Street Eats

Endless Eats in Tamsui ...

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... we spent a fair amount of time strolling and snacking along Tamsui's waterfront, and almost missed the main pedestrian strip - unbelievably, it seemed to have even more food vendors!

Ijysheng ...

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... a Taiwanese bakery known to produce some decent mochi, with thinner, more tender skin that is more similar to the Japanese style we've grown to love. Flavours we tried included the more traditional peanut, red bean, and sesame, and the more modern, such as maple walnut and mocha. Coupled with an iced cappuccino and matcha latte, these became a bit of a second breakfast, after a couple of slabs of leftover Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake earlier at the hotel!

Good Enough Gyoza at Ippudo ...

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... while not on par with the gyoza we had in Japan, this did satiate our demand for the stuff. We've been suffering from gyoza and ramen withdrawal for the past few days.

Just in the Nick of Time ...

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... after having been turned away by one ramen joint, Ippudo seem to make an exception for us, even though they were in the middle of cleaning up. While not quite on par with the typical bowl of ramen in Japan, we still gladly downed a couple of fine bowls of noodles - this one was in a nicely-spiced pork broth, complete with little bits of ground meat, thin and chewy noodles, and a couple of slices of pork.

Thicker Noodles ...

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... a slightly-different style of noodles from the other bowl. The broth here was more flavourful and richer, and featured more vegetables like cabbage and some more awesome Japanese-style bamboo shoots. Taiwan may be famed for its noodle soups, but the ones we've tried still don't stack up to a good ramen, which we consider to be our gold standard.

Award-Winning Stewed Beef Noodles ...

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... we stumbled upon this place in our quest for breakfast - the highlight was the two types of supremely-tender beef, boneless short ribs and brisket. The simple, clear broth was a nice of change from the thicker, richer Japanese and Taiwanese noodle soups we've had thus far. Seemed like a bit of a Taiwanese version of pho, which was good preparation for our next stop, Vietnam!

Pork and Leek Dumpling ...

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... very interesting, served in something similar to a hot and sour soup in terms of consistency and fillings (such as carrot, tofu, and black fungus), but more savoury than sour. The dumplings were good, though the filling was a tad mushy.

Departure Desperation ...

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... we have a bad habit while traveling - if we've visited a destination where we have thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine, we often make a crazy last-ditch attempt to eat as much as possible before leaving. We spent a good 45 minutes exploring all of Taipei airport's available restaurants, even going back and forth between the two terminals, to select a prime spot for dinner. Did we really need the equivalent of two entrees at this place? Nope! But we went for it anyway, winding up with a solid bowl of won tons in some tasty broth, and a mediocre bowl of spicy noodles.

It Wasn't Enough ...

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... beyond the spicy noodles and won tons, we needed something more - Formosa Chang, for some fried chicken! Unfortunately, Taipei's night markets and food stalls have spoiled us for fried chicken, so this version, while nicely crispy, simply didn't stack up, as it was bland and dry in comparison. The simply-sauced boiled vegetables and bowl of rice were actually a welcome sight, as we have been eating a fair amount of heavy and fried foods while in Taiwan.

Lacking the Guts to Finish this Bowl of Guts ...

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... the soup included in my Formosa Chang set meal was quite unappealing, literally oozing with innards. I tried eating a piece of intestine, but it was like chewing on some rubber hose, so I gave up.

The Inventor of Bubble Tea ...

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... purportedly the inventors of this now global phenomenon, we tried their offering at the Taipei airport before departing for Vietnam - their plain milk tea with bubbles was nothing remarkable. But at least we didn't have to line up for 4.5 hours to get it, like we did at Tsukiji's Sushi Dai!

A First on a Flight ...

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... we've seen Chinese or Japanese-style instant noodles on Asian flights before, but never instant pho, Thai noodles, or congee!