Taiwan 2012 - Taipei 101

Taipei 101 food hall (美食街) in the basement.

Food is expensive and of course, we were there not for it but the view from the observatory.

Here, at the food hall, which is owned by a Singapore firm, we tried the 甜不辣

I suspect it's named after 'tempura' but is really not like it at all. It is more than what we find in yong tau foo in SG. The ones at this foodcourt were not very tasty, and were gummy and expensive.

The oh-ar-jian 蚝仔煎was good though! Here, in Taiwan, they slather it with a sweet sauce, and you can definitely find more oysters.

Taiwan 2012 - oden

Winter in Taiwan ... and you can get a warm oden meal at the convenience stores.
The little pieces of yong tau foo-like items are called tempura 甜不辣

At Taipei Main Station's 7-11 before we left for Hualien

Taiwan 2012 - Du Hsiao Yue 度小月

Near San Want Hotel.

度小月 Slack Season noodles
http://www.iddi.com.tw/
http://old.iddi.com.tw/en/about.asp

We had the 'dragon whiskers' veg, noodles, braised pork, salted chicken and deep-fried oysters.


There's a story behind this 老字号

Taiwan 2012 - bentos

In Taiwan, one often feels like in Japan.

The cheerful service, the bentos, the cross-country trains, the pitchy but soothing spoken Mandarin, and how the locals are decked out in woolly furry winter clothing even though the temperature is in the mid-20s. 

 

 

Bento bought from the Taipei Main Station before our 3 hr journey to Hualien

What you get inside the bento from Taipei Main Station

Chicken drumstick bento from Hualien

Taiwan 2012 - 卤味

yummy street food across the road from San Want Hotel (after Luxy Disco) in Taipei.

 

pick what you want, and remember to make your choice of veggie to go with it. Tang-o made our meal feel princely.

 

we liked the pig's blood curd (made with glutinous rice), and the yam cake.

 

 



 

Taiwan 2012 - lotus flower tea 莲花茶

Lotus flower tea at 莲花池

 

For the kids, you can purchase fishfeed and spend some time feeding the carps in the lotus ponds.

 

5 stalks for NT100. That works out to about SGD4.50



Enjoying tea in the serene environment

tomato plants in the middle, and maize plants in the background

Taiwan 2012 - Mr Goose 鹅肉先生

The Hualien locals will usually recommend this goosemeat restaurant.

It is usually crowded, and the owners and helpers are rather friendly despite the crowd and are ready to give you advice if you are lost on what to order.

You have a choice of goosemeat - lean and fatty, and you order by weight. The meat is served with shredded ginger and the sauce, with hints of basil, goes well with it. You can order noodles, rice and vegetables to complete your meal.

The goose liver is good - powdery as we would describe it. We didnt enjoy the goosemeat as much as we found it more tough than the duckmeat we are used to.



 

 

Hualien food map : http://cookzbookz.blogspot.sg/2012/12/taiwan-2012-hualien-food-map.html

Location : near Jung Shan Rd and Jung Jeng Rd intersection.