Thursday, September 02, 2010

Eating Out in Taipei


The first stall that I encountered in the Lin Jiang (Tonghua) night market - they were selling pork dumplings and chicken, among other things. The pork dumplings had some black sesame sprinkled on them. The price for five was NT$40.


Steamed shrimp - mild and delicious



This stall had a variety of foods - meats on a stick, tofu, several bowls of broth bubbling away. I didn't know how to eat them but just bumbled along. It turns out that one way of eating them is that you have to choose your meats, tofu and veggies, which are priced separately. Then they will be boiled in a broth and given to you on a plate with some sauce, and the broth, topped with some celery, comes in a cup.


Meats on a stick - a phenomenon that I've seen in Thailand and Singapore as well, and which one can find throughout the other neighbouring countries, which I hope to visit someday soon!


One of the abovementioned assembled meat-veg-soup combinations

Another stall selling food. In the foreground, in those little cups, is what I think is chowanmushi, savoury Japanese custard containing seafood and mushrooms, which I tasted on a trip to Japan.

There are a variety of sweet potato snacks and desserts - I was too full to try any!

Some more, all colourful


And then some!

Sticky rice cakes, with black sesame and peanut powder, being steamed

And they're ready!

Lest you opt for the white sausage, be warned, it has rice and beans in it, not meat!

Name the body parts! Chicken feet, hearts and livers, great delicacies in Taiwan, I'm told!


Look at the stuffed lady's finger/okra. It was tasty - and cold.

Offerings at the Longshan Temple

Many, many more of them


Century eggs on tofu, I think

Shellfish!

I don't even know what this is!

And finally, ending on a pretty note!

To see some non-foodie travel pictures, go here.


20 comments:

  1. I think if i visit Taipei i will be 100 kg eating every thing. Saughes with rice and beans i like that idea.

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  2. Lovely description Sra. Did you inquire how to make those cute little sweet potato snack? Would love to try out.

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  3. Talk about portion control - one, whole, single stuffed ladyfinger!! There is so much stuff out there - there is lots we don;t even know we don't know about! :)

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  4. everything looks so similar to the food available ehr ein Singapore,..:-) nice post..thnks for sharin

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  5. Sra, I could go for that noddle, veggie-meat soupy broth any day. That was quite a spread! Reminds me of our khau gallis. Like Anita said, so much food out there we have no idea about. I think I am going to find out about those steamed rice cakes. Got a packet of sweet rice sitting around in the pantry. :) And it is good to have you back.

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  6. I wonder if that's octopus. But wow, what a (visual) treat!

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  7. Happy, it was quite bland - and extremely filling!
    Sanjeeta, B I G language barrier, I don't speak their language and they speak very little English or none!
    Anita, the picture doesn't reflect it but it was a fat, big lady's finger.
    Not yet, you're right - very similar - I've been to the Bugis night market in S'pore - but this is more interesting.
    Jaya, thanks. I had many many more interesting pictures in my second camera card, but you know I lost my camera. :(
    Manisha, hmm, but isn't octopus also tough and cartilaginous, more like squid? After we came back from this particular night market, someone asked if we'd tried all the snakes on offer - turns out it's famous for that! And what can I say about the visual treat - there was so much, so much more in the camera that I lost! But at least I have this.

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  8. I just kept say, wow, wow, wow. :)

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  9. Work-related trip or just a fun one? :) It's good to know that if I ever went to Taiwan, I would have at least two things to eat at the hawker stalls - white sausage and sticky rice cakes. Those rice cakes look like idlis with a topping in your photo! :)

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  10. I like Taiwanese Bhagwan, so nice of him/her to eat a roast duck(?). What do they give for prasad ?

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  11. Sra,
    Lovely post and I ditto with Manisha on octopus take :-D...and love the beans and rice sausages..Temple and chicken?
    hugs and smiles

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  12. Everything looks incredible! God I love street food.

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  13. This is my favorite part of travel pics, the food... And what a spread that is! Did you try anything exotic at all? I sooo want to do a South East Asia tour sometime soon!

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  14. Wow. Of course, the sweets are singing to me. Wish I knew what they were...so now I start looking up Taiwanese desserts. : }

    That seafood could easily be a particular variety of octopus, which does get chewy depending how it's prepared. Could also be jelly fish.

    Fun tour, Sra. Now I'm off to check out your non-comestibles.

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  15. The rice cakes look so good - I know, I know, I am a vegetarian at heart and all those body parts are too much for me to handle when I travel ;) Thanks for the tour!

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  16. Cynthia, yeah, it was a really Wow! experience.
    Shyam, on work. We didn't get to do much sightseeing beyond this. Those rice cakes were rather bland, despite the topping. I assume they were supposed to be sweet.
    Bong Mom, I didn't wait long enough to find out - tho' I was really very curious.
    Jaya, I think there are other temples, both in India and around the world, where meat is offered to the deity.
    Joanne, yeah, we have street food here in India too but not an organised presentation like this.
    Sig, nothing weird, if you mean that, though after we came out of one night market someone asked us if we had the snake dishes on offer there! I couldn't even make out what was what.
    Susan, there was much nut brittle - almond, sesame, cashew, something I've seen in the Singapore night market too. Those rice cakes were probably sweet too. Pineapple cake is a speciality, but I didn't find any in the night market.
    Miri, guess those cakes would be a little too bland for our Indian palates. Even for someone who doesn't eat much sugar, they would come across as bland.

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  17. I may not have the stomach for everything there, but I am amazed at what the world has to offer food-wise. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. thanks for visiting my blog!! Taipei night market food is the best!

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  19. loved this... lovely pictures!!! must have been a great experience!

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  20. actually, when cooked right, both Octopus and Squid are beautifully melty and perfectly sexy. The red things might just have been octopus, but there are other explanations.

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