December 21, 2012

Food Tour at Jiufen, Taipei

When I mentioned that I was visiting Taipei, one of the first recommendation from my friends were “you must visit Jiufen”. 九份 (Jiufen), according to our driver, got its name from the original nine households living in that area. Some time ago, there were only nine households living in the hill. Whenever someone went down the hill to buy something, he always buys nine servings/sets for each of the households. 九份 means nine servings in Chinese!

Jiufen is this really interesting place atop a hill and it seems like an endless winding maze of shops on both sides. Stalls sell food, drinks, trinkets, accessories and so on. I was initially worries that we will get lost in that “maze” but it basically leads out to an open area where you can enjoy the nice view. One of the first stalls that greeted my thirsty husband was this drip coffee stall. When the ice melts, the ice cold water drips into the coffee powder and the coffee formed is collected below. This way, it’s ice coffee without the ice, and the coffee does not get diluted.

These stalls selling grilled corn are aplenty in the night markets as well. Some stalls grill it as shown in the pictures and others put their corn in little roasting holes. The original flavour (the brown corn in the picture) is a mixture of butter, caramel, peppery sauce (or what tastes like it) and sesame seeds. The corn goes through each coating and is returned to the grill in between coats. The result is a rather chewy corn that may seem interesting to some; I would prefer the corn just basted with butter.

This popiah look-a-like snack is really unique. This stall that we saw was run by an old couple. The old uncle uses this wooden device to grind the peanut candy block. He then pours the ground peanut candy onto a popiah skin. His wife tops the peanut candy with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and some chopped spring onion. Yes you read and saw it right, that IS spring onion. She then rolls it up like a popiah. The taste is unlike anything I have tasted before. It is sweet no doubt, considering the peanut candy and the ice-cream but the addition of the spring onion changes the taste significantly. It adds a touch of savouriness, freshness and even spice. The texture of this snack adds to the enjoyment of it – the softness of the popiah skin contrasting with the crunch of the peanut candy and the melt in your mouth ice-cream. I really enjoyed it. Do you think this would be a hit if someone brought it to Singapore?

We went past numerous stalls selling Hong Zhao Ba Wan. Apparently it’s pork marinated in red wine wrapped in glutinous rice skin. We were too full and didn’t try any. The other reason was also that we did not know which stall to try from! There were so many stalls claiming to be the best or the most original!

All in all, we had fun at Jiufen. Ate some snails, bought a couple of ocarinas, trotted around in umbrellas (it was raining) and enjoyed the cool weather. I will be back. 🙂

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December 9, 2012

Food and sights of Ji Bao Li Old St, Taipei

We went on a day tour around the outskirts of Taipei and stopped by at Jinshan after visiting Yeliu Geopark. Ji Bao Li (thanks readers for the correction!) is an old street selling a variety of things and according to our driver, is popular with locals. We visited the place for lunch as it is apparently famous for their duck.

Before I talk about the braised duck, let me make a mention of their eating concept. It is a streetside hawker eating area, and there are two large areas with tables and chairs. I had to walk a short distance to where there are several stalls and make my orders there. Generally, the food is already prepared (like the duck is cut up in serving portions of 1/4 duck) and I just take what I want. The food is affordable. 1/4 braised duck costs about 200NT$ which works out to about $8.50. However, I do not pay at the stalls. I bring my food to the tables, finish eating, and based on the type of plates, I pay.

Back to the braised duck. It is rather bland without the sauce. Maybe it is because I am used to the salty ones back in Singapore? For this one, you truly taste the duck in all its meaty glory because there is not much seasoning used. Sure, by all means dip it into the sauce to enjoy a different flavour but to get the true essence of the duck, try it plain. The meat is also slightly tougher than what I am used to back at home. Personally, I think it is only average.

We ordered some noodles to go with the duck. These were really cheap at NT$60 (S$2.60), and rather tasty too.  After the meal, we went on a walk along Yongkang St to check out the other stalls.

The slight drizzle didn’t stop us from exploring this quaint old street and our friendly cab driver even came down to look for us to offer us umbrellas! Here are some of our finds:

Do you have any idea what this uncle is making? It is sweet and has two different kinds of filling – sesame and peanut. If you look at the next picture, you may be able to tell.

Still can’t tell? It’s traditional Dragon Beard Candy (龙须糖 Long Xu Tang). Hubby was ecstatic when he saw this stall. Not surprisingly, he bought a pack of it to bring along. I thought that Dragon Beard Candy would be cloyingly sweet but surprisingly, it was milder than I expected.

There were many stalls selling a variety of rice crackers and traditional biscuits. Initially, we didn’t want to buy any but we were tempted by this stall selling some ball rice crackers. They are the size of golf balls and have different flavours such as seaweed, sesame and peanut. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photographs! I was too busy testing out the flavours.

We saw this stall selling pink guavas and bought a pack to try. They are more fragrant than the ones we are used to (the ones with white flesh) but the seeds of these ones are really tough.

And, they sell mini porcupines at one of the stalls! Do you know what these are? If you do, participate in the little quiz on our facebook page and you may win something at our next giveaway!

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December 6, 2012

Taipei Ding Tai Fung vs Kao Chi (Part 2)

And so, my last post ended with my views on Kao Chi. What about Ding Tai Fung? Well, we went to the same area for dinner (my toddler woke up late from her afternoon nap and we decided not to venture too far), and surprise, Ding Tai Fung’s queue at 7.30pm was short! We decided to go for it (yes I know, two similar restaurants in a day?!), but how can we not try the original Ding Tai Fung right? Ok enough of my ramblings, here are the food pictures.

First up, xiao long bao. The texture of the filling is slightly different from the one at Kao Chi. The filling of the xiao long bao at Kao Chi is smoother – probably the meat is more finely minced. Taste wise, they are comparable. The xiao long bao here is less salty compared to the one served up at Ding Tai Fung Singapore. However, we did realise that most of the food here is less salty than the ones served in Singapore. Surprising?

This photo shows you the thin skin of the xiao long bao and the juicy soupy meaty goodness within. Yums! Did you know that the vinegar dip for xiao long bao should be 1 part soy sauce and 3 parts vinegar? The lovely waitress at Ding Tai Fung mixed it for us and shared this with us. I never knew!

We ordered the meat and vegetable dumplings. It tastes quite similar to the one back at home, except for the fact that it is slightly less salty. Delicious too!

We ordered some carbs to fill our tummy. Here is their egg fried rice with pork strips. The rice they use in Taiwan is short grain and so is slightly more al dente than the ones back at home. I find the egg fried rice here alot more tasty than the one at home.

Zha Jiang Mian is up next! I like the texture of the noodles. It is springy and not too soft. The taste of the sauce is just right, less salty than the one at home. We slurped up the noodles, and decided that it was time for some Suan La Tang (Hot and Sour soup)

Now, I am not a fan of hot and sour soup typically but this one was the right blend of spicy and sour and I actually liked it! We split the bowl among three adults and it was just nice.

For greens, we ordered stir fried spinach with beancurd skin. I don’t know how they cooked it, but for a simple dish, this was really good. The beancurd skin was soft and very flavourful, not salty like the ones we get back at home. The vegetables are slightly crunchy and the overall taste is just right.

And I missed out this double boiled beef soup that we ordered for my little bub. The one back at Singapore is pretty salty but the one here is not. Perfect for the little one (after removing the thin layer of oil atop).

Service wise, the one we get here in Taipei is tons better than the one in Singapore. The servers are warm, attentive and very friendly.

So Ding Tai Fung or Kao Chi? Honestly, the taste is comparable. If you’d like a less crowded and more private eating experience, go to Kao Chi. Nevertheless, the original Ding Tai Fung is definitely worth a visit.

 

 

 

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