Taiwan: A Foodie's Haven (Shihlin Night Market)
In this next travel blog, I will update on all the Taiwanese snacks and cuisine that I tried during my 9 day trip to Taiwan. I've been to Taiwan twice previously, but this time I tried and re-tried everything that I've tasted and never tasted before.
大饼包小饼 Da bing bao xiao bing (literally translated as big biscuit wrapped over small biscuit)
Essentially this consists of a crispy pancake with sweet or savoury filling wrapped in a crepe. There are many fillings to choose from, such as peanut, yam, sesame, red bean, coconut, curry, mala chilli, crispy fillings, salty yam, salty peanuts and black pepper. Once you have made your choice, the person will wrap the crispy pancake or biscuit in the crepe. Then, using a pestle-like instrument, the crepe is pounded so the crispy biscuit is crushed into tiny crunchy bits. I had the yam filling. In Taiwan, the sweet fillings (yam and red bean) are more popular than savoury. The texture of this snack is highly unique. The soft and chewy outer layer, coupled with the very crispy inner layer reminds me of the crispy popiah from Malaysia. Most places sell it for NT30 (SGD1.40), or 4 for NT100. Worth a try!
苦瓜凤梨加蜂蜜 bitter gourd and pineapple juice with honey
Predicted to replace the long outdated bubble tea craze, this is what most people are drinking in Taiwan now. Bitter gourd (you can choose the white or green one) and pineapple juice with honey. This drink is as refreshing as coconut juice and it finishes with a bitter aftertaste. Those who do not like bittergourd should still give it a try with the green bittergourd, whereby the taste is much milder. At NT60, it is slightly pricey, but oh well, it's supposed to be good for you and as we all know, good things don't come cheap!
芒果冰 mango ice
A dessert often shown on tv, I definitely recommend everyone to try this at least once. It is not like our ice kachang in Singapore, where the ice is really shaved from a big block of ice. Over here, their ice is made out of condensed milk and ice, so it's sweeter and evokes a melt-in-your-mouth type of sensation. Along with the mango syrup and real mango fruit, there's only one word to describe it: Buonissimo! (italian for extremely good-tasting) NT80
豪大大鸡排 XXL Chicken Cutlet
This is probably the most famous of Taiwanese street snacks, and there's probably only one stall that does it real well. XXL chicken cutlet (NT50) at Shihlin Night Market. You can't miss it. First row, longest queue. Go figure. I always ask for the EXTRA SPICY (超辣), which is really hot. it's a must for me, i love my food extra spicy. Always. This stall refuses to cut the chicken cutlet as the owners feel it compromises on quality. The skin is crispy and the meat under is very tender - the skin and meat are kinda separated so you can really taste the difference. Have the extra spicy chicken cutlet in one hand, and a huge cup of bubble tea or shaved ice in the other. That's the way to walk around in Shihlin!
The other version is the Taichung one where the chicken cutlet is chargrilled, and marinated with dark bbq sauce. The more famous stalls have queues that are even longer than XXL at Shihlin. That I have yet to try, must go to Taichung some day and hit their night markets!
Turkish Ice cream
I see this alot in Taiwan, but I never try it since we have it in Singapore. The only different thing about the Taiwanese version is the height. They make the ice cream extra tall and it's interesting to watch people try to balance and eat it. My friends tried it and told me that it didn't taste too good. It's a mix between the icy and creamy kind of texture, so that made it kinda weird.
大饼包小饼 Da bing bao xiao bing (literally translated as big biscuit wrapped over small biscuit)
Essentially this consists of a crispy pancake with sweet or savoury filling wrapped in a crepe. There are many fillings to choose from, such as peanut, yam, sesame, red bean, coconut, curry, mala chilli, crispy fillings, salty yam, salty peanuts and black pepper. Once you have made your choice, the person will wrap the crispy pancake or biscuit in the crepe. Then, using a pestle-like instrument, the crepe is pounded so the crispy biscuit is crushed into tiny crunchy bits. I had the yam filling. In Taiwan, the sweet fillings (yam and red bean) are more popular than savoury. The texture of this snack is highly unique. The soft and chewy outer layer, coupled with the very crispy inner layer reminds me of the crispy popiah from Malaysia. Most places sell it for NT30 (SGD1.40), or 4 for NT100. Worth a try!
苦瓜凤梨加蜂蜜 bitter gourd and pineapple juice with honey
Predicted to replace the long outdated bubble tea craze, this is what most people are drinking in Taiwan now. Bitter gourd (you can choose the white or green one) and pineapple juice with honey. This drink is as refreshing as coconut juice and it finishes with a bitter aftertaste. Those who do not like bittergourd should still give it a try with the green bittergourd, whereby the taste is much milder. At NT60, it is slightly pricey, but oh well, it's supposed to be good for you and as we all know, good things don't come cheap!
芒果冰 mango ice
A dessert often shown on tv, I definitely recommend everyone to try this at least once. It is not like our ice kachang in Singapore, where the ice is really shaved from a big block of ice. Over here, their ice is made out of condensed milk and ice, so it's sweeter and evokes a melt-in-your-mouth type of sensation. Along with the mango syrup and real mango fruit, there's only one word to describe it: Buonissimo! (italian for extremely good-tasting) NT80
豪大大鸡排 XXL Chicken Cutlet
This is probably the most famous of Taiwanese street snacks, and there's probably only one stall that does it real well. XXL chicken cutlet (NT50) at Shihlin Night Market. You can't miss it. First row, longest queue. Go figure. I always ask for the EXTRA SPICY (超辣), which is really hot. it's a must for me, i love my food extra spicy. Always. This stall refuses to cut the chicken cutlet as the owners feel it compromises on quality. The skin is crispy and the meat under is very tender - the skin and meat are kinda separated so you can really taste the difference. Have the extra spicy chicken cutlet in one hand, and a huge cup of bubble tea or shaved ice in the other. That's the way to walk around in Shihlin!
The other version is the Taichung one where the chicken cutlet is chargrilled, and marinated with dark bbq sauce. The more famous stalls have queues that are even longer than XXL at Shihlin. That I have yet to try, must go to Taichung some day and hit their night markets!
Turkish Ice cream
I see this alot in Taiwan, but I never try it since we have it in Singapore. The only different thing about the Taiwanese version is the height. They make the ice cream extra tall and it's interesting to watch people try to balance and eat it. My friends tried it and told me that it didn't taste too good. It's a mix between the icy and creamy kind of texture, so that made it kinda weird.
posted by foodiesteps_here @ 9:12 AM
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