Shrimp octopus pancakes (蝦錦章)

In yet another stroke of brilliance, a couple of bros opened a stall in 淡水 (Dan Shui) which serves shrimp and octopus pancakes... er waffles? Now, you're probably thinking of something like seafood pajeon, but this is way different. By using minced shrimp, octopus, and pork, they fill little circular waffle tins with oil and batter, and fry the shit out of them. The end result is the thick circular puck of golden red crispy goodness you see above. If anything, it's like if you took a supercharged okonomiyaki, and combined it with the idea of takoyaki... except not in ball form, all for 35 NT (slightly more than $1). Think about it. For $20 you could walk away with like 19 of these hotcakes, awesome beyond belief.



See? Waffle mold frying action going on. Also, take note of the broseph in the back. He's got a ponytail. Know what that means? Hmm, I'm not sure either, but whatever. If you're making me shrimp octopus waffle pancake thingers for a dollar... well, I couldn't care less if you had 3 eyes and 2 noses.



Goddamn that was tasty. In a whirlwind of pork, cabbage, shrimp, and octopus, there are too many flavors to process. At first you can't really taste anything because of the temperature. Burning isn't really a flavor I don't think. After the temperature drops though, you're put through a dizzying experience of savory pork, followed by an ever present seafood flavor, then by the mellowness of the batter and cabbage. Truly unique to say the least. The praise doesn't end with the taste though, it's a standout texturally speaking as well. A crisp outer shell yields to soft batter, all of which is followed by the occasional, and distinctively different, crunches of octopus tentacle and cabbage. SEE WHY YOUR POOR MOUTH WOULD BE CONFUSED NOW? In what was probably one of the best investments of $1 I've ever made, the only regret I had was not going back before getting on the MRT. Damn.