It is late May and already the weather in Taipei is getting hot and humid. So it is a perfect excuse for a frozen indulgence.
Are you newly arrived in Taiwan and setting up home? Preparing for the arrival of a baby? Looking for some good books to read? Are you actively decluttering? Or perhaps you are just looking for some good food and diversions for young children? Or perhaps you are just looking for something fun to do on the weekend?
Since announcing that Mr Taiwanxifu and I are expecting our second child, I have discovered all sorts of unusual traditions (and taboos). I find some of them are pretty unusual to my Western way of thinking, although Mr Taiwanxifu tells me that many are just common sense. See what you think! Continue reading
I love reading books about people who have had a complete sea change, relocating to some romantic part of Europe where — free from the economic necessities of the daily grind — they enjoy long, lazy lunches in small trattorias or bistros. Non-stop downtown Taipei seems an unlikely place to find any similar leisurely lunchtime traditions, unless you happen to dine at Aux Champs Sur Marne (馬思田園).
I love ‘stir-fry 100′. I really enjoy the casual, late-night sensation of sitting outside until late, drinking beers and conversing animatedly with your friends. ‘Stir-fry 100′ refers to restaurants that serve reasonably priced dishes, starting from NT$100. The restaurants are usually open late, and most dishes go down well with alcohol (usually beer). In other words, it is pub food Taiwan-style.
Despite the food scene in Taiwan being wonderfully diverse and tempting, there are times when I still miss certain Australian foods. During a recent trip back home, I stocked up on vegemite, chocolate bullets and chai tea (although I heard through a friend that chai may become available in Taiwan soon, fingers crossed). And I became a bit of a willing pack mule for other hungry Australians: one friend requested Jatz biscuits, while another asked for Tim Tams and of course I brought back extra vegemite just in case. And while in Australia I pigged out on dips, Turkish bread (and pizza), cheeses, chocolate, soy and linseed bread and ANZAC biscuits while Mr Taiwanxifu indulged in Aussie beers, red wine, lamb and twiggy sticks. (Lest I sound totally unhealthy, what I ate was all in moderation and also balanced by lots of healthy fruit.)
Australia is home to a sizeable Vietnamese community, and consequently certain areas have become meccas for reasonably priced and accessible Vietnamese food. Despite the considerable Vietnamese presence in Taiwan (both through immigration and foreign workers), I am always surprised not to find more Vietnamese restaurants. There are some (and the number is growing), but they generally only serve bland curry or have been so altered to suit local tastes that the keen freshness and vibrancy of Vietnamese cuisine is hard to identify. And with some notable exceptions, many of them are grubby, whole-in-the wall shops that dish up half-decent food, but aren’t really that appealing (or in locations easily accessible to expats).
Vietnamese beef noodle soup (pho)
This year — 2012 — is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac. Occurring once every twelve years, Chinese consider the dragon year the most auspicious zodiac sign. Despite Taiwan’s technological and scientific advances, in some ways it remains quite old-fashioned. And the rush to produce a dragon baby is one example of the way in which tradition (or in this case superstition?) remains influential.
Earlier this week, an Asian American friend took me out to lunch. The venue was his favourite and usual hangout– the American Club, Taipei.
Orchid at the America Club Taipei foyer
Recently, I was tasked with finding a venue for a business lunch. Since my ‘Taiwanxifu’ blogging reputation has begun to spread, friends and colleagues often now expect me to know about the best places in Taipei. This is not always as easy as you might think: as much as I enjoy it, I don’t eat out all the time and often I am more interested in learning about hidden restaurant secrets from other people. But this work lunch posed the perfect opportunity for me to revisit a restaurant I had been keen to dine at again – DN innovacion. And quite coincidentially, one of my dining companies had been really keen to try it out, too, so it was a double excuse to go there.
