#10 The Fruit, the Food & the Dining Experience

#10 The Fruit, the Food, and the Dining Experience

The abundance, freshness, and the variety of fruit here in Taiwan is indescribable. It’s seemingly one of the most incredible places to find and devour fruit. Being an island with mountains and tropical weather, more fruit is grown here than I could have dreamt existed. Taiwan even exports fruit to places you would already think have exceptional fruit, such as Japan. Fresh fruit markets and juice shops can be found every few kilometers in most areas of Taiwan. They have apples (even waxed apples!), oranges, grapes, and kiwi, enormous to miniature bananas, the sweetest strawberries (winter season) and the juiciest pineapples. They also have mango *, lychee, pomelo, guava, star fruit, papaya, dragonfruit, and newly discovered to me this year, passion fruit! I could go on, but I think you get the point. This video does a great job showing the excitement of Taiwan’s fruit and food markets. http://jetsettimes.com/2013/10/21/20-must-trys-fruits-taiwan/

Passion fruit. Tangy and sweet.

Golden Mango

Yu Win Mangoes, Wuxiang Mangoes, Awin Mangoes

Bigger is sometimes better. 

 M A N G O     S H A V E D     I C E 

I should admit right away, that food has never been a huge passion of mine to chase. While there are articles, videos, and photos all over the world wide web of just how great Taiwanese food is, (and it is!) I never desired to be the trailblazer of discovering the most unique, delicious or disturbing entrees out there. However, I have tried nearly everything that I have been presented with, minus shark fin soup and chicken feet, and I’ve enjoyed much of it. But let’s move on.

A popular late night snack, sausages.

Love me some noodles. 

Food comes in a variety here as well, yet different than what you might imagine. While you can easily find restaurants and shops of all internationalities, Taiwanese ‘traditional’ food is much simpler, with more than a few great specialties. The food here is simple in that is usually consists of a base of rice or noodles. This is often enjoyed with meat of some kind and an assortment of vegetables (often leek or cabbage). Here in Taiwan pig and chicken are most often ate, but duck, goat, and cow are also easy to find. Seafood, often squid, is also very popular among Taiwanese.

Squid at night market in Kenting. 

Side Bar: As I’ve come to learn many things- and not just about the inhumane slaughterhouses in the USA-, I try my best to eat as little meat as possible. You should (more than considerate it) too!

Bubble Milk Tea (not my own photo)

It’s also worth mentioning all the unique foods, desserts, and teas that you can get here. The most popular tea that came from Taiwan was 'boba' or bubble milk tea. This isn’t a drink fit for someone wanting a refreshing drink. Each slurp your mouth becomes full of marble sized tapioca balls that you can chew up. They don’t really have a flavor, nor have I found a purpose, but it’s a cute drink that’s grown very popular even outside of Taiwan. While I enjoy milk tea often, the tapioca pearls never grew on me. My favorite tea is honey green tea. Passion fruit and mango green tea are also spectacular. Some of my absolute favorite soups are MISO* soup, beef noodle soup, sweet red bean soup, and ginger soup.  Dumplings and Dim Sum are a must try. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, fillings, and flavors, often in an assortment of each.

Sometimes we have to laugh. 

Beef Noodles

Dim Sum

This guy loved the dumplings. 

Taiwan's quick and easy. 

I’ve also always enjoyed the BBQ, especially over a long weekend and near the ocean. In Taichung, Joe John’s BBQ is my favorite. They serve meat on a stick wrapped in or around tomatoes, greens veggies, or some scrumptious enoki mushrooms.

Always a great time for a BBQ, even more so after a day in the ocean! ^^

Dive Buddy BBQs are the best.

Baby octopus or squid, not sure, but chewy. 

For breakfast, radish (lo bogaow) cakes are soft and delicious.
Add on your favorite meat or cheese to an egg pancake (danbing) for the classic favorite of many.

My first Hot Pot 2013

A trip to Taiwan wouldn’t be complete without trying Hot Pot. Hot Pot is just that, a pot of hot ‘soup’ placed over an individual fire just for you. Included on the side are self-serve-able vegetables and meat you place into the boiling pot. The meal usually comes with a bowl of rice, sauces, and a tea as well.

You can also order hot pot for two, like many spicy hot pot shops nearby, or for the entire table, which is exciting, but often one person is stuck keeping eyes on the continuation of food being cooked and served.

Restaurant called 'Modern Toilet' where everything reflects a bathroom and its utilities.  

Taiwanese families are always so excited to invite and share food with foreigners. 

Most meals are served and enjoyed 'family style with Taiwanese families and friends sitting around a large round table, often with a rotating 'lazy susan' in the middle. One person orders for the entire family, plates and bowls of dishes and soups are brought out as they are finished and everyone is encouraged to share and enjoy the food. For Westerners, this is a foreign concept in many ways (and admittedly took me some time to adjust to), but I’ll continue. 

Sharing a duck soup with work mates, the WHOLE duck! ^^

Family style meal with best Taiwanese friend Gina - Winter 2014

Having a meal in the mountains with an aboriginal tribe southeast Taiwan Feb 2014. 

Endless options in the night markets. 

Grab some to go.

There are other options for getting food in Taiwan, as the cost is so low, very few families keep refrigerators full of food here. More so, a run to the store is to pick up a few items for tonight’s meal. At the markets (fast food) or small 'mom and pop' shop meals will run you about $3 to $6 USD per meal. At an international family restaurant you’ll pay between $5 to $15 USD, and if you want a nice full set meal in a gorgeous restaurant on the top of a department store you’ll pay around $15- $40 USD per meal. The more Western restaurants, and ones that provide more of a service to larger parties, will add on 8-10% gratuity for the table’s bill, otherwise there is literally NO tipping at all!!

Din Tai Fong with Cousin Jessica and Nick - May 2018. (This was their favorite meal of their trip to Taiwan! ^^)

 While it still seems to blow minds, it works easily with a few well known standards. First, order and pay at the front counter before or after you have found your seat, that way when your meal is finished; You get up and leave whenever You wish! Second, water is usually dropped off at your table in a pitcher with cups or you can self-serve. The rest of your drinks will arrive with your meal, rarely ever before. Third, food arrives as it is ready, not when the entire table’s order is ready. While these last two may seem as an annoyance at first, you’d soon realize you don’t need three drinks in one sitting. And an early arrival of one’s entrée doesn’t mean they have to share, but it does provide for more of an appreciation, discussion, and excitement over the food arrived and arriving. Best case scenario, you get to try more than one dish, and relieve some pressure from the wait staff. (Having been a waitress in the states, I know the arrival of early drinks is only meant to sell more products, plain and simple.) Also think of the food that could be saved if we started sharing some dishes!

It'll be hard to enjoy sushi in the Midwest again. 

Another standard in place and understood is portion size or more simply put, not wasting food! In Taiwan you finish your meal, usually because it's delicious and the right amount, but also because leaving half eaten bowls or unfinished plates in not acceptable. It's not acceptable when you are 2, 22, 52 or 102. 

Even McDonald's costumers recycle.

Also the majority of Taiwanese take the extra minute to separate compost from recyclable material when disposing.  Throwing out half-eaten meals, even throwing food away with recyclable papers and plastics is not the usual option here. I hope one day, we, in the USA, rid ourselves of this careless behavior. 

In addition to recycling paper, glass, and plastic, Taiwan compost trucks. 

Peijo with some pengyous before making some BBQ together. 

Overall, the experience at restaurants, (even with the language gap!) is much friendlier and stress-free for servers and customers alike in Taiwan. Plus, food is incredibly fresh! You know in Taiwan that the food you are eating is some of the best in quality and locally grown. Daily, I am grateful for being blessed to live in a place that has provided me such healthy food to put into my body and sustain me. Not only for the taste and variety, but for my long term health!

Grocery stores on the weekend are highly active. 

Grocery stores are usually always within walking distance. Many times there are samples being given out and I've walked in a few times when bread had just been made. Less preservatives are used in the food here so fruits, veggies, and breads should be eaten within a week or two of buying them. Along with that, occasionally they run out of veggies and meats, but soon it's restocked, another way to tell of it's freshness.   

Before I wrap up, I must mention that some of my favorite meals in Taiwan were not necessarily Taiwanese food. They’ve come from family restaurants from all around the world; India, Pakistan, Turkey. While I fell in love with many dishes of Southeast Asia; Green Curry, Pad Thai, Pho, I couldn’t be more thankful to be introduced to Indian food.

Taro Balls

Dos & Donts:
Do lift bowls of rice, noodles, and small plates off the table to make eating with chopsticks easier. 
Don't point at things with your chopsticks. 
Do use the oppostie end of your chopsticks to put food on your plate from a shared dish on the table. 
Don't leave your chopsticks sticking up in rice or other food. 
Do fill the glasses of people around you. 
Don't drink until everyone has been served and others around you raise their glasses for a toast. 
Do say cheers or "Kampai" when making a toast. 
Don't finish what's in your glass if you don't want another one- someone will fill it up. 


To end on a good note, here is a photo of one of the adorable cakes so common to have here in Taiwan. Also a link to the 13 must try desserts of Taiwan. 

 -K 

#11 Taiwan's Nightlife & Music Scene

On my third night in Taiwan we went to XCUBE, a former favorite club.

#11 Music Scene & the Nightlife; inexpensive, safe and absolutely wild

In my first couple of years in Taiwan, this could have been a top three addiction of mine. Easily. Due to the tropical weather, the season is seemingly always ON for a beach event, BBQ, food festival, park activities, and more. Not only are there continuous year round outdoor options, the clubs in Taiwan resemble the types of clubs you would find in Las Vegas, or in large cities in the USA. Smoke, lasers, dancing girls, incredible DJs, accessible VIP lounges, bottle service, etc. 

First night at a Taiwan club, the theme happened to be Playboy. 

The photo quality from the professional photographers hired for the club is exceptionally better. 

The best part, for young 20-some things that aren’t making much money yet, nearly every weekend you could find a club with a low cover fee and unlimited drinks. Yeah, you read that right, unlimited alcoholic drinks. And yes, you can already assume it is often the foreigners who use and abuse this iconic privilege. Not only are they allowing us to get absolutely plastered and dance our hearts out to a set list that could often be charged top dollar for, there is basically no crime, no robbery, no theft, while you’re out on the town. (However, no place is perfect.) You can check your coat and your bag (for free) if you’d like, but often you can just leave it at a table or booth and don’t need to worry about anyone snagging it. 

A picture is worth a thousand words. ^^

Met two of the greatest Taiwanese friends while dancing at the club! 

10/10/13 Taiwan's birthday.
Another great shot captured and edited by the club. 

Rock Star Themed Party as the S P I C E  G I R L S  6/15/14

Captivating lights and music videos play throughout the DJ's set lists.

Another fun tradition in Taiwan, (and many other places in SE Asia) is KTV or Karaoke Television. You can pre-book a room for X amount of hours, BYOB, and if you've got a big enough group you can get a VIP room with your own restroom, singing booth, and projector screens. KTV guarantees for one of the best times to be had. We usually did this 1-2 times per year with as many teachers who could make it. Other times, one might be asked by a random friendly family to join in their KTV room, or one could even go on a whim with a group a friends and strangers at 5 in the morning when they just don't want to say goodbye to a good night. 

N O C H E     L A T I N OMy favorite city in Taiwan is Kaohsiung. I like that it is noticeable that the ocean is nearby due to the harbors. I also like that the roads are much wider.  In my favorite city, sits my favorite club, Brickyard, (at least during the time I was regular clubber ^^). I liked that it was underground. I also really enjoyed the closeness of the stage / performers to the dance floor, and that they regularly played sets of Latin music. ^^ 

Halloween and making girl friends in the bathroom.
Two more late night favorites of mine. ^^

Quite a few big headliners have come to Taiwan as well, although sad to say, many have canceled at the last minute. Some with no reason (T.Pain, then Pitbull) and others due to unfortunate events (Ed Sheeran). We’ve also had Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and Coldplay (the Taiwanese went NUTS).

The summer before I arrived, Lady Gaga had performed in Wenxin Park, this outdoor public amphitheater. 

C O L O R       P L A Y  

Sept. 2013 -  The best last minute decision I was forced into making. 

C O L O R     P L A Y 

The music festivals seem to grow in abundance and attendance every year. Yet the biggest event to happen as far as music and night life would be in the first week of April every year over the double holiday of Children’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day. Always a four day weekend, sometimes five, Taiwanese and foreigners of (literally) all ages flee to the beaches of Kenting for three days of DJs, pool parties, beaches, volleyball, football (soccer), food, and more foreigners! It’s the only yearly event where I’ve met people who actually come to Taiwan for the event.

Free the Beach April 2014

DJ FAMOUS     / /      KENTING

Beach Parties

Pool Parties

After Parties 

Overall, the Taiwanese are night owls. It’s pretty regular to have a late dinner, a midnight movie, and a three am night. Mornings aren’t so rushed either. Our school day begins at 9 am, many shops aren’t even open until 10. I partially wonder if it’s the fact we are a half day ahead of the Western world, as far as time zone, that leads to the lenient times, or the more likely reason, they've just kept a good tradition (like taking short naps mid-day). Nonetheless, in a city of nearly 3 million, if you’re up at 7 am the streets are quiet. Waking up 5 or 6 am it looks like a ghost town, and you’ll be making your own breakfast. It’s a great time to snag a bus out of town and get a head start on traveling with significantly less people.

- K

"No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got plenty of sleep."