蒜味肉羹 (Garlic flavored meat 'geng')

This place is in 宜蘭 (Yi Lan County), so I likely won't be going back. Actually, the only reason I got to go in the first place was because my Aunt K wanted to go, but even she said that they only get to go once every 3 years or so. So considering all that, I guess I got a real treat haha. It's called 蒜味肉羹 (suan wei rou geng), which is exactly what it sells. The store front is, uh... well it's pretty crappy. In a beat up back road like street, it's a shack that is roughly the size of a small studio in NYC. The 'kitchen' is outside, where there's a giant vat of soup broth, and a second vat of the pork and fish paste. Inside, there are only 3 tables, maybe a total of 15 cheap metal chairs, and pretty much nothing else. If hole in the wall could be quantified as a measurable statistic, then this place is off the charts. This clearly hasn't hurt business though, since it was absolutely packed (we waited 15 minutes just to share a table with another family), and there was a fairly long line waiting for takeout.


肉羹 (rou geng) translates to... honestly I don't know what it translates to. It's pork which has a layer of fish paste applied to the outside, the same paste that is used to make fish balls and tempura (the Taiwanese variety). When placed in a pork soup base thickened with cornstarch, and mixed with Jew's ear mushrooms, bamboo, cilantro, and garlic... what results is the quintessential Taiwanese street cart food known as rou geng. What sets this place apart is the garlic though. From about 100 meters away, you can smell the overwhelming smell of fresh garlic, which is their trademark. We ordered 2 orders of regular rou geng and 2 orders of 肉羹粿 (rou geng guo/gui), all of which were 45 NT ($1.50). Yet another triumphant win for Taiwan, I'm pretty sure 3buckbites would fail miserably here, not... enough... bandwidth. The rou geng was thick and gloopy (I'm not sure that's a real word) and tasted adequate enough, but the standout thing about this place was the fact that their meat was almost all pork, and just a thin layer of fish paste (really uncommon given how cheap Taiwanese vendors usually are), and also that the garlic is overwhelmingly spicy (no hot sauce needed). All in all, probably the best I've had in Taiwan, which is fairly high praise, since you can find this everywhere, and I've eaten this at a lot of place. The one with the noodles... uh, I didn't try it, but it's the same base, so I imagine it's probably pretty awesome too. Would I recommend this place...? Hmm... I really want to, I really do, but I hurt thinking about not being able to go back lol. That and I don't have the faintest clue what the address is. If you were to see that store frong though... stop your car, get out, eat a bowl, and get 10 to go. I swear you won't regret it.

I had a really good run this morning, did a lap around 大安... ran over to CKS memorial hall... ran over to the President's office (where I got to see their morning flag ceremony), then sprinted back to my house. I didn't bother timing it since I had to stand still for the flag thing, but it felt moderately well paced. Final distance ended up being much further than I wanted to run, which was 8k, since I came in around 6.76 miles. You know, since I started working, I've found that I'm much more fatigued in the morning, that I doze off at work during meetings (in front of the Taiwanese equivalent of Stephen Hawking no less), and that I don't want to run. I need to find a way to fix this.

distance for the day: 6.76 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 381.01 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Crepes... they're just really thin pancakes

I often find myself looking for a 2nd or 3rd lunch after eating my initial lunch. This was one of those cases. After eating a proper meal already, I was walking around and ended up in the 師大 (Shida) area, near the teacher's college. There's a night market there that is kind of famous, and ridiculously crowded, especially after finals (this week) and at night. Luckily, the place I wanted to go to has a store, and is open all day so I don't have to fight through the absurd crowds at night. I think the name is 阿諾式可麗餅 (Arnold's Crepes), but don't quote me on that... in case you forgot, I'm an ABC (American born Chinese) so my Chinese in the grand scheme of things is pretty suxxors. Anyway, it's located at the opening of the first alley on 師大路 (Shida Road), and there's always a line of people waiting, so it's pretty easy to find (I actually think there are a lot of locations, since it seems to be a chain). As far as the store... small shack style, I didn't eat in, so I can't comment on the interior, but everyone there was getting it to go. Let's just say... it's equivalent to street cart food. Would you want to eat in a small shack with tables set up by a chicken and rice cart? Nevermind, don't answer that.


There's actually a dizzying variety of flavors, from the dessert (including sundaes, red adzuki bean, taro), to the sweet, fruity varieties (mango, strawberry, peach, etc.), to the savory (ham, teriyaki chicken, grilled steak, pineapple shrimp). I probably should've taken a picture of the menu... since I'd be hard pressed to even list 25% of the their entire menu (here, you can read it yourself if you know Chinese :D). They basically spread their crepe batter over a giant round hot surface, and while it's crisping, they'll butter it with giant butter knives, and either spread your sweet pastes, ice cream, or fruits on top to caramelize, or start to layer the appropriate ingredients. In the time that they're applying the additional toppings, the crepe comes to a semi pliable firmness, at which point they take another giant spatula and proceed to scrape, and fold the giant concoction into a perfect cone. Watching this go on was actually half the fun haha. As far as pricing, nothing on the set list tops 100 NT ($3), and most things are in the 40-70 NT range, so it doesn't qualifty as cheap eats (in Taiwan anyway), but it certainly won't hurt your wallet. I chose to get the 黑胡椒豬肉 (black pepper pork) which was 60 NT ($2).


How was it? Well, imagine a thin crepe cookie first covered with more butter, then stacked with thinly sliced peppered pork (like ham really), which is then covered by 3 slices of american cheese, further stacked with a heaping handful of shredded lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers, and finally topped with an orange mayonnaise sauce (similar to thousand island, but I really want to say that I tasted miso too). It was basically a giant salad stuffed into a crepe which has been buttered to oblivion. I thought it was pretty good for the price, it was a lot of food (good for a light meal) for a fairly low price. On top of that, it made me feel like I was eating healthy (even though I clearly wasn't)... double win. The notable ingredient here was the sauce, which would even make someone who hates salad want to eat heaping mounds of lettuce. Would I recommend it though? Eh, that's questionable. It's kind of gimmicky, and while I thought it was good, it wasn't... 'I have to have another crepe tomorrow' good. So if having a giant salad in a cookie sounds tasty to you, by all means... get one, but don't feel like your missing out if you don't get it.

I did sprint intervals today! Actually I don't really know if what I did qualifies as that. People always told me to do HIIT, but I've found that I can't run fast enough to force myself to have to stop in 30 seconds, so I end up sprinting for 2 or 3 minutes. In any case, I ran fast... then I jogged... rinse, wash, repeat several times. I went to Taipei 101 and back, so total distance ended up being 5.41 miles. A bit short, but hey... it felt hard all the same.

distance for the day: 5.41 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 374.25 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Zhu Ji Xian Bing (朱記餡餅)

Some years back, before I fell in love with beef noodle soup... I had another obsession, which were these small round discs known as 餡餅 (xian bing). Little pockets of pan fried dough, akin to a thicker and larger pot sticker wrapper, is home to a little ball of minced meat (pork or beef) blended with a mix of the requisite ginger and garlic. They reminded me of my grandfather, since it's a Northern Chinese delicacy, and he used to make them all the time. Needless to say, I still have a place in my heart for these 'oversized gyoza.' Perhaps the most famous place in Taiwan to find these is 朱記餡餅 (Zhu Ji Xian Bing). I think the name means it was founded by someone with the last name of 朱, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I prefer to think of it as 'piggy' instead... or at least that's what I thought when I was a kid (another point of confusion, am I still a kid? At what point can I start saying 'back when I was a kid' without feeling awkward?). Anyway, before I digress into another tangent, I should finish this review.

Not so much a hole in the wall type place (I know... I know... I'm sorry!), this place is actually sort of a tourist spot. Not to the point that it's on travel brochures like 鼎泰豐 (Ding Tai Feng), but people in Taiwan know it well... and even people who visit from the south will likely make a trip here. So let's just say, it's famous within Taiwan, but relatively unknown to foreigners. Anyway, as you can see from the store front picture... nice big signage, easy to find... it's located 仁愛路 (Ren Ai Lu), right after 花市 (flower market). It's a fairly large establishment, two levels, lots of tables, nice interior... with a traditional Asian decor (read: no metal stools... this actually makes me sad haha). It's actually pretty damn fancy. Look! Even the soy sauce and vinegar are kept in porcelein and not some cheap clear plastic containers. I did think it was kind of humorous that they had to label in Chinese and then English... but I guess that Chinese people aren't their only target audience.


As for the food... we ordered 1 bowl of beef noodle soup, knife cut of course, which cost 120 NT ($4), 2 beef xian bing which are 35 NT ($1), 2 pork for the same price, and one 牛雜湯 (mixed beef soup) which cost 70 NT ($2). The beef noodles are actually a surprise here, since they're not famous for them. A few years back, when that was all I ate, I ordered it, proceeded to get yelled at by my grandmother for ordering something stupid, and then was pleasantly surprised to have a giant bowl of noodles that probably ranks in my top 5 (and when you've eaten as many different places as I have, that's a pretty high ranking). Anyway, the noodles are the stand out here. Long, thick, and heavy knife cut noodles that stretch to tomorrow, they are of the same pedigree as those at 良品 (Liang Pin). The broth isn't terrific, but isn't terrible... but if we go by straight comparison... Liang Pin still wins out because of the combination of awesome noodles with a fringe above average soup base. I will not complain about this bowl of noodles though, for the price, it is absolutely massive... that bowl is about 10" across.


The beef and pork xian bing are what the place is famous for, and for good reason. Both have very unique tastes, and in semi cop out fashion, I'm just going to say that I can't find words to describe them. Both combine a pleasant mix of semi fatty, semi lean ground cuts, a healthy spattering of garlic, and some spices to make for a pretty awesome little bun like sandwich. The meats cook up nice and juicy (to the point where they have soup dumpling spillover), and the gets nice and crispy from the pan frying. No disappointments here.


As for the mixed beef soup (that is... a mix of various body parts from a cow including tripe, tongue, and brisket)... uh, my mom wanted that... and to be honest, it looked kind of gross, but she liked it. Overall... I love this restaurant, and I make it a point to visit every year I come back. Do I even have to bother to say I recommend going? Haha, seriously though, you won't be disappointed.

Oh... I don't have time right now... but I got to run again.

distance for the day: 6.55 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 368.84 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Almost back

My orientation trip is finally over (well... in like 12 hours). Let me just say, I love all of Taiwan, but I miss Taipei. Happy panda is happy once I get back. Just thought I'd post an update... since I did run yesterday. Let's just say a conservative 4.00 mile estimate. I can't map the boondocks too well.

distance for the day: 4.00 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 362.29 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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More sugar... more Meet Fresh

Read more about Meet Fresh (here and here). This is actually going to be an ultra short post, since I have to leave in about 15 minutes. Anyway, I wanted to keep my streak of daily updates going (and my backlog short) so I'm just gonna post a bit of food porn (sized larger per someone's request haha).


On this return trip to Meet Fresh (and no I'm not posting everything I get, since I do plan on trying everything on their menu), I split a 黑糖粉粿冰 (brown sugar jelly shaved ice) with the mom. Cost... 50 NT ($1.50). Taste... pretty damn good. With an ice base made from fresh shaved brown sugar, the mountain is topped with brown sugar caramel, layered with red adzuki beans, tapioca bubbles, gelatin made from brown sugar, and finally yam and taro flavored gelatinous rice balls... mmm that last bit sounds especially unappetizing. Let me just say, you'd be kicking yourself if you pass on this because it sounds gross. It turned out to be one of my favorite things on the menu so far.

I didn't run today... namely because I ran yesterday, hung my shirt up in the closet, and made it rank as hell. I don't know what to do with my clothes if I can't wash them on a daily basis. So... 3 off days. I'll run a nice 10 miler over the weekend to make up for it.
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I'm going to get diabetes (part... I lost count)

I'm actually currently posting this from 日月潭 (Sun Moon Lake) in central Taiwan... I'm on an orientation trip that's more sightseeing than orientation (which can be good or bad). I know I said I probably wouldn't be able to post, but hey... I had to take advantage of the fact that I had a non stolen stable internet connection in god knows how long. Anyway, let me just say that it's absolutely stunning, and I ever run out food pics to post in the near future (unlikely), I'll post up some of the lake, and of me defacing a statue. I should add that I did show some respect by only taking pictures with less important people (namely people that don't show up in the history books). Also, sorry to disappoint, but no fobby peace sign pics... okay, well maybe there's one. It's somewhere on the internet, and you can go look for yourself it you're real bored.

Anyway, continuing with my series of diabetes posts... er, I mean dessert posts, I'm making an exception today. I'm not posting about a specific shop or cart, I mean... I guess I am, but more about a singular cultural food that's synonymous with Taiwan. Know those red adzuki bean fish you find at Japanese markets? Well... yeah, Chinese people stole that and made it our own. Which is a damn good thing, since the Japanese versions suck. They're barely filled and mostly about the aesthetics... what do I care how awesome a fish pastry looks in my stomach? In Taiwan they're known as 車輪餅 (car wheel cakes), and they're literally found everywhere. An egg batter is first poured into a circular mold, not unlike a waffle maker sans holes, which are aligned in several rows. Then a dizzying array of fillings is squeezed like frosting into one row... red bean, milk creme, taro, peanut, sesame, and even salty offerings like chinese vegetables. When the bottom layer is filled and cooked, the owner quickly pulls a cooked shell from another row and tops it over the filling. The slightly undercooked batter of the top shell basically glues the two halves shut.


I went and got mine at 光華紅豆餅 (Guang Hua Red Bean Cakes) since the man who runs that cart pretty much goes apeshit on the filling. It's usually so full that if you nibble at the edge, the paste quickly rolls out like lava... it's like a crepe on crack. At 10 NT (roughtly 30 cents) you can afford to buy... like 10 of these and make it a meal. I wouldn't though, this is how I became a fatty in the first place. Oh, and just for the record... I got peanut (cross sectional food porn ftw).

I did a little bit of running this morning (didn't want to get overly sweaty since I have no where to clean my clothes for 4 days). Did I mention this place is gorgeous? It's pretty foggy since you're up in the mountains, but you pretty much have a view of the lake the entire road route. I do have one complaint though... it's a mountain. Final distance (don't think I'm lame for taking it easy today... hills are hard) was something around 2.50 miles... I can't say that for sure, I can't find this place on mapmyrun. Hey... I wasn't even supposed to run today... go me!

distance for the day: 2.50 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 358.29 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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More Taiwanese burgers at 藍家割包 (Lan's Family Gua Bao)

Still a continuation of the 一一八巷 (118th street) theme... with my new obsession that is 割包 (gua bao). As previously mentioned, gua bao are pillowly pockets of a bread similar to 饅頭 (man tou), stuffed with sweet, in the form of peanut flour, and savory flavors, the latter being represented by pickled vegetables and slow cooked pork belly, half lean and half fatty, dripping in a soy sauce base that is the secret of every individual shop. This time, we found another relatively busy cart in one of the alleys across from NTU's main gate. Named as 藍家割包, it's quite obvious that Mr. Lan's family has done quite well selling his wares. His cart stands outside a small shop, but since few students were going in, it was quite clear that they got famous for their small cart outside. A simple, no frills cart, one side had a steamer that held Chinese style rice balls called 粽子 (zong zi) and the bread pockets, the other side held the filling of meat and veggies. They worked with frightening efficiency, dropping the line that extended around the corner in no more than 10 minutes. So the two men make quick work assembling sandwiches and dolling out rice balls... but would it mean a sacrifice in quality?

At 45 NT ($1.50) the gua bao were priced about the same as most places (so were the rice balls btw). In terms of taste... once again they live up to their reputation, and I'm happy to say that their speed of assembly doesn't hurt in terms of quality haha. Expertly packed, the bao here has an indented pocket, something the one at 石家's lacked. Directly inside the pocket, went the peanut flour, followed by the pickled vegetables, followed by the cilantro, and finally the meat. I should add that, because it has this 'pocket' the bun holds together much better than that of other places. So while on first inspection the sandwich might seem smaller, it isn't. The bun to meat ratio remains perfect, but deceptively appears larger. Uh... would I go back? Yes, yes, and yes again. Quality ingredients, amazing taste, at an amazing price (even by Taiwan standards) makes this a definite visit (as far as finding it... seriously, main gate of NTU, cross the street, and you'll find a small alley filled with food... it's on the corner of the 4 way intersection).

I apparently have to go on a 5 day orientation trip before I start work, so I'm not entirely sure how much I'll be able to post for the next few days. I won't be able to run (I don't think) during orientation either. Sad panda is sad panda *cries. So today, I made a point to do a distance run (I failed at this), and ended up doing a 7.10 mile circuit. Up to 大安, around 台灣大學, down 基隆路 (Keelung Road... on a side note, I hate that they don't follow pinyin rules) to Taipei 101, and back home. I thought I ran further... so that's a bit disappointing. Anyway, I think I've hit a plateau in terms of distance and speed. I'm certainly not faster, and that 50 mile a week barrier is one that I can't seem to cross. Maybe a few days off'll get me back on the right track.

distance for the day: 7.10 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 355.79 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Apparently all I eat is dessert 臺一 (Tai Yi Shaved Ice)

Is it any wonder myinnerfatty became myouterfatty in the past few months? I stopped rowing competitively, I did a lot more blogging, and somehow... my once meticulous diet consisting of carefully constructed macro ratios devolved into an all day dessertfest. That said, I can't complain... you win some, you lose some right? Some of the greatest things I've gotten to try in the past few months would make any doctor cringe, but I think it's worth it (we'll see if I feel this way when I have a heart attack at 35). Anyway, another day, another shaved ice hole in the wall. Another gem I found as a result of me visiting my Aunt K. This one is located across from the main door of 台灣大學 (NTU) on 新生南路 (Xin Sheng South Street). Apparently, the store has been there for the past 40 or 50 years, I know this because there's a picture inside of when it still looked craptastic (they've recently renovated). The store front here doesn't qualify as dive status anymore. It actually looks pretty commercial, and to say the store looks dingy isn't quite right either. Ever since more and more students started pouring in, they've done their best to make it look... chain store like? That's usually a real turn off for me, but I can overlook that... since people are willing to stand on line for 15 minutes for a table here.


They have a couple of trademark dishes, namely ones using their oats (which aren't the traditional style Quaker oats, but rolled whole oats), ones with those rice dumplings known as 湯圓 (Tang Yuan), and ones with red adzuki beans. First trip was with my Aunt and my cousin. We ended up getting the 紅豆麥片牛奶冰 (Red bean oatmeal milk shaved ice) and the 紅豆湯圓牛奶冰 (Red bean rice dumpling milk shaved ice). Both cost a sleek 60 NT ($2) and both were hefty helpings of ice, topped with red beans, condensed milk, and either oats or dumplings (I told you right? Cardiologist's dream). I won't try to describe how good either one was, but if I can use a Taiwanese term... 'QQ' is completely appropriate here. Let's just put it as... this is a notch in quality above Meet Fresh (see here and here), and I love Meet Fresh.


My cousin got something 酒釀 (Jiu Niang). Literal translation, using wine to pull out flavor. I have no clue if it's good or not, nor do I know the price. I just know that it's supposed 'good for women' (um... it's supposed to enhance 'femine attributes'). I also have no clue if that's true... one of life's great mysteries I suppose haha.


I ended up going another time, this time I got the 綠豆麥片牛奶冰 (Mung bean oat milk shaved ice), since, in the summer, you're traditionally supposed to eat mung beans. Something about them being more refreshing or whatnot. Anyway, same cost at 60 NT ($2), so it's really a personal preference, whether you like adzuki or mung beans. In my opinion I can't really taste much of a difference, since the condensed milk should cover up most of the flavor until only a subtle aftertaste is left. Which brings me to my last little side point on this place. If you're ordering, make sure you're a college aged girl... or bring one with you. The people who make the shaved ices are all college aged guys, and when I ordered on my second trip... he poured on what was a pittance of condensed milk, and ladled a partially full spoon of beans and oats. Comparing this with when my cousin ordered, she ended up with toppings overflowing from the plate, and mind numbing amount of milk. I thought it was a one time thing, but when I asked my Aunt, apparently it has always been like this. Terrific. Still... would I recommend it? For sure... an fyi, I walked 2 miles in the rain, during a typhoon warning to go eat there (and it was still packed). That's how good this place is.

Crappy run today. I went to a night market yesterday, filled up good. I think that explains everything. Didn't get to finish the 10k (just short at 6.21 miles), but what's frustrating is that I ran at my half marathon pace. Will make up for this with a true hm tomorrow morning, prior to leaving for TTT orientation. Ugh, 5 days without running... believe or not, it's pretty frustrating to me.

distance for the day: 6.21 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 348.69 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Culture night... breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang (阜杭豆漿)

In Taiwan, breakfast places can be found pretty much everywhere. On any given block there might be 2 or 3 competing businesses, along with a Familymart to boot. So when a place makes a name for itself, it's probably pretty notable. It's even more impressive when the store has been around at least 20 or 30 years, is hidden out of plain view on the 2nd floor of some crappy building, and there's still a line out the door every morning. That's the case with this breakfast joint that I went to last week. It's a shop that's located up the stairs from an old Japanese era farmer's market, on 杭州南路 (Hang Zhou South Street), across from the Shandao MRT. My grandmother, and I guess my mom too, have both known about this secret dive for years, yet they've never told me about it. Thanks a lot. In any case, it's about as crappy a store as you can find (in terms of appearance). Take a dingy staircase up to the 2nd floor, stand on a line for either takeout or dine in, and wait. Lots of waiting. Think close to 30 minutes for us to get our food. Then find a table. Mismatched, junky, rusty metal tables, with equally unimpressive chairs. Trust me though, the food will make you overlook all of this.


We ordered two bowls of hot soy milk (not the overly sweetened drink in plastic containers) which were freshly squeezed. So fresh that you could see the curds beginning to form tofu skin at the top if you were to let it sit for too long. Each bowl (fairly large in size) cost 18 NT (50 cents), and is a bargain for the amount they give you. The bowls are the size of the udon bowls in Japanese restaurants if that's a fair comparison. The soy milk itself is thick and viscous, amazingly flavored (yes soy has a flavor haha), which results in kind of a smoky/nutty taste. This is their namesake, and it is amazing.


We also ordered a 厚餅 (Hou Bing) and a fried cruller known as 油條 (You Tiao). The Hou Bing cost 23 NT (60 cents... ish) and the You Tiao cost 18 NT (50 cents), which are again, steals at those prices. Traditionally, the cruller is folded in half and sandwiched into a sliced 燒餅 (Shao Bing), but since I only wanted to try the Hou Bing, which is kind of like a pita pocket, we left them as separate. It should also be noted, in most cases, Shao Bing is a thin baked pocket of bread flavored with only sesame, but at Fu Hang, they make two varieties, one thin and one thick, or 'Hou.' My version was the starchier cousin of the traditional variety, made with a yeast based dough and flavored with a generous spattering of scallions. As far as taste, the fried cruller was just average. It's kind of hard to go wrong with anything fried, so that part is redeeming, but their version was just a tad bit oily, even by my standards. The thick bread was terrific though. Steaming hot out of the oven, the dough was hefty, but at the same time light... with air bubbles evenly spread through the entire cross section. It had a nice layered quality that lent itself to easy peeling, and by combining the savory scallions with sweet bread, the taste matched the texture in quality. Paired with the soy milk, this was actually a really satisfying breakfast. I plan on going back every couple of days (so yes it's recommended).

Know that feeling where you just don't want to stop running? Yeah, that's what I felt like this morning. After going on a rampage of Taipei for food yesterday (I literally went from one end of the city to the other), I felt pretty terrible yesterday. I had low expectations of today's run. Initially running at a mindblowingly slow pace, I ended up running a decent split (haha, I'm not sure I'm supposed to use rowing terms for running) after the adrenaline kicked in. Final distance... 9.43 miles... covering the area to the President's office, CKS memorial hall, NTU's campus, and some random streets. Not too bad. Oh... and over the course of the run, I dropped something like 6 or 7 pounds, take that sodium.

distance for the day: 9.43 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 342.48 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Lazy sunday (cultural edition)

I walked around the Taipei 101/Neo19 area yesterday, since there was a 3C (electronics sale) convention. I didn't buy anything, but I did come across a couple things that amused me to no end. The first of which is this 黑八瑪 ice cream pop seller. In case you can't read Chinese, it's phonetically pronounced 'hei-ba-ma' in Mandarin... which means 'black bama' (I should note that this isn't completely terrible, since in Taiwanese, the word for black sounds like 'oh'). Just like how Kwik Meal named his 2nd (or was it 3rd) cart, the Taiwanese have learned to capitalize on the popularity of our new president. Or maybe Chinese people are just really subtlely racist (oops... I wasn't supposed to let that secret out!). You'll have to forgive me if I didn't buy one, even if it was only 10 NT (33 cents), they're just plain chocolate popsicles.


And in the New York^2 area (yes, I live in New York, and this is funny to me) I found this desecration of a US landmark. Usually, the statue is just that, a miniature (and inaccurate) representation of the one in New Jersey (true story, it stands in NJ coastal waters). However, as a promotion for Taiwan Beer's new variety, they dressed up the statue to make it appear as if she were a freakin' lush. Funny side note on the new beer, it's appropriately called 'All Mine' with the promotional slogan as 全麥 (Quan Mai). It's another case of using similar sounds, if you look at the English, it kind of mirrors the Chinese.


No running today, my foot absolutely kills me when I arch it at all. A well deserved rest day if nothing else. Anyway, I plan on making a trip to a different night market tonight, so my back log will be adequately replenished.

distance for the day: 0.00 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 333.05 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Jia Xing Yu Wan (嘉興魚丸)

Another in a long list of restaurants I'll probably be visiting soon, 嘉興魚丸 (Jia Xing Yu Wan) serves up Taiwanese/Fuzhou style soups with noodles, fish balls, and I suppose what could be the equivalent of Chinese sausages (not the roasted and charred kind you find at night markets). This kind of store is a dime a dozen in Taipei, and most do a respectable job interpreting what I think is a simple, but amazingly homely dish, and Jia Xing doesn't disappoint. Do I have to even describe what the store looks like? Four words... Dingy, small, tables, and stools. That's it. No extra decorations, this place is entirely about the food. First up was something that I didn't order, my cousin got this dish known as 板條 (Ban tiao). It's basically the rice noodles that most people are somewhat familiar with at Chinese supermarkets, with the same name, which are then cooked up in the fish ball broth, topped with 2 Fuzhou style fish balls, and a pork ball (same kind as in hot pot). Served with a sprinkling of green scallions on top for flavor, it's a simple dish that's pretty satisfying. While I didn't try it, my cousin seemed to like it plenty, and at 50 NT ($1.50... don't quote me on the price), it's a ridiculously cheap meal.

My Aunt K, previously mentioned here, chose to go with a the 猷魚羹 (You yu geng) which is essentially ground pork squeezed with fish paste into little sausages, then dropped in soup. It gets cooked up with bamboo shoots, cilantro, and a whole mess of other ingredients on which I'm not too familiar (and don't care to know) until it's thick in consistency. Like a sweet and sour soup, but on steroids haha. Again, this dish ended up costing the same 50 NT ($1.50... and once again don't quote me on the price, I'm a bit hazy). Since I didn't try this one either, I'm not sure how good it was, but my Aunt seemed pretty indifferent. She did however suggest that there were much better versions of this nearby, so if that's any indication, she wasn't enamored with her bowl. Still, at $1.50, which is literally throwaway change for a lot of people in midtown, I don't think anyone would complain. There is a major drawback to this entree though... since you're already getting meat in the form of 'geng,' you won't be getting their fish balls or pork balls, which they're probably better at/more famous for... which isn't saying much haha.

As for me... since I had already eaten lunch with the 'mom,' I wasn't too keen on having a full on meal, but I have had a recent craving for Fuzhou fish balls, so I decided to go light and split an order. If you look back at the Lin Jiang night market version, it was clearly disappointing (what should I have expected getting fish balls from a place not specializing in that?), so my expectations were somewhat dimmed, and my experience had been sour from the get go. For 40 NT ($1.25) at this place, you get 3 fish balls, a pork ball, and the same broth as the ban tiao dish. The fish balls were definitely solid, thinner skin, more filling than the other place, and the pork ball was pretty good... chewy, but not to the point where you felt like you were gnawing on a super ball. It really was a solid showing, and I have to say, I have to reconsider my stance on fish balls. That said... would I recommend this place? Eh... if you really want to waste your time looking for this specific one, be my guest, but in truth, 75% of the places in Taipei taste just as good, and for the same price. My suggestion is just to slide into any street side stores and order whatever you want, this place probably won't reappear on my 'to-eat-list.'

Oh yeah, if anyone else has the problem I had about not being able to post comments on blogger sites, it's just because you don't have third party cookies enabled. For some reason, this doesn't matter if you're in the US, but if you're overseas, I guess the international sites aren't considered as the 'primary site.' So that's another task resolved (damn you Amex and you're 'agile' development terms).

Lastly... morning run... 7.23 miles in the book, the first 6.5 being solid running, and the latter 3/4 of a mile being stop and go. I had a really nice route from my house to Taipei 101, and then back to CKS memorial hall, where I saw a race event for a 2.6 mile run (unfortunately to officially enter, you had to register a month ago grrr). Whatever, today's run felt really easy, aside from it being overly humid, I'll take what seems to be one of my last good running days before leaving for TTT orientation (woo! first typhoon of the season!).

distance for the day: 7.23 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 333.05 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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The wonder that is '118th street' (一一八 巷)

First off, I'd like to say... with great power comes great responsibility... wait, no that's not quite right. Uh... with great pleasure comes great pain? Yeah... that's the one. Know how sick I got from eating shaved ice in Taiwan? Actually I can't say for sure that it was the shaved ice, since I've been eating a lot of questionable items multiple times per day, everyday, for the past 2 weeks. I'll spare you the details, but it was so bad that I almost didn't go for a run this morning (if you read my blog with any frequency, that explains a lot).


Ugh, but away with the unpleasantness. I'll share one of my favorite (new) places in Taipei, that I found last year (I just so happened to find it because one of my favorite persons in Taiwan lives there... we'll call her Aunt K). Anyway, it's not so much a street as it is an alley off a main road... 和平東路 (He Ping East Road). It's right next to 台大's (NTU's) campus and if you ask anyone, you won't have much difficulty finding it. Apparently, if you're anywhere near any of the large Taiwanese universities, there's bound to be cheap (and good) eats... Columbia should take note.


The entire street is a literal gold mine of culinary options up for exploration. There's a really famous beef noodle place known for it's knife cut style (nope, still nothing compared to 良品), a pretty famous Japanese curry place, and a myriad of dumpling places that would make Eldrige street look like a joke. Today's highlight is a place called 北平鄉味 (Bei Ping Xiang Wei). This is a pretty nifty name, because it acts as a homonym in Chinese, if you use the word for 'smell' as xiang, it would mean 'Good scents of Beijing,' but how they've written it... it means 'Family tastes of Beijing.' Maybe that bit is lost in translation, but I thought it was pretty clever. Anyway, it's a small shack style store clearly run by one family. The store is cluttered with only 4 tables, a spattering of metal stool style chairs, and an open kitchen in the back, which I would venture to guess doubles as their home kitchen (they were preparing dinner in the back at the same time lol). The prices are extremely reasonable, with nothing on the menu clocking over 100 NT ($3). I wanted to try the 木須炒餅 (Mushu cooked pancakes... see top) which was 80 NT ($2.50), and the 牛肉大捲餅 (Big beef pancake roll) which was 65 NT ($2). Whatever conception of Mushu you might hold from Chinese restaurants (I'm looking at you Zach brooks), it's probably not the actual thing, or at least the Northern Chinese interpretation of it. More commonly found with cooked noodles, the Mushu cooked pancakes I got here simply replace the knife cut noodles with scallion pancakes (sans the scallion, but retaining the awesome sesame flavor) sliced and cooked into a noodle dish. It has Jew's ear mushrooms (haha, this always makes me smile), cabbage, carrots, fatty pork, bean sprouts, green onions, and scrambled eggs. All of this is tossed with sesame oil over ridiculously high heat. The amalgam of strange ingredients ends up tasting amazing, something you should try if you get the opportunity. The beef roll was exactly what you'd expect. It's thinly cut beef brisket, thick duck sauce (not the orange stuff, the stuff you get with Peiking duck), and a sprig of onion, all wrapped inside the same type of pancake... maybe thinner. This dish was less noticeable, and more of an overall... meh. Still, while I might not go back repeatedly, simply because of the overwhelming variety located in such a small vicinity, I do recommend you go if you get the chance.

I had a bowl of shaved ice yesterday, and a package of Oreos (the large packet, not the wussy 6 pack), a bunch of brown sugar cookies, and some Taiwanese pastries (which I'll review later). Obviously I had a bad run haha. Especially given my preface. I thought I ran for a pretty good distance today, but mapmyrun... a.k.a. deflatemyego tells me I only ran 5.69 miles. Great. I also ran ultra slow today. I think I'm getting slower.

distance for the day: 4.56 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 325.82 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Lin Jiang Night Market (臨江夜市)

While it would be impossible for me to cover everything in 臨江's night market (or any night market for that matter), I was hungry, and I did my best to try a couple things I haven't in the past. On the same day that I decided to visit the Beard Papas stand in the Shin Kong department store, I also decided I should probably walk back to burn off those calories (I do have these wild aspirations of running the NYC marathon... which I imagine would be difficult if I were to return to my former glory). It just so happens on the way back from the area around Taipei 101 to my house... there stands about 1000 beef noodle shops, 100 bakeries, and one very very very famous night market (OTL fml?).

First up was just supposed to be an appetizer, I made my mom stop in a shop called 登豐 (Deng Feng). Literally the name translates to something loosely like 'the best' (notice a trend here). Anyway, it's a restaurant that was supposed to adhere to a Hong Kong style hot pot, but for some reason, included dishes more traditionally found in Taiwanese cuisine. I realize who the target audience is... but shouldn't you still stick to your niche? Whatever, it looked interesting so we went in. This type of cuisine is commonly known in Taiwan as 臭臭鍋 or 'stinky stinky pot.' Basically they give you platters of meat, tofu (stinky in variety), and duck blood cakes, kinda like blood pudding. Then you cook it yourself in the hot pot they provide. If you're looking for a US equivalent, there is none really, but those shabu shabu places in Chinatown are a pretty good approximation in terms of what the procedure is. Anyway, the place is fairly nice, but a bit too commercial for my tastes. The shop actually looks immaculate (and trust me this is a negative in Taiwan).

As for the food... the reason why we went in is because we smelled ridiculously pungent 臭豆腐 (stinky tofu) halfway down the block and we wanted a quick snack. For those of you who are unaware, stinky tofu is actually tofu that you let grow mold. It looks exactly the same as the fried bean curd puffs you can buy in markets, up until the point the processing begins. There are various methods of preparation, from stewing in soups, to frying, to grilling on open charcoal, each with its own unique character, but for my poison of choice, there is absolutely nothing that can top a good plate of fried stinky tofu, a side of Taiwanese style pickled cabbage (think kimchi), and a spattering of hot sauce that would make Sriracha seem tame. The prices here, I guess they're reasonable, nothing topping 200 NT ($6) even for the fanciest of hot pot combos, and with most appetizers falling around 75 NT ($2.50). The thing is, once you're used to eating 30-50 NT servings which come in plastic bags, that is expensive. Another annoying thing was that they forced us to order 2 dishes to sit inside, when really, we just wanted to try it first. Whatever, I suppose that bit isn't too outrageous. We got 2 servings of their version of stinky tofu at 60 NT a piece ($2). It came quick, and it came hot. It offered up the same familiarity of a crispy skin, but it was different. Unlike the ones you might find in a 市場 (street market), these had noticeable crunch. As if you were comparing double fried fries to baked. I actually really liked the texture of this shop's. The taste gave a smokiness (strange description I guess) that you'd normally associate with bbq, and not something that was fried... certainly another plus. The kimchi offering and the hot sauce on the side were both 'just okay' and nothing to write home about, but the tofu... the tofu was a variation of a tried and true classic. As far as recommending it... eh, I wouldn't go that far. It was good, like I said, but pricier than almost anywhere I've been, outside of legitimate restaurants, and while it was different, there are much better things to eat along the length of any night market. If you get lost and stumble in (har har) feel free to order, but I feel like it's not really putting your money to good use.


When I was leaving, I wanted to get a snack for the night. What better than one of the most traditional of Taiwanese street foods... 割包 (Gua Bao)! No, the Chinese is correct... I realize it actually should read 'ge,' but per Chinese superstition, it would sound terrible if another more similar sounding word is used... thus the substitution (man... my blog is like the cultural equivalent of reading rainbow!). I also picked up some 福州魚丸 (Pork filled fish balls), becaues I saw Roboppy's post on Seriouseats, and I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. Price was ridiculously good... 40 NT ($1.25) for the bao, and 35 NT ($1+) for the soup, which came with 1 pork ball, and 2 fish balls. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention where I got these from... 石家割包 (Shi's family gua bao). Apparently it's really famous for it's bao, which I was entirely unaware of when I bought it, I just remembered having the lamb version in Flushing, which I knew wasn't the original style, and wanted to try it. Anyway, the shop is really small, really dingy, I don't know if there is much sitting room inside, as most people were doing takeout and the back lights were turned off, but if you know me... that's perfectly acceptable. I'd rather not know where my food comes from until after I've decided it's delicious (or not). The bao was terrific. Absolutely worth 40 NT. I chose the half lean, half fatty meat, which is really a pork that is essentially slow cooked in Chinese style spices and soy sauce (I guess a Chinese pulled pork if you will) for hours until all of it's tendons have converted to gelatin. They add this splendid meat to a puffy white pillow of a bread, then layer on a generous helping of peanut flour (the same semi sweet stuff they coat mochi with), then a layer of pickled vegetables is layered on, then it's finished off with fresh cilantro. I won't even try to describe how amazing it tastes, because I know I'll inevitably fail... making everyone turned off from trying it. As for the fish ball soup... meh... it was so so. I'll post a review of a place that makes a much better version soon though. I would recommend this place, since I could see myself going back. If you do however go (it's on the main road off 信義 Xin Yi), do yourself a favor, skip the fish balls... just get the bao (or 2)... it's worth it.

I felt pretty bad on today's run. I got up about 30 minutes late... so 5:30 haha, and my legs felt a weird soreness that didn't really go away at any point. In any case, I did a steady state 3.99 miles around 大安, then ran home at my mile speed which added about .57 miles to that. The good news is that I found a playground with stuff for me to climb a la 'ninja warrior.' The bad news is that it's infested with old people (and we all know how I feel about old people... joking!).

distance for the day: 4.56 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 325.82 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Beard Papas in Taipei

I love old men who make cream puffs. Following the disappointing news that the Beard Papas station in Cafe Zaiya had closed, I was both stunned and devastated. Noting that Taipei had a couple locations (one in the Shin Kong department store and another at Taipei 101), I knew I had to pay homage to a fallen comrade. I visited the one in the basement food court of 新光 (Shin Kong), which is actually a really famous Japanese department store. Among a giant list of food vendors, which I couldn't list even if I wanted to, I went straight for the puffs.


The stall is in the middle of building A8... basement 2. You see... the reason why I can't possibly list all the food places is because there are so many that is spans 4 different buildings, each of which has at least 2 floors of stalls. Imagine all the food carts in midtown Manhattan crammed into a basement bazaar of food stands and this is what you'd get. Anyway, the Shin Kong location offered only the vanilla custard creme, and an awesome seasonal mango creme (holy crap this was good). They do offer 3 different variants of crust though, original, a crispy cookie crust, and a 'French' variety that looked like a cruller twist. The original cremes clocked in at 42 NT ($1.25) and the mango at 48 NT ($1.50). I'm not really sure if the other variants of crust cost more or less (I'd imagine more), since I wanted to get the original style that I'm familiar with. Anyway, the vanilla was just as good as I remember from Zaiya (and the UWS location), but at a 50 cents cheaper, it tasted that much better. The mango... amazingly light, moderately sweet, with a nice mango scent evident with the first bite. Another home run by the old man. Of course I'd recommend this place, especially since there's one less location in the world, and hopefully they'll make the mango into a more permanent staple in the beard papas lineup. One annoying caveat though... the two women at the Beard Papas counter refused to let me take a snapshot of their stall. There's something about people in Asia not liking photography. Isn't all publicity good publicity? Besides, it's not like I was trashing them... in fact... I'm quite a fan!

Annoying run today. I wanted to do a relaxed long distance piece, something that fell somewhere between 8 and 12 miles. When I left the apartment at 5, I ran at a miserably slow pace. I did a run up around 大安公園 (Da An Park) and 台灣大學 (NTU), and I even did too laps on the track up at NTU... when I had come back to the park and checked my ipod... it was only something like 5:50. Ugh, so much fail. I ended up doing a 6.02 mile run, at a pace that would be more appropriate for a half marathon. I think the speed/sprint work I did yesterday absolutely demolished my legs. I think a rest day is in order sometime in the near future.

Also, I've come to find that I can't post/reply to comments here in Taiwan. Blogger seems to think I'm not signed in, and refuses to let me post with my googleID. Anyone else have this problem, or know of a work around?

distance for the day: 6.02 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 321.26 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Meet Fresh (鮮芋仙) Part 2

You can read my original review of Meet Fresh here. I wasn't lying when I said I really like this place. While I won't go so far as to say the quality is unmatched (because I have had much better), it is consistently solid, and hasn't failed to please so far. Since I've done a review previously, this post is actually just an excuse to post more food porn.


This isn't really food porn, but I was pretty enamored with their food notification system. I realize shake shack has an equivalent beeping and vibrating notifier, but to be honest, theirs looks kind of bootleg. Meet Fresh actually put forth an effort, and it looks so legit.


Onto the food! No I didn't eat both of those in one sitting (although the fat version of me probably would... and if you know what I'm referring to, you must be a pretty good friend of mine). On one of my return trips, I went for the 紅豆牛奶冰 (adzuki bean milk shaved ice). Coming in at just 50 NT ($1.50), it's a heaping bowl of ice... the bowl itself is a squarish plate 12" on each side... covered first with a boatload of condensed milk... followed by fruit syrup... followed by a generous portion of adzuki beans. I've had better, but for the cost and amount of stuff they give you, it's pretty unbeatable. The second is the 芒果冰 (mango shaved ice) that is so famous in Taiwan. The only reason I got this was because they were doing a promotion where it was buy 1 get one half off. It normally costs 100 NT ($3), which is still a steal, but I probably wouldn't get it from here at that price. Anyway, it's pretty much the same formula, but topped with fruit syrup (which is actually flavored by the mango chunks), chunks of fresh mango, and a scoop of mango ice cream. Both of these are absolutely amazing, and even better given the unbearable heat in Taiwan. They tend to melt pretty quick, but it doesn't really matter, the 'soup' that it becomes is pretty damn good too. In any case, I'd go and try each of these. There are better places (ones that I'll post about soon), but Meet Fresh is pretty decent and convenient too.

Today's run... oh boy. I want to get better at shorter races, namely the 3k and the 5k. I suck at sprinting. So I decided to change my training regimen I guess. Lately I've been doing daily runs that pace out to about a 40-50 mile week, and while it's helped my aerobic base, I realized I'm not getting any faster. So today was dedicated to speed work. Total distance ended up around 4.51 miles, which consisted of 1/3 mile sprints at about a 6 minute pace, followed by jogging for the next 1/3 mile at about an 8 or 9 minute pace. I'll be honest, I'm completely out of shape for short races. Anyway, my legs are pretty dead now... I hope I'm doing this correctly. Any other suggestions for improving speed on shorter races (intervals, cross, and plyo are covered)?

distance for the day: 4.51 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 315.24 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Liang Pin (良品) & Snow King (雪王)

The 2007 2nd place winner in the National Taiwan Beef Noodle Festival... Liang Pin (良品). No I'm not joking, yes that is a real and annual event. Liang Pin literally translates to 'Good Quality,' and that's a pretty good description. I actually don't really want to write this review, since I don't want to ruin my favorite noodle place, but since it's not as accessible as say... something in midtown, I'll make an exception haha. Located on 開封街 (Kai Feng Street), the storefront is another one of those... 'I'd never walk in because it looks so generic' kind of joints (sort of like a generic Manhattan deli). A small nook in the wall, with an unimposing yellow sign above proudly proclaiming 2nd place (who the hell brags about 2nd place?), this place will never be mistaken for an expensive restaurant, but honestly... who cares? It tastes amazing. I should mention though, that the 2007/2008 1st place winner is located right across the street. I actually haven't gotten the opportunity to visit yet, but I'll probably go in the next few weeks.


Right inside the door is their kitchen, with giant pots of broth boiling, dumplings going into hot pots of water, and noodles being hand cut. With only 5 tables, and more of those crappy metal stools, everything just feel right. The small shop feel and more importantly the cheap student atmosphere I associate with most food places in Taiwan. Their specialty is 山西 (Shanxi) style knife cut noodles. Those more familiar with the 山東 (Shandong) style, found more commonly in Chinatown, would be in for a real treat, as these are much chewier, and in general more varied in texture. The basic difference would be that those found in NYC tend to just be straight strips cut from a flattened piece of dough, where as these are 'peeled' off the outside of a ball of dough straight into the pot (I've actually seen an old chef slice them into a pot of boiling water from across the room, it was incredible). When you first walk in, your order is actually taken by a couple of really old men with really heavy 山西 accents, I don't know why this is important, but it adds to the effect of authenticity I guess. Back to the food though, I got the standard 紅燒牛肉麵 (Red cooked beef noodle soup) which cost 100 NT ($3). It indeed lives upto the standard of placing 2nd in all of Taipei... and that's a lot of beef noodle soup. The noodles are the standout here, with the knife cut method adding to the character of the entire bowl. They're just thick enough to seem al dente in texture, but thin enough that you don't feel like you're laboring through uncooked dough. The beef is comparable to that at 永康 with the same fall apart quality, as well as in cut, since both are half brisket half tendon (半筋半肉). The broth is also similar in quality to that at 永康, well flavored, rich in beef taste, moderately spicy. All things considered, with the beef and soup being on par, and with superior noodles and a lower price than that at 永康, I'd suggest a trip here instead (although you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you skipped out on other places just because of my opinion... they're all real good).


After grabbing a bowl of noodles, what could possibly be better than... a bowl of ice cream? Nothing. So I walked a couple of blocks over to 武昌街 (Wu Chang Street) to look for an ice cream parlor that has been around since my mom's high school days. It's a place called 雪王 (Snow King) that boasts 73 different varieties (take that Baskin-Robbins!). Starting from the tame (chocolate, coffee, vanilla), to the exotic (stewed sesame oil chicken, pig's feet, pork floss), to the alcoholic (of varying proof from beer to 120), the choices are truly unmatched. The shop is also just a hole in the wall, with a couple of metal tables and a metal bar along the side, but really... in Taiwan, ice cream won't last long enough for you to sit down to have a conversation over. The prices aren't too reasonable... with the cheapest scoops clocking in at 45 NT and ginseng at 150 NT ($1.50 to $5). I went with the pork floss, since I love the stuff on pretty much everything, and at 100 NT ($3), it was a bit pricey. The scoop is moderate in size, larger than that at Ben & Jerry's or the like, but not a value in my opinion. The taste? Er... it tasted like pork floss? Haha, seriously though, it tasted good. Different, but good. Honestly, I just went because it's an experience, and given the prices, I most likely won't be returning... but if anyone wants to try the pig's feet for me... let me know how it is.

I ran something like 7.11 miles today, even though I was planning on taking an easy day... something like a 5k at my 10k pace. Why would I do this (again)? I got lost. Simple as that. I managed to get lost running in a circular loop around 台灣大學 (NTU). That sounds really stupid, but with all the circles at the end of every edge I got confused. In any case, I did a lot of doubling back to find my way back home. The one good thing though... I ended up running way faster than my 10k pace.

distance for the day: 7.11 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 310.73 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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Sai Men Tian Bu La (賽門甜不辣)

I used to be a really picky eater. True story. I realize that's a crappy story, but it does lead to this review... kinda. Anyway, in the past, there's no way I would've stepped into a place like this. Partially because I hated fish of any variety, and wouldn't eat anything that had been remotely close the ocean (and Taiwanese styled tempura is exactly that... essentially fried fish paste). Anyway, my mom somehow convinced me that one of her childhood favorite restaurants would be decent, and that I shouldn't dismiss it just because it has fish in it. I am so relieved that I didn't pass on this place, because since then, it has become on of my favorite places to visit when I'm in Taiwan. It's essentially the savory version of Meet Fresh for me... since I'll pretty much go in anytime I pass by.

The store itself has now become franchised, with locations all over Taipei, but really, if you want the original experience (and in my opinion the only one that stays true to the original taste), you'll want to go to the 西門 branch (West Gate). It also works out pretty conveniently that it's a rather active area, with plenty of shops and other things to eat. Just more excuses to go I guess. The storefront isn't all too attractive, and looks kinda crappy to be honest. If no one told me about it, I'd assume it was just another roadside shack kind of store, but it apparently has a long history. The entrance doubles as the cooking area, with various kinds of tempura and fish balls just floating in a constantly cooking broth. The back area has maybe 6 or 7 tables, again with the cheap metal stools you'd come to expect Asian establishments to have. No air conditioning, so you'll have to tough it out... but honestly there are few things better than having a piping hot bowl of tempura when it's over 100 degrees 0utside. Yum. For 50 NT ($1.50) you get what you see to the right. A mixed bowl of fried dumplings filled with fish paste, some fried fish paste patties, some fried fish paste sticks, fried tofu, and daikon radish. I know, I know... the names sound like crap, but how else can I translate what they are... it'd be pointless to say you get a bowl of tempura, that says nothing! The entire bowl is doused with a brown sauce consisting of chili paste, miso, sugar, and soy sauce (and probably other things), and imho, is superior to the white sauce of the halal carts. Yeah I said it. Side note... I think if anyone ever started a food truck selling this, they'd make an absolute killing, anyone want to finance me? As far as the delicious factor, they taste about the same as most Taiwanese tempura, which is to say mildly sweet and very light on the fishy taste. What sets 'Simon's' apart is that they texture is entirely smooth, with no odd chunks ruining the consistency, but at the same time there remains a certain elasticity which you look for in the skin (not unlike the snap of a hotdog skin). I guess what I'm trying to say is... the taste is spot on, and the texture sets it on a whole 'nother level. Obviously recommended by me. I go several times a week myself haha. Uh, as far as address... it's right outside of 西門盯's shopping area, but even I'd be hard pressed for a street name (check their website...? Sorry I'm lazy).

One last tidbit, there's a giant mural on the right side of the wall as you get in. If you read it, it teaches you the proper way of eating the bowl of tempura. They actually manage to make it sound like an art, but really, it's just... eat the tempura, notice that the bowl is still full of the sweet ass brown sauce (wow, that sounds like crap... but one of my friends Wayne did say "Everything that tastes awesome looks like dog shit," before he proceeded to list foods), go back up to the counter where you order, take ladle that is provided and fill your bowl with the soup broth that the tempura, tofu, and fish balls are cooked in. Sit back down and enjoy. Honestly, the soup is probably the best part. It tastes just like the tempura, since it's absorbed the flavors of all the components, and it's just oily enough to leave the taste in your mouth for hours after you eat it. Another case of... too much win for me to handle. Another side note... I'm tagging this as cart, since... well... I think this kind of food can mostly be found in night market carts (and like I said, would make for sick business venture in Manhattan).

It was wet outside today, and my shoes were still wet from yesterday. So kudos to me for even going out running! Hehe, no seriously though, it was a pretty good run all things considered. I finished with 6.33 miles on the day (though more if you count walking), and I found a second person who can outrun me here, therefore, I have a new target... and he is a middle aged man.

distance for the day: 6.33 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 303.62 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles
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