Taichung - First Stop in Taiwan (June 4-6, 2024)

DAY 1

Taiwan reminds me of some places I’ve visited. The tropical climate, garbage bins on the street, frequent lack of sidewalk, and convenient stores remind me of Japan. Makes sense since Taiwan was once ruled by Japan. The chewed up betel nut on the ground and occasional sewer smell (sorry Taiwan) remind me of India.

After landing in Taipei (Taoyuan), we walked around on our way to the train station. We stopped at some stores and a local market where I purchased some apricot kernel milk. It’s like sweetened soy milk but with apricot kernel (related to almonds). This one was quite fragrant and a little nutty sweet at the end.

Near the train station, we also picked up a roasted sweet potato from Family Mart and a scallion pancake from a street vendor (I love street vendors!)

Every convenience store has roasted sweet potatoes and tea eggs and almost every one has bathrooms! The sweet potatoes from Family Mart are caramelized, sweet, creamy not stringy texture

Scallion pancake stall

Then it was train to Taichung!

View from train window

A cool building near the train station

Our first stop in Taichung was Miyahara - a Harry Potter-esque tea, pastry, and ice cream shop. I got the songboling green tea and tieh kwan ying (oolong tea), osmanthus, rose, mint topped with thin almond cookie and salted egg yolk pineapple cake. 

The ice cream was flavorful and not too sweet, though less creamy and more sorbet like compared to Western ice cream. The rose and osmanthus in the latter ice cream enhanced the tea with floral aromas, though no individual flavor was particularly strong. The pineapple cake was very tasty with an extra buttery crust and balanced filling.

Then we walked over Taichung Second Market which was filled with sights and smells. In addition to the open market space, there were many shops that formed the border of the central market area. Upon entry into the main vendor area, we were assaulted by the steam rising from large boiling caldrons and yells of vendors advertising their braised pork rice. 

There were also stalls selling produce, meat, fish, drinks, clothes, and shoes.

For lunch, we dined at a shop that has been selling 肉圆 for three generations. The dish is basically a giant sticky rice ball filled with meat and a rice paste for binding. The outside dough was chewy but smooth, and the hint of five spice in the filling was complemented by just the right amount of hoisin sauce drizzled on top. 

I think the 肉圆 are both boiled and fried

May not look the prettiest but delicious

We also had some sweet potato leaves topped with garlic, shrimp wonton noodle soup (solid wonton), and a marinated duck egg (very flavorful yolk). 

We got a pan-fried taro cake and cooled off with a cup of black tea and soy milk from the other shops. The tea was very aromatic!!! And just one USD for a large cup!!!

Nearby we visited Taichung Central Park and a mall in search of waterproof shoes (June is rainy season in Taiwan).

After checking into the hotel, we took the bus to Fengchia Night Market. 

I had…

• Blood cake - blood was mixed with rice to make a sweet and slightly chewy triangle, coated with toasted flour and cilantro
• Sesame chicken with rice noodles - boiled and served with a flavorful herbal broth
• Stinky tofu - one of my favorite foods, though I’ve had better in NY (and Quincy)
• Meat bun cooked in a tandoor like oven
• Guava - guava dusted in a sour plum/licorice (vanilla not anise like flavor) powder, unfortunately not guava season so not super flavorful
• Pineapple - much sweeter than American pineapple, also coconut aroma

Other stalls included pick your own hot pot, fried chicken, grilled seafood, fried sweet potato balls, and of course drinks.

Stinky Tofu

Black pepper bun

Sesame chicken

DAY 2

We spent most of the morning hiking in Dakeng Scenic Area. 

It was pretty straightforward with stairs and paved paths, though it started raining in the middle.

Traversing a rickety bridge in the rain

Bananas!

plont

We bought some fruit - mango, pineapple, and papaya - at the end of the trail. The mango is a different variety with red skin and smooth flesh.

For lunch, we dined at a local dumpling chain 八方. The corn and pork dumplings were very tasty - the sweetness of the corn was complemented by white pepper in the filling. The skin of the wontons were up to standard with thin and smooth skin! Sesame noodles were very flavorful too.

Dumplings! (Sorry too hungry to take photos of the other food)

Then we trekked to the outskirts of the city to visit Rainbow Village. The Village was a collection of homes for soldiers who fought for the Nationalist Party of China and fled the mainland. However, it was at risk of destruction by land developers. In an effort to protect the village, one of the former soldiers Huang Yung-Fu painted the walls with brightly colored cartoon people and animals. The fantastical atmosphere of the Village reminded me of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. 

There was a mango tree right next to the entrance of Rainbow Village and a mango had fallen to the ground. Although it was green, it seemed to have been ripe enough to fall off the tree. We tried later at the hotel. Though it wasn't super sweet, it was very fragrant and the combination of sweet and sour added to the complexity of flavor.

On the way back to the city center, we experienced a bit of a ... uh ... travel hiccup. I got on the bus according to Google Maps. We noticed that the bus was going in the opposite direction from which we came and next thing we were in the middle of fields not the city. We must have taken the bus in the wrong direction and so we needed to get off as soon as possible espeially since the bus seems to be leaving the city.

We got off, walked to the other side of the road for the other bus, and realized that we had indeed been on the right bus. It was just taking a bit of detour to get to our destination. So we waited another thirty minutes for the next bus. (Yes, they come every thirty minutes here :(( )

Back in the city center, we purchased some waterproof shoes and walked around Yizhong Night Market. Yizhong seems to be less touristy than Fengchia and more popular with the locals my age.

We settled with a sit-down near Yizhong. We ate...

• Beef Noodle Soup - the broth is thicker and more flavorful - saltier and a bit spicy (chili oil) - than the Cantonese version I'm used to, still pretty good
• Lamb Vermecilli Soup - light lamb-flavored stock with vermcelli, little bits of lamb, and flavorful radish
• Five spice tofu - dressed in a slightly sweet sauce, I liked the darker five spice tofu ("black five spice tofu")

DAY 3

When traveling, I enjoy walking around and stopping at wherever looks interesting. On our way to Sixth Market, we stopped at a specialty food store (with tea flavored rice crackers! duck floss! and lots more!) and Taichung Botanical Garden. At the garden, there were lots of tropical plants and a funny bird. 

Girl chasing funny bird

plont

We also stopped to purchase a longan cake. The Taiwanese brown sugar in the quick bread was aromatic and the chewy dried longan pieces were a nice contrast to the light and fluffy bread.

Only after that did we finally make it to Sixth Market. Sixth Market is definitely more upscale than the Second Market that we visited on Day 1. Highlights...

• Many different flavors of caneles from the local chain Delle Bakery. I got the original, sea salt hazelnut, and ruby chocolate. When I found out that the caneles were frozen, I was a bit skeptical. But they were crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside as they should be! Since they were still cold, the creaminess was refreshing and reminiscent of frozen brownies - one of my childhood treats. (The next day they were a bit soggy.) My only complaint would be that the outside could have been less bitter. The sea salt hazelnut had an additional filling, though not too memorable. The ruby chocolate was topped with a berry and rose white chocolate glaze, adding a nice fruity touch.

• Many different flavors of scones. My favorite one had a filling of taro and chewy mochi!

• Many different flavors of buns - blueberry and cheese, cranberry yogurt, maple longan, etc. I had the sesame and maple longan. Both were light and super chewy. The dough was also particularly aromatic, not just from yeast and proofing but perhaps the flour used as well.

• Massage from blind people
• A DIY Bakery where you can make your own cake
• A HUGEEEE Muji Store - expansive food, home goods, and clothing sections

On the way to our next destination, we passed by a pedestrian tunnel plastered with notes in support of Hong Kong's independence. 

Our next destination was an air-conditioned mall. Cool thing were free lockers with built-in refrigeration.

For lunch, we ate another local chain. 首學 specializes in fish and seafood dishes. We ordered

• grilled milkfish belly - crispy, topped with sour plum / licorice / white pepper powder
• fish floss rice - mostly like meat floss with a hint of the sea
• oyster and egg omelette - drizzled with sweet sauce, basil was a nice touch
• congee with milkfish, fish ball, and oyster - not your typical congee, closer to rice with broth

Taichung is known for its art scene. Included in that is the National Museum of Fine Arts. There were cool interactive exhibits and it was interesting to see how Taiwanese artists combined Western and Eastern influences.

Chair for baby

Depiction of the sun shining along a coast covered with fishermen's boats - can you spot the influence from Matisse?

On paper used for traditional Eastern Asian calligraphy and paintings but abstract depiction

Before leaving Taichung, my dad wanted to find someone he met as a part-time tour guide in Guangzhou 30 years ago. Turns out she's alive (86 years young!) and lives near the museum. We went to a Western style restaurant to catch up.