There was “Congee” for my morning breakfast with toppings like spring onion. (This is essentially the same as what is known as “kanji” in Tamil, i.e. rice porridge). Also, most restaurants served vegetarian dishes marked by the symbol below:
Not to mention every major American chain restaurant seems to be thriving in the city – Chilis, Macaroni Grill, Subway, et al.
But let me mention a couple of memorable meals I had in Taipei.
Part 1: In the heart of a bustling city that never sleeps
The first was at a chain restaurant called “Din Tai Fung Dumpling House” at the famous “Taipei 101” which at one point was the tallest building in the world, now surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
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| Taipei 101 |
This chain is gaining popularity in the U.S. as well with branches in Seattle and Los Angeles. The Din Tai Fung in Taipei is the first one I have been to. The waiting line apparently is quite long even on week nights, but we got there early enough and our wait was just 20 mins or so.
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| Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101 |
Inside you can see fresh dumplings being made through the glass and the smell wafts all over the restaurant as waiters carry bamboo trays of steaming dumplings to the tables.
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| Making their famous dumplings at Din Tai Fung in Taipei |
My host ordered several vegetarian dishes, and I did not have to study the menu at all. Out of curiosity since I had enjoyed the meal so much, I looked at the English menu online afterwards.
We started with noodles in peanut sauce which was divine and made me miss V as he loves anything peanut. We ordered this with a side of sauteed spinach in garlic and sauteed kang kung in shallots.
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| Noodles in peanut sauce (Din Tai Fung) |
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| Sauteed Kang Kung with garlic (Din Tai Fung) |
Then we ordered several trays of dumplings and one of them was vegetarian that I totally laid dibs on. It had a flavorful green filling but I am not sure what it was made of. It is supposed to be dipped in a dish with grated ginger in soy sauce and popped in to the mouth whole. This was divine and I could have easily eaten one more tray!
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| Vegetarian Steamed Dumpling (Din Tai Fung) |
We ended the meal with dessert buns with taro and sesame filling and I didn’t think this was nothing to write home about.
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| Sweet Taro Bun and Red Bean Bum (Din Tai Fung) |
2. A home-cooked meal in the heart of Taipei
The second memorable meal was at a colleague’s place in Taipei, not too far from Taipei 101. He has a cook come in twice a week and apparently her vegetarian dishes are healthy and abundant. Indeed, she had prepared a lovely meal for all of us and we ate in a relaxed homely manner, chatting around the table.
The vegetarian dishes served with warm brown rice in a bowl included a “Tofu soup”, a “Cabbage-Mushroom Stir Fry” and a “Bok Choy Stir Fry”. I love the way the vegetables were prepared with minimal spices and left a little under-cooked so that the vegetables shone bright green and were crisp to the bite. Feast your eyes on the pics!!
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| Tofu Soup and Bok Choy Stir Fry |
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| Cabbage Mushroom Stir Fry |
When I came back from my trip and told V about the home-cooked meal in Taipei, he immediately wanted to invite my Taiwanese colleague to our place to sample V’s Chinese cooking! V takes pride in making excellent stir fries and his kung pao with tofu is to die for! One of these days, I will post the recipe.
Taipei also boasts of several night markets which serve food late in to the night, but not knowing the language, I wasn’t sure if there was any way for me to validate the pure vegetarianism of a dish and hence did not venture to one for a meal. Let me know if any of you have been brave enough to try!