taiwan: food diary

Besides having one of my favorite women on earth show me the best possible time in Taipei, the best part of my 5-6 days was eating. Taiwan figured I would want to eat as often as possible, so it was nice enough to arrange street food, corner cafes and restaurants everywhere at all hours… Celine and I shared 5-10 drinks and 10-15 dishes every day. Here are the high (and low) lights!
**Double-starred items were so incredible, I considered moving in with her.

DRINKS
Delicious:
**almond milk, from a pint carton, with tapioca flavored boba
*cold green tea topped with marshmallow fluff
*boba milk tea with herb jelly
**passion fruit juice and green tea, with passion fruit seeds and coconut jelly
*rose tea & sprite mock-tail
**varied fruit juice cocktail with burning sage: from Taipei’s leading dance club and upscale cocktail bar, on the top floors of a popular shopping mall
***anything with boba was automatically five times better

Neutral:
*natural soybean, red bean & peanut milks
*Taiwanese beer: new brew given out for free in the street. Being a tourist drinking the stuff, I was conspicuously and repeatedly photographed by

Vile:
*beet juice
*lime juice with unidentified white seeds
*traditional soda
*energy drink whose mascot is a ninja: free at the Dragon Boat Festival

FOOD
Worth remembering:
*cookie with green tea icing
*celine’s mom’s homemade breads (garlic; berry & walnut)
**dried mango, dried sweet olives, dried pork chips with almonds and sesame seeds: from a dried goods market
*Taiwanese taco: fluffy white dough wrapped around pork, lined with chopped peanut spread
*traditional grilled chicken & native islander pork kebab, bbq style: from man who threw spices around like a seasoned bartender
**milky shaved ice with fresh mangos, served on plate
*sweet potato fries doused with plum salt
**hot pot: beef and pork in 5 cuts, squid, octopus, duck ball, 10 veggies, and noodles cooked in 2 different sauces (spicy red and flavorful white)
**macadamia nut ice-cream
*peanut custard
*Kavalan aged whiskey: a high ranking whiskey in internationally renowned competitions, on blind taste tests
**peanut mochi, dusted with finely-ground peanuts
*street “pancakes”, shaped like eyeglass cases
**boba, traditional mochi, sweet potato mochi & almond flan- boiled and served over ice
**”steak”: chicken and beef served on sizzling cast-iron skillet, alongside creamy corn soup, noodles and a just-cracked egg, with sauce (mix of ketchup/bbq)
**”crepe”= giant waffle cone with mango ice-cream, homemade whip cream, pirouettes & cookies

Food I could do without:
*pork organ soup
*dense shortbread (petite-four shaped) with dark caramel filling; pineapple shortbread
*candied tomatoes stuffed with plums, on a stick: at the most famous Taiwanese night market
*sesame-filled croissant with seeds on top
*2 different plum desserts, of a gelatin consistency
*traditional breakfast pastries
*Taiwanese sausage, sliced horizontally and stuffed with mint and other veggies. Served alongside seasoned sticky rice of the same shape
*pork-stuffed bread