|
When I first came to Taiwan a year ago I have to be honest I had
no appreciation for Taiwanese food, everything seemed different from
what I was used to back home. Once I was here I knew it was either to
adapt to the new cuisine or simply eat McDonalds and Subway for the rest
of year. Slowly but progressively I tried many different foods from many
different place al throughout Taiwan and by far and I have to say I have
a lot of like for chicken. Everything which is chicken related and well
cooked is on my good side. Every day from endless hours of studying in
Chengchi one leaves very tired and hungry and I personally look for a
place where I can have a nice meal and at the same time relax and I
found that place right in front of the school campus.
From outside it might just look like a typical
Taiwanese restaurant but once you actually enter it you are greeted by a
family of 5 daughters and a mother which tell you to seat wherever you
want and give you a small menu which you cannot really understand
because everything is in Chinese. As you look through the menu you
recognize some characters such as “ji 雞” which is chicken so as long as
there is chicken I guess there is something good to eat around. “Gong
bao ji ding 宮保雞丁” is the famous dish called, which by far is one of the
closest dishes I can assimilate to home, with a spicy touch, some nuts,
and a nice cup of tea one can easily fall for this typical Taiwanese
dish.
The owners of the place know me very well since I normally visit
the restaurant once every two days and they greet as a great friend.
After a while I have learned to write what I want to eat in Chinese and
of course it is a great way to practice and learn Chinese every time I
visit them.
My second favorite Taiwanese food has to be the fried dumplings 鍋貼
which you can normally find in any street corner and are very wallet
friendly when it comes to saving some money. Despite the fact that most
of us the newcomers do not really venture enough to try the exotic foods
you should definitely try some one. I have see little chicken hearts
being sold as “brochetas”, or brochettes, in the street which for me
just seems too exotic. As I venture more and more to the Taiwanese
culture I learn more about the different kinds of foods and how those
foods become part of your daily life.
|
