I am so sad to be leaving today!! I feel like we barely touched on Taipei’s street foods and night markets. There are just too many!
First stop in the morning, we walked to Huaxi Street, which is just a 15min walk away. We got two Yuzhou black pepper buns from Monga Huang Pepper Bun. Before we left we just had to eat it one more time. This is just so good! The distinct crispy bun holding the juicy pork and scallions inside.
While walking around, we saw this bustling little restaurant called Wang’s Broth. So many people were going in and out of there with takeout orders. There were outside tables for seating. There were huge pots of braised pork, tofu, soup, etc for fast serving. I was so intrigued I wanted to try a bit here.
Vince and I got a small bowl of braised pork with mushroom over rice. It was just a small bowl and only $75 TND. That is about $2 USD. It was so delicious. There was plentiful sauce with a lot of delightful mushrooms and braised pork. Fatty and flavorful. Deep and decadent. Comforting and heartfelt. My mind was blown. It was easily the best Ive eaten on this trip (aside from shark fin soup).
It was so good that while we were walking away and towards Ximending Street, I kept thinking about it and wanting more of it. Sharing that little bowl of Vince was too much of a tease. I asked Vince if we could walk back so I can order another bowl to myself. He said yes and we went. We went and I knew how to order this time! You grab a white paper to make your order and where your table is (self seating). The yellow paper is for take out orders.
Apparently this place is also Michelin graded every year according to the walls. I didn’t even notice it the first time around. There was too much yummy stimulus. Wow, we found a random gem. This is a definite repeat visit for me next time.
After I enjoyed my second bowl, we walked over to Ximending District to get Flaky Scallion. We each got our own pancake.
Vince got the Flaky scallion egg pancake roll and I got the Flaky scallion egg pancake roll with cheese (same as yesterday’s). It was just as flaky and delicious as yesterday’s.
Before heading back to our hotel, we randomly got boba one last time. First boba we saw on the way back was called Come Buy.
Vince’s: Sri Lanka black tea latte with bubble.
Mine: Jinxuan oolong tea latte with bubble.
Both had perfectly round boba that were soft and chewy. The tea was very distinct and came through with the milk. We enjoyed them!
On the way to the express train for Taoyuan International Airport, we walked through Taipei City Mall underneath Taipei Main Station because that’s also where we would take the express train. It was a cute underground mall filled with stands selling trinkets. There is also a food court and some name brand stores like Nike.
Rarely do I get to visit a lounge I like a second time and I was so pumped to visit Oriental Club Lounge again within one year!!!! My mom and I had such a relaxing and yummy time here. Wait.. we went here twice together during both layovers from our Vietnam trip so this is my third time.
Steamed fish. I started out with two pieces of steamed white fish. I honestly couldn’t tell what kind of fish it was but it definitely was not tilapia nor swai fish. It was very soft, tender and flaky. The light sauce gave it a mild and refreshing flavor. I might eat more of this later! Now I must stuff myself with some delicate beef noodle soup first. 🙂
Beef noodle soup. The portion was a small bowl, which we both appreciated because we weren’t trying to stuff ourselves. The broth was very simple and clean. The noodles were on the chewier side. The beef was very tender and soft!! I really liked it.
Blanched vegetable over goose oil. This was actually really good. I like how soft the vegetable was. The sauce was light and flavorful even though on the saltier side.
Braised pork over rice with shrimp roll. This dish was decent and very mild in flavor. After eating the braised pork from Wang’s Broth earlier today, this is no comparison, BUT decent lounge food nevertheless. The shrimp roll was soft and delicious! It was mild but I liked it. It reminded me of the dim sum item that is bean curd skin roll with pork or kind of like a shrimp ball but with some crunchy textural bits.
Now we’re waiting to board STARLUX Airlines, an affordable luxury airline to head back home!
STARLUX Food Design Concept:
“Aviation is the process against gravity. The menu and wine design are inspired by the idea of “Zero Gravity,” offering guests a surrealistic, whimsical flying experience. Portraying the notion of weightless buoyancy via photographic technique, the food ingredients will orbit around one another like planets. Impressed by the splendid view captured through a Birds Eye towards the natural field, the unique color palette we create, modest and accommodating, will generate a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere in the airplane cabin.”
HUTONG Barbeque: Taiwanese Pork Belly Donburi. Soft roll. Mesclun salad. Sweet finish. Seasonal fruit. The pork belly was decent. I liked the sauce that was in the rice. The black fungus mushroom was a nice soft crunch. I hated the bean sprouts!! The pickled daikon reminded me of Korean. Salad consisted of Japanese dressing. Fruit was guava, watermelon and apple. The bread was decent. I put butter and the laughing cow cheese on it. They gave us a chocolate KitKat bar as dessert!! lol!
Savory Congee with Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom and Taro. Soft roll. Yogurt. Seasonal fruit. This.. didn’t taste that good.. the porridge was watery and bland. I had to add salt and pepper and only ate half of it. The bread and butter was edible but I like bread and butter.
And that concludes this international trip. I must say, I’m not home sick yet! I wasn’t ready to leave each country yet and wanted more. I also am not sick of the food yet either!! Ohh, I can’t wait to see Seoul and Taipei again!
