Monday April 1, 2013
Morning started with something I’ve never come upon the
likes of before. A spin-off on the breakfast egg sandwich commonly eaten at the
house. I’ve had a toast egg sandwich and a crispy Asian rectangular bun with
egg before but this was totally new. It was called ‘mantou,’ a steamed bread
made with (according to Wikipedia) “milled wheat flour, eater and leavening
agents.” This mantou tasted like normal bread but more condensed and squishier.
The heaping bun was too big, far overpowering the meal with bread. On the
inside there was a dab of spread much like butter but was sugary. Interesting
breakfast concept for sure.
No school today! Yay! Monday and Tuesday are exam days for
high school students, giving exchange students a short break. I’m required to
attend on Wednesday even though other schools let their exchange students off
since it’s just a test-grading day. Thursday and Friday are holidays for all
students for a reason I haven’t yet been told. I’ll see if I can find out
though. ;) Sleeping in a couple hours was a pleasure though. ^_^
From noon to night, the day was spent with my dear friend
Mariko just hanging out. First we meet at the ‘Healthy Juice’ shop where we
delightfully devoured the delicious salmon and fruit sandwiches as well as
those nummy fruit drinks last time. It was the plan to spilt the same
sandwiches again but I screwed up. When I ordered for the both of us, I
accidently pointed to the first “smoked” menu item seen, thinking it was
“smoked salmon.” Turns out it was “smoked chicken.” Big time oops. Mariko is a
vegetarian who doesn’t eat land meat but still intakes seafood. To compensate
for this mistake, she took all of the fruit sandwich while I got the smoked
chicken one.
Despite the mix-up, I quite liked the smoked chicken
sandwich. It reminded me of Subway, which of course I love. No complaints, only
praise for the ‘Healthy Juice’ shop yet again. ^_^
Following the meal (eaten at B2), we traveled up to the same
building’s 3rd floor for specifically browsing Taiwanese cookbooks
as well as meandering around other sections. Mariko looked for a cookbook for
her American brother while I searched for books to educate myself in the tasty
ways of Taiwan.
Success was found through three swell books that seemed to
be in the same series, or at least same style, over “Taiwan Night Market
Snacks” & "Taiwan Road Side Eats." They contain both Chinese and English instructions for each recipe as
well as great pictures for each dish. The clarity and presentation of the books
were just so great not to buy. I’m definitely going to have a blast creating
these foods back in America! :D
With an excessive time still available before heading to our
other destination, upon Mariko’s request the two of us stopped by ‘tpyogurt’
otherwise known as ‘Tutti Frutti’ in the USA. I believe it’s basically the same
in each country, save for a few small differences in toppings and yogurt
flavors.
My small cup was nice and simple, containing half blueberry
and half orange with several chocolate chips and mochi sprinkled on top. I
can’t say much about the toppings because they were only average but the yogurt
definitely gets my thumbs up! Neither of these delicious flavors needed any toppings
or sauces to thoroughly enjoy. In fact, I preferred them alone because it
seemed more like normal yogurt instead of the equivalent of a topping
overloaded ice cream. And yogurt is so good! I miss the wonderful Activia
yogurt and this treat was about the closest I can get to it from Taiwan. Nummy!
Mariko’s yogurt. Trying a bit of all the flavors plus
loading colorful gummy bears on top, she got twice the amount as I. She had fun
taste testing each yogurt, seeing what was or wasn’t good. Our time there was
the yogurt version of a relaxing coffee shop chat. XD
A subway ride later, we arrived at Shilin Night Market for
some exploring time. Wandering throughout the area, we visited clothing, food,
shoes and other such shops. I found myself a pretty shirt and Mariko found
several shorts. Thankfully there was no rain despite it raining all the
previous night and morning so we could walk through the area pleasantly. Taipei
indeed has big time proven to be switching to a rainy season. (It rained even
more later that night) Hey, Taipei, think you could send some of your rain over
to Texas please? XD I don’t think I’ll miss having to carry around an umbrella
everywhere nor sporadic downpours of acid rain. It’s funnily ironic how I
rarely ever used an umbrella in Texas when in Taipei it’s like your constant
companion. XD
Here’s why Taiwanese should consider hiring a native English
speaker to handle English phrases on clothing. Total fail! “Abercrombie” some
how got deformed into “Abermrocbie.” Other than having terrible English, it’s a
for sure way to advertise you bought a cheap rip-off brand. XD
Searching for dinner, stinky tofu was on my mind. I’m not
familiar at all with Shilin Night Market and neither was Mariko so we moseyed
through the streets for something to appease me. Though I looked for stinky
tofu signs, there’s really no point in doing so. Just follow your nose! ;D At
one point I caught the food’s unique scent and trailed it to a small but nice
sit-down shop.
One request later and TADA! Beloved stinky tofu! :D As you
can see here, there were four solid squares of tofu with fermented cabbage on
the side. Each tofu square was hard on the outside and soft inside. They had
part of the top taken out to dig a small hole for holding the liquid sauce
(with more of it on the bottom of the plate). At first it does smell for only a
short bit until it turns into something enticing. I was surprised at Mariko’s
reaction because she wasn’t fond of the smell at all, making me think she
couldn’t stand to be so close to it. But that feeling passed over her and left
no problem in the scent department. In the taste department, LOVE! This stuff
was great! It very well may be my favorite style of stinky tofu! Btw, in those
Taiwanese cookbooks I bought today, they have stinky tofu. *evil grin* >:)
Combined with Mariko’s initial reaction to the stinky tofu
and my (real) Dad saying he went to Chinatown and couldn’t bring himself to sit
near one shop’s version, I really wonder whether or not I’m strange. I feel
that the stinky tofu my Dad ordered is different from what I’ve had and when
Mariko tasted tonight’s dish, she thought it wasn’t bad. So I really can’t tell
what peeps back in Texas think of stinky tofu (the kind I’ve had). Has Taiwan
altered my smelling ability in some manner? Or perhaps I’ve gotten used to such
a smell that I find it nice? I really don’t know! I’m so curious to holding on
experiment back in America if I can figure out how to recreate my beloved
stinky tofu. Think I would have many volunteers to try stinky tofu out? XD
Time with Mariko wrapped up with sharing a shaved ice
covered with the assorted fruits of mango, strawberry and kiwi. A sweet sauce
was also lightly drizzled on but I can’t quite figure out its taste. Maybe it’s
like a thicker sugary milk of some sort, as a wild guess.
The thing that stood out about this shaved ice was its ice
rather than the toppings. Instead of crushed ice like I’ve had before, this one
mimicked a soft snow that melted smoothly in your mouth. A spoonful of snow,
fruit and sauce altogether put one heck of a smile on our faces. We both loved
it so much that Mariko spilt it in half just to make sure we would each get an
even portion, otherwise she might go overboard. :P We couldn’t tell for sure but
it almost seemed like the ice had a very faint, undistinguishable flavor, which
gave it a little extra pa-zaz!. I think this was the best shaved ice I’ve
had…ever! :D
With rain still pouring down, I bid y’all a wet Taipei good
night! ^_^
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