street food is an integral part of taiwan’s identity. in any given conversation about this charming country, the topic of culinary culture will inevitably surface. there are many, many things to love about taiwan, but you can bet that its gustatory goodies rank in the top five.

one of my dream careers is to be one of those food show hosts who travel around consuming regional specialties. ever see those japanese programs, where the demure, cute gals go to the country side and soak in hot springs and treat themselves to resort cuisine? and they make those ridiculous faces of pleasure, giggling and covering their mouths when they take their first bites? damn them. well i want their jobs! i could easily be stationed in taiwan and never run out of content.

my first stall after i arrive in TW, this one specializes in a huge variety of mantou, chinese steamed buns. yummers. soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet.

mantou and milk tea

okay, so technically 7-11 doesn’t constitute street foot, but they’re everywhere in TW and infinitely better than our sad versions here in the states. when hungry and/or short on time and money, get thee to 7-11 because rest assured, you will find all sorts of vittles. for instance – tea eggs (one of my favorite snacks), meat and veggie buns, lu wei skewers, a million different beverages, etc

this is an infamous chain called yong he. they’re reputed to be the best purveyor of fresh shao bing (doughy small flat bread) you tiao (fried crueller sticks) and soy milk in TW. throughout the trip my mom kept on saying that the first thing she wanted to eat was specifically shao bing you tiao from this chain. they hand you the soy milk in plastic bags. it’s easy to become hypnotized while watching them make everything from scratch

soooooo GOOD

peg with her winnins

the crunchy soft combo is heaven in christina’s mouth

the portable street food carts come out at night in ximending, a popular happenin’ gathering area for people of all ages (especially youth). i suspect that you can’t find these food vendors during the day because they need licenses. but once it gets dark, they all come out of the woodwork, wheeling out their delectable handmade goodies for the masses! delicious, and CHEAP! i’m always amazed by how economical and efficient their set-ups are. enterprising and smart.

red bean pastries

this guy was super skilled at cranking out wonderful doughy, crunchy green onion pancakes

corn, a classic

duh

swift hands adept at creating perfect little mochi balls dusted in peanut flour. oh, and i gotta say it: taiwanese mochi is the best

beverage culture reigns in TW. srsly. people love to sip away at all hours of the day. it’s contagious! coffee/tea and juice stands can be found everywhere. there’s probably one on every block. here peg refills on refreshing watermelon juice, and i sweet salty plum juice

this barely even scratches the surface. i’ll be posting more later.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 7:43 pm and is filed under asia, culture, food, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.