No booking needed: Singapore (7)

We had a modest lunch a few days ago at the nearby market hawker centre. I had a local dish enjoyed by Muslim Indians, also called mamak rojak. But it's not the same as the Chinese version, with the sauce being sweet and (I think) tomato based, and has fried items like dou fu, fritters etc instead of vegetables. This particular stall wasn't that great (as no 1 child liked to remind me throughout the meal) but a thirsty man doesn't complain that his water isn't Perrier (or more likely Evian if you're a local). 

No booking needed: Singapore (5)

Despite the miserable weather here (it's been raining every day since we arrived), no.1 child and I went down to Sim Lim Square to have a look around and also do a bit of exploring around the area. 

On our way to SLS (as it's known to the locals) from the nearest MRT we had to go through through the Bugis Street night market which, despite its name, is open all day. Cheap clothing and food can be found here at the various stalls, but definitely not as good as the true night markets in Taipei.

SLS was disappointing, with prices not far off what one can get on the internet including delivery. Certainly not worth the effort of carrying the stuff home particularly if there was no international warranty. Definitely a case of caveat emptor when shopping here and it's no wonder that many locals make their purchases online. Although the sales people in the few shops that I went into were very polite and helpful, I couldn't help feeling that the ground floor had the atmosphere of a used car lot.

Anyway, after that experience we went through the hawker centre at the nearby Albert Centre where we stopped off for an afternoon snack of rojak (for the uninitiated a potent mix of you tiao, sliced cucumber, bean sprouts, nuts, pineapple and prawn paste). It tasted pretty good despite missing a few critical ingredients like green mango, but hey it was only S$2.50. Far better fare here than in the big name food court the other day. 

No booking needed: Singapore (2)

A simple (!) breakfast from the hawkers at the local market. Nasi lemak (coconut milk infused rice with fried nuts and anchovies, a little egg and a piece of fish all wrapped in a banana leaf), pisang goreng (deep fried battered banana), fried sweet potato, curry puffs, you tiao (a long deep fried pastry), some dou hua, chee kuay (little steamed rice flour cakes topped with chilli, pickled vegetables and a bit of dried shrimp) and fried diced turnip cake (chye tow kuay).

Like many things today, even the humble nasi lemak has succumbed to the efficiencies of the production line. The 'sambal' and anchovies/nuts came in little tear apart sachets. It probably helps to keep the fish and nuts crunchier for longer without the sauce in the rice. Aaaah, progress.

No booking needed : Back in Taipei (9)

Having caught one of the half hourly evening high speed trains back to Taipei from Kaohsiung, we arrived somewhat hungry. After wandering down one of the streets next to our local MRT station, we settled on one of Taipei's home grown fast food joints: Formosa Chang. Most famous for lu rou fan, it started out in 1960 from street vendor origins. 

The chain specialises in serving up quick meals based around either a small bowl of lu rou fan, shredded chicken and rice or just plain rice with which one can order a variety of side dishes. We had a piece of pan fried fish, vegetables, some sliced sausage and soup. Calling this fast food is an understatement, with some of the dishes arriving while we were still ordering. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was pretty decent fare. At the end of the meal, having spent $NT330, we even had a chance at a lucky dip, picking 3 coupons which entitled us to free side dishes on our next visit. 

Didn't take any pictures of what we ate but it looks just like what's in the Formosa Chang website www.fmsc.com.tw. And wonder of wonders, they also sell prepacked lu rou fan mix in foil pouches, ready to create 7 bowls of their signature dish (just add a dash of pork mince?) in the comfort of one's own home. And no, we didn't buy any, having had enough during our stay to last half a lifetime, or at least until the next trip.

No booking needed: Tainan (2)

Lunch was a simple affair, Taiwan's renowned beef noodle soup (niu rou mian, mine served 'dry' with a side bowl of the beef broth) and some rou yuan (meat dumplings). The noodles were great and the generous serving of meat ultra tender from the long stewing process.

New friends

We made some new friends today courtesy of some old ones. A more warm and hospitable Christian couple and their super charming 4 kids you couldn't find elsewhere in Taiwan. And Taiwanese are generally a friendly lot. Despite us calling on them with pretty much no notice (and our protestations), they insisted on taking us out for a quick sightseeing drive, dinner, dessert and then to their home. 

Yen Ping Road in the An Ping district. The first street ever built in Taiwan, yes Taiwan, built by Dutch colonists in the 17th century.

Pre dinner snack of dou hua (dou fu pudding) at An Ping's top dou hua shop. It's pretty massive place just selling one item, and we're told it's packed on weekends. TGIF.

Their dou hua comes with various toppings and flavours in syrup. This was a lemon flavoured bowl with tapioca balls (zhen zhu).  The unusual dark color of the dou hua comes from adding the ashes from burnt bamboo. Sounds strange but doesn't affect the taste.

Dinner was at a ma la huo guo (spicy hot pot) restaurant. Unlike Szechuan or Cantonese hot pots, these come with a spicy and sour broth. Just the thing for a cold winter night! No pics due the extreme crowds!

Dessert. This is a xing ren (almond) jelly place, which serves up really wonderful iced or hot bowls of almond jelly with a variety of toppings and other extras. And again, really nice. (The shop on the left)

Cold almond jelly with sweet yam, peanuts and red beans, enough for 2. 2 thumbs up.

Almond jelly with warm black sesame (zhi ma) soup.

These little food gems are tucked away among the hundreds of places to eat in Tainan, and we would never have found them on our own. Thanks guys!

No booking needed: Tainan (1)

We arrived in Tainan at precisely the indicated time. Like Taipei the local HSR station feels like an airport. It is also as far away from the city centre as a real airport and we unfortunately made a noob mistake by catching a cab to our hotel in town. Why? Apparently we could have caught the local train for a fraction of the cost of a taxi. One lives and learns.

After checking into our hotel we went to look at a local tourist spot, the Chihkan Tower. On the way there we stopped off at a little restaurant (originally opened as a way for single mothers for themselves) to sample some Tainan fare.

Coffin bread or guan cai ban. A deep fried hollowed out thick slice of bread filled with creamy seafood, named for its resemblance to a coffin (including a lid).

Shi mu yu (fried mik fish fillet with a pepper salt dip).

Dan zai mian. A local simple noodle dish made with minced pork, named after the way the noodles were carried by street vendors, via wooden containers suspended on a pole or dan zai.

Ding bian cuo. A soup based noodle dish. The noodles are made by spreading a runny flour paste across the rim of hot wok containing a seafood soup made with, among other things, oysters. One the paste is cooked, it is simply scraped off into the soup.

Wan gui. A steamed rice flour cake topped with prawns, and fried prawn rolls with a wasabi dipping sauce.

No booking needed: Taipei (2)

Unlike food courts elsewhere, the ones in Taipei generally serve up 3 course meal sets for the princely sum of $NT130 or so on average. And did I say they were always crowded? I mean who eats lunch at 4 in the afternoon? 

We had 2 of Taiwan's great contributions to street food at the basement of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi: oyster omelette (locally called o ah chien) and a fantastically greasy bowl of minced pork, preserved vegetables and rice, well mostly rice and oil (called lu rou fan. Bourdain, eat your heart out. You really need to come to this country to do one of your shows). Even though the food sounds totally artery clogging, vegetables are always served as a side dish (called 小菜 or 'small vegetables').  So it IS a balanced meal, most of the time. But always good!