Straight Out Street Fooding

 

I got off track there for a while, but I’m back.  I’d like to say I got too busy to do this, but I wasn’t.  Sometimes being a little creative, (And I’m emphasizing “little”), is a bit taxing.  I made a couple of videos with Elizabeth, which will be coming out soon, I went and did some birding, I went to the Tea Shop, and I’ve been writing sermons and Bible studies for the church, so that left me only about five days a week to work on this.  So, let’s just call a spade a spade, I got lazy a bit.  In my defense though, I didn’t retire so I could get another job. See, I can justify even laziness if I put my mind to it!

So, here we go! Recently, Eric and I decided to do an afternoon of “street fooding” and I thought maybe I could share that with you.  Street food is kind of a big deal.  I don’t really think of myself as a foodie, but people who do, consider Taiwan to be a “Food Destination.”  Food is very important to the locals.  There are restaurants everywhere.  The things that I gravitate to are either a restaurant in someone’s garage or food carts that are scattered all over the city.  I have to be careful about not going to those places too often, though, because it’s a lot of deep fried and bready things.  Cholesterol and Blood Sugar are important things for me to watch carefully.  I also don’t want to get fat so, there’s that!

We hit a number of street food carts in Bade District, and I wanted to share the delights we found there and some other things we didn’t do on this day:

Oyster Daddies  蚵嗲

Fresh, Hot Oyster Daddies

There is a type of deep-fried dumpling called a 蚵嗲, (pronounced as Ke diuh).  The syllable for 嗲 contains the radical meaning dad.  So, I refer to them as “Oyster Daddies”.  They are delicious.  I absolutely love to eat oysters.  I like them raw with a spicy sauce on them.  I like them cooked fried teppanyaki style.  I especially like them as deep-fried dumplings.  The cost about $50NTD (about $1.60USD.)   One of them makes an excellent snack, and two is enough for a lunch.

Tang Bao 湯包

Nice Steamed Tang Bao

Tang bao (pronounced Taung Bow) translates to Soup Dumpling.  This is a dumpling that is filled with pork and a bit of pork soup.  It is steamed in a circular bamboo steamer that stacks one on another called a小籠 (pronounced shiou long) small steamer.  So, these are often called小籠包.  It’s served with little strips of ginger which really adds to the taste.  One long, about seven dumplings costs about $70NTD or (about $2.40USD) and is enough for a light meal.

Cong Zhua Bing  蔥抓餅

Cong Zhua Bing on the Griddle

Cong Zhua Bing (pronounced tsong jwa bing) is a flaky scallion pancake.  It is made with scallions kneaded into a dough made from potato starch, then fried on the grill. There is another type called Cong You Bing  蔥油餅 (pronounced tsong yo bing).  The difference is that Cong You Bing is flat (like a thick flour tortilla), and Cong Zhua Bing is pulled apart a bit and it becomes thicker and flakier.  They can be fried on an egg and the sauce is added.  You can have your choice of regular or a little spicy.  I like a lot of sauce on mine and an egg.  The price with an egg is $45NTD ($1.50 USD).  Without an egg is $30NTD ($1.00USD) One serving is enough for a light lunch.

Zhen Zhu Nai Cha 珍珠奶茶

Oolong Tea about to become Zhen Zhu Nai Cha

In the United States zhen zhu nai cha (pronounced jen ju ni cha) is called Boba Tea.  In Taiwan Boba is slang for large breasts so it is called zhen zhu nai cha which translates as Pearl Tea.  You can have it made with any type of tea like Green Tea, Black (Red) Tea, or Oolong, and any level of sugar you want.  The pearls are made from tapioca flour and black sugar.  They’re delicious chewy little pearls.  I won’t go into a lot of detail because it is so popular in the US, but I will say that it was invented in Taiwan. The cost of one drink made with Oolong tea and Pearls is about $70NTD (about $2.40USD) at Milk Sha.  Try getting it for that price in the US.

Gua Bao 刈包

Braised Pork Being Added to Man Tou

Gua Bao (pronounced gwa bow) is sometimes called the Taiwanese Hamburger.  It's made with a steamed bun called man tou (pronounced mawn tow) that is cut and filled with Braised Pork, Cilantro and Peanut Powder.  Not that wimpy Peanut Powder that you can buy in the States, I’m talking about the good stuff, real Peanut Powder.  There’s a place about two blocks from my apartment that sells these bad boys.  The lady that owns the place likes me, so she makes nice fat ones for me.  They are super delicious.  Price is about $60NTD each (about $2.00USD).  One Gua Bao is about what I would have for lunch.

 我有一段時間偏題了，但我回來啦。我本可以說我太忙沒時間，但其實並不是。有時候稍微動點腦筋（我強調是“稍微”），也會讓人覺得累。我和莎白拍了幾支影片，馬上就要出來了，我去賞鳥，還在為教會準備講道和查經材料，所以我能投入在這件事上的時間其實只有大約每週五天。說句實話，我就是有點懶。不過幫自己辯護一下，我退休不是為了再去上班。你看，只要肯努力，連“懶”都有藉口！

好了，開始吧！最近我和Eric決定來個下午的“街頭美食之旅”，所以想跟你們分享一下。街頭美食可是大事一樁。我雖然不自認是個“吃貨”，但行家都說台灣是美食之都。食物對當地人非常重要，餐廳到處都是。我偏愛那種在車庫裡的餐館或散落全城的美食攤車。不過得小心別太常去，因為很多都是炸的、麵糰類的，膽固醇和血糖是我要注意的點。我也不想變胖，這也很重要！

當天我們在八德區拜訪了好幾攤街頭美食，現在來分享我們吃到的精采美食，以及那些我們這天沒吃到的：

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🦪 蚵嗲（Oyster Daddies）

有一種炸餃叫做「蚵嗲」，字面上「嗲」這個字帶有「爸」的部首，所以我戲稱它為 “Oyster Daddies”。這道小吃超好吃。我超愛吃蚵，無論是生食搭配辣醬，還是鐵板煎炸，我都愛。尤其是炸成小餃子的這款，一顆賣大約 NT$50（約 US$1.60）。一顆就是極佳的點心，吃兩顆就可以當午餐了。

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🍜 湯包（Tang Bao）

湯包就是湯汁豐富的肉包。裡頭包著肉和一些湯汁，用堆疊的圓形竹蒸籠蒸熟，這種籠子叫「小籠」，所以有時也被稱為小籠包。通常會搭配細薑絲一起吃，更添風味。一籠約七顆，售價約 NT$70（約 US$2.40），一餐剛剛好，吃得舒服又不過量。

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🥞 蔥抓餅（Cong Zhua Bing）

蔥抓餅是一款層次酥脆的蔥油餅。蔥揉進地瓜粉麵糰裡，再放在鐵板上煎。還有一種類似的叫「蔥油餅」，差別在於蔥油餅是比較扁像厚墨西哥餅，蔥抓餅則是拉開有層次、酥脆厚實版。可以加蛋和醬料，醬甜得恰到好處、蛋增加飽足感。我喜歡加滿醬和蛋。加蛋 NT$45（約 US$1.50），不加 NT$30（約 US$1.00）。一份當輕 lunch 很剛好。

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🧋 珍珠奶茶（Zhen Zhu Nai Cha）

在美國叫珍珠奶茶，俗稱 Boba Tea。不過在台灣，“Boba”在英文直譯是“大胸”，所以我們就說“珍珠奶茶”：珍珠是用木薯粉和黑糖做成的，Q彈好吃！可以選綠茶、紅茶或烏龍茶，還可以選甜度。我不多說了，因為在美國已經非常流行，但提醒一點：珍珠奶茶是起源於台灣。像 Milk Sha 的烏龍珍珠奶茶大約 NT$70（約 US$2.40），想在美國用台灣同等價位買，很難吧！

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🍔 刈包（Gua Bao）

刈包，又被稱為台灣漢堡。是以饅頭切開夾進滷豬肉、香菜和花生粉，但不是美國那種市售花生粉，而是真材實料的花生粉。離我住處兩條街有一個攤車，老闆娘挺照顧我的，會做超厚實的大刈包給我。超美味！一個約 NT$60（約 US$2.00），我通常一個就當午餐了。

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希望你喜歡這趟街頭美食分享！如果想知道更多地點、種類或季節特產，隨時告訴我。

 

Oyster Daddies Booth

 

Sign Says Oyster Cake

Steaming Up Some Tang Bao

Xiao Long Bao Cart

One Serving of Cong Zhua Bing

Cong Zhua Bing Stand

I Bought One for Eric, too!

Milksha

They Always Come Sealed!

Making Up Some Gua Bao!

My, Doesn't That Look Good!

Gua Bao Restaurant!

Come to Papa, Little Bao!

Some Food Related Links:

The Stink of Adventure

Niu Rou Mian

Hot Pot

Baozi

A Bonus Adventure:  Making Stinky Tofu in the U.S.

Photos By Eric Liu

Video  courtesy of @HiElizabenny

All Posts and Photos property of Taiwan Adventure Publication except Video.

The Other Fish Market

The midnight Fish market was too much, even for me, so we tried again at a different place.  This time we went to a day fish market in Yilan Daxi.  This market was more my style.  Friendly vendors selling fish at a good price.  This isn’t a wholesale market.  This is a retail market.

You could ask questions, people smiled and talked to you, and didn’t make faces when you asked to buy one fish.  For me, it was all “Happy, happy, joy, joy!”  I always like it better when people don’t think I’m a pain in the butt.  I mean I am, but I just like it better when they don’t think that.

You don’t have to worry that the fish might not be fresh, either.  The fishermen get up real early in the morning…real early.  They get in their boats and go out fishing about 4:00 am.  Then they come back before 1:00 pm, and unload.  The market opens at 1:00 pm.  So, you’re buying the fish caught that morning. I saw crabs that were still alive, and trying to grab some guy with their pincers.  There were some fish in bowls of water still alive enough to give you the old “stink-eye.” 

All of the fish are caught just off the shore in a channel between Yilan and Turtle Island.  So many varieties; Amberjack, Scarlet Shrimp, crabs, Flying Fish, Red-eye, and the specialty of the market 安康魚 (phonetically: Awn Kong Yu), which we call Monkfish in English. 

The fish are reasonably priced.  We bought a giant Amberjack for $380 NTD, (about $12.69 USD), but the Amberjack had two flying fish in its stomach, so we got two bonus fish.  We also bought a kilo of Scarlet Shrimp, another Flying Fish and three Monkfish. All of that, plus that giant Amberjack cost us $1125 NTD (about $37.57 USD).

Here’s the really cool part though, after you buy the fish, and the vendor cleans them, then you take them upstairs to these restaurant stalls and they cook them up for you.  At the restaurant we got the Amberjack made into sushi, fried filet, and soup, (with the Flying Fish that were in the Amberjack’s stomach).  Then we had a fried Flying Fish, and they prepared the Monkfish with some vegetables.  We also got fried cabbage and 空心菜, (phonetically, kowng shin sigh) which is called water spinach in English.  In the US, you can only find 空心菜 in Asian stores, but it’s really expensive. The restaurant only charged $1020 NTD (about $34.06 USD).  Altogether we paid $2145 NTD, ($71.63 USD) for all that.  Five of us ended up eating fish for three days.  I think that’s pretty inexpensive.  You could probably get all of that in the states for the price of a small car.

That last place as I said I wouldn’t recommend for tourists.  It was not a fun place.  This place, on the other hand, I would call a "don’t miss" tourist stop.  It is even wheelchair accessible, with a large disabled person restroom and a ramp down to the Fish Market.  Fresh fish and delicious cooking, what more can you ask for, and definitely don’t forget the Monkfish.  It was the best part.

半夜的魚市場對我來說實在太誇張了，連我都受不了，所以我們換了個地方再試一次。這次我們去了宜蘭大溪的白天魚市場。這個市場就比較像我習慣的樣子了——友善的攤販、實惠的魚價。這不是批發市場，而是零售市場。

你可以問問題，人們會微笑並與你交談，而且當你只想買一條魚時，他們也不會露出不悅的表情。對我來說，整個體驗就像「快樂快樂、歡喜歡喜！」我總是比較喜歡別人不覺得我是個討人厭的人。雖然我的確有點煩，但我比較喜歡他們不這麼覺得。

你也不必擔心魚不新鮮。漁夫們一大早就起床……真的很早，大概凌晨四點就出海，然後在下午一點前返回卸貨。市場下午一點開門，所以你買到的是當天早上捕的新鮮魚。我還看到螃蟹活蹦亂跳，試圖用鉗子夾住某個人。有些魚還在水盆裡，活到可以對你翻白眼。

所有的魚都是在宜蘭與龜山島之間的海域捕撈的。種類多樣，有青魽魚、緋紅蝦、螃蟹、飛魚、紅眼魚，還有這個市場的招牌——安康魚（英文叫 Monkfish）。

魚的價格都很合理。我們買了一條超大的青魽魚只要380元台幣（約12.69美金），而且青魽魚肚子裡還有兩條飛魚，等於多了兩條魚！我們還買了一公斤的緋紅蝦、另外一條飛魚和三條安康魚。這些加上那條巨大的青魽魚總共花了1125元台幣（約37.57美金）。

最酷的是，買完魚之後，攤販會幫你處理乾淨，然後你可以把魚拿到樓上的小餐廳去，他們會幫你料理。我們把青魽魚做成壽司、炸魚排和湯（加上它肚子裡的飛魚）。接著還吃了炸飛魚，安康魚則是配上蔬菜一起烹調的。我們還點了炒高麗菜和空心菜（英文叫 water spinach）。在美國，空心菜只能在亞洲超市買到，而且很貴。但這裡的餐廳只收了1020元台幣（約34.06美金）。總共我們花了2145元台幣（約71.63美金），五個人吃了三天的魚。我覺得這真的很划算。在美國，這些東西的價格可能都能買一台小車了。

我之前說過那個半夜的市場我不推薦給觀光客，那真不是個好玩的地方。但這個地方我會稱之為「絕不能錯過」的旅遊景點。它甚至還有無障礙設施，有大型的無障礙廁所，還有通往魚市場的斜坡。新鮮的魚加上美味的料理，還能要求什麼呢？千萬別忘了安康魚，那是最好吃的部分！

 

Turtle Island

Egrets judging my fish choices.

The Market

Nice clothes, Full Makeup, and a nice hairdo to clean fish! Amazing

A busy place...not as busy as the other one, but pretty busy!

安康魚 - Monkfish

Elizabeth and I with our fish purchases

By the way, I'm not as bald as ChatGPT thinks I am.  順帶一提，我沒有 ChatGPT 想的那麼禿。

Good Gracious!  When did I get so old?

Photos by Eric Liu

All Posts and Photos Property of Taiwan Adventure Publication

Video courtesy of @HiElizabenny

Chang Chang Jiu Jiu Taiwanese Stir Fry!

Taiwan is a food destination.  People come here from all over the world to try Taiwanese street food, and other delicacies.  One of those things is Taiwanese stir fry.  Food cooked in a wok at high temperature.  I have had some interesting combinations of stir fry over the years.  For example, I’ve eaten stir fried Century eggs (one of my favorite dishes), “Squid Mouths”, Pig Livers, Squid with Duck Eggs. 

I know that these things are different than what Americans would normally eat, but I’ve always been kind of adventurous when it comes to food.  So, I’m pretty much willing to try almost anything at least once.  I may not like it, but usually, I like the flavor or the spiciness or something.  My daughter’s father-in-law said recently, “we’ll eat anything that flies or crawls.  This is true, more in China than in Taiwan.  In China, insects are considered delicious.  I’ve seen people eat Bamboo Worm and Scorpions on a stick.  Adventure runs deep in my family…but not that deep!  Although, I have eaten fried crickets, but their legs get caught in my teeth so…

Anyway, on Valentine’s Day this year, Elizabeth and Eric took me out to a stir fry place near our home.  It’s called Chang Chang Jiu Jiu (嘗嘗九九).  Back in the day, when I first moved to Taiwan (2009), the restaurant had most dishes for $99 NTD ($3.00 USD), but now I noticed most of the dishes were about $239 NTD ($7.30 USD).  We had a number of dishes.  Rice, Popcorn and Ice Cream were free.

I enjoyed the food, but I don’t want you to think that all I do is eat.  I really mostly enjoy the social aspect of going out with friends and family.  Its always a good time with Elizabeth, Eric, Elle and Eli.  If you’re out and about in Taoyuan District give Chang Chang Jiu Jiu (嘗嘗九九)a try. 

台灣是一個美食天堂。來自世界各地的人們來到這裡品嚐台灣小吃和各種美食。其中一項特色料理就是台式熱炒——用大火快炒的美味佳餚。

多年來，我嘗試過許多有趣的熱炒組合。例如，我吃過炒皮蛋（這是我最喜歡的菜之一）、炒「小卷嘴」、炒豬肝、還有鴨蛋炒魷魚。我知道這些料理對美國人來說可能比較特別，但我向來對食物很有冒險精神，所以幾乎什麼都願意試一次。或許我不會喜歡某道菜，但通常我都能欣賞它的味道、辣度或其他特色。

我女兒的公公最近說：「天上飛的，地上爬的，我們什麼都吃。」這在中國大陸比台灣更普遍。在中國，昆蟲被視為美味，我曾看過有人吃竹蟲和串烤蠍子。我家族的飲食冒險精神很強……但也沒那麼極端！不過，我倒是吃過炸蟋蟀，只是牠們的腿會卡在牙縫裡，所以……

今年情人節，Elizabeth 和 Eric 帶我去家附近的一家熱炒店，叫做「唱唱九九」。回想我剛搬到台灣的時候（2009年），這家餐廳的多數菜色只要99元新台幣（約3美元），但現在我發現大部分菜色已經漲到239元新台幣（約7.30美元）。我們點了好幾道菜，白飯、爆米花和冰淇淋還是免費的！

我很享受美食，但請不要以為我整天只是在吃東西。我其實更享受與家人朋友聚餐的社交時光。每次和 Elizabeth、Eric、Elle 和 Eli 一起外出，總是非常開心。如果你剛好在桃園區，不妨試試「唱唱九九」，說不定會愛上這裡的熱炒！

 

Beef with Onions

Deep Fried Oysters with White Pepper

Pork Cheek with Cabbage

Squid with Ginger and Bay Leaves

Shrimp Cake with Sweet Chii Sauce

Spinach with Mushrooms

Fried Tofu with Duck Eggs

Fried Chicken

Grandpa's Cutest Valentine!

Source:  Taiwan Food Culture:  mstravelsolo.com

Photos by Eric Liu

All Posts and Photos property of Taiwan Adventure Publications

Liang She Han Pork Ribs - 梁社漢排骨

One of my favorite places to eat over here is a restaurant called 八方雲集 (Ba Fang Yun Ji), which is literally translated as “Gather From All Directions.”  People come from all over to eat there, so it is aptly named.  It’s a famous fried dumpling restaurant.  They have recently opened restaurants in Southern California, so if you live in SoCal, you can gather there…from any direction, I guess. 

Eric, Elizabeth, Elle and I decided to walk down to Ba Fang that is pretty near our home, but they were closed, so we went to a small restaurant called 梁社漢排骨 (Liang She Han Pork Ribs).  Liang She Han is some guy’s name.  The Second part is 排骨 pronounced Pai Gu.  When Americans think of Pork Ribs we think of the rib bones.  Pai Gu is really more like a pork chop.

It's a really small restaurant, maybe six tables and owned by the company that owns Ba Fang.  The food is delicious and inexpensive.  For example, my meal consisted of a Pork Chop, Vegetables (Cabbage and Green Beans), Togan (Like tofu but more firm), Meng Bean Noodle, and Turnip/Seaweed Soup all for about $125 NTD ($4.00 USD). 

The atmosphere wasn’t all that great.  Bright lights, tile floors and small tables.  Because of the way my body works and my wheelchair, I need a bit of room.  We had to push two tables together for just four of us.  You order the food and they call you when it’s ready, then you carry a big tray over to your tiny table.  When you’re finished you bus your own table.  With the exception of the table size, this kind of atmosphere isn’t an issue for me, as long as the food is good, and it was delicious.

The Pork was tender and well-seasoned.  The vegetables were cooked but still crisp, as they should be.  The Turnip/Seaweed soup was light and tasty.  I really like Taiwanese style food, especially the soups, and this place didn’t disappoint.

It’s really nice to know that so many inexpensive and good restaurants are within walking distance of our home.  Taiwan is such a convenient place to live!

我最喜歡在這邊用餐的地方之一是一家叫做八方雲集的餐廳，這個名字直譯為「從四面八方匯集而來」。人們從各地前來用餐，所以這個名字真的很貼切。這是一家著名的煎餃餐廳。最近他們在南加州開了分店，所以如果你住在南加州，你也可以從四面八方聚集到那裡用餐。

我、Eric、Elizabeth 和 Elle 決定走到我們家附近的八方雲集，但他們那天休息，所以我們去了另一家叫做梁社漢排骨的小餐廳。「梁社漢」是一個人的名字，後面的「排骨」發音是 Pai Gu。當美國人想到排骨時，通常會想到帶骨的豬肋排，但「排骨」其實更像是豬排。

這是一家很小的餐廳，大概只有六張桌子，是八方雲集的母公司開的。食物美味且價格實惠。例如，我的餐點包含了一塊豬排、蔬菜（高麗菜和四季豆）、豆干（類似豆腐但更硬）、綠豆粉絲，還有蘿蔔海帶湯，全部只要大約125台幣（約4美元）。

氣氛並不是特別好，燈光明亮，地板是瓷磚，桌子也很小。因為我坐輪椅，需要比較大的空間，我們四個人得把兩張桌子併在一起。點餐後他們會叫號，然後你需要把大托盤端到小桌子上用餐。吃完後還要自己收拾桌子。除了桌子太小以外，這樣的用餐環境對我來說沒什麼問題，只要食物好吃就行，而這裡的食物真的很美味。

豬排鮮嫩多汁，調味也剛剛好。蔬菜煮得恰到好處，還保持著脆度，這是我喜歡的口感。蘿蔔海帶湯清淡但很有味道。我真的很喜歡台灣的料理，特別是湯品，這家餐廳完全沒讓我失望。

能知道我們家附近就有這麼多便宜又好吃的餐廳，真的很棒。台灣真的是個生活便利的地方！

 

That's a lot of food on two teeny, tiny tables.

This meal also has noodles and broth with turnips

Eric and Elizabeth doing what they do best.  

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