Friday, September 9, 2011

Tainan

The wife was excellent planning this trip to Taiwan as she made sure I saw more than just Taipei this time around. Our first city outside Taipei was Tainan - known as a food nerds paradise and the food was pretty damn delish. Tainan is near the water (west-side), so you see a ton of oyster dishes. Here’s a sampling of the more memorable dishes from Tainan.

Our Menu
Owa-Zen (Eggs and Oysters) ***
I’ve had this dish a ton in Taipei and back home in the states, but this was the best version (at Gua Hwa Jeh 國華街三段) I’ve ever had. Egg flavor was very prominent (which usually is not the case) and the oysters were so flavorful and juicy. The texture was definitely sex on a plate as it was so silky and perfectly cooked. It made sense as this 70+ year old dude just cooks that dish only all day – nothing else. He also cleaned up the tables which I thought was funny, but this dude works hard for his money.

O-Deh (Fried pork and oysters) **
This reminded me of an arancini – a big fried ball of goodness. Inside was juicy oyster and delicious ground pork. Another prevalent thing I’ve noticed in Taiwan were bean sprouts which I saw in a ton of other dishes – here it adds a nice crunch. We were eating this and I was freaking out on the street how good it was that two American tourists stopped by and said I need to have me some…you’re welcome dudes.

Yuen Zhu Ming Shi Ban Kao Ro (Aboriginal Grilled Pork) **
Like all cultures, the Taiwanese had their original Aboriginal peeps before the Chinese moved over. At most night markets, you'll see these homeboys with their headbands listening to their tribal music. If you see these dudes, you need to stop and immediately order their mixed pork dish. It's friggin phenomenal - bacon and pork that's so juicy, porky, and slightly sweet. Great with the accompanying pickled vegetables and raw garlic. All for $3USD. Side note - the Tainan Night Market is one of the most organized night markets I've ever seen - multiple rows of food stalls all side by side. Much better than the chaos that is the Shilin night market - a jungle of long roads that's difficult to find where the food is located.
Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

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