Taipei - Airport 7-Eleven Beers (again)

Another SE Asia trip in the books - this time six weeks. It ended in the same fashion as our last trip - with beers from 7-Eleven at the airport. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Taipei - Moon Moon Food

There was a branch of Moon Moon Food, a local chain known for traditional Taiwanese fare, just down the street from us, so we stopped in for dinner.

It had a modern, but comfortable feel and was busy, but efficient.

We tried their signature sesame-chili noodles, despite the fact that we aren't big fans of too much sesame. And it was just too much sesame paste for me - which was a shame, since the texture of the noodles was good.

The chicken and clam soup fared better for us. A nice, clean broth with tasty clams and bone-in chicken that was a bit bland but perked up with a little soy.

And, of course, we couldn't resist some lu rou fan. This version was less seasoned than others we've had, which made it taste a bit lighter - something that worked in the context of this meal.

Taipei - Revisits to Jin Feng and Golden Delight

It wouldn't be a visit to Taipei without some lu rou fan, so we paid a re-visit to Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice.

It was even busier than it had been five years previously, but the line moved quickly.

And the lu rou fan is still delicious and reasonably priced.

One evening after a walk through Linjiang night market that was fun but didn't result in dinner, we stopped in at a place we'd had pork rib soup before. It was still exactly the same. Nothing super special, but satisfying.

Taipei - 永和豆漿 (Yonghe Soy Milk)

We were wandering the neighborhood near our hotel looking for breakfast. A spot we'd found on google maps was closed for a remodel, but another similar shop was open a few doors down.

The menu was pretty daunting, but with a bit of image-based translation and some pointing we managed to order breakfast from the one man running the joint.

Soy milk, along with a fluffy bao with a piece of pork and an egg.

And a pancake wrapped in egg.

I really liked the "bao sandwich", so I got it again the next morning. The bao was super fluffy and everything came together after slathering it with some of their provided sauces.

This time we got a "leek box", which turned out to be pretty much that - a dumplingy box filled with leeks.

Pretty representative every-day Taiwanese breakfasts, I think. We really liked it.

Taipei - Li Yuan

On our way homebound, we got into Taipei fairly late. We found this dumpling spot, Li Yuan, just up the alley from our hotel.

They closed at 9:30 and it was a quarter to 9, but we managed to squeak in some dinner. The xiao long bao really hit the spot.

We also got some greens in a fermented tofu sauce, which was interesting, and some gyoza, which were fantastic.

Taipei - Mazu temple beer garden and Sushi Express

We'd read that there was a temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu in the Datong district near where we were staying that had a beer garden and street food court, so we stopped by for lunch one day.

The central courtyard housing the temple is lined with a large number of food stalls.

Inside the courtyard are a bunch of tables associated with various stalls - many full of groups enjoying lunch and/or a beer.

Only some of the stalls allowed alcohol at their tables. We sat at one that didn't (which was fine for us on this particular occasion) and ordered a couple of bowls of soup. Above is a "pork rib" soup - pieces of boneless pork that had been breaded and fried, along with daikon radish cubes.

The other bowl was shrimp, also breaded, and egg - again with daikon cubes. Both broths were mild, but tasty and refreshing. It was a simple, but enjoyable lunch in a nice setting.

Another evening, after days of eating mostly local old-school Taiwanese food, we mixed it up a bit with a visit to Sushi Express - a local chain that does conveyer belt sushi.

It was cheap and cheerful, with the sushi being nothing special and priced at $30-$60NT (or $1-$2 USD) per plate.

Taipei - Dongmen Market

 
One of the places we enjoyed walking around on our previous trip was the Dongmen market area, so we made sure to revisit it.

It was mid-morning, and the market was in full swing.

Lots of little shops were busy making dumplings - presumably for the lunch rush.

We don't often go for sweet items, but this stall selling custard-filled pastries caught our eye.

They had a slightly crispy waffle-like exterior, with a soft inside and a custard filling. Warm and delicious.

We were happy to see this woman selling savory fried pastries in the same spot she was in when we visited five years ago. We had a radish-filled one, and it was great.

We also bought a sausage and snacked on it later sitting in Da'an Forest Park. It was juicy, flavored with something like five-spice and slightly sweet.

Taipei - Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake and backstreet pork noodles

 Black pepper cakes/buns are a Taiwanese street food staple. We had them on a previous visit from the stall in the Raohe night market and really enjoyed them.

This time, we tried a little corner spot called "Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake" located in the neighborhood south of Taipei Main Station. Pork and scallion, with a lot of black pepper. Super hot and tasty.

Nearby, we cut down a small alley to find some pork noodles we had been recommended.

The shop owners were very friendly. I don't have an English name for the place - it is 城中老牌牛肉拉麵大王 in Chinese. Here is a google maps link.

The bowl of noodles was large and filling enough that we shared it between the two of us. The minced pork reminded me a bit of Lu Rou Fan - but it also had a fair amount of garlic in it (you can see some minced garlic on the side of the bowl). It also came with a bowl of extra pork broth, which was very rich and flavorful.

Taipei - Yong He and Shihai Soy Milk

Back in Taiwan after 5 years, our first breakfast stop was to revisit Yong He Soy Milk King (you can find our previous visit here). It was completely unchanged from the last time we were here.

We enjoyed some cold, mildly-sweetened soy milk with Youtiao for dipping.

We also had soup dumplings, of course. Hard to beat at $90NT (or just under $3 USD).

They might not be as pretty, or have as perfectly fine skins as a place like Din Tai Fung, but they taste great.

We also enjoyed some radish cake and a pork bao.

A few days later, we found ourselves hungry at lunchtime, and stopped into Shihai Soy Milk.

Cold soy milk hit the spot to help cool off from the heat. And some more soup dumplings:

Most of these old-school soy milk places have very similar menus and a similar feel. Very no-nonsense, bustling vibe. We really like them.

Taipei - Airport 7-Eleven Beers

7-Eleven is the dominant convenience store chain in many parts of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Taiwan. It was our go-to place to grab beer and snacks, but you can (and many people do) get a whole meal there. They sell all sorts of stuff that can be reheated in the on-site microwaves, and even have bubbling cauldrons of soup with various bits of things like tofu and fish cakes simmering away.

One of the Taipei airport food courts had a 7-Eleven and we took advantage of it while waiting for our flight. Surprisingly, prices here were not inflated compared to other Taipei 7-Elevens, and we enjoyed a number of reasonably priced rounds of Taiwan Beer. It seemed a fitting end to our time here.

Taipei - Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

On our way to the airport to travel home from Taipei, we used the convenient baggage check at Taipei Main Station and headed out for some noodle soup.



Our destination was Liu Shandong Beef Noodles. Located on a corner at the intersection of two alleys, this place just oozed atmosphere.



We sat down and ordered a couple of bowls of noodle soup - one beef, and one pork chop. They arrived steaming hot and very generously sized.



The beef bowl was very tasty, but on this occasion I think I may have enjoyed the pork chop version a little bit more.



The lightly coated pork that had been fried before being added to the bowl really hit the spot on this rainy afternoon.



We took our time enjoying our noodles, listening to the happy slurping going on at the tables around us. It was a perfect last outing before we descended back into Taipei Main Station to board the airport MRT.