Hong Kong: Fresh Seafood in Tuen Mun 海鮮@三聖

Favorite: 聖子 in black bean sauce

Favorite 2: 攋尿蝦

Large clams with garlic, green onion (back: steam small clams, bok choi, lobster)

A few of the dishes from family seafood feast in Tuen Mun. We chose a wide selection of fresh seafood from the market below the restaurants, which was then brought up to cook. I love that everyone in my family is a seafood lover/foodie!

Taiwan Street Food 台彎之旅-夜市

1. Shilin Night Market, Taipei
Shilin was a bit of a disappointment. There was very little variety in food stalls and not many choices appealed to me (or maybe because we got lost and went the wrong way at first). I enjoyed the street food in Damsui (grilled squid) and Jiufen (fried squid) and the night market in Kenting more. 


Best street food picks:

Favorite from Shilin: Best Curry Fish Balls - the white kind (not fried) covered in curry sauce with a sprinkling of satay powder (other flavors: curry, seaweed, etc.) I don't normally like fish balls but this was different from the ones in Toronto - not as 'hard'. 


2. Jiufen

Favorite from Jiufen: 炸花枝 (squid) It's made in large sticks but served cut up into bite sized pieces (pictured below)

炸花枝 with bonito flakes on top. The bounciness of the fish paired with the mayo-like sauce and bonito flakes was delicious.

Conch

Signature Taro/Pumpkin/Sweet Potato Glutinous balls (芋圓)with Barley, Grass Jelly and Tofu. I only like the barley.


3. Kenting

@ Kenting: 苦瓜汁(Bitter Melon Juice) - surprisingly not bitter tasting at all, quite refreshing. Also famous - 冬瓜汁(Winter Melon Juice) doesn't have winter melon taste; it is very sweet and tastes like sugar + water. Favorite drink: Fresh Mango Juice - the mangoes in TW are almost as large as a butternut squash and much sweeter. Must drink! Other drinks to try: Papaya Milk and fresh Guava juice.. basically won't go wrong with anything fruit related, such abundance of fresh fruits in Taiwan.  

Taipei - Du Xiao Yue 台彎之旅-度小月

麵, 米粉

Fried Shrimp Paste - so good!

Man preparing noodles at the front of the store

A small restaurant packed with customers. They specialize in two types of noodles - the thicker yellow type and thin vermicelli type. Both are delicious and came in relatively small portions. They also serve side dishes and rice bowls.

Taipei - Din Tai Fung 台彎之旅-鼎泰豐

Our first meal in Taipei was at the famous Din Tai Fung. We arrived in Taipei around 5pm and rushed here right away as we were all very hungry. 

Xiao Long Bao - thin wrapping, soupy filling

Shrimp Fried Rice - this was quite delicious and different from Cantonese fried rice, I think because the Taiwanese use Japanese rice so it tastes more glutinous and fragrant.

Night It Up! 2011

My favorite picks from NIU! 2011:

1. Takoyaki - I tried 3 booths. Must say the Osaka one is the best - not floury, unlike the other ones. Would be even better if it had bonito flakes.

2. Coconut Sago Drink w. Lychee - debated if I should try this for the longest time. It’s supposedly made with fresh coconut juice, coconut milk, sago and fresh lychee. The lychee bits tasted like the aloe from bubble tea places. Very refreshing, enough sweetness and not too heavy.

3. Mango Supreme 楊枝甘露 - My favorite dessert/drink of NIU! I had two cups of this :) Fresh, fruity mango with mango bits, some pomelo on top and sago.

4. Skewers (not pictured) - I have never been a skewers fan but I tried 3 stalls and I must say Mongolian Hot Pot 小肥羊 has the best beef and lamb skewers - tender, juicy and flavorful meat. The other stalls I tried were on the dry side.

5. Taiwanese fried chicken and fried squid balls, Mama Bear Smelly Tofu (not pictured) - yum! Better than their smelly tofu

Special mentions:

I believe “Tornado Potato” was new this year and quite a hit with 3 (or more) stalls. The potatoes from this booth was on the soft side (like a potato), while another booth had crispier potatoes (like chips).

Pineapple juice - Apparently there were 7 stalls selling fresh pineapple juice. I tried 2 of them and must say this one is better - fresh pineapple taste, not foamy, and unique with the ‘popping boba’ (tapioca shaped, reminds me of fish egg texture, but sweet). However, it is extremely expensive at $8 each and with very little juice. 

Waffle on a stick, ROFL Waffles - "Creme Brulee" flavor - vanilla icecream, creme brulee sauce, supposed to be torched sugar but I think they gave me peanuts instead. The waffle was good but a bit dry. It was the denser type of waffle rather than the eggy, fluffy type. It was a bit difficult to eat while trying to get through the crowd as the icecream fell off the waffle and melted quickly but it was a nice sweet treat.