Taiwan's Gastronomic Delights

[Guest fountainhall]

Whilst most posts about Taiwan centre on gay life, it should not be forgotten that, as the island welcomes more and more gay visitors, it also offers some of the finest food anywhere in Asia. Today's Guardian newspaper has an article which peaked my interest by starting with a mention of one of my favourite small dishes in Hong Kong, spring onion cakes, or as the article calls them zhua bing -

 

gorgeous shreddy circles of hot pastry studded with spring onion

 

It goes on to say -

 

Taiwan may be a small island, but its eating habits have been shaped by a fascinating history of settlement, colonisation and immigration. Once populated by indigenous tribes, it was settled by immigrants from Fujian in southeastern China from the 15th century, and later by Hakka people from the mainland. Portuguese sailors passed by in the 16th century, and the island was colonised in subsequent centuries by the Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In 1949, at the end of the Chinese civil war, Chiang Kai-shek and his defeated Nationalist army, along with some 2 million mainlanders – including some of China's most accomplished chefs – fled to Taiwan.

 

These days Taipei is a melting pot of regional Chinese cuisines, with a bias towards the refined cooking of Shanghai and eastern China. Most famously, the international Din Tai Fung chain, originally a family business, specialises in what westerners call "Shanghai soup dumplings" and locals "xiaolong", which it has raised to previously undreamed-of levels of perfection. Pick up one of the twirly dumplings, rupture its side with a chopstick and let the exquisite juices flow on to your spoon before you eat.

 

These Shanghainese-style soup dumplings are 'orgasmic' - in more ways than one. But the writer has it all wrong, The way to eat them is not to rupture them prior to eating. Very carefully place them to your mouth, close your lips and then gently bite in to them, letting the flow of soup flood into your mouth. Delicious!

 

Photograph: The Guardian - Corbis

 

More of the article here -

 

http://www.guardian....-tour-of-taipei

[Guest abang]

Yes I was in Taiwan for the Gay Pride (27th Oct 2012).

I was totally smitten by the generosity of the Taiwan community.

Everyone and everything was nice.

 

I had no problem with

a. the language as I am a Chinese Singaporean

b. the transport system as it is very similar to any other major city's mass rapid transport

c. the food as it is more attuned to the Southern China cuisines

d. the accommodation as I stayed in a youth hostel, just 4 subway stops from the main gay area

 

April is a good month to go there....perhaps I should..

[Rogie]

April is a good month to go there....perhaps I should..

 

(Speaking in general here to noone in particular) - if you like a place then why restrict your visit to one time only? Making return visits is a great way to get to really know a place, including its inhabitants! After all, many of us have to limit the amount of time available in our visits to new destinations, for a variety of reasons:

 

1. Not having been before, it's always a good idea to dip your toe in the water first.

2. Time restrictions on kinds of visas available, eg. 15 days, 30 days etc.

3. Cost 'on the ground' may be high. For example I'd like to visit Rio but the cost of accommodation alone would mean I'd be restricted to a short visit only - faced with that kind of problem it might be concluded best not to go at all.

4. Cost of getting there: a high cost destination makes good sense to go for longer as you may not be able to afford much in the way of repeat visits in the future. Cheap and affordable destinations, once they've caught your imagination, can be visited on subsequent occasions without breaking the bank. So, . . .

 

. . . that's another great reason for visiting Thailand - those of us not living there can use it as a base with which to explore many of the neighbouring and slightly farther afield countries.

 

Overland

 

Cambodia, Laos, Burma.

 

Inexpensive flight

 

Burma, Vietnam, Taiwan, China (incl Hong Kong), Philippines, Indonesia (incl Bali), S.Korea, Japan.

 

Our more well-travelled members may have some more suggestions for places to visit, and I may have under-estimated the costs of getting to some countries.

 

In addition, cheap or affordable travel to a country may have to be balanced by high costs once you've arrived!

[Guest fountainhall]

if you like a place then why restrict your visit to one time only?

 

I entirely agree with both parts of your comment. Why indeed restrict it to one visit? Against that, funds are often limited, the world is large and there are hundreds of great places to enjoy.

 

For my travels, I split the world into two sections - those places that I really want to see and may only get a chance to see once, and those which I have been fortunate enough to visit and then returned again and again.

 

Unlike most posters (I believe), I've been based in Asia for decades and so Asian destinations are my home turf. I love Taipei and have visited at least 30 times. Similarly Japan, parts of China, KL, Singapore etc. I already have planned another 8-day Taipei/Japan trip for May and will definitely be at the Pride Parade again on Saturday 26 October. For those who do not speak Mandarin Chinese (e.g. me, for the most part), don't worry: most people in Taipei speak at least some English.

 

PS: Sorry I missed you at the Taipei Pride Parade, abang. On the other hand, maybe you are in one of my photos

[Guest abang]

Well allow me to be show you (all) around if you do ever need a Chinese-speaking guide around China, Hong Kong or Taiwan.

 

By the way, I live in Singapore.

[Guest fountainhall]

A belated welcome to gaythailand.com. I lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, but never got past basic Cantonese and Putonghua. Pure laziness on my part!

 

I wonder if there might be any interest from members of this Board about getting together for a trip to 3 or 4 cities in China if it was planned far enough ahead?

[Rogie]

Overland

 

Cambodia, Laos, Burma.

 

By the way, I live in Singapore.

 

Can't believe I missed out Malaysia and Singapore as easily-reached overland destinations (provided you aren't in a rush).

 

I haven't done the whole shebang travelling by train between Singapore and Bangkok - just the Bangkok / Penang, and the KL /Penang sections, but that's a great alternative to coach or air travel.

 

Daily air-conditioned departures with amazingly cheap prices, comfortable sleeping berths, and great scenery. Taking the train is the safe, comfortable & adventurous way to travel overland between Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang & Bangkok. Unlike flying it's a real experience, and relaxing on a train on the traditional colonial single-track railway past palm plantations and little country stations is far more civilised than a cramped bus on an ugly modern motorway. Before 30 June 2011, you'd have left from the faded colonial grandeur of Singapore's 1932 art deco railway station, now you leave from Woodlands Train Checkpoint in the north of Singapore Island, rumbling slowly over the famous 1923-built causeway across the Johor Strait into Malaysia and through the palm plantations and jungle towards Kuala Lumpur. Singapore to Kuala Lumpur takes 6 hours by leisurely daytime train or 8 hours on a time-effective overnight sleeper, from just £7 or $10 one-way. Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth (the station for the ferry to Penang) is of a similar length & cost; Butterworth to Bangkok on the daily 'International Express' costs around £23 or $34 and takes less than 24 hours with a comfy sleeper & a restaurant for dinner & breakfast, see the pictures here. The whole 1,233 mile Singapore to Bangkok journey can be done in just 48 hours including an afternoon in KL and a morning in Penang, but by all means stop off for longer in Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Or why not catch a ferry to Ko Samui or the bus to Phuket or Krabi?

 

For more info check out:

 

http://www.seat61.co...tm#.UMtrJqyKiNc

 

I wonder if there might be any interest from members of this Board about getting together for a trip to 3 or 4 cities in China if it was planned far enough ahead?

 

By train?

 

Travelling by train in China...

 

China has one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town & city. Chinese trains are a safe, comfortable & cheap way to travel around China, and a Chinese train journey is an experience in itself, a total contrast with environmentally-unfriendly internal flights.

 

http://www.seat61.co...tm#.UMtuFqyKiNc

 

Sorry, I haven't done any research on rail travel in China, just spotted it on The Man in seat 61 website, the same place I got the Singapore - Bkk train journey info. Travel in this way in China may be completely impractical, so I'm just throwing the idea into the ring to get some feedback.

[Guest fountainhall]

For a shortish trip taking in a few cities, train is impractical unless the distances are relatively short - like Shanghai to Suzhou or Shanghai to Hangzhou. Overnight sleeper trains could be a possibility, but would end up being more expensive than planes. No, it would mostly have to be flights.

[Guest abang]

It is correct to say that with prices of air tickets falling, it may be more convenient to travel by planes.

 

I have done these crazy bus and.or train journeys in China and other parts of SE Asia in the past years....

- Shenzhen to Gui Lin (famous for the landscape, no special food)

- Hong Kong to Shanghai (famous for the dumplings)

- Beijing to Guangzhou East (from Peking duck to Cantonese dimsum, yummy)

- Bangkok to Butterworth/Penang (famous for their fried noodles)

- Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (famous for their shopping centres)

- Shenzhen to Chaozhou (famous for their seafood)

- Shanghai to Nanjing (famous for the salted chicken)

- Chengmai to Bangkok (famous for the tom-yam soup)

 

Bus or train journeys are fun if we have the time to travel.

It is rather interesting to meet/communicate with people from other regions.

 

On many of the trips, I was the "natural" translator between Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking visitors.

Generally, these were pleasant memories...

[Guest fountainhall]

I am sure daytime trains are indeed considerably cheaper than longer flights. But if a tour wanted to take in, say, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an and Hong Kong, I think flights are the only practical mode of travel. I reckon there must be a round-trip air fare rather than having to purchase sector by sector.

[Guest abang]

Dear all,

There are budget airlines in China... you pay less than US100 to get around..

Spring Airlines...

 

And of course, from our original location to China, try Air Asia..cheap but no frills.

[Guest fountainhall]

You have touched one of my sore spots. I now refuse to fly Air Asia because they have screwed me too often - the last time out of a lot of money. Best just to take my word for it, but if you are interested in learning the long saga, it's here -

 

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/5294-air-asia-screws-me-again/

 

I have always accepted, though, that millions are perfectly happy with the airline. Perhaps my experience is rare. Judging by comments on various websites, though, I reckon it happens too often.