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

Buying Tea at Fushou Shan Tea Factory

Today, I took some visiting Americans to buy Taiwanese tea at Fushoushan (Good Fortune and Longevity Mountain) Tea Factory.  I think that their tea, all high mountain teas, are generally excellent.  This tea growing family has been in the tea business for six generations in Taiwan.  

My American friends have come to expect to go tea shopping with me, if they come to visit, so I did not want to disappoint them.  Taiwan’s Tea Culture is an excellent way to give people a simple view of Taiwanese culture. 

It is so unlike buying tea in the states.  In the US, you would walk into a supermarket and pick one off the shelf.  You don’t have any knowledge about the tea you’re buying beyond what’s written on the packaging.

When you buy tea in Taiwan, you can sit with a “Tea Master” who will serve you samples of a number of teas.  They will explain whether it was harvested in winter, summer, spring or fall.  They’ll explain the difference between the tea harvests.  For example, the spring harvest is best for Wulong (oolong) Tea.  It has to do with temperature and the way the plants react to changing temperatures. 

White, Green, Wulong and Red (called Black Tea in the US) teas all come from the same plant.  The different classifications are the result of oxidation, processing temperature and other factors.  The Tea Master is an expert in all of this.  They will take a much time as you need to taste and explore the tea. 

They will also pour and serve a variety of teas for you to taste and compare, telling you the differences between the teas you’re tasting. They’re brewed in white cups so you can evaluate the color of the tea.  The teas are served at the proper temperature for that type. Tea flavor can change as the tea cools. 

This isn’t something you do in a hurry.  The process for me, and I’m pretty knowledgeable about tea, can take about an hour.  I usually leave the place pretty well caffeinated. 

It’s a great, fun experience, but really it comes down to buying what tastes best in your opinion.  I usually buy a tea called Dong Ding Wulong.  Some of my friends are not fond of it, because it has a very strong tea flavor.  They prefer lighter, smoother tea flavor.  If everybody liked the same thing it would be pretty boring for tea producers.

今天，我帶了一些來訪的美國朋友到福壽山茶廠購買台灣茶。我認為他們的茶——全都是高山茶——品質非常優良。這個種茶的家族在台灣經營茶葉生意已經六代了。

我的美國朋友們來台灣時，幾乎都期待能和我一起去買茶，所以我不想讓他們失望。台灣的茶文化是一個很好的方式，能讓人簡單地了解台灣文化。

這和在美國買茶完全不同。在美國，你走進超市，直接從架上挑一款茶，對於自己買的茶，除了包裝上的資訊外，幾乎一無所知。

在台灣買茶時，你可以和「茶師」一起坐下來，他們會沖泡多種茶讓你試喝，並解釋這些茶是在哪個季節採收的——冬天、夏天、春天還是秋天。他們還會說明各季節採收的差異，例如春茶最適合烏龍茶，這與氣溫變化及茶樹對環境的反應有關。

白茶、綠茶、烏龍茶和紅茶（美國稱為黑茶）其實都來自同一種茶樹。不同的分類是由於發酵程度、加工溫度等因素決定的。茶師對這些知識都非常精通，並會花時間讓你慢慢品茶、了解茶葉的特性。

他們還會沖泡多款茶供你品嚐和比較，並講解它們之間的不同。茶通常會用白瓷杯沖泡，以便觀察茶湯的顏色。此外，每種茶都有適合的沖泡溫度，茶的風味會隨著冷卻而變化。

這不是一件可以匆忙完成的事。即使我對茶已經算是相當了解了，整個品茶過程大約也要花上一個小時，通常離開時我都已經攝取了不少咖啡因。

這是一個很有趣的體驗，但最終還是要選擇自己最喜歡的口味。我通常會買一款叫做「凍頂烏龍」的茶。不過，有些朋友不太喜歡，因為它的茶味較濃，他們更偏好口感輕柔、順滑的茶。如果大家的口味都一樣，那對茶農來說可就太無趣了！

Fushoshan Tea Factory in Bade

Tea Master Michell Lu

Tea for Individual Sales

Tea for Bulk Sales and Export

Hong Cha - Black Tea

Tea Ovens 

The Only Customer in the Place Older Than Me!

Michell Doing Her Thing

Photos by Crisel Joy Bringula

All Photos and Posts 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.  

All Posts and Photos Property of Taiwan Adventure Publications

Cooking with Eric

When I decided to restart the Taiwan Adventure Blog, I didn’t intend for it to be just another Taiwanese food blog.  Taiwan is known as a food destination.  There are all kinds of delicious foods here.  I like to eat, and I seem to spend a lot of time doing just that, but before you start thinking, “This old man is going to get fat,” I think it’s important to note that I’ve dropped about five kilograms (eleven pounds) since I’ve been here.  I think I’m really beginning to agree with Robert Kennedy that there’s some component in food in the US that causes Americans to get fat.  I don’t eat less, and I don’t eat more.  The difference must be what I’m eating.  The food is just healthier, I guess.

At our house, Eric seems to cook most of the dinners, and guess what, Eric can cook.  He does a lot of stir fry, which considering where we live, is a reasonable choice.  Taiwanese kitchens are very basic.  There’s no kitchen range (cooktop/oven combination) just a basic cooktop designed for use with a wok.  So, everything is cooked on top of the stove.  You can get an oven at Costco, but it’s a small appliance that fits on an existing countertop.   

There are lots of combination cookers that combine microwave, air fryer and convection ovens, but again they’re made at countertop size.  Eric doesn’t use all of that.  He uses a stir fry method, boils or steams vegetables and uses the air fryer.  He also serves rice with every meal that’s cooked in a rice cooker. 

His meals are pretty eclectic, everything from Japanese curry to fried chicken thighs.  When he was in the states he became a master of the barbecue.  He can barbecue chicken with the best of them and even became so good at Carne Asada that Elle exclaimed, “I’m shocked to the sky!”  I’m not really sure what that means but apparently, it’s a good thing, because she scarfed it up with great gusto.  He is often my sous chef on the smoker, as well.

Eric and I have similar tastes in food.  We both like our meals with a bit of spice.  The problem is that the rest of the family is not all that excited about spicy food, so we have some hot sauce that we incorporate with our meals.  It’s made with raw cayenne peppers, about 50,000 Scoville heat units (SHU).  Compare that to Jalapenos which are about 2,500 SHU or Habaneros at 100,000 SHU.  Those babies will burn your lips right off, if you’re not careful.  I put some on my chicken once and Eric thought it was too much.  “Are you committing suicide?” he asked with incredulity. So, we now just call it the "suicide" sauce.  Your mouth can adjust to it eventually and it's not so hot, in fact it has a great taste.  It’s finely diced peppers with a bit of Olive Oil. 

當我決定重啟「台灣冒險部落格」時，我並不想讓它只成為另一個台灣美食部落格。台灣以美食天堂著稱，這裡有各種美味的食物。我喜歡吃東西，也似乎花了很多時間在吃，但在你開始想「這個老頭會不會吃胖」之前，我覺得有必要提一下，自從來到這裡，我已經瘦了大約五公斤（十一磅）。我真的開始同意羅伯特·肯尼迪的看法——美國的食物裡似乎有某種成分讓美國人變胖。我吃的量並沒有減少，也沒有增加，差別應該是食物本身。我猜，這裡的食物更健康吧。

在我們家，大多數晚餐都是Eric做的，而你猜怎麼樣？Eric真的會做飯。他經常炒菜，考慮到我們的居住地，這是很合理的選擇。台灣的廚房非常簡單，沒有傳統的廚灶（爐灶和烤箱的組合），只有一個為炒鍋設計的基本爐灶。因此，所有的食物都是在爐子上煮的。你可以在Costco買到烤箱，但那是一種小型電器，放在現有的檯面上使用。

還有很多結合微波爐、空氣炸鍋和對流烤箱功能的組合式廚具，但它們也是檯面大小的。Eric並不使用這些設備。他主要用炒菜的方法，或者煮、蒸蔬菜，還用空氣炸鍋。他每頓飯都會配上一些用電鍋煮的米飯。

他的料理風格相當多元，從日式咖哩到炸雞腿不等。在美國的時候，他成為了一位燒烤大師。他的烤雞技術堪稱一流，甚至還精通墨西哥烤肉（Carne Asada），以至於Elle驚呼：「我震驚到天上去了！」我不太確定這句話的意思，但顯然是好事，因為她吃得津津有味。他也經常在我用煙燻爐做菜時擔任我的助手。

Eric和我在飲食口味上非常相似，我們都喜歡帶點辣味的餐點。但問題是，家裡其他人對辣味並不感興趣，所以我們會在自己的餐點中加入一些辣醬。這種辣醬是用生的紅辣椒製成的，辣度約為50,000斯科維爾熱單位（SHU）。相比之下，墨西哥辣椒（Jalapeno）的辣度約為2,500 SHU，而哈瓦那辣椒（Habanero）約為100,000 SHU。這些辣椒如果不小心，真的能燒掉你的嘴唇。我曾經把一些辣醬加在雞肉上，Eric覺得太多了，他驚訝地問：「你是在自殺嗎？」所以，我們現在稱這個辣醬為「自殺醬」。你的口腔最終可以適應它，感覺就不那麼辣了，事實上，它的味道非常棒。這是用細細切碎的辣椒和少許橄欖油做成的。

The following is a selection of Eric meals.  Enjoy!

以下是Eric的一些料理作品。請慢用！

Pork Soup with Pork Balls, Chicken and Green Papaya Salad and Pineapple

Japanese Curry, Sweet Potato Leaves and Rice

Hot Pot - Green Curry and Vegetable broths, with Pork Balls, 

Needle Mushrooms and Mushrooms and Yakiniku (Japanese Barbecue)

"Suicide" Sauce

Cayenne Peppers

All Photos and Text Property of Taiwan Adventure Publications.

Sushiro

In Tucson, good sushi is a rare commodity.  It might be because the ocean isn’t that close.  Arizona is landlocked as they say.  The place is full of landlubbers. 

"A "landlubber" is a term used by sailors to refer to someone who is unfamiliar with the sea or inexperienced in sailing. It's often used in a somewhat teasing or playful manner to describe people who are more comfortable on land than at sea. Think of it as a nautical way of saying "greenhorn" or "newbie." " -Microsoft Copilot. 

It must be said that I am NOT a landlubber.  In fact, I’m very comfortable at the helm of a sailboat.  I spent a lot of hours sailing in San Franciso Bay with a friend, who taught me how to sail. But none of that is germane to today’s post. I was just boasting.  This post is about sushi.

I live on an island. We are surrounded by ocean, which means we are surrounded by fish.  In fact, they sell live ones at the traditional market.  They even have fish auctions in the mornings.  The place is practically bursting with fish.  It is much easier to find good sushi in Taiwan than in Tucson.

This last week went to a sushi restaurant near our home, called “Sushiro”.  The fish was fresh and delicious.  The cuts were generous.  I like nigiri, (which is small clumps of rice with wasabi and cuts of raw fish.) Generally, the price was about $40 - $80 NTD ($1.20 - $2.40 USD), of course there were others that were a bit more.  That’s a reasonable price for fresh sushi. 

The sushi is delivered to your table on a little track that runs past each table.  You see what you want and just reach out and grab it.  You can also order from an electronic menu, and it comes out on the “express track”.

They have other things as well, like soups and noodles.  Excellent sushi at a great price. I’d give the place a nine out of 10. One point off for packaged wasabi, it's not as powerful as the fresh stuff. I need the fresh wasabi power!

在圖森，好吃的壽司可不常見。這可能是因為離海洋不太近。亞利桑那州正如大家所說，是個內陸州。這裡大部分人都是「陸地人」。

「陸地人」是水手用來形容那些不熟悉海洋或不懂航海的人，通常帶有一些戲謔或調侃的意味，用來形容那些更習慣待在陸地上的人。可以把它當作是對「新手」或「外行人」的海上用語。 —— 微軟助手。

但必須說明的是，我絕對不是陸地人。事實上，我在帆船舵柄上非常得心應手。我曾經和一位朋友在舊金山灣航行，學會了如何駕駛帆船。不過，這點和今天的文章並沒有太大關聯，今天我要談的是壽司。

我住在一個島嶼上，四面環海，這意味著我們周圍充滿了魚類。事實上，當地的傳統市場還賣活魚，早上甚至有魚拍賣。這裡幾乎到處都是魚。在台灣，比起圖森，找到好壽司要容易得多。

上週，我去了家離家很近的壽司店，叫做「壽司郎」。那裡的魚新鮮又美味，切割也相當大方。我喜歡吃握壽司（就是小團的米飯上放上芥末和生魚片）。一般來說，價格大約是40到80新台幣（約1.20到2.40美元），當然也有一些比較貴的選擇。這樣的價格能吃到新鮮壽司，真的是很合理。

壽司是通過一條小軌道送到每張桌子的，你可以看到自己喜歡的壽司，然後伸手去拿。你也可以從電子菜單點餐，食物會經由「快速軌道」送過來。

他們也有其他的菜品，比如湯和麵條。總的來說，這是一家提供非常棒壽司的餐廳，價格也很實惠。我會給這家店打9分（滿分10分），扣掉1分是因為他們用的是包裝好的芥末，沒有新鮮芥末那麼辛辣。我真的需要新鮮芥末的強烈味道！

Okay relax, there was four of us. I didn't eat all of that!