’s Top 12 Taste Treats From the Sublime

to the Ridiculous By Janice Nieder

Wenwu Temple

aiwan still remains largely Japanese have all settled here at a more health-conscious diet by paper-wrapped rolls topped with undiscovered, particularly one time, layered with a fusion of focusing on the highest quality salmon roe was so beautifully by Western travelers, but distinctive regional Chinese styles seasonal ingredients. presented that we hesitated (for this seriously underrated, of cooking from the Fujian, at least a full ten seconds) before economically successful , Szechwan and Hakka A seafood still life of sashimi, sea digging in. However, the pièce de T(it has become one or the world’s communities. urchin, shrimp, squid, and rice résistance appeared to be just a richest countries in less than fifty years) democratic little island is Here are a dozen of foodie favorites Shi-Yang Culture poised to nab the title of “Best Hidden Travel Gem of 2015.” From the sublime: countryside, Zen version Visitors will be blown away by the of The French Laundry country’s eight pristine national If you’re in a hurry you might parks, majestic Buddhist temples, want to bypass Shi-Yang Culture line-up of spectacular festivals, Restaurant, which requires a which range from the traditional minimum of two to three hours Dragon Boat Festival to the Fat to fully appreciate the innovative Pig Festival, plethora of modern prix-fixe 10-course meal. After designer shopping malls, the 150 a 45-minute drive from bustling natural hot springs (and many you’ll arrive at the lush luxurious spa resorts) and the Yangmingshan National Park where overwhelming friendliness of Mr. Lin Bin-hui, previously an the people. acclaimed architect/designer, realized his vision of creating a But I was there first and foremost culinary mountainside retreat. for the food, since truly knowledgeable foodies consider The organic Zen-like restaurant was Taiwan the ultimate food destination inspired by his appreciation of the for . The island is Song Dynasty, 10th century . a fabulous culinary mash-up due His creative cuisine focuses on in part to the fact that the reinterpreting traditional foods with Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish and an eye to refined beauty and a nod to

34 Cuisine

simple black cauldron of chicken Shi-Yang Culture most expensive restaurant to a a mango ice cream snowball perched soup until the waiter gently placed Lotus blossom soup makeshift alley cart, everyone wants on top. a large lotus blossom on top which to be known for serving the best dramatically unfolded over the . Noodle Cuisine Bragging rights: there’s nothing next several minutes due to the (Tel: (02) 2741-6299) is certainly like a snake dinner to separate hot steam. a strong contender. the boys from the men. To try a full range of snake (as in After lunch a short stroll through Owner Wu Zanhao was originally cobra) delicacies, to Snake the tranquil forest surroundings, a decorator, which is evident in his Alley, formally known as Huaxi Taiwan’s Top brings you to Shi-Yang’s teahouses, styled-out restaurant laden with Street . The snake meat where a tea ceremony can be Swarovski crystal chandeliers. In can be “enjoyed” in a variety of pre-arranged. 2011, he participated in the Taipei dishes. We manned up with a full Poo-Poo ice-cream International Beef Noodle Festival, serpent feast consisting of snake Inside tip: To avoid at Modern placing 8th in the Creative category. soup, snake sautéed with water disappointment, reservation should The signature dish here, World-Class spinach and fried snake skin paired be made months in advance. Selections Beef Noodles Soup, has with our choice of snake bile, venom three cuts of beef: tendon, shank or blood wine. To the ridiculous-but oh so fun! and tail, Wu likes to pair this with 12 Taste Treats The Modern Toilet restaurant chain a most unique beverage: a bottle Worst first date dinner is the epitome of tastelessness but of Onion Red Wine. When the stench of burning rubber if you thought the movie, There’s mixed with rotting garbage and Something About Mary, was funny, Best place to cool off a little sewage first assails your than you’ll love it here. The Ice Monster offers the nostrils, you’ll know you are in the quintessential Taiwanese-style right place to buy some . From the Sublime Each restaurant is slightly different Beef Noodle Soup at shaved ice dessert consisting of This Taiwanese staple begins life but most have bathtub tables, Noodle Cuisine a humongous pile finely shaved ice innocuously enough as fresh white showerheads or plungers hanging (think powdered snow) topped with tofu, which is then fermented in from the ceilings, feces-shaped a variety of sweets, beans, tapioca vats of brine (often made from pillows; dispensers bubbles, jellies, and fresh fruit. They fermented milk, vegetables, and dispense napkins. Instead of chairs have a special machine that shaves meat) until it reaches just the right to the Ridiculous By Janice Nieder you’ll be sitting on artsy , the ice in a quick circular motion, stench of ripeness. Street vendors eating out of mini-toilet bowls, producing a pile of fluffy powdered will then deep fry it until crispy and or . snow. The hands down fave is their serve it with some equally smelly refreshing mango “avalanche,” sour pickled veggies. Non-foodies Menu offerings include swirled piles consisting of mango flavored shaved will give it a wide birth, but I have to of chocolate Poo Poo Ice cream (the ice piled high with fresh mango tell you, I really liked the stuff — but pink berry flavor is Hemorrhoid!) or cubes, pudding, sweetened I’m also a fan of Limburger cheese. Wenwu Temple you might want to choose one of the condensed milk, mango jelly, with Once you make peace with the smell meal specials such as Meal B: Drink + soup + shit ice cream Ice Monster’s Artistic creations aiwan still remains largely Japanese have all settled here at a more health-conscious diet by paper-wrapped rolls topped with refreshing mango at Yu Shan Ge undiscovered, particularly one time, layered with a fusion of focusing on the highest quality salmon roe was so beautifully Inside Tip: The Mac & Cheese dessert by Western travelers, but distinctive regional Chinese styles seasonal ingredients. presented that we hesitated (for with mushrooms was actually this seriously underrated, of cooking from the Fujian, at least a full ten seconds) before quite tasty. economically successful Cantonese, Szechwan and Hakka A seafood still life of sashimi, sea digging in. However, the pièce de T(it has become one or the world’s communities. urchin, shrimp, squid, and rice résistance appeared to be just a Best no frills way to start the richest countries in less than fifty day: our home-style breakfast years) democratic little island is Here are a dozen of foodie favorites Shi-Yang Culture Although the décor of the bare poised to nab the title of “Best Restaurant bones Fu Hang Dou Jiang, tucked Hidden Travel Gem of 2015.” From the sublime: away upstairs in the HuaShan Market countryside, Zen version Building may leave something to be Visitors will be blown away by the of The French Laundry desired, their carbo-heavy food country’s eight pristine national If you’re in a hurry you might might be the world’s best cure for parks, majestic Buddhist temples, want to bypass Shi-Yang Culture jet lag. As you join the perpetual Stinky but delish line-up of spectacular festivals, Restaurant, which requires a queue, you’ll pass the open kitchen Tofu which range from the traditional minimum of two to three hours where you can watch the Taiwanese Dragon Boat Festival to the Fat to fully appreciate the innovative version of “time to make the donuts” Pig Festival, plethora of modern prix-fixe 10-course meal. After as bustling bakers churn out shao designer shopping malls, the 150 a 45-minute drive from bustling , a chewy sesame flat bread natural hot springs (and many Taipei you’ll arrive at the lush cooked in a fiery hot barrel, and tiao, luxurious spa resorts) and the Yangmingshan National Park where deep-fried Chinese crullers served overwhelming friendliness of Mr. Lin Bin-hui, previously an with sweet or savory soy milk. For the people. acclaimed architect/designer, a delish, all-in-one takeaway brekkie realized his vision of creating a order, the sao bing (thin But I was there first and foremost culinary mountainside retreat. flatbread with Chinese doughnut for the food, since truly and egg). knowledgeable foodies consider The organic Zen-like restaurant was Taiwan the ultimate food destination inspired by his appreciation of the Most unusual wine pairing for Asian cuisine. The island is Song Dynasty, 10th century China. Taiwanese are obsessed with beef a fabulous culinary mash-up due His creative cuisine focuses on noodle soup, which much like our in part to the fact that the reinterpreting traditional foods with chicken soup is quintessential Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish and an eye to refined beauty and a nod to Taiwanese comfort food. From the

35 their succulent soup accompanied by assorted veggies, pot stickers, salads and eight- flavored sticky rice. At the popular Taipei 101 basement location you can watch the cooks masterfully folding whisper-thin wrappers around the juicy pork meatballs to create these quality , which explains the one to two hour wait.

Inside tip: Put your name in, get your number, and then cross the hall to the fried chicken stand for some appetizers. Their flavorful fried popcorn chicken niblets, liberally sprinkled with salt, pepper and basil, kick Colonel Sanders butt! Best oasis of calm Wistaria Tea House is a traditional wooden tea house that was originally a Japanese naval dormitory built in 1920. It was designated a historic monument by the Taipei government ’s in 1997. Opt for one of the serene XiaoLongBao tatami rooms to experience the ultimate ceremony. Wistaria uses water (the most Tea at the yin/yang of the crunchy exterior from hot dinner and concert important ingredient in making tea) Wistaria Tea House and silken inside and sweet and sour tickets, to a bottle of Johnny from the Wu Lai Mountain Spring, flavor profile can be highly addictive. Walker, and they’ll even mail which is poured into a glass pot and Stinky tofu can be found at most your packages. heated on a kerosene boiler. They any night market stand or you can offer a wide variety quality teas (try try over 20 different vegan varieties Best work of art veggie their special Pu’ehr tea from Yunnan, at Jiaziyuan Restaurant in New alternative China) with wonderfully poetic Taipei City. Vegetarians will have an easy time names, accompanied by sweet and in Taiwan with its 6,000 vegetarian- savory snacks. Insider tip: There’s almost nothing friendly . But even the worse than stinky tofu breath. most ardent meat eater will be Freshest seafood meal that One helpful breath freshener, tempted to turn veg-head after lives up to its name “Watering KissMint” chewing gum, trying the vegetarian Kaiseki haute Addiction Aquatic Development is can be bought at any of Taiwan’s cuisine at the elegant Yu Shan Ge. made up of a cluster of seafood 5,000+, 7-Eleven stores. These No matter which set menu you order eateries located next to the Taipei convenience stores sell everything you are in for a creative culinary Fish Market serving pick-your-own- experience that is seldom seen in from-the-happily-swimming-in-the- Pick your own The best oyster vegetarian dining. The artistically tank-fresh fish, scallops, geoducks, fresh seafood at omelet maker presented meaty hedgehog prawns, abalone and king crab, etc. Addiction Aquatic mushroom was as satisfying as Pay for your selection and then they Development any Wagyu steak, and the stylized will either run it over to one of the platter of cold appetizers had some restaurants where they will cook it sort of pink agar that I would have to your specifications or you can sworn was cured salmon. Plates were bring it home to cook yourself. artistically garnished with living Visitors can join the crowds at the plants, mini-rock gardens or candles supermarket area which is stocked nestled inside cutout oranges. with shelves of pre-packaged, fresh sushi, sashimi, salads and side dishes, Worst kept secret: as well as a nice selection of wine XiaoLongBao and beer. Then scurry outside to Din Tai Fung’s renown culinary nab yourself a spot at one of the empire (two of its stores standing only tables. have been awarded a Michelin Star) got off to a slow start as a cooking For the ultimate hunter/gatherer oil shop in Taiwan in 1958. When types you can head to Shillin Night sales began to dwindle owner Yang Market, where you can rent baby Bingy and his wife started selling fishing poles to catch your own XiaoLongBao, steamed soup shrimp, not as easy as you would dumplings on the side and the rest think! Afterwards, they will grill is history. Now no trip to Taipei is your catch on a tiny hibachi at the complete without slurping down back of the stand.

36 Cuisine

their succulent soup dumplings Hot Star Fried the best edible redundancy ever, I enjoyed in Taiwan, I was struck Taiwanese tea and a variety of accompanied by assorted veggies, Chicken is this Taiwanese pork sausage by a simple yet profound quote by Taiwanese snacks; a coffee corner pot stickers, salads and eight- wrapped in a slightly larger Lin Pin-Hui, the Yoda-ish owner with Taiwanese-grown ground coffee flavored sticky rice. At the popular sticky rice sausage. of Shi-Yang Culture Restaurant: and pastries and a helpie-selfie bar Taipei 101 basement location you “A taste can become a memory.” with wines, beers, cocktails, tapas can watch the cooks masterfully 4. Hot Star large fried chicken and cup noodles. The shelves are folding whisper-thin wrappers (Hao Da ji pai): crispy and delicious Best place to sleep off stocked with a monthly selection around the juicy pork meatballs over-size fried chicken cutlets your food coma of books and periodicals in both to create these quality XiaoLongBao, covered with a gossamer layer of The award-winning, five-star Regent Chinese and English. which explains the one to two perfectly crisped batter without Taipei is located in the Zhong Shan hour wait. a trace of oil. Taiwanese are district, in the heart of the capital’s Welcome modern touches include obsessed with fried chicken, and lively downtown area. Just a few of Wi-Fi Onboard service for smart Inside tip: Put your name in, get according to a Taipei Times‘ report the many reasons to stay here are phones, pads and laptops. Panasonic’s your number, and then cross the Best one stop eating for of 2011, Taiwanese devour more the immaculate spacious suites, inflight entertainment is shown on hall to the fried chicken stand for all tastes: Night Market than 250,000 fried chicken cutlets gigantic well-lit marble the biggest screens in the history some appetizers. Their flavorful a day! with a push-button Japanese toilet of aviation, and there is even a social fried popcorn chicken niblets, But the foodie highlight of the that will wash, dry and fluff; networking function called “Seat liberally sprinkled with salt, whole week was experiencing 5. Pepper pork buns (Hu Jiao Bing) separate deep soaking tub and Chat” that allows you to message pepper and basil, kick Colonel Taipei’s night markets. At last were def in the running for my shower, complimentary high-speed other passengers on your flight. Sanders butt! count the island had over 300 night favorite bite on the trip. There is Wi-Fi and bottled water, uber-comfy markets which are mostly open-air always a line at this booth, but after king-size feather beds, plush robe It’s so worth trading up to the Best oasis of calm bazaars lined with hundreds of stalls my first bite (careful, they emerge and slippers, roof-top heated pool Premium Economy class for the Wistaria Tea House is a traditional selling mouth-watering burning hot from the charcoal-filled, with expansive city view, modern spacious 39 inches of legroom, wooden tea house that was originally (small eats) which are a BIG thing tandoori-like oven and its virtually fitness center and a bountiful footrest, and a truly comfy seat a Japanese naval dormitory built in in Taiwan. The granddaddy of them impossible to wait until they cool international breakfast buffet with adjustable lamps and headrests 1920. It was designated a historic all is the sprawling Shilin market. off) of the sesame-covered bun filled (delish smoothies, handmade Onigiri, and a 12-inch IFE screen. Or better monument by the Taipei government with generous amounts of peppered Japanese rice balls made to your yet, treat yourself to a “seat” in Din Tai Fung’s in 1997. Opt for one of the serene 5 not-to-be-missed snacks include: pork and spring onion, with flavorful specifications and scrumptious Business Class that morphs into a XiaoLongBao tatami rooms to experience the 1. The aforementioned stinky tofu. burnt edges, I was more than ready grilled salmon). bed that lies absolutely flat so you ultimate Taiwanese tea ceremony. to queue up again. can really stretch out in comfort. Wistaria uses water (the most 2. Oyster omelet (Orh ah jian) This Best Transportation to Taiwan: Tea snacks at the yin/yang of the crunchy exterior from hot dinner and concert important ingredient in making tea) popular treat is as much about Insider tip: Unfortunately, I was The hands-down winner is China Each seat has a generously-sized Wistaria Tea House and silken inside and sweet and sour tickets, to a bottle of Johnny from the Wu Lai Mountain Spring, texture as it is flavor. Plump, briny too stuffed to partake of any Airlines‘ beautiful new aircraft, 18-inch video screen with a 4.1” flavor profile can be highly addictive. Walker, and they’ll even mail which is poured into a glass pot and bivalves, eggs and chopped lettuce of the many phallic foods (which the Boeing 777-300ER, which holds ‘second screen’ on the handheld Stinky tofu can be found at most your packages. heated on a kerosene boiler. They are gently folded together with a should so be on the menu at 358 passengers in business class, controller, with AC and USB sockets any night market stand or you can offer a wide variety quality teas (try little sweet potato starch to provide Modern Toilet) that are available premium economy and economy seats to keep your travel tech charged try over 20 different vegan varieties Best work of art veggie their special Pu’ehr tea from Yunnan, “the chew” factor that is so beloved as penis -shaped popsicles, – but no first class cabin. The swanky during the flight. at Jiaziyuan Restaurant in New alternative China) with wonderfully poetic by the Taiwanese. waffles and hot dogs! interior, created by acclaimed Taipei City. Vegetarians will have an easy time names, accompanied by sweet and Taiwanese architect Ray Chen, I swear minutes after we boarded in Taiwan with its 6,000 vegetarian- savory snacks. 3. Big sausage wrap small sausage When I think back over the reflects traditional Taiwanese the flight I heard one of the Insider tip: There’s almost nothing friendly restaurants. But even the (Da chang bao xiao chang) possibly incredible variety of foods culture by using warm persimmon journalists utter words I’ve never worse than stinky tofu breath. most ardent meat eater will be Freshest seafood meal that tree wood throughout the cabin and heard before. “I wish our flight One helpful breath freshener, tempted to turn veg-head after lives up to its name painted Chinese scrolls to decorate was longer!” she murmured as Pearls of wisdom “Watering KissMint” chewing gum, trying the vegetarian Kaiseki haute Addiction Aquatic Development is from Lin Bin-hui the walls. The industry’s she reclined her chair, put on her can be bought at any of Taiwan’s cuisine at the elegant Yu Shan Ge. made up of a cluster of seafood first high-ceiling Premium Class Sky slippers, ordered a glass of wine 5,000+, 7-Eleven stores. These No matter which set menu you order eateries located next to the Taipei Lounge has a soothing tea-tasting and snuggled in to watch the latest convenience stores sell everything you are in for a creative culinary Fish Market serving pick-your-own- area offering six varieties of Helen Mirren film. experience that is seldom seen in from-the-happily-swimming-in-the- Pick your own The best oyster vegetarian dining. The artistically tank-fresh fish, scallops, geoducks, Regent Taipei Tai fresh seafood at omelet maker presented meaty hedgehog prawns, abalone and king crab, etc. Pan Lounge Addiction Aquatic mushroom was as satisfying as Pay for your selection and then they Development any Wagyu steak, and the stylized will either run it over to one of the platter of cold appetizers had some restaurants where they will cook it sort of pink agar that I would have to your specifications or you can sworn was cured salmon. Plates were bring it home to cook yourself. artistically garnished with living Visitors can join the crowds at the plants, mini-rock gardens or candles supermarket area which is stocked nestled inside cutout oranges. with shelves of pre-packaged, fresh sushi, sashimi, salads and side dishes, Worst kept secret: as well as a nice selection of wine XiaoLongBao and beer. Then scurry outside to Din Tai Fung’s renown culinary nab yourself a spot at one of the Shilin Night Market empire (two of its Hong Kong stores standing only tables. have been awarded a Michelin Star) got off to a slow start as a cooking For the ultimate hunter/gatherer oil shop in Taiwan in 1958. When types you can head to Shillin Night sales began to dwindle owner Yang Market, where you can rent baby Bingy and his wife started selling fishing poles to catch your own XiaoLongBao, steamed soup shrimp, not as easy as you would dumplings on the side and the rest think! Afterwards, they will grill is history. Now no trip to Taipei is your catch on a tiny hibachi at the complete without slurping down back of the stand.

37