A visit to Tainan

Today I took the train up to Tainan, which is about 40 minutes north of the city, and spent the day with two of my students. They invited me to spend the day with them and I took them up on their offer. I got to buy my own train tickets (which is harder than you think when you don't speak the language), took a train by myself and also saw a whole new part of Taiwan. These are my students, Natasha and Mimi. Mimi's mom picked me up at the train station and was my tour guide for the day. She took her job as guide seriously and we got to explore a lot of Tainan. She also wouldn't let me pay for anything which was was incredibly generous of her so I need to come up with something to do for her in return.

Things I learned today: Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and was initially settled by the Dutch as a trading base until they were defeated and ousted in 1661. Their fort, Anping Fort, part of the Dutch Fort Zeelandia, still stands in the heart of the city. Tainan was the capital of Taiwan until the late 1880's when Taipei became the capital. The city has the first Confucian Temple built in 1665 and the city has the most Buddhist and Taoist temples in Taiwan.

Our first stop was in the Anping district of Tainan which has the oldest streets in Taiwan. We ate at this amazing place called Chou's Shrimp Rolls and the food, as usual, was fantastic. These are two types of rolls below plus rice noodles and rice noodle soup.

We also enjoyed tofu (the bowl above), greens and a spicy kimchi like mixture. One specialty was mullet roe that was dried and served with scallion. Have I mentioned that I love the food it Taiwan? As usual, I definitely was the center of attention and all eyes were on me as I ate. Considering I saw only one other caucasian person all day, I understand their fascination.

After lunch we drove to the old section to walk through the streets where there are vendors selling everything imaginable. We parked next to this beautiful old cemetery. Beautiful isn't it?

The center of the old city was teeming with people and was colorful as ever.

Tainan is known for many things and one of them is oysters. These are baskets filled with oysters. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Workers were cleaning and sorting through mounds of oysters that are served around the area. I love that salty, briny smell!

Mimi, I discovered, is the photobomb queen!

That's a bowl of shucked oysters with a mound of them to go through. They were shucking ninjas!

Those are ice cream cones hanging above the ice cream stand. Can you imagine trying to navigate that? I've got incredibly long arms and I would find this challenging.

There were shops and carts selling leather goods, clothing, calligraphy brushes, paper, toys, games and many homemade items like these shoes. If only my feet were this small. My feet are considered gigantic in this country so shoes are practically impossible to find.

I couldn't believe how many people there were crowding the narrow streets and alleys. Everyone was so friendly and I could hear the Chinese word for American (Měiguó) as I passed. Many shouted out "Hello!" in greeting. Samples of food are a big thing in this country and the locals love seeing any foreigner try the exotic items. It's hysterical because they expect me to say no or not like it. I surprise them every time because I will try anything like the shrimp chips below.

From what I was told, Tainan is called the "City of Snacks" and is a culinary center of Taiwan.

This guy was slicing into these doughy balls that are a form of medicine. I had a taste...I'm sure it's good for what ails you but I'll pass.

The above is a local delicacy...a form of blood pudding.

Dried persimmons and

duck eggs. They have been preserved and are shrink wrapped. They were creamy and delicious.

We entered this great little square that was lined with artisans and specialty items. 

This fountain in the center is supposed to ward off evil spirits. I'd turn and run too if I bumped into this. That's a dagger clenched it it's teeth and the water runs down the sword like blood after a battle.

We walked toward the old section of town where these narrow streets curved in and around old brick houses. As in many neighborhoods in Taiwan, you'll come upon a temple right in the middle of a little residential area. Love these!

We stepped into this historic home that was just beautiful and contained a little gift shop.

Mimi tried on the traditional clothing. She's adorable

The building had one larger room that served as the kitchen and living area and a small bedroom.

These are the narrow streets that weave through the area.

Beautiful old home - I wish I knew when it was built.

We wandered back toward the markets and I saw more of Taiwan's food wonders....

cuttlefish...

crab....

goose eggs....

chestnuts....

and little tiny shellfish that are cooked in spices that you suck the meat out of.

We continued walking and stopped at this famous dessert place that served this bean jelly with tapioca pearls. The "jelly" is made from bean curd.  It is soft and creamy, sort of like custard. It was lightly sweetened and had a soft honey-like taste. Loved it!

We ended our tour by going to the beach that overlooks the Taiwan Strait. We played in the waves and enjoyed the view.

On our way back to the train station, my hosts made one more stop for the local white gourd tea and more food. This time we had the famous, local oyster pancake. 

This oyster omelet is made of fresh oysters (that were fantastic), potato starch, eggs, sprouts and greens. It's all cooked in a frying pan over high heat and this tomato like sauce (a bit sweet and sour) is poured on top. I can tell you that I enjoyed this dish but I'd put money down that most of the people I know would not have even tried it. The texture is unlike anything Americans eat - gelatinous and a bit gooey but it was savory, salty, briny, crunchy and delicious. Check out this website and you'll get a glimpse of the snacks I saw today. Taiwan Snacks