Travel Eats: Taiwan 🇹🇼

Knowing that I do not function until coffee has been had, a friend had highly recommended this cafe. Also, discovering that Simple Kaffa is home to the 2016 World Barista Champion - we had to investigate. I've learned that the Taiwanese like their coffee either black or with quite a lot of milk - which was strange to me because my large flat white had only 1.5 shots in it 😩 and I had to ask for an extra shot - but once I did, it was very good. The house blend (aka Seasonal Blend) was very nice - I even bought a bag of beans to bring back.

A slight indulgence was trying the filter of the 2016 winning beans (Panama Piedra Jurutunga Geisha). The most expensive coffee of my life (something like S$23) but you could very clearly identify the delicious tasting notes of tropical fruit, strawberry and Fuji apple come through - even for a noob like me.

Side note: I didn't get to try it this time round, but apparently the matcha Swiss roll is incredible.

While on a quest to search for coffee, we chanced upon this stall by the road in the Daan District. There were many local people sat inside (and a couple more waiting for tables) so, we had to join in the wait.

It was chilly so we got a few bowls of soupy noodles (and one super bomb dry one) with various types of dumplings and basically rotated the bowls round. The noodles were very good, bouncy and eggy. The dumplings though wooooo. The skin was not too thick, and yet held together despite multiple bites compromising its integrity. The filling: pork/shrimp, scallion, chives, waterchestnut, and more. Also, the chilli oil that it comes with is a superb accompaniment.

👍🏼👍🏼

📍: 106, Taiwan, Taipei City, Da’an District, 台北市大安區忠孝東路四段205巷3號之1

Another breakfast recommendation by our driver. He was very adamant in his disapproval of a certain popular mee sua in Ximending - saying that the tourists have got it all wrong because it is not good. 😂 He insisted on picking us up (on a day we had not hired him) simply to bring us to the real deal.

He was right. This very local place in Old Taipei in the Wanhua District was the best mee sua I have ever had. Fortunately, it was a very rainy morning that dropped the temperature to 17C, which meant there was no crowd and we got a table immediately. There was no better comfort than a steaming bowl of mee sua on a morning like this. The noodles had good bite and the broth was thick and so delicious. Also, I don't know if our driver worked his magic or this place is just generous - but there were 13 oysters in my bowl. I counted.

(You can get it with the innards - I opted for none)

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

📍: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Section 3, Heping West Road, 166號

There's nothing I love more than neatly organised things - especially if they are food things. A gem introduced to us by our driver - this very modest shop filled with local patrons sold loads of greasy guo tie. How Taiwanese people are not massively obese with all the fried starchy foods - I do not understand. 🤤 The guo tie are very nicely arranged in a massive cast iron pan, the dude pours oil all around, covers the pan and allows them to steam/fry to delicious perfection.

📍: Either 863/867 Zhongshan Road, Hualien.

Ah, you can't say you've been to Taiwan if you didn't scoff down at least one (or three) of these deliciously sinful street snacks. This is my third visit to Taiwan and I can say with complete certainty that this particular zha dan cong you bing ('egg bomb' scallion pancake) is the absolute best I have ever had.

The perfectly fried egg with the half set yolk (so it doesn't explode all over you) enveloped by a thin crispy (and not too starchy) onion pancake. 🤤 Take me back to Hualien now.

They sell it with / without chilli sauce. I like it without.

📍: 970, Taiwan, Hualien County, Hualien City, 復興街110巷2號

I have no idea what we ate - our driver brought us to this place for dinner and we basically ordered one of everything. I don't read Chinese so, I just sat there and received the bounty of food. What I can say though, is that they had a shrimp dumpling dish with chilli + vinegar, buried under a mound of seaweed + coriander and it was so bomb.

👍🏼👍🏼

📍: 970, Taiwan, Hualien County, Hualien City, 中山路347號

A "famous" foodie haunt in Hualien, we got a large plate of the sliced braised goose. Quite different from how we usually have goose (the Hong Kong siew ngap) as it doesn't have the roasty caramelised flavouring that we're used to.

The goose meat was very tender and the flavour subtle but delicious. Served with a little heap of young ginger, this was quite an interesting one.

👍🏼

📍: 970, Taiwan, Hualien County, Hualien City, 中山路259號

Fresh off a red eye flight from Singapore and desperate for food - Uncle Google suggested this apparently "famous" spot. Tucked away in an alley off Taoyuan Street in the Zhongzheng District is a bustling beef noodle shop.

The broth was beefy, the meat melted in your mouth and the noodles had the right amount of bite and bounce. Also, on the table was a basin (yes, a basin) of kiam chye.

👍🏼 All I can say is: SHIOK.

📍: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, 桃源街15號