Daily Archives: February 1, 2009

My parents just came back from their vacation to Taiwan and of course, the first thing I do is bust open their luggage and start eating the goodies they brought back. The next thing I do is go through all their photos!!

This is a bian dang (bento box) that you can get on trains in Taiwan. They haven’t changed since I was a kid. I asked my parents to get them if they take the train, for sentimental reasons.

Stinky Tofu!! It stinks. It tastes awesome; spicy and flavorful! Need I say more?

The two photos above are meat dumplings. The first is steamed and the second is a fried variety.

The restaurant that serves this lamb rice has been around since I was a kid. It’s SOOOoo incredibly good and the place is always packed! The soup is made with lamb slices and ginger. Basically, this is all they sell and it’s all they need to sell apparently.

A simple dish that’s very easy to make and very tasty. Just bean sprouts and noodles with dressing.

What are these? Only my favorite fruit in the world! It’s called “shekya” or however you phoneticize it. I’ve heard it referred to as a Buddha’s Head. They’re incredibly sweet, fragrant, and mushy on the inside with lots of hard black seeds about the size of jelly beans. They grow on trees that are not very tall. When they’re in season, about this time of year, you buy the super ripe ones from the market because 1)they’re cheaper since they don’t keep well once they’re ripe and mushy and 2) instant gratification, you can eat them as soon as you get home, if you can even wait that long.

Sugar canes! There are varieties for making sugar and varieties for eating. Obviously these are the eatin’ kind. You just take a bite and chew and suck the juices and then spit out the pulp. So good!

You know what this is. Yes. They’re animals, so they come with heads.

Speaking of heads, these are just the heads. Of ducks. And wings too. They have these simmering in a pot of flavored sauce and when you order it they fish them out and fry them before serving.

And look! They brought me earrings. This bumps up my collection to 10 pairs. I’ll be able to start wearing them in a week.