Food

One of the benefits of living in a large city like Taipei is the variety of food available. Eating out is usually much cheaper and easier than cooking, so I've been discovering the wide range of restaurants available in the city.  Strange to think that just one year ago I was living in Thailand and was limited to choosing fried noodles or fried rice each night. Living in an urban Taipei I’m dazzled sometimes by the choice of Western food, Asian, local versus chain restaurants , and the endless selections on display at the city’s many local markets.

Some chain restaurants are easily recognizable as being global franchises. It does not astonish me to see McDonalds, Burger Kings Pizza Hut, Dominoes, KFC, or even Subways. Others, however, are more of a shock, such as seeing a Sizzler, Ponderosa, and a TGI Fridays all located on busy main streets in Taipei.

There are also several interesting, but a bit pricey, eating places opened by Western expats such as a Mexican, Middle East, and an American sports bar restaurant. Thai, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian restaurants are also common, though they vary in quality. On my birthday I visited my first high end Chinese restaurant, which seemed just like a chic LA eatery with its sparse furnishings, candlelight, and exotic drinks.

On my way to work I pass several high-end bakeries, as well as local family owned Bacon and eggas, sushi restaurants, and buffets. My favorite places are the medium sized restaurants with air-conditioning, such as a conveyer belt sushi restaurant just down the street with excellent Miso soup, sashimi, and endless varieties of sushi. Also nearby is a place called Moxie’s, which makes excellent wraps and fresh juice shakes. Shabu shabu is a tasty chain where you order various meats, seafood, and veggies and then cook the food in boiling water set into the table.

Of course, the most interesting food is usually at the markets. It’s nice to grab a bubble tea at a local shop then peruse the market’s food stalls with its exotic smells. To be fair, some smells aren’t that great – a local specialty is the foul smelling “stinking tofu” covered in duck’s blood. Others sell cooking dumplings, strange fried delicacies, “rice dogs” that are similar to hot dogs, pork buns, dim sum, baked potatoes, and usually you can pick up fresh fruit like mangoes, dragon fruit, and pineapple which make a nice treat for breakfasts. Yummmmm