Archive for June, 2011

June 23rd, 2011

A Traveller’s Guide to Taipei Food

One of the best ways through which one can take part of a country’s heritage is through their food. It is not only the most enjoyable but also the tastiest way to experience a foreign nation’s culture.

Asian nations possess a different kind of appeal to travellers from all over the world. The culture of each country seems to be very diverse and their way of life very interesting. One of the most visited destinations in Asia is Taipei, which is considered to be Taiwan’s center of economy, politics, and culture.

People in Taipei love to eat. In fact, majority of Taiwanese consider eating as one of their most loved pastimes. This immense love for food is exemplified in the night markets of Taipei which is an essential part of the locals’ daily grind. These night markets are not only teeming with different varieties of food but also other essential items such as clothes, shoes, things for the homes, decorative items, and other entertainment related stuff.

For a tourist, the sights, smells, and most especially the taste of Taipei is out of this world in a good way. These foods have a long standing history behind them. Most of these recipes date back from the aborigines and from inhabitants of other countries who immigrated to Taiwan. A large number of these people come from mainland China and that is why there is a huge Chinese influence on Taipei food. This does not mean, however, that the food in Taipei does not have its own identity. In fact, Taipei food was able to evolve in a unique way.

Taipei cuisine is very diverse but some of the most widely used ingredients are white pepper, Taiwanese basil and oyster. They are also big on using different kinds of chilli, pickled veggies, and crushed peanuts. These local dishes are commonly referred to as xiao –chi and these foods are replete with different kinds of herbs, spices, sauces, and other types of seasoning. Most of these foods are prepared daily by families in Taipei.

Poultry based dishes are very popular in Taipei most especially deep-fried chicken. This is a common street food that school children usually eat for snacks. Although this may sound to be a very common type of food found in almost all countries, the difference in the taste lies on the batter to which the chicken cutlets are dipped into. To further enhance the taste, there are a wide variety of condiments to choose from. Curry, garlic, dried laver, and sometimes even plum are used to make the deep fried chicken possess an exotic taste. Apart from chicken, goose and duck are also widely used poultry animals in Taipei food.

Pork is also a popular street food in Taipei and is prepared in a variety of ways. Pork sausages are placed on skewers and to further enhance its taste, a glaze is put on top of it or condiments of your choice. For a tourist who is in search of exotic Insanity Workout review , he can try the pig’s blood cake which is spicy and is commonly served hot. The pig’s blood is combined with sticky rice, sliced into rectangles, and then put on skewers.

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June 23rd, 2011

A Brief Look into Taipei’s Most Popular Street Foods

A country’s cuisine is a reflection of its people, their way of life, and often their culture as well. For a traveller who wants to experience what a country can offer, sampling the local cuisine is one of the best things to do. The same is true with Taipei which is considered to be Taiwan’s most developed city.

People who visit the city of Taipei will surely have an enjoyable gastronomic experience. Their local cuisine is so diverse encompassing many kinds of food may it be meat dishes, seafood dishes, or vegetable dishes. They also have different kinds of desserts that will surely satisfy any person’s sweet tooth as well as different kinds of beverages that could quench any one’s thirst.

If a tourist wants to be able to experience genuine Taipei cuisine, going to their night markets is the most recommended thing to do. Street foods of numerous varieties are available on these daily night markets. One does not even have to spend a lot of money because most of these street foods come at a very cheap price. Apart from these, the night market is also a great place to get your ex back shop for trinkets and other souvenirs that one can bring back home. These too are available at affordable prices.

Seafood dishes are very common in Taipei cuisine. One of the most popular ones is called oyster omelettes. This somehow represents the Pacific heritage of the city. It is just a very simple dish with very basic ingredients which are eggs, starch, cilantro, and leaves of the chrysanthemum plant. The secret to this dish is its most important component which is freshly harvested oysters. The mixture will then be cooked with a small amount of oil over high heat. To make it even tastier, the oyster omelette can be eaten with a sweet chilli sauce. Another no no hair removal reviews of Taipei food which consists of oysters is called the oyster vermicelli. Vermicelli noodles are thin and transparent. This dish is made as a thick soup, somehow like a stew. Basic ingredients include fresh oysters, vermicelli noodles, pig intestines, vinegar, soy sauce, and freshly chopped cilantro leaves. This exotic flavoured dish is very filling and is available at a very reasonable cost. Marinated and then grilled squid is also a popular street food in Taipei which is placed on a stick for convenience in eating.

For those who have adventurous taste buds, the Taipei stinky tofu is a must try. It is a common street food and can be found almost anywhere in the city of Taipei. Most people, especially ab circle pro reviews tourists, get discouraged by its bad smell. It is said that the worst smelling tofu is also the tastiest. The smell is quite overpowering since the tofu is fermented. Despite the smell, it is actually quite tasty. Stinky tofu is available in different varieties. Some of them are cut in cubes and then fried. They are then eaten with pickles veggies and a condiment that is made up of different kinds of spices, garlic, and soy paste. Grilled stinky tofu is also available and one can eat it with a simple a glaze or with a sauce made from duck’s blood called Mala.

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June 23rd, 2011

What You Need to Know about Taipei Food

In the city of Taipei, the people’s approach to food is different from most. Not only do they consider it as a way to nourish their bodies but also a time for them to bond with no no hair removal review people who are important to them. The local people’s Taipei food culture can be summed up into a handful of words. It is a means for them to celebrate life and to interact with other members of the community.

Most tourists who come and visit the city of Taipei are amazed by its immense variety of food offerings making them think of this Asian city as one of the world’s leading culinary museums. A lot of the city people’s activities revolve around food. Most of them meet during evening for a snack with close friends. There are also a lot of celebrations with food as the star of each special occasion.

The origins of Taipei food are diverse and long standing. In fact, most of the Taipei dishes available today date as far back as the aboriginal times. The influence of Chinese culture is also very obvious in Taipei cuisine. This can only be expected since a lot of Chinese have immigrated to this city. There are even some traces of Japanese and Portuguese influence on Taipei food. Immigrant from other Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand are also recognizable. The geographical location of the city of Taipei also played a huge role in the diversity of its local cuisine. Because of this, the city has easy access to loads of seafood, meats, fruits, and veggies of different varieties.

Same with other countries, the locals of Taipei take in three basic meals each day with three snacks in between. Meals and snacks are usually taken with Chinese tea or fruit juice. Another important thing to take note of is that the foods in Taipei are quite exotic in nature so some tourists may be uncomfortable about trying some of them. Of course, there are other choices that cater to those who are not that adventurous when it comes to food. Some Taipei foods have very strong smells. An example of this is the hair removal stinky tofu. From the name itself, this kind of food is smelly but very delicious if one is able to go beyond its stinky aroma. It is made up of fermented tofu which is either deep fried or grilled and served with a variety of condiments. It is said that the smellier the tofu, the better tasting it is. The texture and presentation of some Taipei food may also be very different but this is just part and parcel of discovering the cuisine of other cultures.

For someone who wants to experience genuine Taipei cuisine, the best place to go is the night market where street food is widely available in very affordable prices. Even during day time, one can find a lot of food stalls scattered around various points of the city. These food stalls offer poultry dishes as well as sea food and meat dishes. They also serve a variety of beverages such as the bubble tea or pearl milk tea.

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June 23rd, 2011

Some Basic Facts about the Food Culture in Taipei

One of the things that shape the identity of a certain country is food culture. It is a way through people from other countries can get to know a certain nation. Taipei, for instance, is a melting pot of many different nationalities which have immigrated to the city. The diversity cannot only be observed in the faces of people but in the food as well. Taipei food is classified into different luminess air reviews categories and these are Holo, Hakka, Hunan, Jiangxhe, Hong Kong, Sichuan, and northern style. Each of these categories of Taipei cuisine signifies a certain kind of influence.

The roots of Taipei food can be traced from way back the time of aborigines. Most of the local influence consisted of many seafood components. These ingredients are used in several Taipei dishes which are still very popular up to the present time. Examples of these are oyster vermicelli or o-a-mi-suann and oyster omelette or o-a-tsian. Both of these dishes are actually very simple. The oyster omelette is made up of fresh oysters and eggs as well as several simple kinds of spices such as fresh cilantro leaves and white pepper. On the other hand, oyster vermicelli is a kind of seafood stew with reddish, transparent vermicelli noodles and fresh oysters.

One of the distinct characteristics of Taipei cuisine is the lack or very little presence of beef dishes. Even in other Taiwanese cities, beef is not commonly used in every day meals. Usually, meat dishes have pork as its main ingredient. A good example of this is stewed pork which is served with rice. Another popular pork dish is called the bah-uan which is a dumpling filled with meat inside. Mixed with the pork are young bamboo shoots and chopped mushrooms. For the dough, starch made from sweet potatoes is used. This renders a savoury sweet taste to the dish.

Food served in established Taipei restaurants differ from those offered in small and quaint eating establishments found in many parts of the city. These so-called street foods are more accurate representations of the city’s food culture. Generally, these dishes are known as xiao-chi. Although most of these edibles are not usually presented in an elegant way, they are still loaded with the authentic flavors of Taipei.

Dumplings are a staple in every day Taipei cuisine. It comes in different varieties and flavors. Some of them are eaten as is while there are others that are placed in soups and sometimes stews. Din Tai Fung dumplings are very popular and are usually served with steamed buns. One may also choose to eat it with condiments of his choice but the tastiest is the chihuahua training sauce which is made up of black vinegar, chilli, garlic, soy sauce, and fresh cilantro. Soup dumplings, otherwise known as wonton soup, is a must try for tourists. The broth is delicious by itself and the meat stuffed into each of the dumplings is bursting with flavour. All in all, Taipei wonton soups are very filling and are enough to satisfy a hungry stomach.

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June 23rd, 2011

Taipei Cuisine: A Combination of Different Cultures

A lot of things about a country’s identity can be gleaned from its local cuisine. Taipei, in particular, has foods that exhibit the influences it has obtained from various immigrants coming from different countries most especially Asian ones. Taipei cuisine, in general, can be divided into three general groups. These are the aboriginal foods, Holo or Minnanese foods, and the Hakka dishes.

Taipei is teeming with a wide array of livestock and sea creatures. This has lead hunting and fishing to flourish in this city even up to this day. As a result, there is a constant supply of different motorcycle auctions varieties of fresh seafood, red meats, poultry, vegetables, and fruits. Because of the easy availability of ingredients, the local citizens of Taipei found it extremely convenient to cook traditional foods and make new recipes as well.

The early Chinese settlers had a very huge influence on the current Taipei cuisine particularly on the seafood dishes. Over the years, these original seafood recipes from the settlers were gradually changed and adapted into the preferences of the locals.

Another group of settlers called the Hakka people entered Taipei and also exerted their own influence on the native culture. The Hakka people lived simply and their way of life can be observed from the food that they prepared. Their recipes were all tasty and with great aromas. The foods were also flavoured with salt and a variety of oils. Some examples of Hakka dishes which are still cooked in many homes and restaurants up to the present time are steamed pork that is served with dry mustard cabbage, steamed chicken, stir fried Hakka which consists of pork, squid, and bean curd, as well as the dried mustard green soup which otherwise referred to by the locals as the lucky veggie soup.

The foods which are eaten by most Taipei locals on a daily basis are called xiao-chi. There are 8 basic components of a xiao chi or local Taipei cuisine.

The first basic ingredient is poultry. This includes chicken and duck dishes. Examples are salted duck which is boiled, roast duck, stewed chicken in Chinese herbs, smoked and marinated duck, chicken steamed in wine, steamed chicken strips with wine.

The second basic ingredient is seafood. This includes oyster omelette, oyster vermicelli, mangrove crab and milkfish porridge, and grilled marinated squid.

The third basic ingredients are rice and noodles. This includes stuffed flour dumplings, oyster vermicelli noodles, and Nantou noodles.

The fourth basic ingredient is meat. This includes dumplings stuffed with meatballs (a dish called bah-uan), cow viscera food, and pork’s blood cake which is a mixture of boiled pork blood and sticky rice. Steamed, stewed, and salted pork, beef, or mutton dishes are also very popular Taipei meat fare.

The fifth basic ingredients are bean curd and veggies. This includes stinky tofu and Daxi bean curd.

The sixth basic ingredients are seasonings and sauces. This includes pickled veggies, soy sauce sauce, and oyster sauce.

The seventh basic ingredient is pastries. This includes dumplings, rice balls, and salty pie.

The eighth basic ingredient is the beverages. This includes Hakka leicha or pounded tea, sugarcane juice, and the pearl milk tea which has become very popular worldwide.

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