taiwan : the eats.

it's finally here. the massive taiwan food post.

first stop: breakfast. this place had the best taiwanese breakfast. their ho bing (thick bread) was made like naan stuck to the interior walls of fire-burning ovens. awesome savory soy milk. youtiao (chinese donut) to die for.

two different beef noodle soup shops in the ximen area; i went to one, tried their niu rou mien, then walked across the street to the other for their niu rou mien. different styles, both pretty tasty.

tons of these grill-your-own-meat places all over taipei. we stopped in one near where we were staying for an all you can eat.

breakfast of hainanese chicken rice and oyster omelet in the sogo shopping mall food court. don't diss the mall food court - they're pretty high end, and there was even a din tai fung and santouka in this one, with huge lines!

some taiwanese sesame noodles to snack on while we were up in the maokong mountain area drinking tea.

some eats at a super small night market near where we were staying.

shida night market eats - my old stomping grounds from when i did a summer in taipei at shida university. shaved noodles, dumplings, ba wan (glutinous meat ball), pigs blood cake, and red bean cakes!

a trip to the original din tai fung. so good! they gave james a 'how to eat our dumplings' instructional placard. the best thing is that they serve way better vegetables in taiwan than they do in the US.

a stop by the taiwan beer brewery's 346 pub for some beer and food. i should note, that taiwan beer is absolutely awful, but the food they served was really quite good.

shilin night market eats - i couldn't get enough pigs blood cake while i was in taiwan. and grilled squid on a stick. and lembu (an apple/pear-like hybrid that you really can't get in the US). and stinky tofu.

oh, these photos make me happy and sad. this was the very best niu rou mien in taipei. SO good. and even their little appetizers were great - best cold marinated pig ear i've ever had.

plain glazed donut at mister donut - these donuts are AWESOME because as i later found out, there is mochi in their dough, so they have an awesome glutinous texture.

various market fares.

a couple things we got on the street in jiufen: ba wan, grilled conch (i think - tasty regardless).

amazing pork fried rice. the rice and the condiments that came on top were really good. i've never had anything like it in the states.

mango ice at mango cha cha - can't get mango ice like that in the US either, because in the US the mangoes we get are from mexico which are not as sweet and much more fibrous, where the mangos in asia are super sweet and soft and so much better.

black pepper bun at raohe night market.

belgian beers at cafe bastille - absolutely necessary because as good as the food is in taiwan, the beer sucks.

pork chop rice box for the train ride down to taichung - more akin to what you get in the US.

pub food and beer and drinking games with the cousins in taichung.

awesome dinner at a restaurant that specializes in goose - which again, is nearly impossible to get in america in any decent form. raw oysters with wasabi, steamed goose, smoked goose, pigs blood cake, squid, goose liver (not foie gras), clams, pork kidneys. all delicious.