Taiwan: Pizza For a Meal

Last day in Taiwan began with a breakfast of fried egg tucked into slices of lightly grilled thick toast with hash browns as a side. Then there was a piece of radish cake specially ordered because we wanted to try how Taiwanese dim sum tasted like.

There was, of course, coffee.

I don't have a picture of the radish cake.

For some reason I didn't get to take pictures of it- perhaps I was too hungry- but if I'm not wrong, I think the radish cake was of the thick, chonky kind, full of yam (not flour), well fried at the edges and smushy soft on the inside. 

Breakfast over we took a quick walk around the area, first going along Section 1, Jinshan South Road, passing by what I think is Lane 53 Qidong Street, then maybe into Linyi Street and Section 2, Jinan Road. 

To be honest I have no idea where we were. Our route basically followed the general direction of where our hotel was, and I know we didn't go very far off the quadrangle. 

Somewhere along the way we probably walked along Lane 134 of Section 2 Zhongxiao East Road before making a round back to Section 1, Bade Road where we decided to have lunch. 

Along this walk we passed by a good number of indie cafes, like those serving coffee and cake and dessert. There were shops offering clothes. There were shops offering vintage stationery and whimsical, quirky knick-knacks that you'd place on your desk or bedside table. 

Then there were shops offering hearty meals and tummy-filling food. 

If I'm not wrong there was a Japanese cafe offering omurice or donburi or ramen (I can't remember), there was a noodle shop selling huge sized bowls of traditional noodles (beef, pork, I think), then there was a shop offering mixed-dish bento boxes in the way that reminded me of Singapore's chap cai png, and which fascinated me so much I sneaked a picture. 

We had lunch at a bistro along Section 1, Bade Road, which, although needing a minimum order of 600NT per person, tasted actually really good. There was much on the menu that interested me, like the salmon pizza, the fish and chips, the Korean style fried chicken and the stir fried scrambled eggs with truffle. 

But there were other even more interesting items on the menu and so we decided to have a Truffle Mushroom and Minced Meat Pizza, a Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab Hamburger with Peanut Butter, and a dish of Fries with Salted Egg Sauce. 

For drinks we tried their signature teas. 

One of us had Vanilla Bourbon tea (me) and my friend had Geisha Blossom. 

The pizza was interesting- it's not often that I get to have a huge thick-crusted pizza that combines the distinctive smoky flavors of truffle with that of bak chor all laid out and baked perfectly. 

They didn't stinge on the quantity, nor did they compromise on the quality of bak chor either. There was enough meat to satisfy our lunchtime craving, and salty enough was the minced meat too. 

Yet it was the burger which made us fell in love. 

It's like, how often is it that one gets to have a deliciously deep fried chonk of a soft shell crab stuffed between two soft brioche burger buns? 

How often is it even that one gets to try the same soft shell crab with a huge serving of peanut butter? 

I'd never tried crab with peanut butter before, much less one this creamy and salty. 

Let's just say it enhanced the flavors of the crab and made the whole taste incredibly unusual.

Let's also say that the peanut butter, which had come in lieu of the sauce, added that right amount of texture and balance to both the bun, and the crab.

It was so good. 

We loved the tea as well. 

Vanilla bourbon had the warmth of vanilla blended inside the tea, and the geisha blossom was,  I tell you, so, so fragrant. 

I wish we'd had more time to (slowly) savor and finish up all those gigantic plates of food. 

There was too little time for the (homemade looking) thick-sized salted egg fries. 

I shall have to wait till I'm back in Taipei to have the same meal at another time. 

This afternoon we were flying off, so back to the hotel it was where we collected our luggage and Ubered to Taipei Main Station before boarding the 1330 Airport Express to Taoyuan Terminal 1.  

Taiwan: The Brewery and Breeze

Morning this day in Taipei saw us beginning with a breakfast of omelet, scrambled egg, hashbrown, and lettuce along with a serving of French toast, French fries, coffee, and tea. 

Can it be considered elaborate?

Probably not, but it was tasty, filling, and as local a Taiwanese breakfast as it could be. 

I'm not sure how the standards of a local breakfast are supposed to be but the scrambled egg was fluffy and easy to pick up with chopsticks, the hash brown still had some of its crisp at the edges, and the bacon too- although a bit dry- held in sufficient of its (processed) flavor. 

I kinda liked the lettuce. 

It wasn't a lot like how you'd expect of a salad dish at a buffet but it was cold, it was refreshing and gave an unexpected burst to the rest of the food. 

I took a bit of fancy to the French toast. 

It isn't often that I get to have slices of toast this thick dipped in beaten egg and shallow fried. 

Guess I'm used to the skinnier ones. 

A breakfast of toast, eggs, ham and very good coffee will make one feel rather full, so right after our meal, out it was to the Huashan 1914 Creative Park located directly across the road from our hotel.

I've since done some reading about this park and, you know, what makes this park so interesting is not simply the fact that it is today become a designated cultural center for theater groups, writers, movie directors, painters and wood sculptors in Taiwan but it is that somewhere along the way the city authorities decided it worth a shot to preserve the buildings that in 1914 housed the Taihoku Winery and later, in 1949, the Taiwan Province Tobacco and Wine Government Monopoly Bureau, Taipei First Winery.

These buildings have a heritage. 

A rich one. 

But far from buildings that have been left alone and abandoned, today they host a good number of cultural activities and events that- like include theater performances, anime pop ups, a Wooderland store, and a place that, I think, served very good pastries and coffee. 

Nearer to the road in the open space, rehearsals for a (folk) music event was underway. Tents were being set up, bento boxes were being brought in for staff and volunteers, and on the signboard near the grass, notices had been put up indicating to visitors and guests that there were workshops and talks held at various buildings throughout the venue. 

For some reason, the buildings reminded me somewhat of little Scandinavian towns. 

Don't ask me why. 

After Huashan 1914, we (wandered) into the campus grounds of the National Taipei University of Technology. 

Truth be told, the campus buildings fascinated me. 

See, it is easy to imagine that a campus dedicated to academia of such futuristic nature would consist of buildings designed with a similar architectural vibe. 

But, no, the buildings of this university were quite the opposite. They made me think of the late 60s, or maybe the 70s. 

Somewhere around that era. 

I'm afraid I don't really know. 

Yet, old-fashioned and outdated not were they, because on closer look during my slow gander, I realized just how harmonious the trees and shrubs with the concrete buildings were. It were as if I were studying in a big garden where the urban complemented the natural of the land instead of invading it. 

I didn't stay too long to analyse and have feels for the campus though.

There was lunch to be attended to, and so it was to American steak restaurant Smith & Wollensky Taipei on the 47th floor of Breeze Nan Shan Plaza on Songzhi Road, Xinyi District. 

What with the restaurant being headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and restaurants in Chicago, Miami, London and Vegas, I had thought the menu would be complicated.

Surprisingly... not so. 

Yes, there were a variety of steak filets to choose from. There was Cajun Marinated USDA Prime New York Strip. There was the classic USDA Prime Bone-in Rib Eye. And over the shellfish side, there was Chilled Maine Lobster. 

The Pan-fried Murray Cod had seemed interesting, as did the USDA Prime Lamb Chops. 

But when we did order, what stood out most from the menu was the Taiwan Tomahawk Pork Chop. (Maybe because we both happened to be rather hungry by that time and we could do with a larger sized portion of main instead of a tasty, well-grilled piece of meat that was meant for one but shared between two) 

Along with the main we ordered a Steak Tartare, an Onion Soup (with one of the thickest layers of cheese I'd ever seen in my life), and for sides we decided on a creamed spinach. 

I can't remember whether we took a Mac & Cheese or Onion Rings. 

I doubt so. 

Pretty sure I'd have taken a picture of it otherwise. 

When lunch finished we sat at our table quietly relishing the view. 

It's a wee bit of a pity that these pictures don't do the view much of a justice- for some reason they ended up looking so dramatic- but it was indeed a bit of a puffy rain cloud day, and so here we are, various shots of a heavy, grainy-skied, emo-looking Taipei. 

Being so high up and so near to 101 gave one a very special feeling though.

It felt like you were seeing the capital with a somewhat new perspective, with somewhat new eyes. 

Lunch over we walked across to the Breeze Nanshan Mall, which, unlike her Plaza counterpart, was less luxurious in her offerings, was more lively, and had more stores catering towards street style. 

I'm trying to remember just what it is of the stores there are in the mall that I saw, but it's been a while and I don't recollect anymore. 

But it was definitely more fun, there were definitely more things to look at and shop at, and there were plenty of crowd. 

They were in the mall, they were out there in the pedestrian walkway between the malls and they were crossing from one side of the street to the other, hovering from Nanshan Mall and the Xinyi Wei Xiu Shopping District on one side to the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi on the other side of Songshou Road. 

This afternoon we didn't get a chance to cross the road. 

Instead, because we were going for the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire movie at VieShow Cinemas in about an hour, decided we'd hang around this side of the road instead. 

Good thing we did, too. 

There was a Loewe event going on, and a nice thing it was to observe the open-air, sheltered-tent event where staff tied a brown Loewe ribbon around the wrists of those attending, and where activities had been planned to resemble the night markets that Taiwan is so famous for.

After the movie we stopped by Le Meridien Hotel for a while, then went ahead to Ximending for no particular purpose other than the fact that one just has to visit this well known shopping district when you're in Taipei. 

Lively, bright, trendy and youth-driven with department stores and individual vendors, this is the place to come to for a spot of shopping and a spot of Taiwan street food. 

There was, unfortunately, not much for me to buy this time but we stopped to take a picture of the now-renovated fried chicken cutlet stall that had already been there when we first came to this place 12 years ago and which was still in business- at the very same spot- after all this while.

We were still a little full from our Smith & Wollensky Tomahawk (sized) pork chop so decided it better to skip all the street food (whatever was still open at that hour) and head straight to dessert instead. 

Between ice cream and bowls of taro, we went for the latter.

Ice cream can be had everywhere but taro balls in ginger soup, and taro balls on top of black sesame shaved ice? 

Best to be had in Taiwan. 

I'd like to say that we ended the day on a lovely sweet high with ginger soup and shaved ice and peanut, but, as life goes, there was more. 

No less, to boot, at the wee hour of 2am, when we got woken up by a ear-blasting beep by Taiwan's Earthquake Alert alarm and some serious (infrastructure-type) sounds of rattling as the room literally shook left and right. 

Did we have to evacuate? 

No.

But I got my lenses on, we went out to the balcony to check on the other buildings in the neighborhood, and after a while, went back in to sleep.