1. food and drink

CURBSIDE
CUISINE
E
at everything” should be the rule of thumb
for all visitors to Taiwan. Or at least for those
who are keen to explore the island’s diverse
food culture. It’s what the Taiwanese do –
and it’s what tourists should do as well.
Taiwan’s culture is as diverse as its food.
During its turbulent history, Taiwan has been governed by
Portugal, Holland and Japan. Immigrants from the southern
Chinese provinces of Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Hakka have
been a part of Taiwanese history since the beginning and, in
1949, Chiang Kai-Shek’s defeated Republic of China
government retreated here, bringing tens of thousands of
Chinese immigrants with it.
Add these various cultural and culinary influences to those
of the native aboriginal Taiwanese and you have the explosion
of flavours that makes up Taiwan’s food and because it is an
island, seafood has a major role to play.
Locals have a love of food that is quite epic. For
generations, they have been practising the habit of eating
little and often – something Western nutritionists are only
now starting to get their heads around. Good food is
everywhere, 24 hours a day and it is impossible to go hungry.
Even the ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores, which are literally on
every street corner (some 2,600 of them throughout the
island) will sell you noodles or eggs stewed in soy at any hour.
And food stalls line every street, selling freshly cooked meals
from early morning until late at night.
But go to the night markets if you want to really get the
lowdown on Taiwanese street food. Found in every city in
Taiwan, they start to come alive at around 5pm and continue
till well past midnight. Where night markets in most other
MANY PEOPLE REGARD
THE STREET FOOD OF
TAIWAN AS THE BEST IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA.
Words and photos by Mark Llewellyn.
Street markets in Taipei are a riot of colour, noise, smells and great tastes. Fresh fruit and vegetables are grown locally.
Asian countries do food to accompany shopping, in Taiwan it
is the other way round; food first, shops second. And I like
that.
Taipei has around five major night markets, each
specialising in something a little different. Shilin is easily the
largest and best known. Easy to get to via the efficient MRT
system, it is a must-see for visitors, and is a great place to start
discovering the real Taiwanese street food.
Wander around, amidst the noisy, happy crowds, and soak
up the sights, sounds and aromas. Virtually every stand under
the vast roof of this open-sided arena is cooking something
interesting. Barbecues are laden with sausages, corn, squid or
pork, and everywhere are bubbling cauldrons of soup with
noodles. Most of the stalls are quite basic – some stools, a
couple of tables, a tank of gas for the burner and a barbecue,
a pot, or a steamer for cooking.
Your olfactory senses will get the biggest workout as you
walk past the many stinky tofu stalls. Cho dofu, as it’s
known, is one of the national favourites and is actually
marinated, fermented tofu, usually braised or deep-fried and
served with a special chilli sauce and preserved vegetables.
Acrid, sharp and pungent, the smell is, frankly, shocking. But
don’t let this put you off, because the finished dish is
absolutely delicious and not at all smelly. The preserved
vegetables add a contrasting crispness to the tofu and the
chilli sauce is the perfect foil to the flavour. I can understand
why it’s so popular – 23 million Taiwanese can’t be wrong –
and it became one of my staples, too.
Many of Taiwan’s dishes are noodle-based and quite souplike. For example – and here is another national treasure –
beef noodle soup, flavoured with garlic, ginger and star anise,
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is savoury and satisfying. Variations on this theme abound,
with pork, tofu and cuttlefish versions always on offer.
Street food is safe to eat because it is all freshly prepared
and turnover is very high. While much of it is recognisable,
quite a lot isn’t, and it appeared to me there were a lot of
unidentifiable dishes being eaten. Take courage, though, as it
is all reputed to be good for various parts of the body, soul or
mind: it will make you brainier; prevent heart-attacks; aid
digestion and stomach ailments; or even make you more
virile. In fairness, though, the Chinese have been aware of the
benefits of food for thousands of years. But forget all that,
because the important thing is that it tastes good. It’s cheap
too – most dishes will set you back somewhere between $2
and $4.
Yes, some of the street food does come from the lesserknown end of the food spectrum: entrails, wings, knuckles,
feet, tongues and blood jelly are common. During my nightmarket travels, I was constantly confronted with the
unknown. But adopting a brave when-in-Taipei-do-what-thelocals-do attitude, I chomped my way through many, many
good dishes which I may otherwise have missed out on. For
example, four spirits soup is a tasty, clear consomme made
from barley, seeds and chicken intestines. Delicious, with a
homely chicken broth flavour to it, and it’s good for my
digestion, too. Who could ask for better?
But street food isn’t all about the unusual. Who can resist
salted crispy chicken, crunchy and golden? Or steamed
dumplings? Or one of the many varieties of congee – a type
of rice soup, thick and satisfying? And you must try another
of my favourites – minced pork with rice and stewed eggs,
redolent with the tang of five-spice, cinnamon and garlic.
The all-time favourite for locals and visitors has to be the
famous Orh lua, or oyster omelette. Plump oysters are first
fried on a hot plate, eggs and a flour batter are added and
then fresh lettuce. It’s served with spring onion and a sweet
chilli sauce and is just superb.
If you are feeling more adventurous, take a taxi to the Hua
Xi night market, otherwise known as Snake Alley. This really
is home to the unusual and, as the name implies, it’s where
you will get the chance to try snake. Once upon a time,
snakes were selected live from glass tanks, slaughtered in front
of a gasping crowd of onlookers and then taken away, cooked
and brought back to the diners. These days, however, things
are whole lot more civilised and the killing is done discreetly
out of sight. Partly out of interest and partly for the sake of
research, I had to try something here and so I ordered the
NT$250 (around $11 ) special. For my money, I got a bowl
of snake soup – a largely tasteless, clear broth with four
pieces of white snake meat in it – and a tray of shot glasses
with colourful liquids in them. Now, some people might tell
you snake meat tastes like chicken, but I disagree because I
identified a more fishy flavour. The shot glasses were
altogether more interesting, containing blood, venom, bile
and a couple of unidentifiable ones. The common flavour,
though, was alcohol, because minute portions of snake juice
are mulled with a massive amount of rice wine. Still, it was
entirely palatable – most probably because of the wine – and
I left there a little wobbly but pleased, at least, that I’d given
it a try.
If you fancy some time away from Taipei, don’t worry
about starving – street food is everywhere. I checked out the
famous Keelong night markets, about 35 minutes by train
north of Taipei city. They were as busy as ever, and if
anything, people there were even friendlier than they had
been in Taipei. I didn’t see many other white faces there, and
many local people would smile and say hello. The food,
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Taiwanese food takes its inspiration from all over Southeast Asia and convincingly adds local influence and ingreadients. Visitors will take
delight sampling delicious dishes, from simple barbequed prawns through to local favourites such as beef noodle soup.
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meanwhile, was spectacular. Here I discovered a famous
Taiwanese delicacy: pineapple cakes, a short pastry cake filled
with pineapple jelly.
If you visit Keelong, take the time to visit the geopark, just
a few kilometres west at the quaint fishing village of Yeliou.
Here, in this beautiful coastal environment, you’ll see
limestone structures that have been naturally eroded into
remarkable shapes: mushrooms, candle wicks, stem
ginger, a hippopotamus and, most famous of all, the
Queens Head.
It’s worth strolling around Yeliou because you’ll get a
glimpse of a different and altogether more peaceful Taiwan.
Tranquil and quiet it may be, but you still won’t go hungry.
Fish shops and cafés line the lanes, their outdoor tanks filled
with the morning’s catch. I selected some prawns and a
couple of crabs at one of the cafés and moments later I was
seated inside, dunking freshly cooked prawns into a gingerand-vinegar dipping sauce and relishing every bite.
It was here that I was offered blowfish, or fugu, you know
the one, that most poisonous of fish which the Japanese
famously eat as a sort of challenge. The owners of the shop
must have taken some delight watching my face as they
pulled two from a tank and started butchering them – and
not too surgically in my opinion. Most of the fish was
discarded and what remained was quickly cooked up in a
delicate broth. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t a just a tiny
bit nervous as I prepared myself to sample it, although part of
Where to stay
In what is possibly the finest location in Taipei City, in
Xinyi district, beneath the towering Tapei 101, sits the Grand
Hyatt Taipei.
Newly refurbished at a cost of US$100 million, the hotel
offers up 853 new rooms and suites, each finished to the
highest standard. Guest rooms are toned in muted greys with
natural wood accents and reflect extraordinarily good taste.
Mine had a stunning view of Taipei 101, a constant reminder
of the splendour of one of the most beautiful buildings
anywhere in the world.
Uniquely, The Grand Club, occupying two upper floors, is
an exclusive, boutique hotel within the hotel. Guests there
enjoy personalised service and have access to the Grand Club
Lounge, which serves complimentary breakfast, all-day tea
and coffee and evening cocktails.
There are no fewer than 10 restaurants and bars scatterred
throughout the Grand Hyatt Taipei. High tea is served every
afternoon in the Chia Lounge, while in the Pearl Liang
Restaurant master chefs prepare all manner of dim sum
dishes as well as the freshest seafood, taking advantage of
Taiwan’s incredible ocean bounty.
My favourite dining spot had to be Irodori, a buffet-style
Japanese restaurant where elaborate and authentic dishes are
prepared in an open kitchen before your eyes. Mountains of
large crabs sit next to king prawns, tempura and sushi. It’s
hardly street food, I know, but it’s still good value.
The Grand Hyatt Taipei, then, is a superb hotel and a
restful haven to return to after your days and nights exploring
all that this lovely city has to offer.
Opposite page; Japanese dishes are common at night markets. Above: The Grand Hyatt Taipei, next door to Taipei 101.
Below, clockwise from top left: The open kitchen at Irodori; from the lobby to every guest room, the decor has been exquisitely
tailored in the hotel’s $100 million refurbishment.
Photos: Grand Hyatt Taipei
me reasoned that no one was about to deliberately kill a
foreign journalist. Nevertheless, as I cautiously tried the soup,
the shop owners started to laugh and the joke became
obvious. It turned out that this species of blowfish, although
related to fugu, isn’t so lethal after all. And predictably
enough, it tasted wonderful.
It takes a certain sense of adventure to experience Taipei
street food properly. Sometimes you have to point and
gesture, and sometimes you just blindly try something
because it’s there. But do make sure you try Taiwanese
curbside cuisine, because you’ll absolutely love it.
www.taipei.grand.hyatt.com
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