Taiwan Blog Review: Taiwan Duck

I’ve completely given myself to Taiwanese food and snacks.  I can’t help it.  There’s something about Taiwanese food that just grabs me.  So, even though I’m not much of a cook, I still like to look at Taiwan Duck.

I guess I’m into food.  Well, actually, I’m definitely into food.  I like to read about it. I like to talk about it.  I like to hear about it.  I like to look at it as I go by.  I like to smell it, (even Stinky Tofu). I mostly like to eat it.  One of the categories I have for Zite Magazine on my iPad is food and cooking.  So, this type of website is attractive to me.

Taiwan Duck is a website that shows you how to prepare many favorite Taiwanese foods.  They give you a recipe, and the steps to make it, then as an added bonus, they do a video where Joanne shows you how she prepares it.

Joanne is cool; she’s a Taiwanese woman who has been transplanted into the UK, by marriage.  She’s obviously a very good cook, and has quite a charming personality.  I don’t even cook, but my wife and I enjoy watching her videos and listening to her explanations of how to do it.  Sometimes as I watch the video, I can just imagine the delicious smells in that kitchen.

She will also tell you where you can find ingredients, usually found only in Taiwan, in the area where they live.  She tells you her secrets for preparing the food and shows you how it’s done.  At the end of the video she shows you the prepared food and those are the only times I wish that I lived in the UK, so she and her videographer husband, could invite me over to help them eat it. 

Her husband stays mostly in the background.  I can’t remember ever seeing him in any of the videos I’ve watched.  Occasionally, he’ll prompt with an English word or two, but mostly he just hides behind the camera.  I suspect, all though I don’t know for sure, that he writes all of the recipe descriptions and is the tech guy for the website. 

The recipes are varied from Taiwanese snack foods: Oyster Omelets, Salty Chicken (Yen Si Ji), Taiwanese Beef Noodles (Niu Rou Mian) to Beef and Spinach Lasagna.  Lasagna?  Well, apparently not all of the recipes are Taiwanese, but with a name like Banducci, I can eat some Lasagna, too. 

The website is easy to use, and really an enjoyable experience.  You can even slip over to the store and buy some nice Taiwan Duck apparel, so you'll look good in the kitchen.

So, if you have some time and want to  learn how to cook some of Taiwan’s favorites, then take a few moments, grabs some nice Taiwanese Oolong Tea and a notebook and learn how to cook Taiwan Duck Style…then call me up and invite me over to help you try out the meal you made.  I can tell you right now, without equivocating I’m going to like it.

Visit Taiwan Duck at www.taiwanduck.com.  Tell them the Taiwan Adventure sent you.  Taiwan Duck is very high on our list of favorite Taiwanese (and apparently Italian) websites.  Check it out.





Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwan Blog Review:  Shuflies

Screen Captures from Taiwan Duck Website www.taiwanduck.com
Video from Taiwan Duck TV

Aaaahhhh Guotie! 鍋貼啊﹗

Guotie, Corn Chowder and Soy Sauce...Aaaahhh Guotie!

If you've spent anytime reading this blog then you probably already realize that I love to eat.  I like Mexican food, I like American food, I can eat Indian and Thai food, but I absolutely love to eat Chinese Food, especially the Taiwanese versions of Chinese food.  One of my all-time favorites, at least at this writing is Guotie, or for my Mandarin challenged friends…Pot Stickers.

My first encounter with these took place at my sister, Lori’s house.  I watched her wrap the meat in what looked like Won Ton wrappers and make little hat shapes then cook them in the frying pan.  Her remembrance of this event may be a little different than mine, but I think that’s what she did.  In fact, I may be way off the mark here, because it must have been a long, long time ago, because this is a very vague memory.  She may think that none of this is even remotely accurate.  If that is the case, then remember I grew up in the sixties and well…some of you, the older ones know, how it was.

Gather From All Directions Restaurant

I was reintroduced to them after I arrived in Taiwan.  About two years ago a friend came to Taiwan to preach a revival for me.  One of the couples in the church went with us to lunch.  They knew this little restaurant and they said the food was great, and inexpensive.

This little restaurant is called, 不妨雲集, or in English, “Gather From Every Direction.”  I like that the name of the restaurant tells you exactly what to do. I know a place that sells, Milk tea and Pearl tea, that’s called, 來買 or in English, “Come Buy” I like that, there’s no beating around the bush.    Who knows, the direct approach seems to work.  At Gather From Every Direction, (henceforth known in this post as GFED,) they specialize in Guotie.  They have Pot Stickers of every kind. 

Guotie prices each

A Pot Sticker, for the uninitiated is really a fried dumpling.  They take the same filling as in 水餃, steamed dumplings and wrap it in the same type of dough, but instead of boiling it three times they fry it in a mixture of water and oil.  They serve Guotie that’s made with curry, some with shrimp, some with Korean spice and other varieties.  The Guotie are homemade, right there in the restaurant. 

When we arrived four women were happily chatting and filling the wrappers.  They were delighted to see us taking an interest in what they were doing and allowed us to take their pictures.

The food is delicious and indeed inexpensive.  W had a completely filling meal for NT $125 (approx. US $4.00).  The meal included 20 Guotie and a bowl of delicious Corn Chowder.  My wife loves the Corn Chowder; I’m not really all that into it.  It’s not that it’s not tasty; I just don’t like sweet soup all that much.

If you’re in Taoyuan City there are two locations.  One is on Zhong Shan Road (中山路) the other is on Zhong Hua Road, (中華路).  They are both delicious and the service friendly. 

I promised them this picture.  The Giggling Guotie Girls!

Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Baozi

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  A Traditional Restaurant

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  The Oyster Omelet.

East Meets West: Where am I, Anyway?

My daughter, Emily at TGI Friday's in Taoyuan City,  Taiwan

Taiwan is starting to look a lot like the United States; at least it’s looking that way in certain areas. There has always been a certain amount of foreign food in Taiwan, but it seems that lately things are really beginning to take off for American food restaurants.

I took my daughter to lunch the other day, and she is my culinary opposite. She likes to eat the familiar things, I'm more of, "what did you say I just ate?" kind of guy.  I prefer to eat Chinese food and usually at the food carts, but my daughter’s tastes run to American food. She’s a beef and potatoes type of person. She likes good old-fashioned steak and French fries. So I thought I would take her to a restaurant where a friend had taken me, recently. Rebel Burger.

Rebel Burger's Bacon Cheeseburger, fries and a Sprite

Rebel Burger, that’s about as American as you can get. Big beef patties, avocado, mushrooms, bacon, all the decadent, fattening stuff you can put on a burger and more. It was pretty good. One thing I have discovered, though, is that if you go to dinner with a American in Taiwan, I don’t care how long they’ve been here; they want American food. To me it’s like going to Nebraska and ordering sushi. There isn’t an ocean for thousands of miles, why would you eat fish? Or going to Mexico and eating Italian. I don’t get it.

When I first came here, a friend, knowing I liked Mexican food, wanted to take me out for a treat and took me to a Mexican restaurant in Taipei. “The best Mexican food in Taiwan. Bro!” But the flour tortillas were raw, and they only had Tabasco sauce when I asked for hot sauce. I’m not complaining, I could see that they really wanted to make the best Mexican food they could, but this isn’t Mexico.

This is Taiwan and the best food in Taiwan is Taiwanese. That’s what I want. When in Rome, eat what Romans eat. When I’m in Mexico, I’m going eat Mexican. When I’m in America, I’m going to eat…probably Mexican. But that’s another story. This isn’t about me, this about Taiwan looking a lot like America restaurant-wise.

Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

American food has become pretty popular for the younger generation here. American fast food has been here for years. Kids have grown up on it. Young people like it and are starting to open their own restaurants and serving it up to other young people. That brings me back to Rebel Burger. This place is for young people. They have pictures of famous rebels all over the place: James Dean is there. So is Che Guevara, although I’m not sure what he has to do with America, but he is a famous (actually, infamous) rebel.

Because of American food’s newfound popularity, American restaurants have sprung up everywhere. They have Outback Steak Houses, Chili’s Restaurants, Bangles, TGI Fridays, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut. I’m sure there are probably others that I’ve missed. Hopefully, my children won’t find out about them and I can continue to miss them.

The thing is, though, they have the same menu as their American counterparts for the most part, but they all seem to have a Taiwanese twist. For example, Pizza hut has a fixed menu. In the U.S. you go to the restaurant and you can pick the toppings you want on the Pizza. But in Taiwan they have only a few choices, and sometimes don’t know how to react if you want to change something. My wife has stood in the restaurant while they called the boss to ask him what to do when she wanted something different than their menu showed.

TGI Friday's, just like in the good ol' USA

McDonald’s has Fried Chicken, rice and other Taiwanese favorites, along with the Big Macs and milk shakes. They know what sells, where and they serve that. McDonald’s also doesn’t have my personal favorite, (it takes a very secure man to admit he likes McDonald’s), the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Taiwanese people aren’t really all that fond of cheese and one-quarter pound of red meat seems unhealthy to them.

At KFC you don’t specify whether you want original, crispy or spicy chicken…you get what they have on hand at that moment. If you say, “I don’t want biscuits,” you’re likely to get them anyway, because that’s what goes in that package.

Bigger restaurants, like Chili’s or TGI Fridays, or Outback Steak House just serve exactly what they serve in the U.S. I guess they figure that’s the drawing card; eating like you’re in America. If you’re inside the restaurant, it’s just like being in the U.S. In fact, that’s why my kids like to go to those places, it reminds them of home. It reminds me of America, too, but to me this is where I live, so this is home.

Sometimes I just forget where I am, "Sure are a lot of Asian kids working here.  Oh yeah, this is Taiwan."

Other posts you may be interested in:

An American Presence:  What I Don't Miss in Taiwan
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  The Stink of Adventure

Eating My Way Through Taiwan: Niu Rou Mian

Niu Rou Mian

One of my all-time favorite dishes is Niu Rou Mian (Beef Noodles). This is a delicious traditional Taiwanese meal. It’s is made with chunks of Beef, Chinese Cabbage, Mustard Greens, Scallions, spices, herbs and of course, the hand-made noodles. All of this is served in Beef stock.

In America, we may choose to serve Niu Rou Mian as a soup with a meal, but here in Taiwan it’s a meal unto itself. It is usually served in a large bowl with no other dishes. It is enough to sustain you. I like it best when the weather is cold and rainy. The hot delicious soup warms you up and takes the chill off, while the aromatic, spicy flavor clears your sinuses.

There are two varieties of Nui Rou Mian that are found in Taiwan. There is the version described above, this is the type most commonly found. But there is another type. The second version contains red pepper to make the meal spicy. The meat is sometimes stir fried in hot sauce. If you are person who likes spicy hot food, then this is the version for you. I like both types and eat both as often as possible.

Most convenience stores carry an instant version. In these, you add hot water and allow it to steep for a period of time. Both the spicy and regular versions are readily available. As with all preprocessed foods, quality is as variable as the number of brands that are available. But don’t misunderstand me; some of these are very delicious, with a flavorful soup and thick noodles. Of course, the beef in these is pretty scarce and the chunks are very small.

One of Bian Yi Liu's other tasty dishes:  Seafood Rice

There is a restaurant in Taoyuan, on Jie Shou Lu, called Bian Yi Liu. The restaurant has an interesting name. Bian is the surname of the owner’s wife. She's from Thailand. and you can see the Thai influence in salads; they serve a delicious papaya salad that is spicy and sweet at the same time. Yi Liu means first class. This small quiet restaurant is just that. They serve traditional Chinese foods in a friendly atmosphere. The owner, Martin, welcomes each guest to the restaurant and often serves you himself. If you’re an English speaker, Martin speaks English very well and will help you to decipher the menu. The restaurant’s specialty is Niu Rou Mian although they serve many tasty dishes.

I only found this restaurant because I’m a foreigner, who doesn’t read Chinese. It is located across the parking lot from a brand new building. I had seen that building many times and thought it might be a nice restaurant to take my wife for dinner. (It has that restaurant look, slanted walls, lots of greenery and large trees.)  So one night we ditched the kids and went out on our own, and I thought I’d surprise her by taking her to this beautiful new restaurant…except it wasn’t a restaurant, it was a place where they sold some new homes. They directed me across the parking lot to Bian Yi Liu, where I was delightfully surprised.

If you are around Taoyuan, you may want to check it out: Bian Yi Liu, Jie Shou Lu, 459, Taouan City, (03) 362-7968. Tell them that you saw it in The Taiwan Adventure Blog, or that Chris sent you, or better yet, email me and I'll go with you...your treat.   .By the way, I wasn't paid for this shameless plug.

Other posts you might be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Cultural Unawareness:  Cultural Explosions
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  A Traditional Restaurant