Taiwanese style... and cherry blossoms?
The Taiwanese treat food a bit like the Americans do-- take it, then modify it. We went to a Thai restaurant for lunch, and there was no doubt on my palate that we were having those flavors, but they were different than in the US. (Of course, I have never had real Thai food in Thailand, only the Americanized version. Now I have also had the Taiwanized version). We had seafood salad with cucumbers, onions, lemongrass, and cilantro; some kind of peanut noodles with various meats; sauteed cabbage that really tasted more Chinese to me; and mussel soup. The best part was the dessert, though-- it was the typical sweet red beans found in all varieties of Chinese cuisine (Korean too), but they were served with coconut milk! I guess that makes them Thai.
For dinner, a woman from our Taiwan office and her husband kindly offered to take me out. I had told them that I prefer lighter food, such as Shanghai-style cuisine, fish, veggies, etc. So they plotted and planned, and took me to a special place in downtown Hsinchu with this type of food. It turned out to be the place called Garden.V where I had been once before! I didn't tell them this, however, since they had planned it as a special place. And it is a special place-- definitely go there if you come to Hsinchu. It is known for its Shanghai cuisine and fish.
What a feast. We had asparagus with ginkgo nuts, mushrooms, and a rich chicken-broth sauce; sauteed king prawns with melon and a sweet creamy sauce (although the menu called it prawns with pineapple); some kind of local fish that was grilled a bit too salty for me; and soup with tofu and beef meatballs wrapped in Chinese noodles. My favorite was the prawns-- I think I ate half the plate. And this restaurant has a signature rice dish: white rice cooked with vegetable boullioun so it's kind of like risotto.
For dessert, there was a fruit plate with several kinds I hadn't tried. My favorit was called lien wu. It's from the south of Taiwan and is only available in this country. It's red and shaped like a pear, but is very juicy and has an apple-like flavor. There was also something orange that apparently looks like a star when it is whole. It had an unusual, slightly sour taste. It was called yang tao.
After three long meetings that day, this was just what I needed to refortify.
Tomorrow it is a free day. I spend so much time in Taipei and Hsinchu, I am ready to see the countryside in Taiwan. This is a beautiful country, but you wouldn't know it visiting the big cities and industrial parks. I really wanted to go to a place called Hua Lien, which is a tourist area and natural section on the east coast of the island, but it's too hard to get there for just one day. There are tours, but not many in English. You can take a plane (about 50 minutes) or a train (about 3 hours), but it's hard to get around without a guide. Not this time, I guess.
So then I thought about visiting a national park in the middle of the island. But again, I ran into trouble finding a one-day tour in English (or Japanese! Even that proved hard).
So my dinner companions have kindly offered to drive me around a bit. We are planning to go to Taichung, in the central part of the island but on the west side. And perhaps, if we are very lucky, we will see some cherry blossoms! I never get to see them in Japan because I am either too early or late (for instance, next week, when I go to Japan, it will be too early). But Taiwan has cherry blossoms too, and they come much earlier since it's farther south. In fact, we may be a little late this weekend! Let's see.
For dinner, a woman from our Taiwan office and her husband kindly offered to take me out. I had told them that I prefer lighter food, such as Shanghai-style cuisine, fish, veggies, etc. So they plotted and planned, and took me to a special place in downtown Hsinchu with this type of food. It turned out to be the place called Garden.V where I had been once before! I didn't tell them this, however, since they had planned it as a special place. And it is a special place-- definitely go there if you come to Hsinchu. It is known for its Shanghai cuisine and fish.
What a feast. We had asparagus with ginkgo nuts, mushrooms, and a rich chicken-broth sauce; sauteed king prawns with melon and a sweet creamy sauce (although the menu called it prawns with pineapple); some kind of local fish that was grilled a bit too salty for me; and soup with tofu and beef meatballs wrapped in Chinese noodles. My favorite was the prawns-- I think I ate half the plate. And this restaurant has a signature rice dish: white rice cooked with vegetable boullioun so it's kind of like risotto.
For dessert, there was a fruit plate with several kinds I hadn't tried. My favorit was called lien wu. It's from the south of Taiwan and is only available in this country. It's red and shaped like a pear, but is very juicy and has an apple-like flavor. There was also something orange that apparently looks like a star when it is whole. It had an unusual, slightly sour taste. It was called yang tao.
After three long meetings that day, this was just what I needed to refortify.
Tomorrow it is a free day. I spend so much time in Taipei and Hsinchu, I am ready to see the countryside in Taiwan. This is a beautiful country, but you wouldn't know it visiting the big cities and industrial parks. I really wanted to go to a place called Hua Lien, which is a tourist area and natural section on the east coast of the island, but it's too hard to get there for just one day. There are tours, but not many in English. You can take a plane (about 50 minutes) or a train (about 3 hours), but it's hard to get around without a guide. Not this time, I guess.
So then I thought about visiting a national park in the middle of the island. But again, I ran into trouble finding a one-day tour in English (or Japanese! Even that proved hard).
So my dinner companions have kindly offered to drive me around a bit. We are planning to go to Taichung, in the central part of the island but on the west side. And perhaps, if we are very lucky, we will see some cherry blossoms! I never get to see them in Japan because I am either too early or late (for instance, next week, when I go to Japan, it will be too early). But Taiwan has cherry blossoms too, and they come much earlier since it's farther south. In fact, we may be a little late this weekend! Let's see.
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