Taiwan- noodle shop

There are some local noodle shops by where I live in Taiwan. They are usually served for breakfast or lunch. Noodles are so cheap (less than $1 a bowl), now, let's see what these noodle shops offer!

乾麵－ Plain noodles with a simple sauce made with vinegar, sesame oil. Next to it, we got some kelp and tofu! Simple and yummy!

Another noodle shop, here, they have tofu, meat, and pork intestine topped with a thick soy sauce and ginger. You might be a little grossed out by intestines, but they are actually served a lot in Taiwanese dishes.

A closer look at the meat that is served along side of noodles.

This is Taiwanese style noodles, noodles served in a thicker sauce and topped with chives and bean sprouts.

For less than $5, you can surely get a full and delicious breakfast meal! I love Taiwan!

Taiwan- KiKi Restaurant

Kiki is also one of my favorite restaurants in Taiwan. We were here three times within one week. Crazy, I know, but this Szechuan inspired restaurant has such great food, great service, and great ambiance.

This is 口水雞. The direct translation would be Saliva Chicken, but don't be alarmed, it does not contain saliva! Served cold, the tender chicken is topped with a spicy sauce. It is actually quite refreshing for some strange reason.

擔擔麵－ Dan dan noodles- noodles in a spicy peanut sauce. They make a great one at Kiki, peanuty, spicy, with a hint of tang from Chinese vinegar.

臘肉高麗菜－Cabbage with Chinese bacon. I said bacon, should I elaborate more?

蒜泥白肉－ steamed slices of pork with a garlic soy sauce. This dish is light yet tasty!

干扁四季豆－ minced meat sauteed with string beans. Crunchy and full of flavor.

This is my fav- 蒼蠅頭, direct translation- mosquitos heads. Don't be scared! It's really made of chives and fermented beans! They make a great dish here! I can eat a whole bowl of rice with just this!

水煮魚－water boiled fish. This dish was actually a disappointing one for me. Not enough taste, and not enough fish.

And this is their number one dish- 老皮嫩肉，direct translation, old skin tender meat. Tofu was so tender and delicious, it's a must-get!

Taiwan- Ding Tai Fong 鼎泰豐

I know I have already wrote about this restaurant last summer, but this is probably the most famous restaurant in Taiwan. This Michelin rated restaurant is just so delish, I just have to show it to you again.

The famous soup dumplings.

My personal favorite, fried rice.

Their savory zong zi, sticky rice with meat on the inside.

Hot and sour soup.

Here we have the sweet zong zi.

Filled with red bean paste, just the right amount of sweetness.

 That's all. If you are interested, feel free to visit their website- here
And if you ever visit Taiwan, be sure to visit here!

Taiwan- Street Food

After a crazy month with finals and a three week trip to Taiwan, I am finally back!

In the next few posts, I will be introducing some delicious goods from my trip to Taiwan. What's better than starting with what Taiwan is famous for, street food?!

This is a look of a typical night market. Filled with clothes, food, and right now, iphone cases...

Ah, pork blood rice cake with cilantro and ground peanut… can't get better than this!

Bahn mi, Vietnamese sandwich.

Little mochi balls filled with ground peanut or ground sesame. So chewy and so good.

Oh, you know, just another vendor with chicken hearts, chicken butt, chicken liver, chicken skin, to be fried or grilled with amazing barbecue sauce!

Pork buns- choose either fatty pork or lean pork, and add peanut powder, cilantro, and preserved vegetables.

There are tea places like this everywhere. This is where you get your bubble tea or any kind of refreshing beverages!

This was new, I found this dim sum vendor at a night market. Look at all the steamed shu mais, Chinese meat balls and dumplings!

This, was delicious. This was freshly made sweet potato fries sprinkled with ling hing, a dried plum powder.

And here we have fried stinky tofu, can't go wrong with this.

Ah, this bun, this delicious, soft, bun… wait till you see what they do with this－

冰火菠蘿包－Cut the warm bun in half and shove a slice of icy butter in… you bet it was delicious.

My love for brussel sprouts

So I have decided to officially declare brussel sprouts as my absolute favorite vegetable. I actually didn't realize how much I love them until the past few years. There is just something about that texture and flavor that I just absolutely love.

Did I mention bacon? no? well, bacon and brussel sprouts is the new peanut butter and jelly. #justsaying.

This is my favorite way to make brussel sprouts- It's so easy, you cant go wrong.

Wash the brussel sprouts and just cut them in half. Lay them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper (sometimes I like to add a little bit of red pepper flakes too). Pop them in the 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Layer on the bacon and put it back for another 15-20 minutes.

I like to put them in for more than 30 minutes because I actually like the "drier" texture and taste… Depends on you, you can just put them in for 15 minutes if you like them that way.