sauce seaweed. The seaweed was seasoned with soy sauce, which has a nice slightly salty and sweet flavor, it was crisp as well! 

There's a plastic inside that keeps the nori crisp, so that it doesn't touch the rice directly that will make it soggy easily. It is also easy to open, and take out the plastic, very convenient for sure!  

Onigiri

The next thing I had was a rice sandwich.

The first time I bought it, I didn't know that I have to heat it, so I ended up eating it cold which was nasty! Rice was all dry and hard to swallow.

Second time I bought it, I asked for it to be microwave which was way better!

I chose the one with chicken and braised egg inside; 奮起湖 雞腿排 (fènqǐ hú jītuǐ pái). The name for me doesn't make sense at all, but I can tell that it was some sort of roast chicken. 

I'm not sure what sauce it was, I can taste a very strong black pepper taste though....

Would I say I like it? Not really, I mean it's not bad, just not something very appealing.

Doesn't look appetizing at all....

Ohh.. and the green tea was good for a bottled drink! Very refreshing, so far the best bottled green tea I've had!

Price:
- Onigiri, Chicken rice triangle: NTD 25 (IDR 11,500 or US$ 0.9)

- 奮起湖 雞腿排 (fènqǐ hú jītuǐ pái), Roasted chicken and braised egg rice sandwich: NTD 39 (IDR 18,000 or US$ 1.3)

- 日式無糖綠茶 (rì shì wú táng lǜchá), Japaanese style sugar free green tea: NTD 20 (IDR 9,000 or US$ 0.7)

SUBWAY

Operating Hours: 08.00-22.00

Subway isn't something very special, it's just a sandwich chain. But I have to make clear this up, because we don't have Subway in Indonesia, so it was exciting for me. Although we have a lot of better sandwiches in Bali, I was excited to try it since it was my first time actually.

I chose the grilled chicken, with a whole wheat bread, honey mustard sauce, and just shredded iceberg lettuce, jalapeno, gherkins only (which surprises the guy since it was so little..).

All Greens on the Inside

I was extremely happy to eat it at the time, since it was the first thing I had that doesn't taste so Taiwanese (still trying to adjust my palette to the local flavor).

The chicken was not good at all, let's be honest, I'd rather have a real grilled chicken rather than chicken breast wannabe a.k.a processed chicken. Also there's this thing with subway smell when they are reheating the bread with the filling, it has a weird carbon burnt smell, not sure whether it was the paper wrapper or the bread....

Anyway whereas for the condiments, it was perfect since I love pickled food, so the sourness along with the crunchiness and freshness of the lettuce triggers the taste bud to take another bite! 

Honey mustard sauce was nice; sweet and slightly tangy.

I truly enjoy my first Subway! (don't mock me guys) Although a fresh grilled chicken sandwich would have been better, but oh well, what can you do, it is fast food after all! 

Price:
- Grilled chicken sandwich: NTD 99 (IDR 45,000 or US$ 3.3)

- Coca-Cola, small cup: NTD 30 (IDR 13,500 or US$ 1)

你好 Ni Hao Taiwan!

1st day

Currently in Taipei, Taiwan studying Mandarin, so I'm going to post my culinary adventure (it means what I eat everyday :p) in Taipei!!!!

I arrived in Taipei on the 15th September, quite some time ago..a little late in posting everything but trying my best!

I will just post some picture, some description, where, and basically just my comment on it! Something just for fun, if I put any information wrong don't hesitate to leave a comment yaa!

First day in Taipei, arrived in the afternoon starving...but only got a chance to eat later in the evening;;

OYSTER VERMICELLI

Small bowl of Oyster Vermicelli

Not quite sure what the Taiwanese name for it, I'll try to find out and post it. Anyway, this food is one of the popular food in Taiwan especially because of a very famous shop in Shilin, Taipei. The one i had was not from a famous vendor, it was just a tiny shop, which i forgot where it was. I was pretty sure it was in the XINDIAN area, but a month after i went there again but it doesn't look the same at all soo...I'm not quite sure....

My stomach was bloated at the time so I decided to go with a small portion (小碗: xiao wan, means small bowl).

What you get is basically a bowl of hot vermicelli (mee sua) in a thick brown broth which looks more like a sauce. I think that the broth is thickened with some sort of starch; either potato, tapioca, or corn, but i'm assuming based on the consistency it was thickened with tapioca starch.

It was served with pork intestines, fried small pieces of fish cake, and of course oyster! The oyster looks pretty raw and fresh, I don't think it was pre blanched nor cooked. Then to top it of the 老闆 (laoban) or the Boss add chopped cilantro (the Taiwanese call it 香菜 xiang cai, which literally translates to fragrant vegetables, but if you look it up in google translates it will tell you that it's parsley but really it is cilantro). 

Dollop of Chili Oil and Flakes

What's inside it..

You can ask the vendor to not add it if you don't like the smell but I personally thinks that you need it, since it compliments the flavor of the vermicelli. This was a perfect quick tasty meal that is easy on the stomach.

To eat this vermicelli, you can add various condiments according to your liking. All condiments available on the top of the table, I simply add everything, which were; vinegar, garlic puree, and chili oil. I would say adding all the condiments plays a huge role in enjoying this dish, highly recommended to add all, but if you can't take spicy food just skip the chili oil!!

Price:
- Small: NTD 30
(IDR 13,500 or US$ 1)
- Big: NTD 50
(IDR 22,500 or US$ 1.6)

BIANDANG 便當

Store Front

Just across the vermicelli place there was a store where a lot of people are lining up for...in Taiwan this means that there's something good worth waiting for. So my friend and I decided to line up as well and buy a portion to share.

It was a 便當 (biandang) place, which means convenient, or what you will know as rice with protein and vegetables. Indonesian will call it as nasi campur or mix rice which is exactly what I thought it was. However unlike Indonesian mix rice where you can have however many type of vegetables and protein you want, in Taiwan it is just 3 kind of vegetables or side dishes, and 1 type of main protein.

This store has various options for the protein, they put up a menu on the wall which is all in Chinese characters, very hard to understand! But you can simply point at the food displayed in front of you!

We decided to go with the braised pork belly, along with braised tofu, sauteed white cabbage, and sauteed some kind of gourd. 

Layers of Goodness in between..

The pork belly DID NOT DISAPPOINT AT ALL!! No joke! I usually dislike eating braised thick fat, but this was amazing! The meat were so soft that it melts along with the fat!

The vegetables on the other hand was so so, the cabbage taste exactly like sauteed cabbage, nothing special. 

The tofu was fried than stir fried with a sweet sauce, I'm guessing oyster sauce. The texture wasn't really like the tofu I know. It wasn't silky like the Japanese tofu, yet it wasn't soft like the Indonesian or Malaysian tofu, it was actually quite dense and has a bounciness to it, unique for sure. 

The sauteed gourd was interesting...I'm not quite sure what it was really. Taste wise it was pretty bland, but the natural taste of the vegetable was not something I know. It tasted like chayote but the texture is more like a cross between winter melon and cucumber....mysterious for sure....

Also in most 便當 places, you can help yourself to a bowl of complimentary soup. Which was so so, pretty bland actually.

Free flow of Soup with bits of Egg and Carrot

Next time, if I figure where this place was, i would definitely try the fried chicken leg, because it seems like what every one is getting!

Price:
- 雞腿飯 jitui fan, Chicken leg rice: NTD 95 (IDR 43,000 or US$ 3.2)

- 明蝦飯 mingxia fan, Shrimp rice: NTD 85 (IDR 38,500 or US$ 2.8)
- 排骨飯 paigu fan, Pork chop rice: NTD 85 (IDR 38,500 or US$ 2.8)
- 沙茶牛肉飯 shacha niurou fan, Stir fried beef and greens rice: NTD 90 (IDR 41,000 or US$ 3)
- 黑胡椒肉片飯 hei hujiao roupian fan, Black pepper pork rice: NTD 90 (IDR 41,000 or US$ 3)
- 咖哩飯 kali fan, Curry rice: NTD 85 (IDR 38,500 or US$ 2.8)
- 焢肉飯 hongrou fan, Braised pork belly rice: NTD 85 (IDR 38,500 or US$ 2.8)
- 魯肉飯 lurou fan, Braised chopped pork rice: NTD 20 (IDR 9,000 or US$ 0.7)

Menu Board

YILAN CONG BING 宜蘭蔥餅

Bite of  宜蘭蔥餅 

Around the MRT station area, we've managed to find a vendor that sells a green onion pancake or also called as 蔥餅 (cong bing). But this was unlike other cong bing it was a special one that originated from a region called Yilan City. 

宜蘭蔥餅 (Yilan cong bing) or green onion pancake is a dough wrapped around chopped green parts of the leek or green onion, then twirl into spiral like round shape. It is then pan fried.

To be honest I wasn't a big fa of this, I'm not sure whether it was the vendor or the pancake in general since I have only tried it once. It was quite bland, no umami nor fragrance. All i can taste was green onion and tons of white pepper. 

I wish there could be a little more flavor..but that was just me, my friend really enjoyed it, so I guess nothing wrong by giving it a try!

Price: NTD 40 (IDR 18,000 or US$ 1.3)

Earl Grey Milk Tea

I bought a bottled milk tea at a 7-11 just right behind the pancake shop. Since Taiwan is very popular with its milk tea, I figure I should drink one on my first day here. I chose the Earl Grey Milk Tea which cost for NTD 25 (IDR 11,000 or US$ 0.8). 

It was nice and refreshing! A little sweet for my liking but it wasn't overly sweet. I like that it has a nice fragrance of the Earl Grey, so I would say that it was a nice purchase, plus it has a nice bottle!!