Small eats are the big thing in Taiwan
小吃在台灣是件大事
1. Braised pork rice (滷肉飯)
Not to be underestimated: braised fatty pork with rice. 不可小覷的滷肉飯
A Taiwanese saying goes, "Where there is a wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney, there will be lurou fan" (braised pork with rice). The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.
"Lurou fan" is synonymous with Taiwan.
The Taipei city government launched a "braised pork rice is ours" campaign last year after Michelin’s Green Guide Taiwan claimed that the dish is from Shandong Province in mainland China.
A good bowl of lurou fan has finely chopped, not quite minced, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five spices. There should be an ample amount of fattiness, in which lies the magic. The meat is spooned over hot rice. A little sweet, a little salty, the braised pork rice is comfort food perfected.
Jin Feng Lu Rou Fan (金峰滷肉飯), 10 Roosevelt Road, Section 1, Jhongjheng District, Taipei City; +886 2 2396 0808 (台北市中正區羅斯福路一段10號)
2. Beef noodle (牛肉麵)
Nothing like a good debate about beef noodles. 沒有什麼比牛肉麵更值得被討論的
You know it's an obsession when it gets its own festival.
Beef noodle soup is a dish that inspires competitiveness and innovation in chefs. Everyone wants to claim the title of beef noodle king.
From visiting Niu Ba Ba for one of the most expensive bowls of beef noodle soup in the world (TW$10,000, or US$334) to a serendipitous duck into the first makeshift noodle shack that you spot, it's almost impossible to have a bad beef noodle experience in Taiwan.
Lin Dong Fang's beef shanks with al dente noodles in a herbal soup are a perennial favorite. The streetside eatery’s secret weapon is the dollop of homemade chili-butter added last.
Lin Dong Fang (林東芳), 274 Bade Road, Section 2, Jhongshan District, Taipei City; +886 2 2752 2556 (台北市中山區八德路二段274號); Niu Ba Ba (牛爸爸), No. 16, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4 Zhongxiao Donglu, Da'an District, Taipei City; +886 2 2778 3075/ +886 2 8771 5358 (台北市大安區忠孝東路四段216巷27弄16號)
3. Oyster omelet (蚵仔煎)
The oyster omelet: the island's snack. 全島公認的點心
Here's a snack that really showcases the fat of the land of Taiwan. You've got something from the sea and something from the soil.
The eggs are the perfect foil for the little oysters easily found around the island, while sweet potato starch is added to give the whole thing a gooey chewiness -- a signature Taiwan food texture.
No wonder it was voted best snack to represent the island in a poll of 1,000 Taiwanese by Global Views Monthly in 2007.
Lai's Egg Oyster Omelet (賴記雞蛋蚵仔煎), Ningxia Road Night Market; +886 2 2558 6177 (寧夏路夜市)
4. Bubble tea (珍珠奶茶)
Better than beer: bubble tea is a drink and a snack.
比啤酒更棒：是飲料也是點心
比啤酒更棒：是飲料也是點心
Bubble tea is representative of the "QQ" food texture that Taiwanese love. The cute-sounding phrase refers to something that is very chewy, just like the tapioca balls that are the "bubbles" in bubble tea.
It is said that this unique drink was invented out of boredom. Liu Han-Chieh threw some sweetened tapioca pudding into her iced Assam tea on a fateful day in 1988 and one of the greatest Taiwanese exports was born.
Huge variations on the theme have since emerged, including taro-flavored tea, jasmine tea or coffee, served cold or hot.
Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂), 48 Yi-shu St., Longjing, Taichung County; +886 4 2652 8288 (台中市龍井區藝術街48號)
5. Coffin bread (棺材板)
If the Addams Family came to Taiwan.
"阿達一族"(電影)來台灣的話...
"阿達一族"(電影)來台灣的話...
This Tainan specialty is a mutated offspring of French toast and chowder.
An extra thick piece of bread is hollowed out to resemble a flat bread bowl. It is toasted to harden it and then filled with seafood chowder.
Legend says a Taiwanese chef who studied Western cooking invented this bread-soup-bowl-with-corners.
One day an archeologist tried the toast and told the chef, “It looks just like the coffin I am excavating now.”
Thus, the chowder soup took on its morbid Chinese name, which means "coffin bread."
6. Slack Season danzai noodles (擔仔麵)
Thankfully, we no longer have to wait for the slack season to eat this.
還好，我們不用等到"淡季"(小月)才能吃得到
還好，我們不用等到"淡季"(小月)才能吃得到
You've gotta love a place called Slack Season and it's the first pit stop on any trip to Taiwan.
The iconic eatery originated in Tainan about a century ago. A fisherman sold noodles during the slack season and the joint became so successful that he quit fishing altogether.
The signature bowl of Slack Season noodles is served in shrimp soup with bean sprouts, coriander, minced pork and fresh shrimps.
This bowl of comforting flavors is so addictive that a man from Tainan ate 18 bowls in a row, according to Slack Season.
7. Pan-fried bun (生煎包)
Pan-fried buns, bigger and better in Taiwan.
台灣的生煎包更大更好吃
台灣的生煎包更大更好吃
Do you like the fluffiness of cake as well as the crunchiness of potato chips? The pan-fried bun gives you the best of both worlds.
These buns are made with spongy white Chinese bread that are pan-fried on the bottom. Break them open to reveal the moist porky filling.
A Shanghainese staple, the Taiwanese version differs in two ways: it is slightly bigger in size and it hits the pan upside-down.
8. Gua bao (割包)
Dear Gua Bao, you're the Big Mac of our eye.
親愛的割包，你是我們眼中的"大麥克"(麥當勞的大漢堡)It's a hamburger, Taiwan-style.
A steamed bun sandwiches a hearty filling of braised pork belly, pickled Chinese cabbage and powdered peanuts.
The filling is chopped up into small pieces and mixed together so there's a bit of everything in every bite. Consider doing this with Western hamburgers.
Take in a big mouthful and enjoy the salty, sour and sweet flavors and the greasy pork swimming in your mouth.
9. Iron egg (鐵蛋)
Urban legend says you can play ping-pong with iron eggs.都會傳奇：鐵蛋都能當乒乓球玩了
Often made from quails' eggs, the little balls are cooked for hours in soy sauce then air-dried. The whole process is repeated over several days until the protein becomes tough and acquires the desired amount of chew.
10. Pineapple cake (鳳梨酥)
Sunny Hill's traditional pineapple cake.
"微熱山丘"的傳統式鳳梨酥This iconic Taiwanese pastry is one of the best souvenir options. These mini pineapple pies are filled with candied pineapple.
If you want the best pineapple cake experience, try SunnyHills which uses only local pineapple as filling. It yields a darker filling, rougher texture and a more sour taste.
The traditional pies at other shops are filled with a mix of pineapple and chewable bits of winter melon. They have a fruity sweetness and a golden casing of crumbly buttery pastry.
Stores that replace pineapple completely with winter melon to cut costs are committing a big no-no.
Sunny Hills (微熱山丘), 1/F, No. 1, Alley 4, Lane 36, Section 5, Minsheng East Road, Songshan District, Taipei City; +886 49 229 2767 (台北市松山區民生東路五段36巷4弄1號); www.sunnyhills.com.tw
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