Taipei, as well as many other big cities around Asia, is famous for its food - namely the street foods and snacks. I hadn't done so much research prior to going, but I already had a few dishes in mind that I'd planned to try, as well as requests from a friend back home.
This particular request is what started off our second day at Taipei: the famous Mimi Nougat Crackers. Apparently, these nougat crackers were sold on the street a few years ago, but became so popular (especially among Koreans) that they were eventually able to set up their own store! They are open only from 9:00 to 13:00, and if they run out of crackers they close down early. They used to take reservations (that's how much they were in demand), but not anymore.
Directions: Get off Daan station exit 1, and turn the corner to your left. It's only about 2 minutes away and you can't miss it because of the line that forms a good thirty minutes before the store even opens!
Prices are 170 NT per box, which contains 16 crackers. My verdict? They were absolutely delicious, of course; they taste like vegetable crackers with a hint of chewy sweetness due to the nougat. BUT... I wouldn't say they're waiting 30 minutes in line for in the rain, which is what I did. There are plenty of other nougat crackers sold in other bakeries, that taste pretty much the same. But as a friend had requested three boxes, I was able to see what the hype was all about.
A five-minute walk from Mimi (closer to exit 5) is the first ever branch of Din Tai Fung, a well-known dim sum restaurant. I had written a blog post on the branch in Seoul, which was a bit disappointing, so I had high hopes for the original. There were a lot of people waiting, but since we were only two people we were able to be seated right away. The waitress handed us a Korean menu... because apparently we look so much like Koreans we don't even need to say so.
I don't know which menus are must-eats save the xiao long bao, which we ordered of course, so we went for the beef noodles and some egg/tomato/tofu soup for something healthier.
For dessert, we went for some mango ice flakes, but since we had too much of a load (I had 8 boxes of nougat crackers and my friend at just come from fenglisu shopping), we decided to get it to go, and took a taxi back to our room. So sadly, the ice flake looks a bit ugly and not very appetizing... but I assure you, it was sweet, tangy, and absolutely delicious.
Then we chilled at our room for (more than) a couple of hours, which was every bit as delightful as sightseeing. It was rainy and chilly, and what's better than snuggling under the covers, sheltered from the nasty weather? I almost fell asleep, but I thought that might be a bit too much since we didn't have much time. So around 2, we headed out to Zhongshan, where there's a street full of nice cafes. Our plan was to stay there until around 5, then go to the National Palace Museum, where I read on some blog post that on Saturdays, entrance was free during the extended hours. (This turned out not to be true. Moral of the story: don't believe everything you see on the stupid Internet.)
The cafe we originally intended to visit was PACKED, with at least 30 people on the waiting list. My friend and I, we get along well especially when it comes to traveling; we both hate waiting in long lines and we hate plowing through crowds to get anywhere. So naturally, we went into the cafe next door, which looking equally luxurious and inviting.
Cafe Jumane has a spacious and lovely interior, with huge bottles in the back brewing Dutch coffee. Their drinks and foods are on the pricier side, but well worth it. The only downside is that the tables are placed so close together to accommodate more people, and instead of a relaxing two hours (which was what we had gone for) we had to raise our voices to be heard, and sit among the loud chattering of way too many Taiwanese people (we didn't see too many tourists here). Not saying the people themselves were loud; it's just that the place was way too crowded to be considered a high-end cafe. Another downside is that you need to order at least one drink per person. Food doesn't count, even though we ordered one dish per person, which was more expensive than the drinks.
I ordered some apricot tea along with some French toast and a strawberry parfait. My friend ordered an Oreo milkshake with French toast and some mushroom thingy I don't remember.
The tea was way too much and I couldn't even finish half of it. After an hour or so it turned too bitter anyway. The food, on the other hand, was quite a success. I have to say, it was the best French toast I've ever eaten... not that I've had a lot during my lifetime. It was crispy on the outside, fluffy and custardy on the inside. I don't know how they make it, but they're doing a hella good job of it. The parfait was so-so; just some cheap ice cream with slices of strawberry and some corn flakes.
Then we went to the National Palace Museum, which will be in the next post!
On our way to dinner we stopped by Shilin Night Market again, to try a famous street snack called cheese potato. Sounds simple, right? Well not so, my friend. Not so.
For 80 NT, the dude will take a nice big potato that's been deep fried like a gigantic hash brown. He slits it open, then adds a bunch of toppings that include bacon, sweet corn, pineapple, sour cream (I think) and more that I can't remember... then from a HUGE bubbling pot of cheese, he pours a ladle over and the result is pure perfection. It's savory and cheesy and sweet, quite unlike anything I've ever tasted. We had one to share because we were on our way to dinner, but if that hadn't been the case I'm sure I could have downed much more than just one. Heavenly.
For dinner we went back to Daan, because there was a restaurant that my friend had read about and wanted to taste. Kaoji is actually right around the corner from Din Tai Fung, specializing in Shanghai cuisine. Our objective was to try the dong po rou, braised pork belly and some mantou buns.
It's a huge three-story building you can't miss. The interior looks a bit more upscale than Din Tai Fung, and I think the prices are higher too. We weren't hungry and we went only for the braised pork, but since it seemed rude to order just one menu when we were two, we ordered some fried rice.
This fried rice was absolutely appalling. The rice was very dry and bland, and worse than the super cheap ones I can get in Korea. We picked out the prawns but did not finish it; I didn't want to fill my belly with something so horribly distasteful. Now, the dongporou, let me tell you...
I don't know how exactly they make this; all I know is it's braised pork belly in some fantastic sauce, eaten with buns provided as such. There were six huge slabs of meat and six huge buns, which makes six gorgeous... how do you say it, taco-like thingys which can be topped with some scallion and cilantro.
My goodness. This tasted divine. I will place it right next to Peking duck on my list of foods I enjoyed while traveling, which also was a total mind-blower. It's the perfect combination of protein, fat, carbs, and deliciousness. I simply cannot describe the taste, as I'm not articulate enough, but man oh man oh MAN. Looking back, I can definitely say this was one of the best foods I had during my 4 days in Taiwan. Incredible.
If you ever get the chance, if anyone happens to stumble across this post in search of yummy restaurants in Taipei... trust me, you will not regret this one. With all my heart. I swear.
This particular request is what started off our second day at Taipei: the famous Mimi Nougat Crackers. Apparently, these nougat crackers were sold on the street a few years ago, but became so popular (especially among Koreans) that they were eventually able to set up their own store! They are open only from 9:00 to 13:00, and if they run out of crackers they close down early. They used to take reservations (that's how much they were in demand), but not anymore.
 |
| This is literally all there is to the store: stacks of crackers and a big shelf. |
Directions: Get off Daan station exit 1, and turn the corner to your left. It's only about 2 minutes away and you can't miss it because of the line that forms a good thirty minutes before the store even opens!
Prices are 170 NT per box, which contains 16 crackers. My verdict? They were absolutely delicious, of course; they taste like vegetable crackers with a hint of chewy sweetness due to the nougat. BUT... I wouldn't say they're waiting 30 minutes in line for in the rain, which is what I did. There are plenty of other nougat crackers sold in other bakeries, that taste pretty much the same. But as a friend had requested three boxes, I was able to see what the hype was all about.
A five-minute walk from Mimi (closer to exit 5) is the first ever branch of Din Tai Fung, a well-known dim sum restaurant. I had written a blog post on the branch in Seoul, which was a bit disappointing, so I had high hopes for the original. There were a lot of people waiting, but since we were only two people we were able to be seated right away. The waitress handed us a Korean menu... because apparently we look so much like Koreans we don't even need to say so.
 |
| We went in the morning, but I forgot to take a picture so I snapped this one when we came back to the neighborhood for dinner. |
I don't know which menus are must-eats save the xiao long bao, which we ordered of course, so we went for the beef noodles and some egg/tomato/tofu soup for something healthier.
For dessert, we went for some mango ice flakes, but since we had too much of a load (I had 8 boxes of nougat crackers and my friend at just come from fenglisu shopping), we decided to get it to go, and took a taxi back to our room. So sadly, the ice flake looks a bit ugly and not very appetizing... but I assure you, it was sweet, tangy, and absolutely delicious.
Then we chilled at our room for (more than) a couple of hours, which was every bit as delightful as sightseeing. It was rainy and chilly, and what's better than snuggling under the covers, sheltered from the nasty weather? I almost fell asleep, but I thought that might be a bit too much since we didn't have much time. So around 2, we headed out to Zhongshan, where there's a street full of nice cafes. Our plan was to stay there until around 5, then go to the National Palace Museum, where I read on some blog post that on Saturdays, entrance was free during the extended hours. (This turned out not to be true. Moral of the story: don't believe everything you see on the stupid Internet.)
The cafe we originally intended to visit was PACKED, with at least 30 people on the waiting list. My friend and I, we get along well especially when it comes to traveling; we both hate waiting in long lines and we hate plowing through crowds to get anywhere. So naturally, we went into the cafe next door, which looking equally luxurious and inviting.
Cafe Jumane has a spacious and lovely interior, with huge bottles in the back brewing Dutch coffee. Their drinks and foods are on the pricier side, but well worth it. The only downside is that the tables are placed so close together to accommodate more people, and instead of a relaxing two hours (which was what we had gone for) we had to raise our voices to be heard, and sit among the loud chattering of way too many Taiwanese people (we didn't see too many tourists here). Not saying the people themselves were loud; it's just that the place was way too crowded to be considered a high-end cafe. Another downside is that you need to order at least one drink per person. Food doesn't count, even though we ordered one dish per person, which was more expensive than the drinks.
I ordered some apricot tea along with some French toast and a strawberry parfait. My friend ordered an Oreo milkshake with French toast and some mushroom thingy I don't remember.
The tea was way too much and I couldn't even finish half of it. After an hour or so it turned too bitter anyway. The food, on the other hand, was quite a success. I have to say, it was the best French toast I've ever eaten... not that I've had a lot during my lifetime. It was crispy on the outside, fluffy and custardy on the inside. I don't know how they make it, but they're doing a hella good job of it. The parfait was so-so; just some cheap ice cream with slices of strawberry and some corn flakes.
Then we went to the National Palace Museum, which will be in the next post!
On our way to dinner we stopped by Shilin Night Market again, to try a famous street snack called cheese potato. Sounds simple, right? Well not so, my friend. Not so.
For 80 NT, the dude will take a nice big potato that's been deep fried like a gigantic hash brown. He slits it open, then adds a bunch of toppings that include bacon, sweet corn, pineapple, sour cream (I think) and more that I can't remember... then from a HUGE bubbling pot of cheese, he pours a ladle over and the result is pure perfection. It's savory and cheesy and sweet, quite unlike anything I've ever tasted. We had one to share because we were on our way to dinner, but if that hadn't been the case I'm sure I could have downed much more than just one. Heavenly.
For dinner we went back to Daan, because there was a restaurant that my friend had read about and wanted to taste. Kaoji is actually right around the corner from Din Tai Fung, specializing in Shanghai cuisine. Our objective was to try the dong po rou, braised pork belly and some mantou buns.
It's a huge three-story building you can't miss. The interior looks a bit more upscale than Din Tai Fung, and I think the prices are higher too. We weren't hungry and we went only for the braised pork, but since it seemed rude to order just one menu when we were two, we ordered some fried rice.
This fried rice was absolutely appalling. The rice was very dry and bland, and worse than the super cheap ones I can get in Korea. We picked out the prawns but did not finish it; I didn't want to fill my belly with something so horribly distasteful. Now, the dongporou, let me tell you...
I don't know how exactly they make this; all I know is it's braised pork belly in some fantastic sauce, eaten with buns provided as such. There were six huge slabs of meat and six huge buns, which makes six gorgeous... how do you say it, taco-like thingys which can be topped with some scallion and cilantro.
My goodness. This tasted divine. I will place it right next to Peking duck on my list of foods I enjoyed while traveling, which also was a total mind-blower. It's the perfect combination of protein, fat, carbs, and deliciousness. I simply cannot describe the taste, as I'm not articulate enough, but man oh man oh MAN. Looking back, I can definitely say this was one of the best foods I had during my 4 days in Taiwan. Incredible.
If you ever get the chance, if anyone happens to stumble across this post in search of yummy restaurants in Taipei... trust me, you will not regret this one. With all my heart. I swear.
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