As a vegetarian, it is sometimes difficult to find restaurants when I’m in an unfamiliar place. In Seattle, many restaurants offer vegetarian choices on their menu, however, in Taiwan this is most of the time not the case. In Taiwan, many places specialize in one type of food, for example, the famous Taiwanese 牛肉麵 (beef noodle soup), and have nothing in terms of vegetarian choices. Two months of having to fend for myself and find food every day did not sound appealing. I was hoping to find affordable and good choices while I was here without having to constantly worry about what to eat.
Let me take you on a delectable journey of food from the very beginning to the now of my Taiwan trip.
About an hour after taking off at 2am, the flight attendant comes around with breakfast. At this point I am so tired and eat my meal groggily while watching a movie. Normally I’m not a fan of congee, but at 3am on the airplane the mild flavors tasted amazing.
When I arrived at my 外婆s house it was still early in the morning, so I showered then went to the market with her. For lunch we went to a vegetarian restaurant where we ate 乾麵 (dry noodles), 龍鬚菜 (a stringy vegetable), and 蘿蔔湯 (daikon soup) upon my 外婆s insistence even after I was far beyond full.
Nearly every day for the first week or two I ate 蛋餅(egg wrapped in a thin scallion pancake), so much so that the restaurant memorized my order.
On my first weekend my family took me to 石碇 and 昇坑 to eat 臭豆腐 (stinky tofu), which is that area’s specialty.
Hot mochi with sesame filling is just what I needed!
My supervisor took me out to eat shaved ice. Underneath the ice are the “toppings”.
A delicious matcha and hojicha soft serve ice cream in the mall connected to the 市政府 (Taipei City Hall) MRT subway station.
This is 麻油麵線, a traditional classic noodle dish. I ate this for lunch in 九分.
After lunch we enjoyed a quintessential tea experience overlooking the beautiful mountains and ocean at 九分.
This dish is called 麻醬麵. It is a classic Taiwanese noodle dish with a sauce made from peanuts.
This place is a tea shop in Tamsui. I took my Chinese professor there to drink tea and enjoy the handmade 鳳梨酥 (pineapple cake) that they make.
Every day when I walk back to the dorm I have to pass by this bakery and cafe. It’s so difficult to tear my eyes away from the mouthwatering display of cakes and the delicious smell of coffee.
That is my food journey in Taiwan so far. I look forward to exploring more delicious foods and drinking lots of calming tea!
Overseas Professional and Intercultural Training Program
Taipei City, Taiwan, Summer 2023