Taiwan Street Food: Mango Shaved Ice W/ Condensed Milk- 芒果牛奶冰

One of the most common Taiwan street food stands is shaved ice. Shaved ice is literally a huge block of ice, shaved into tiny bits and flavored with a variety of goodies from red bean, mung bean, peanuts, taro, yams to fresh cut fruit. Due the humid and hot nature of Taiwan and the lack of cows, shaved ice is the staple cold dessert- on every Taiwan street food street is at least one if not two ice/ juice stands.
One of the most popular fruit flavors for shaved ice is Mango with condensed milk. Lucky for me, I happen to be in Taiwan for the beginning of Mango season. I was also fortunate enough to visit Tainan and Kaoshiung and took advantage of it by doing a side by side by side comparison of the different food styles of each city. One Taiwan street food that I knew would be easily found in each city was Mango Ice with condensed milk ( 芒果牛奶冰).
The first place I went to was Ice Monster (冰館) on Yong Kang Street (永康街) in Taipei. Known for their mango ice, Ice Monster (冰館) usually has an outrageous line of people waiting for take out or dine in of their Mango ice. The sounds of Japanese indicated that this was a foodie destination. Dad and I opted for the Mango shaved ice with pudding and condensed milk (新鮮芒果酸冰). Within minutes, we had a gigantic bowl of Mango pudding ice before us.The pudding was rich and creamy but the use of brown sugar water and condensed milk was a bit of overkill. The natural flavor of the mangos got lost underneath all that sugar. We tried our best to finish the bowl but alas, the amount of sugar on the dish won it's power and we gave up leaving a milky watery residue of sugar water behind.
One of the first things I got to eating while visiting Tainan (台南) was to go to Lily Sway Guo Dien (莉莉冰果店). This establishment has been around since 1947 and was popular to the kids even when my father was a child. We arrived to a line spilling out into the sidewalk. Also on the sidewalk were numerous street side tables and chairs set up- all filled with tourists and locals alike enjoying ice on another sweltering hot day in Tainan.
My uncle ordered two Mango shaved ice dishes. Two heaping plates arrived shortly despite the masses of people around. I found it interesting that with the ice came a lime wedge- a little acid to go with the sweet- genius!!! After a little drizzle of lime, we dug in. The mangos were full of flavor, sweet and the ice helped to cool off the stickiness from humidity of the day. This was delicious. I tried to gauge myself, not eating too much (becuase of all the eating that would be ensuing after this) but found myself staring at an empty plate of ice. Unlike the shaved ice at ice monster- this was not too sweet and the natural flavor of the mangos were only accented from the lime wedge. This was everything mango shaved ice is suppose to be.
On my quest for Mango shaved iced (it is mango season in Taiwan...), when arrived in Kaoshiung (高雄) I knew that I had to go to A Po Ah Bing (阿婆仔冰) A Po Ah literally means old lady in Taiwanese. This establishment has been around since chinese calender 23 years ( I believe it's plus 11 for western calender so that would be 1934). This ice house was somewhere that holds fond memories for my father.
Hoping to capitalize on the trip to the store, I was hoping to also have some of their mochi (麻糬) which they are also very famous for but alas, they only have mochi (麻糬) during the winter time. I settled on just the mango ice. Suprisingly not busy (mainly becuase they opened a much larger store just around the corner from the original one), I got my mango ice instantly. Condensed milk - check, black sugar water- check mangos- check. You would think that all these mango shaved ices taste the same but they don't. The mangos were cut into huge chunks- slightly unmanageable for me. The mangoes though fresh and had good flavor but were not as intense as the ones I had in Tainan. They were also cut a little but too close to the seed, leaving many stringy pieces attached. Still good- sweet but not too sweet, it lacked the kick that Lily's in Tainan gave with the extra bit of lime.
My clear winner in my Mango Shaved Ice (芒果牛奶冰) quest was definetly Lily's in Tainan.

Locations for Mango Shaved Ice with Condensed Milk (芒果牛奶冰) :
Ice Monster (冰館):
台北市永康街15號 (No.15 Yong Kang Street Taipei,Taiwan)
Tel:

Get Directions

(02)2394.8279

Lily Sway Guo Dien (莉莉冰果店):
台南市中西區府前路一段199號 (No.199, Fucian Road, Section 1, Tainan City, Taiwan)
Tel:(06)213.7522

A Po Ah Bing (阿婆仔冰):
高雄市鹽埕區七賢三路150號‎ (No.150, Cisian 3rd Road, Kaoshiung City, Taiwan)
Tel:(07)551.3180‎

Din Tai Fong- 鼎泰豐 Review

Why come all the way to Taiwan to eat something that I can eat in Los Angeles you ask? The same reason why Boudin's sourdough doesn't taste the same in San Diego as it does in San Francisco- the meat, the vegetables, even the air makes the food inherently taste different and we all know that chinese food in Taiwan is always going to be better then food in LA. Dad and I never planned to go to Din Tai Fong (鼎泰豐), we just happened to be in the area of Yong Kang Street (永康街) and since there was no line (I know what luck- there's ALWAYS a line at Din Tai Fong!!!) we decided to see what the hype was all about.
We knew that we had to order the Shiao Long Bao 蟹粉小籠包- (little dragon dumplings) since they are what brought Din Tai Fong all of its fame. First came the soft ginger or young ginger- this ginger is used for its less pungent flavor then old ginger (in the US, old ginger is generally used as young ginger is much harder to come across).Next came a bamboo steamer filled with identicle carefully created dumplings that had been freshly steamed and meticulously pinched together. One look at the fine creases of the Shiao Long Bao indicated that the skin of the dumpling was going to be thin and soft. Carefully lifting the dumpling off of the steaming tray, liquid sank to the bottom of the dumpling- indicating that the dumpling would be filled with lots of pork soup- remnants of the steaming of meat encapsulated in the dough. We both quickly popped the dumplings into our mouths. The dumplings were tender, juicy- the skins thin Q but not so thin that they just disintegrated in the mouth, the meat of the dumplings seasoned well with a good porky taste. The soft ginger and vinegar complimented the meat and helped to cut the meaty flavor with a breath of freshness. The soup was rich, flavorful and by far the best part about the dumplings. Overall the dumplings were some of the best dumplings I have had in a long time- by far better then anything I've ever had in the states. We gobbled the dumplings down being overly courteous about the last dumpling- I knew that dad wanted the last one even if he offered it to me. We also opted for the vegetarian steamed dumpling 香菇素餃- The skins again were thin and translucent- the workmanship in the creases of the dumplings were so fine but the taste- would it stand up to the shiao long bao? The answer sadly was no. The dumplings were dry (ok, no meat, no fat, taste will often be compromised)slightly powdery and just not very good and definetly not recommended. If I ever get the chance to go back to Din Tai Fong, it's only Shiao Long Bao for me!
So, is Din Tai Fong worth the normal hideous wait? Maybe not. Worth the visit with no wait? Definetly yes. Next time I'm going to count the number of creases on each dumpling.. I have a weird sick feeling that they mandate the same amount of creases on each dumpling becuase we are asian.. and that's totally something we would enforce as a standard yeah?

Din Tai Fong (the recommended one to go to):
10651 Daan, Xin Yi Road, SEction 2, Lane 194 ( at the entrance of Yong Kang Street)
10651台北市大安區信義路二段194號(永康街口)
TEL:02-2321-8928
Monday- Friday：10:00-21:00/ Sunday：09:00-21:00

Tainan (台南) City of Eats

A peak at my trip to Tainan...

Taiwan Night Market Street Food: Di Hoeh Koe 豬血糕 Pig Blood Cake

A night market or Ye Si(夜市) favorite, Taiwanese Pig Blood Cake is actually quite tasty. Mixed with glutinous rice, rolled in peanut powder and sprinkled with cilantro (香菜)and served on a stick to be eaten as you stroll to the next vendor

Mister Donut FAIL

Still obsessed with Donuts, I had to find out where in Taiwan, I could get a great donut. I was told that Mister Donut, a donut chain from japan was the winner. No Krispy Kreme's I inquired? No- it's all about Mister Donut. People use to line up for hours I was told to have one of their French Cruellers.
Off I went. Dad and I happened to walk to Yong Kang Street. No sweet smell of Donuts greeted me. Bummer i thought. They must not make their donuts here. We asked the lady what the best selling donut was. her response was " all of these" pointing to the Cruellers. Maybe she didn't understand. Which taste is the most popular " all of these" and " these are new flavors". We were getting no where. Precious time was being wasted.
Not understanding half the flavors, the red bean, sugar dusted crueller seemed like a good choice. Oh, by the way, the lady wouldn't let me take pictures inside the store.
Feeling the dense, cold donut in my hand, I knew I was going to be disappointed.

"The packaging is pretty though" I thought to myself as we headed out of the store.
I bit into the donut. Chewy, pasty... too sweet. *sigh* I've been spoiled by stans. I have to remember that asians are obsessed with the idea of Q- and the chewy resistent texture of the donut was suppose to resemble that of Q.. at least that's what I'm using to try to justify the craze for Mister Donut as... Krispy Kreme needs to "yi ming" over here quickly so that the poor people of Taiwan can experience a REAL donut...

More Taiwan Eats! Mister Donut FAIL:
Numerous locations all over Taipei and Kao shiong

Somewhere over the rainbow

Sometimes, we all just need to abscond. I chose to go to CKS memorial on a rainy day (who doesn't love the feeling of soft rain drops on their noggin that help to soothe the soul?)
Despite everyone's best effort to persuade me not to go there (in fear that I would be bored out of my mind or beaten to death with all protests going on), I decided that some alone time was in order.
I arrived just in time to view the changing of the guards ( I tried to refrain my laughter at the choreography)
After the changing of the guards, a quick pelting of rain left a nice gift- and a soothing memory to help me release the stress of the day.
A moment in time, captured and mine forever.

Taiwan Street Food: Cong You Bing - 蔥油餅 Scallion Pancakes

On my walk from Chong Shiao over to Ren Ai Lu in Taipei, Taiwan, I always pass this old man who has been around for 10 years. Friendly Taiwanese chap who told me that american kids like me always stop to have his infamous Cong You Bing or Scallion (蔥) Pancake (油餅- oil cake).
His Cong You Bing are flaky and crispy, light and not overly greasy. He said that lots of wai guo rhen (foriengners) will stop and bring some frozen dough back with them!!! it's never the same though.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how that thin sheet of dough turns into such a light and fluffy pancake!!!

Taiwan street fooD (路邊攤)! Location: Between Chong Shiao and Ren Ai Lu, just past Eslite closer to Ren Ai Lu between 1pm to 5pm monday through friday. Each Pancake will run you about 25NT

Taiwan Street Food: Shao Bing You Tiao -燒餅油條 Sesame Seed Cake with Chinese Donut

Taiwan always has a nostalgic place in my heart, especially when it comes to food. The greasy smell of fried foods wafts through the air and makes your mouth water.

One of the most common things to eat for breakfast here in Taiwan is Shao Bing You Tiao(燒餅油條) with Dou Jiang (豆漿)- Scallion cookie oil stick with soy bean sauce (literal translation) or scallion pancake with chinese donut and soy bean milk.

the first pit stop the morning after arrival here to Taipei was to get a big bowl of Tien Dou Jiang (甜豆漿)(sweet soybean milk, warmed, no vanilla essence) and Shao Bing You Tiao. This paricular road side stall happens to be one of the most famous You Tiao makers in Taipei. Many of other restaurants like the one in Taipei 101 will come and buy their You Tiao because they are crispy, flaky, airy, and not overly greesy feeling You Tiaos.

Most people opt to eat the You Tiao ( if with sweet soy bean milk) wrapped in a Sao Bing or Scallion Pancake with a fried egg in between. As many calories as this breakfast was, I devoured the whole thing, savoring each crunchy flaky bite.


The salty sweet combination creates a taste known in Minnan (Taiwanese dialect) as "Gam gam"- an essential taste like salty is to western cooking and umami is to japanese cooking.

Location: Between Dun Hua North Road Section 1 , Lane 190 and Daa Ann Road, Section 1, lane 51.

Over the next few weeks, join me on my journey as I eat through Taiwan!!!

Making Mochi

I suddenly had a craving for Mochi the other day. Mochi is a traditional rice cake made from glutinous rice ground into a paste. Nowadays, rice flour can be bought at your local asian market.
After some internet researching, I settled on making the following flavors for my Daifuku ( mochi filled balls):

Traditional Taiwanese peanut dusted street food style
Green tea with anko filling
Ube with black sesame filling
Regular with mung bean filling

The mochi dough recipe:
1 cup mochiko rice flour
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

to make green tea or ube, add about 1.5 tsp of green tea powder or Ube powder to the dough recipe before you start heating it up.

Instead of using the sugar called for the in recipe, I decided to make a "low carb" version since the rice flour itself is quite heavy in calories. I subsituted in 2.5 packs of stevia for every 1/4 cup of sugar called for in the recipe.

I used the easy microwave version- although I do believe that the glutens don't get a chance to build as much in this version. I will try next time to do it in a pot over direct heat.

A couple of tips
1. the recipe usually calles fro 1 cup of rice flour to 2/3 cup of water. I would up this ratio to about 1-1/4 cups of rice flour becuase the resulting mochi will be too soft and sticky to work with.
2. Continually stirring the mochi paste will help to develop gluten strands. Even when the mochi dough has turned opaque, if the dough is still hot, keep stirring to cool it down and develop those gluten strands for a chewier dough.
3. Instead of trying to make little perfect circles to roll your mochi up in, its easier to cover the spoon full of mochi dough with cornstarch and make an indention to put ur filling in. The result will be a more smooth, even mochi ball.

Next up- Mochi filled ice cream !!!