A culinary tour of north-east Taiwan

My Dad was born in Taiwan and as I was growing up in Toronto, my brother and I were introduced to some of his favourite Taiwanese foods. Our family loved going out for Beef Noodle Soup 红烧牛肉面 – chewy noodles in a dark, savory broth topped with chunks of melt-in-your-mouth beef and shredded salted vegetables. And we could not get enough of 烧饼油条，an oven-baked sesame biscuit stuffed with a fried dough fritter. It is crispy, flaky and crusty and absolutely to die for. As a child, I remember one of my American uncles closing his eyes and taking a bite. After a few moments he asked aloud: “How can bread on bread taste this good?”

On my own, I have come to be a real soup-filled dumpling snob. On a trip to Shanghai last fall for the Expo, I sampled the soup-filled dumplings, called Xiao long bao 小笼包 at the famous Yuyuan Gardens, only to be very disappointed. Xiao long bao is said to have come from Shanghai but the dumplings were really below standard – the skin was chewy, the broth was not buttery, and the pork was not delicately prepared. Many restaurants in Taiwan have made soup-filled dumplings their claim to fame, and on a recent trip to Taipei, I was not disappointed.

Lastly, something must be said about the Gua Bao 刮包 – a Taiwanese street food in which white, fluffly Chinese buns, or 馒头 mantou (like the sweet bbq pork buns you get at dimsum) are stuffed with savory slices of beef or pork belly and topped with Taiwanese condiments like crushed peanuts, pickled mustard greens 酸菜, red sugar and chopped cilantro. I had the buns in New York City once (read about it here) but I really wanted the chance to try them in the famous Taiwanese night markets, street bazaars that open at night and are famous for street-side stalls hawking local delicacies. The Guo bao was the highlight of all the goodies we snacked on at Taipei’s famous Shilin Night Market.

I last traveled to Taiwan in the summer of 2002, fresh out of high school, on an overseas Chinese study tour. Going back this time was very different – I was free to plan my own itinerary. I could take some time to sit around in a park in the middle of Taipei or choose to linger in front of the night market food stalls, without worrying about being late for curfew. The city itself hadn’t changed that much. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the infrastructure in Taiwan. I expected Taipei to have built itself up over the last few decade, to have improved its subway lines and erected new buildings, and to have developed towns like Hualien, where most tourists stop before heading to the country’s famous Taroko National Park.

Still, was a pleasure to travel in the country. People were friendly, good with directions, and we constantly felt welcome. We spent a couple days in Taiwan, went to nearby Yangmingshan to enjoy the hot springs, and then made our way south to Hualien where we hiked around the Taroko Gorge.

Okay, enough talk. Let’s take a look at some of my photos. Get ready to drool!