Taipei - Jin Feng Luroufan (Braised Pork Rice)

Luroufan at Jin Feng

There are a few signature or staple dishes in each city - some seem geared towards tourists (egg tarts in Hong Kong - not that locals don't like them, we just don't eat that many of them), while others truly live in people's subconscience and and are eaten by locals on almost a daily basis. To me, an example of the latter would be luroufan in Taiwan, or braised pork rice.

On previous trips, I had been introduced to Formosa Chang, or "bearded Chang" in Chinese (鬍鬚張), which, in my untutored opinion, is a very decent chain, but I decided I'd go looking for more options, just to compare (this will sound familiar to food nerds...).

Cocktails and Whiskey in Taipei - Caffe Libero, Marsalis, Fourplay

Souvenirs from Taipei - Kavalan Concertmaster, and vintage glass from Nostalgic Future

When I tell people I'm planning my wedding, they naturally ask about the person I'm about to be married to. "Is he a foodie too?" is probably the most common question, and my answer is always "absolutely not".

So a month or so ago, when I caught up with G in Taipei (he had already been there a couple of days), I was more than surprised when he suggested we go bar hopping after dinner. He said this knowing that my kind of bar hopping involves more whisk(e)y and proper cocktails than party scenes and bottle service (and in many cases, beer). Needless to say, I took that license to drink and ran.

Xian Jin Seafood, swimmin' down a Taipei lane

Point and cook

I've been to Taipei many times, but always for ridiculously short trips. This is probably the most ridiculous of all - one measly day. This time, it was just a stop enroute back home from Hualien. Being only an hour away by plane, Taiwan does make a very good Hong Konger's weekend jaunt. That said, I always leave feeling I need to stay longer. Now that I've explored a fair bit of the countryside, I think it'd be pretty cool to retire here too... Anyway, that's another story for another day.

Taichung - Hassen (Ba Qian) medicinal spicy hotpot

Pretty snazzy sauce station, hey?

This post is from my trip to Taichung, so it's way way way overdue, but I have to get it up because it's one of those things that no-one's really heard of but I think everyone needs to try.

Mala, the numbing spices common in Sichuan and central China, and loved in Taiwan, is pretty common in hotpots. You've probably had it before. But mala hotpot with medicinal herbs? That's definitely news to me. So when we saw it on the menu at this super sleek hotpot restaurant, Hassen (or in Mandarin, Ba Qian), we just had to try it.

Taichung - biking (or fooding?!) in Fengyuan

The purpose of the trip was to go biking, so in case you were wondering whether I came close to a pedal at all - I did, and it wasn't when I stood next to one of the many bike racks in town. Actually we went on a proper bike trail in Fengyuan (豐園), a small township about 30 mins out of Taichung city by train.

Taichung - Chun Shui Tang, the birthplace of Bubble Tea

Of course, when we were planning this trip, the task of researching places to eat fell into my hands, and after some digging, I came across 春水堂 Chun Shui Tang (nb. this is standard pingyin/romanisation, not the pingyin they use in Taiwan), said to be the teashop that invented bubble tea (or boba). Who would've thought?

Taichung - Caffeine Fix at Orsir

The Taiwanese are passionate about their caffeine - there are tea shops every three steps, and coffee shops probably on every second street corner, some of which are sadly Starbucks, but there are treasures like Orsir amid the blah.

Taichung - Street Eats

Lu shui from Da Lu Tong, Fengjia night market

Before I left on this trip to Taiwan, it had been around 4 months since I'd left Hong Kong. Now, Hong Kong is a fabulous place, but for an incorrigible plane hopper, it'd been too long. When friends asked if I wanted to go to Taichung to go cycling, I immediately said yes. (Cycling? Me? Yes. I was that desperate to get away, I would have said yes to a marathon... well, maybe not, but you get the point).

For me, Taiwan's all about the street food. I know there's Taiwanese cuisine, and nouveau kaiseki-style eateries popping up all over, but eating streetside - that's what it's about to me.