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.

Hui Sushi - Taipei

The Best Japanese Outside of Japan
Dodo's Taiwanese colleague didn't offer the thought as a conversation starter.  She stated as fact that the "best Japanese outside Japan is to be found in Taiwan."  I was skeptical until chef Weng from Hui Sushi started placing dishes in front of me.  The Japanese were in Taiwan for about 50 years starting in 1895 so it makes sense.  However, since I tend to stay away from superlatives, let's just say that Hui Sushi was the best Japanese food I've ever tasted in Taiwan!  It was damned good and I offer up the photos and words to prove it.  Take a peek at the miso soup with prawn and hidden chunks of succulent fish.

Golden Cake Vendor - Taipei

Pay Dirt, PB-Style!!
After just one bite I fantasized about hiring her to setup her stall outside my apartment.  I dreamt of opening my front door and yelling "two more peanut butter, please."  Moments later I'd bite into this freshly cooked cake with a vein of molten chunky peanut butter.

Yong He Soy Milk King - Taipei

Is it Called Breakfast at 11pm?
I don't know, but I had an immediate affinity for Yong He - they serve freshly made breafkast food deep into the night.  It didn't hurt that I was fighting jetlag and losing - breakfast at night was making perfect sense.  What you see below is an amazing concoction - it's a thin egg and scallion crepe wrapped around two deep-fried dough sticks.  If I'm not mistaken (and I easily could be) that would be a dan bing wrapped around two you tiao.  Someone from Taiwan, help me out with my probably poor interpretation, please.

Le Cantine de Quentin - Paris

Grocery Store Dining
One of the growing Paris trends is eating inside the grocery store.  It's called "epicerie-a-manger" and the handful I've tried have been long on looks and short on quality food.  I'd say this about Le Cantine de Quentin, Au Duc de Montmorency as well as newcomer Jeanne A, where I recently suffered through a rubbery chicken. They all stock consumables on tidy shelves and create a grocery store illusion, though I've never been the least tempted to buy anything.  I do enjoy the look, it's comforting to me in some strange way.  Of those I've tried, Le Cantine de Quentin was the best experience food-wise.  The hits outshone the misses, like the remoulade, below.  A friend explained that it was made with celery but I later learned that he meant celeriac, which is a root vegetable from the celery family.  It was combined with peppers and tossed with mustard and was very nice.

Khong Guan - Singapore

Nasi Padang in Queenstown
This is the full circle post - the one that takes me back to the beginning.  Khong Guan is one of the first places I tried in Singapore and the one from which my girlfriend's nickname sprang.  See the "greedy shot" photo on the right, the one with the sparkling curry puff?  That was taken here a few years back and sent to me long-distance.  I started calling her Puff almost immediately and the name stuck for quite a while.  My mom still calls her that, resisting the more recently concocted "Dodo" as being too insulting.  Puffin grew up eating at this coffee shop and she gets all misty-eyed when she talks about their mee rebus.  I was more than happy to gnaw on a fat curry puff, which was deliciously tasty, sentimentality aside.