Tag: Taiwanese cuisine

[TN] A Food Guide of Tainan’s Yongle Market (台南永樂市場)

If Taiwan, in general, is a food paradise, then Tainan would be the capital where you can find the most authentic traditional Taiwanese food! Tainan, situated in the southern part of Taiwan and about 260km from Taipei, is often overlooked by tourists, but its laidback charm and gentle pace are what made the city appealing. Besides being known as Taiwan's cultural capital, Tainan is also known as the "city of snacks". The best part is that the vendors are all concentrated on one street, which is perfect to do a food crawl!

[Recipe] Taiwanese Take on a Northern Chinese Classic – Zha Jiang Mian (炸醬麵)

Growing up as a kid that only who only eats bland food, such as fish soup and noodles, I was never a fan of Zha jiang mian (炸醬麵) or "fried sauce noodles". It's a famous noodle dish across China, originated from the north, hence there are quite a few variations out there. What are the differences between each region's sauce? The ratio of the pastes, the ingredients, types of noodles, toppings...etc.

[TPE] “Taiwanese taco” – Lan Gua Bao (藍家刈包)

"Bao" has been one of the trendiest food for the past year. Just like bubble tea, not a lot of people know that it's originated from an island, Taiwan. It's most commonly known as steamed buns, pork belly buns, or ambiguously, bao, in North America. Gua bao consists of a thick slice of braised meat that's wrapped between a folded flat steamed bread. People often refer and describe it as the Chinese hamburger, but to me, it's more like taco!

[TW] Taiwan’s “mega dumpling” – Ba Wan (肉圓)

As I've mentioned in the Xiao Zhan Du Sticky Rice Pudding's post, small eats are big things in Taiwan. Ba Wan is one of the Taiwanese foods that we can't live without. It is no doubt my top 5 Taiwanese food. [caption id="attachment_432" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Ba Wan[/caption] Ba Wan can be found everywhere, from small booth on the street to food stall in the traditional market. The taste of it varies too. Just like every family knows how to make fried rice, but they all taste differently. The "skin" or the outer layer of Ba Wan is made with rice flour, corn starch, and sweet potato starch, and stuffed with pork and bamboo shoots. The sauce is poured on top upon serving.

[TW] Xiao Zhan Du Sticky Rice Pudding (小暫渡米糕)

This is another top must-visit place as soon as I come back. This is one of the small eats (小吃) in Taiwan. Small eats play an important role in Taiwanese's eating. I've heard of a philosophy describing Taiwanese food, which is "eat often and eat well". Basically all these gourmet snacking can be found any time of the day, and not limited to weekdays or weekends. [caption id="attachment_132" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Sticky Rice Pudding (米糕)[/caption]

[TW] Wenzhou Wontons (金溫州餛飩大王)

This restaurant is located in the Yancheng district, where a lot of good & old Taiwanese food are located. It was opened in 1954 in a small alley, and it is packed with people everyday. The queue is always very long, so I suggest that get there a bit earlier to avoid the crowd. [caption id="attachment_122" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Seaweed & Dried tofu[/caption] As I've mentioned, most of the Taiwanese restaurants have these appetizers, and it varies from restaurant to restaurant. The dried tofu is my favorite. They are braised in soy sauce, sugar, spices, and probably some of their secret ingredients. This dried tofu are sweet, and kind of hard outside but soft inside.

[TW] Ding Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)

Since I'm currently in Taiwan, I'll start off with Taiwanese food! Ding Tai Fung is well-known for its little dragon buns (小籠包), which is awarded with Michelin one star. It is also ranked as the #1 from a American food website. Ding Tai Fung started in Taipei, and has a lot of branches around the world. It has recently opened a new branch in Kaohsiung! Little Dragon Buns (小籠包)