Eve Notebook - Neko Goes To Taiwan

Eve was in Taiwan or more specifically, Taipei and Tai Chung, recently and didn’t get much time to look around enough. Nonetheless, it was a great trip! Few things I noticed about Taiwan:

The weather is great…not too humid so it’s nice and cool (In May at least)

Taiwan shows great Japanese influence in their food and layout.

The Taiwanese tend to go for a sweet look in fashion.

There are not too many swimming pools in Taiwan.

The guys are way cuter than in Singapore….or at least more fashionable.


Shopping

One must talk about the night markets when one talks about shopping in Taiwan. At night, the streets come alive as peddlers set up small stalls selling everything from sausages to jeans and caps along the streets in certain parts of the cities.

The most famous night market in Taipei is of course Shi Lin Night Market (Shi Lin Ye Shi). The fastest way to get there is by train to Jian Tan and take a 5 minute walk to Shi Lin. The streets are lined with shops selling all kinds of fashion, food and knick knacks. Stall owners even set up stalls right in the middle of the street. It was an interesting sight to see how stall owners can pack up their stalls all within 1 minute the moment the got wind of police coming.

I personally found shopping was not very much more cheaper than Singapore and Shi Lin was relatively more expensive than Tai Chung. That brings me to Feng Jia Night Market (Feng Jia Ye Shi) in Tai Chung, located near Feng Jia University.

Locals tell Eve that Feng Jia Ye Shi is arguably the largest night market in Taiwan as it comprises not only of one street but an entire network of streets bustling with activity. Eve personally liked Feng Jia better as she felt there were not only more things to buy, but the stuff were also nicer and cheaper. Eve didn’t get to buy much this time and makes a mental note to go back again.

Food

Food! Food is glorious in Taiwan. Taiwan is famous for their snacks (xiao chi) and this is seen clearly in the proliferation of small stores selling all varieties of food that threaten to burst your belt. I was quite surprised to see a lot of Japanese influence in the food, cutlery and even restaurant layout. One thing I did enjoy was that there didn’t seem to be much use MSG in food. Thus most of the flavours came from real foods and seasonings.

While I did enjoy the restaurants, it was going around to try the xiao chi that was fun. Some common food you find being sold include bubble tea, lu wei and sausages. Eve remembers some of the food that made her go wow:

Ah Zhong Mian Xian

Located in the well known Xi Men Ding in Taipei, Ah Zhong Mian Xian has been around for a long time. When you approach the store, you will see people standing outside the store holding bowls of piping hot mee sua. Yes, there are no tables or chairs for people to sit down and eat but the store still sees queues of people at any time of the day. Hot mee sua in cold weather…..ahhhhhh

Shaved Ice ( Cua Bing )

Eve was directed to this corner stall by friends. It is found in the food centre located opposite Shi Lin Night Market. Eve has absolutely no idea how they manage to make shaved ice this good. It looks and feels like snow! Eve suspects they added milk to the water before freezing it to produce the ice.

Imagine tucking your spoon into a big plate of snowy ice and the spoon cuts through it easily….as you put it into your mouth, it melts tenderly, delivering a milky taste along with fruits. Ahhhhh it was so heavenly that Eve ordered a second one after she finished the first big plate of mango shaved ice.

Noodles

Noodles are common fare in Taiwan. The noodles feel more like handmade noodles than the yellow noodles we have here.

One must try the famous Beef Noodles. Beef noodles are considered a form of Taiwanese xiao chi as well. The soup is often a little sweet and the servings are generous.

Eve found the taste for Ramen a little strong for her but it appears to be more authentic. The Seafood Ramen was a lot nicer though.

Eve thoroughly enjoyed the Charcoal Cold Noodles though. The sauce was sweet and less salty compared to what we find in Singapore.

The Dan Dan Noodles over at Lao Zhang in Taipei Xian was really fantastic. The thick sauce was bursting with peanut flavor and clung to the smooth noodles as you scoop it up…ahhh fantastic.

Meat Sauce Noodles ( Zha Jiang Mian ) is one of Taiwan’s famous dishes as well. Eve really enjoyed these noodles over at Feng Jiao Market.

Lao Zhang Dan Dan Mian

On top of the delicious dan dan noodles mentioned above, there were other dishes at Lao Zhang that was really special.

Of special mention is also this dish found at the same restaurant. Silky Toufu squares are fried to a sunny yellow with an outer crumb layer. Dip it into the sweet and slightly spicy sauce and you’d be amazed at how toufu can be fried to such a beautiful colour with such great taste.

We couldn’t quite figure out how this dish was done. It really looked like drumstick and yet when you bite into it, there was no trace of bone at well. All there was was tender chicken meat. Apparently, it might have been so deeply marinated that the bones turned soft!

This bowl of clear thick soup with floating green mush is not an algae soup. It is actually vegetable soup! The vegetables have been made to mush and fried before cooking in soup to produce a cute round shape that looks like sponge.


Party

Eve was in Taiwan for a salsa congress thus Eve did not get much chance to party. She did have great fun over at Lobby in Tai Chung. The club was filled with fashionable young people and the hip hop music was great, good enough to keep Eve dancing all night. The drinks were free flow though Eve felt the alcohol was almost non-existent. Nonetheless, the music itself was good enough

Overall, Eve felt she didn’t get enough time to see enough of Taiwan. It was still good enough a trip to make her want to go back again for another visit. Now, it’s time to diet…:P