There are so many different foods here and I'm only just beginning to try things. Overall I've been going to the markets and cooking but I have had a few things from local places. The local greens and produce are amazing so I'm taking advantage of fresh mangos, guavas, melon, asparagus, greens, cabbage, etc. So abundant and delicious. I've eaten greens sauted in garlic and ginger several times just to try out greens I had never seen before. I wash it all down with a local beer with a squeeze of local limes that are tiny and a bit sweet.
The first meal I got out was from a very famous noodle shop that has apparently been featured on the Travel Network or something. The place is packed and thankfully I had someone with me to help me navigate it all. There are so many choices and I wanted it to go and that was a whole other thing. It came perfectly packaged and so steaming hot, I had to wait about 10 minutes before I could even start eating it. For those of you who know me, I love things like soup and tea to be scalding hot. This was beyond that. The noodles were perfectly cooked, the broth was flavorful and rich but still light. It was so much I barely finished it.
This was what you saw when you walked in....all these choices and sides.
Noodles in one bag, broth in the other. It also came with the bowl and chopsticks.
I've had amazing dumplings and sushi here but wasn't in a position to take pictures. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pictures of food. Tonight I went out with some new friends to a hot pot place. We were told it is considered the best place in Taiwan. Oh my god! What a meal and what a night. First of all, ordering food when you don't speak the language and they don't speak yours either is an crazy experience. Somehow we get it done and everyone is so kind and gracious about it.
For some reason, whenever I go out with anybody, people usually only talk to me. They don't address anyone else at the table, just me. I still haven't figured out why.
So,we ordered by pointing to some pictures and using a little English and basically trusting that we would get something we loved. And boy did we! We got two different broths to cook with, one very garlicky and herbaceous the other spicy and rich and flavorful. We weren't sure what we were getting but we got a plate full of thinly sliced beef, a mound of vegetables that included cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, lettuce etc. and a plate of shrimp sitting on ice. Away we cooked and ate and ate some more. At one point they came by with a bowl of tofu that was prepared with five spice and liver, or what looked like liver. They added it to the spicy side of the pot, added more broth and walked away. It was so wonderfully spicy that I was sweating within minutes.
Basically you cook all the different veggies and meat in broth and eat it with rice, a combination of fresh herbs and spices that you put some broth in to make a sauce, and a few other little sides that they serve along side it all. At one point I just needed water and the server didn't understand. A young woman at a table next to us got up and translated for us. That happens all the time here. People are just so kind and helpful. At the end of the night, when we got up to pay, the whole thing cost a total of $40. I don't even know how that's possible. So we each paid a little over $13 apiece.
I loved it. I need everyone to come visit so you can experience it all too!
Walked home and now I'm cooling off with one of my new favorite things, milk tea. It's like making a really great cup of tea, adding milk and sugar to it, and chilling it. It's delicious.
Or chilled and iced.
What a glorious night of food!
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