Non-stop eating was the main agenda in our Taipei itinerary. We just ate wherever our journey takes us and decided not to stress too much about our plans.
Day 1:
What would a Taipei trip be if we did not take a visit to the cult classic Din Tai Fung restaurant for some soupy siao long bao dumplings? We visited the new Taipei 101 branch of Din Tai Fung and was greeted by a huge mob of people waiting in line to get into Zara. Turned out Zara opened the day before and the Taiwanese were eager to get their hands on the merchandise. Anyway..Din Tai Fung's line, despite being very long, was moving quickly. We were given a waiting time of 30 minutes but were given a sit in 15. Yey!
Look who's excited to eat siao long bao!
Super cute baby themed siao long bao dinnerware.
Dumpling assembly line.
Huge space for all the siao long bao loving people.
The food came out really fast. We were served within 5 minutes of ordering, which was good because I was starving! First thing to come out was some simple sauteed spinach, our token healthy food for lunch.
Two kinds of fried rice went next: shrimp and porkchop. I liked the shrimp fried rice better. It was oily, carby, MSG-y and shrimpy in all the good ways.
The ever famous Din Tai Fung siao long bao. Would you guys kill me if I said I didn't find this amazing? It was good but it wasn't a WOW for me. There wasn't too much soup inside the dumplings and they taste a little too much of ginger. Better luck next time. I must have gone to the wrong branch or something.
The spicy shrimp and pork wonton on the other hand is very good. The sauce is a good balance of spicy, sweet and sour complimenting the bland wrapper and the sweet porky filling.
Sio mai, another ho hum dish. The skin was too thick.
I would go back to a different branch of Din Tai Fung just to be sure. I might be missing out on a totally awesome experience.
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Just some of the many snacks we had throughout the day. We didn't bother with a proper dinner and just ate all the xiaochi (little snacks) we bought. This is the life!
Cold soybean pudding with various toppings. Apparently, this is a traditional dessert or snack.
Movenpick chocolate ice cream...Seriously the best chocolate ice cream I've ever eaten! It has little flecks of dark chocolate melting into your tongue every time you take a spoonful.
Grass jelly with a shot of fresh milk and syrup. Who knew this would be a great combination!
We tried to go shopping at Wu Fen Pu, a small night market, but J was with us and having a baby along was cramping our style. haha We decided to just go to the Raohe St. night market for snacks and head home. This is a whole street full of Taiwanese food and delicacies about 10 minutes away from Wu Fen Pu.
Fried dumplings.
Buttery bread rolls.
Not the usual waffles. The lady gets a ball of yeasted dough, dunks it into your preferred flavor (sugar, green tea, cheese etc.) and cook the dough in a waffle griddle. This is so delicious. The exterior is slightly crunchy and sugary, the inside warm, chewy and moist.
E's favorite street food...Taiwanese sausage. He could eat 3 of these in one sitting.
These are chicken wings stuffed with oily rice, rolled in a cornmeal crumb and grilled. Before handing it over, the lady who sells this also shakes a spicy, aromatic powder over the chicken. SOOOO GOOD!
Deep fried sandwiches. E wanted to eat this but I gave it to my dad before he could get to it. hehe
AHHHH... So full and it's only the first day!
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