Eataly - Manhattan

Pricey but Tasty!
I visited Eataly when it opened a few months back and immediately wanted to kill myself.  It was a buzzing mess of gawking tourists and elbowy locals, stretching wait times and my patience beyond reason.  I swam against the current out the exit, empty-stomached and pissed, no intention of ever returning.  I didn't tell this to my colleagues who booked a "haven't seen you in a while" lunch there.  Luckily, the place has settled down; you can get a table in a reasonable amount of time and savor some good food.  I regret not trying Cacio e Pepe while I was in Rome.  The Eataly version was al dente and the pecorino and ground black pepper speed-bagged my taste buds perfectly.  I could eat this every day.

Mexicue - Manhattan

More Manhattan Truck Love
If you ask me "Mac or PC?" I'll smile and answer "both."  It's not because I'm a smartass (though that helps) - I simply don't buy into the question.  On my travels I've learned that everyone thinks their country's food is the best.  Regardless the location, there's pressure to side with the locals.  With an open mind you can find good (and bad) in each country.  On my food continuum, the NYC lunch truck is closer in spirit to the Singapore hawker than the Parisian two hour wine-soaked lunch.  If you've tried the Mexicue truck you know what I mean - they serve-up quick yet excellent barbecued meats in taco and sandwich form.

Bian Dang - Manhattan

Trading Abe for Chops
Some crazy people were slinging chops from a van for only five bucks today.  I saw em driving down Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn on Saturday and jotted the name down - Bian Dang.  Pure luck - they parked a block from the job today so I donned the snorkel parka, waited in line and traded over a fiver.  In return, they gave me a filling two chop lunch that included rice, pork sauce and greens.     

Van Horn Sandwich Shop - Brooklyn

Love is Four Letter Word: P-O-R-K
I've been away from Brooklyn for three long months. Enough time for someone talented to plop down an excellent southern-style sandwich shop near my apartment.  They call themselves Van Horn and they must have sold their souls to the devil.  They made me a pulled pork sandwich for lunch that singlehandedly removed both my jetlag and the bonechill I'd acquired on the walk over.

40 Hands - Singapore

Outsourcing the Hobby
Puff List readers realize I don't know what I'm talking about and my photos are crap.  I'm no pro, this is a hobby - one that can be very time consuming.  At 40 Hands, I accidentally stumbled into an epiphany - I may be able to outsource some of the work.  I was there for brunch with Dodo and her friends MC and Pirate Pixels, two photo fanatics.  They whipped out their expensive cameras and were like food paparazzi.  In this post, I'm using their shots and you can definitely tell the difference - notice the beautiful depth of field in Pirate's egg cocotte.

Tong Hua Jie Night Market - Taipei

Closing it Out in Style
Mom, I apologize in advance for the double negative because in Taipei you cannot not go to a night market.  We opted for the less touristy Tong Hua Jie rather than Shihlin.  Special thanks to Nicholas of My Inner Fatty for giving me a heads up on this - a pork sausage sitting in a small rice canoe.  How they fashioned a bun from rice, I can't figure out, I just know the combo works. 

Sit-Fun Shih Tang - Taipei

This is the Healthier Side of the Street?
I fancy myself the pork fat king - it's only a matter of time before I'm fitted with my coffin-shaped crown.  However, even I sat blinking, dumbfounded at the inch-thick layer of fat on the pork at Sit-Fun.  When later research suggested they offer "lighter versions of Taiwanese delicacies" I broke out in laughter.  Surely they must be joking.  The first bite was delicious but I soon felt like I was eating all icing and no cake.  The King admits to leaving a lot of the fat in the bottom of the bowl.

Cafe Ole - Taipei

The Coffee-Crazed are My Kinda People
I immediately noticed all the cafes in Taipei.  They're everywhere and that warms a man's heart.  There's nothing better than lazing in a cafe, drinking coffee, surfing the net, flipping through magazines, wasting time.  It's the template for my retirement.  I don't think I could live in a city where it isn't possible.  NY excels at it, Paris fails - not enough free wifi.  Singapore is coming along - though they need more free wifi.  Taipei, it turns out, does pretty well, Cafe Ole being a good example.  We went a few times, surrounded by hip Taipei-ers (Taipanese?) and enjoyed it to the fullest.

Maroco - Taipei

Thick Toast Wake-Up Call
Before I arrived in Taipei, Dodo had already scouted a breakfast spot near our hotel.  She described it as a "thick toast spot" and I knew exactly what she meant.  Maroco makes their own bread, slices it thicker than your head, toasts it and loads it with butter.  They do much more - feast your eyes on the tarts.  Though our Taipei trip wasn't a long one and repeating visits to a single place makes little sense, we came to Maroco many times - because of the toast.

Shin Liu Farm - Hualien, Taiwan

Healthiest Meal in the History of the Puff List?
I rarely do the things I should. Back in my youth I used to exercise, smile, make new friends and eat vegetables.  I've grown up to be an old, lazy, scowl-faced carnivore.  I like to think of myself as a work in regress.  That's not to say I don't enjoy a plate or two of veggies from time to time, I just don't go searching for them.  Our Taiwan guide, a colleague of Dodo's, was something of a health nut.  She drove us south of Hualien, into the east rift valley to Shin Liu Farm for some greenery, both the viewing and eating kind.

Yi Wan Xiao - Hualien, Taiwan

Perfect Post-National Park Meal
Hualien is a city on the Eastern coast of Taiwan near the spectacular Taroko National Park.  We'd spent the day at Taroko, gawking at seascape, rivers and mountains through sun, clouds and cold drizzle.  By dinner time we were famished and looking for restoration.  Luckily our B&B owner gave us an insider's inside scoop and sent us to Yi Wan Xiao for noodles.  The name could be translated as "A Small Bowl" and indeed that's all it took for me to be totally satisfied and ready for a night of unconsciousness.