Chen Family Cold Noodles

Ok, here's another great food item from Taiwan. It's a cold noodle dish that is simple and cheap. That's my favorite kind of food. I mean, the fancy stuff is great but when you enjoy the taste of something that is simply and humbly made, it just tastes that much better. I'm not exactly sure what's in it but the power comes from it's perfectly made sauce. There is certainly lots of garlic, some chili and maybe a peanut or sesame sauce with shavings of cucumber lightly sprinkled on top. They are open 24 hours, so when in Taipei, do remember to visit the Chen family. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Xiao Lung Bao, The World's Most Perfect Food

If you're in Taiwan, you must stop by Din Tai Fung. World famous for their soup dumplings or Xiao Lung Bao. Although they have outlets in China, Hong Kong and La, the best dumplings can only be had in the original Taipei outlet.The key to Xiao Lung Bao is the skin. It must be delicate, thin and almost transparent. I think the reason why they are so good in Taipei must be the local water used to make the dough. I guess it's similar to a New York bagel, you just can't find a better one anywhere else.
Great food is not just about taste but about the experience of eating it. The aroma, the texture and the way it's eaten are all really important factors. I think soup dumplings are one of the world's most perfect items of food in that sense. Once you dip it in the vinegar and ginger sauce and bite through the tender skin, the soup inside gushes into your mouth providing the perfect amount of moisture for the succulent meat inside. Your taste buds experience so much in such a tiny little package. Although most prefer their dumplings with crab roe added to the pork, they are a bit more oily and fishy tasting, I prefer the plain pork ones.

This is where the magic happens. The guy in the foreground is breaking off the pieces of dough that will make up the fine, delicate skin. The guys in the middle ground are wrapping the skin around the little bud of pork on the inside. In the background you can see the steamers piled high to the ceiling next to the guy working the steamer. The turn over is incredible. Hungry?

Taiwan Shaved Ice

Tired of reading about Eric and Martin's Hawaiian shaved ice stories, I decided to get my own while here in Taipei while working on a new movie, Like a Dream, directed by Clara Law. While on a break from promoting John Woo's Red Cliff, Chang Chen took us to this place that had an interesting list of toppings. Unlike the brightly colored fruit squirts you get from the Hawaiian style, in Taiwan they cover the ice in a brown sugar type syrup followed by your choice of unrecognizable but tasty little tidbits piled into a hole dug out of the middle. The addition of the solid matter filling gives you a nice variety of different textures to balance out the ice. Kinda like a Donutman donut but in ice. Above was my concoction. Under that strawberry jelly is some chewy boba cha type balls. As Borat would say, "Very nice!"
Chang Chen had peanuts and a flan like custard in his. A very strange combo indeed but it actually tasted quite good.
Antonio opted to have the sweet tofu instead but by the look on his face here, I bet he was thinking, "Damn, I shoulda had the ice."