Some Notes on Food

Fruit

Oh my God, the fruit here is just amazing. Pineapples, papayas, bananas, mangoes (many kinds), litchis, dragonfruit, watermelon, cantaloupes, honeydews, wax apples, guavas, all the usual tropicals. But also things you don’t usually associate with the tropics, like cherries, peaches, grapes, and plums (the last come in green, yellow, red, and purple). All of them are so outrageously juicy that you practically need to take a shower after eating a piece; a single peach will leave you sticky up to your elbows.

Fruit at the night market in Zhongli

Local plums and peaches in Tianhsiang.

The Stink

My first week here, Dan, Yen-Wen and I were strolling through the night market in Zhongli, when I was suddenly enveloped by an incredibly putrid stench. At first I thought it was rotting garbage. I said to Dan, “Boy, something smells really rank!” He replied “that’s the stinky tofu”. I could not believe it. Chou doufu, or stinky tofu, is a fermented tofu that is very popular here, and I came to Taiwan with the intention of trying it. After all, I love natto, which most Westerners find absolutely vile. But after smelling this stuff, I’ve decided to give it a pass. When Lillia first smelled it, she said, “I hope I don’t vomit”.

Su

Su means “pure” and is used to describe a very strict Buddhist diet, which is vegetarian and uses no onions or garlic. I know that sounds really dismal, but it’s pretty terrific. Yen-Wen’s parents run a restaurant, Xin Min Su Can Guan, on the first floor of this gargantuan house, and twice a day they put on a buffet with probably 60-70 different dishes. There are all sorts of vegetables, noodles, tofu, dumplings, fritters, and various meatlike products made from wheat and/or soy, which are surprisingly flavorful and succulent. I buy some of these products in Denver, but there is much, much more variety here.

Part of the buffet at Xin Min Su Can Guan

Pastries

Although for dessert, the Taiwanese usually eat some of their magnificent fruit, there is no lack of Western-style cakes and puddings, and they are surprisingly good. Every little café has fancy cakes. Cheesecake is particularly popular.

Lillia with teddy bear cake at our favorite local cafe.

Kick-ass fig cheesecake at the National Palace Museum café.

But the best pastries I’ve had were from La Famille in Taichung. This elegant patisserie/cafe had the best pastries I've had in many years. Particularly fine was the chocolate macadamia nut thing. It had a very delicate flaky bottom crust, then a layer of ganache in which whole toasted macadamias were embedded, then something extremely thin and crispy (a dacquoise meringue layer?), and then tiny chocolate curls on top. To die for.

Display cases at La Famille.

Japanese Influence

Although the food here is overwhelmingly Chinese, there is a surprising amount of Japanese influence. All of the convenience stores carry onigiri and simple bentos. Takoyaki can be found in the night markets. Lots of otherwise Chinese things can be found wrapped in nori. Most of the department stores are Japanese, and the food basements feature both Chinese and Japanese meals and products. MOS Burger is in all the major cities. All the big Japanese food brands are here (UCC coffee, Meiji chocolate, etc.). But I have to tell you about some of the offerings at the Yamazaki Bakery. In addition to their European and Japanesified European offerings, they have some things aimed at the local clientele: Fried Noodles Sandwich, Pickles Doughnut, and Seaweed and Pork Floss Salad Roll.