Bon Appétit

[ntheni]

Taiwanese Food

My wife and I revisited Taiwan (particularly Sun Moon Lake and Taipei area) last week. We love Taiwanese cuisines especially the wide-variety mouth-watering street food. Our kids were left at home this time round so we could venture deep into the super-packed night markets. It was indeed a gastro-satisfying trip and I am sharing some shots taken in the following series.



SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525

Numerous mountain ridges surround Sun Moon Lake. Such a unique geographical environment has enhanced the mouth-watering gourmet varieties here, ranging from poultry and seafood specialties, to farming crops from the neighboring towns. No wonder it is also named the “Gourmet Heaven”!

The particular natural conditions in the Sun Moon Lake area have given it numerous unique local products. The lake itself yields plump and tasty topmouth culter (Erythroculter ilishaeformis) and chili (Hemiculter leucisculu) fish, as well as lake shrimp, while the land produces an abundance of Assam black tea, mushrooms, orchids, water oats, and plums for processing.
(source: sunmoonlake.gov.tw)

We wanted to try what is known as the "Sun Moon Lake Cuisine Combo" which contains 10 different kinds of dishes but since there were only 2 of us, we picked 4 of which all were uniquely of Sun Moon Lake specialties. Do remember to tell them to go easy on the serving when ordering.



SUN MOON LAKE SHRIMP
The shrimps were caught from the lake and were about 3-4 cm in size. They were deep-fried with garlic, spring onion and basil. I don’t really like prawns but this dish was really appetizing ~ sweet and crunchy.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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Looks great!! Is this same as the so called Sakura Prawn??

 

[Ian]

A few things to watch out for.

1) Sloppy framing, having the side of a plate rim missing while there is free space on the opposite side is not a good thing there are several instances of this and also of plates being off centre. It's best to fix these problems at the shot stage than to rely on image editing software.

2) The chocolates shot. The angle is not correct, it should be 60° / 30° to give the best perspective, not nearly 45°

3) You're blowing the whites out in the plates, this is sloppy and very annoying visually.

4)The last 2 images ... messy! You'd be far better to pull back and capture the entire symmetry of the plate and food, it will give a shot with far more visual impact.

The lobster salad shot, would be better pulled back and showing the entire container, I'd also be looking at alternative angles, either lower or higher to gain maximum impact in the shot.

Otherwise a good effort. I've seen a lot worse than these over the years. Keep it up and you'll get it a lot better soon.

One final tip, having chopsticks picking up food is fine, but don't have them sitting beside the food when the sticks are pearl or ivory/white coloured, it lowers the contrast significantly when using white crockery and detracts big time from the image.

 

[asthio88]

Looks great!! Is this same as the so called Sakura Prawn??

Thanks bro... Err not really sure but don't think so...

A few things to watch out for.

1) Sloppy framing, having the side of a plate rim missing while there is free space on the opposite side is not a good thing there are several instances of this and also of plates being off centre. It's best to fix these problems at the shot stage than to rely on image editing software.

2) The chocolates shot. The angle is not correct, it should be 60° / 30° to give the best perspective, not nearly 45°

3) You're blowing the whites out in the plates, this is sloppy and very annoying visually.

4)The last 2 images ... messy! You'd be far better to pull back and capture the entire symmetry of the plate and food, it will give a shot with far more visual impact.

The lobster salad shot, would be better pulled back and showing the entire container, I'd also be looking at alternative angles, either lower or higher to gain maximum impact in the shot.

Otherwise a good effort. I've seen a lot worse than these over the years. Keep it up and you'll get it a lot better soon.

One final tip, having chopsticks picking up food is fine, but don't have them sitting beside the food when the sticks are pearl or ivory/white coloured, it lowers the contrast significantly when using white crockery and detracts big time from the image.

Hi Ian, thanks for dropping by and your time of going through my posts. Your comments & tips are very much appreciated, will certainly work on it

May I know which chocolates shot you referred to in point (2)? Are you referring to the Sun Moon Lake Shrimps in point (4)? I did take some shots with the plate in view like these 2:

Once again, thank you and do continue commenting/pointing out my mistakes

 

[asthio88]

SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525




沙拉過貓/Wild Vegetable Salad

過貓 is the vegetable fern of a wild edible plant commonly used in indigenous (原住&#27665 cooking. For the indigenous people who have traditionally lived off the mountains and forests, the vegetable fern is regarded as a healthful food with cooling and detoxifying properties. This plant is found mainly in moist, shady areas and river valleys in subtropical and tropical regions. They are cultivated on a large scale in Nantou and Hualien counties and are harvested year-round.

This is one of the most common dish for the Thao people/邵族 who live around Sun Moon Lake area and is the smallest of the recognized aboriginal tribes (原住&#27665 in Taiwan. The flavors of the vegetable ferns is drawn out using the simplest cooking methods, blanched and dressed with salad sauce and sprinkled with black & white sesame seeds. It was really sweet and refreshing.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[asthio88]

SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525




奇力魚/Chili Fish

Chili fish (奇力魚/白&#40014 or hemiculter leucisculu is a kind of tropical freshwater fish and is small in size of around 5-10cm. It's a simple dish, the bones were removed and then deep-fried in mixture of egg, flour and salt. It was pretty good except we found it a lil too salty to our likings.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[Janetleeyj]

Sayur pakis ah? Yumyum oh, nowadays vry difficult to find. Huhuhu I miss gulai sayur pakis

SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525




沙拉過貓/Wild Vegetable Salad

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[nedy77]

Lovely food shot, I like the details and the colors

 

[asthio88]

SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525




Wild bamboo shoots

Another simple dish - the bamboo shoots were blanched, drained and soaked in ice water and served with salad sauce. Tasted wonderful; sweet, tender and yet super crunchy.

Thanks for viewing & have a pleasant weekend.... 
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[Janetleeyj]

Harlow Need to get so surprised meh if i know i remember pakis is evrywhere when i am little but now, dont see it anymore. now no more jungle liao, vry bad. But never eat sayur pakis with salad, the bamboo shots oso. Look yumyumyum :heart:

Wow you actually know!! :bigeyes: Very similar but these were thicker and a lot sweeter. True, sayur pakis used to be everywhere and readily available but it's hard to get now, that's the price we have to pay for destroying the nature. I was in Sumbar last year and guess what, I couldn't find gulai paku anywhere...:cry: In Taiwan, they are cultivated on large scale so in a way, they are not exactly 'wild plants' anymore.

 

[asthio88]

SUN MOON LAKE (日月&#28525




King Oyster Mushrooms/杏鮑菇

This is a very popular street food in Sun Moon Lake. The mushrooms were coated in batter of eggs and flour and deep-fried till golden brown. It was really good, very juicy and tender.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[asthio88]

T A I P E I




Ay Chung Mian Xian (阿宗麵&#32218

Mention ‘mian xian’ or mee-suah (面&#32447 and you will probably think of Taiwan. Along with or-ah-jian (oyster omelet), bak yee/rou yuan (meatball dumplings) and wah kue (bowl-pasties) - mee suah (especially or-ah-mee suah/oysters vermicelli) is one of the 'xiaochi' (小吃, literally means 'small eats') which could be identified with Taiwan. And when you mention mee-suah in Taipei, the name that come to mind is most probable Ah-Zhong (阿&#23447. Ah-Zhong/Ay Chung Mian Xian (阿宗麵&#32218 is a really famous and popular shop; it is always crowded with people, both locals and tourists. This (main) outlet is located in Xi Men Ding (西门&#30010 area and be prepared to stand as there's no table but just a few stools! Still you will see many satisfied customers happily sitting or standing around slurping away a bowl of hot mian xian, one hand holding a big bowl and the other probably wiping the sweat away. That’s the charm of Ah Zhong who has been in the business since the mid 70s and started with just a push cart.

What I like is the texture of the thin silky-smooth mian xian - not starchy or gluey. The broth which is stewed with large intestines, dried bonito and sliced bamboo shoots is really fragrant and nice. Instead of oysters which most stalls serve, Ay-Chung serves mee suah with large intestines (大&#32928. I don’t really like innards but the intestines here are both crunchy and soft. I like its chewy texture and there’s no weird smell at all. Many who have tried will swear that this is a must-eat food when you are in Taipei but is it really that good? Well, mee-suah is not exactly my cup of tea but I always grab a bowl whenever I am there.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[asthio88]

TAIPEI STREET FOOD



Oyster Omelette (蚵仔&#29006

Or-Ah-Jian (蚵仔&#29006 or Oyster Omelette is one of the most popular snack in Taiwan and is available in almost every food street and night market. According to survey made by one of the local newspapers couple of years back, oyster omelette was selected as the best snack/street food to represent Taiwan, ahead of her more famous export - bubble/pearl milk tea.

The dish consists of an omelette with a filling or topping primarily composed of small oysters. Starch (usually potato starch) is mixed into the egg batter, giving the resulting egg wrap a thicker consistency. The omelette is usually served with thick savory sauce (and lime-chili sauce) on top which makes it less crunchy, unlike the Singapore version which I prefer. This dish was taken in 365 Little Eat Place (Xiao Chi Dian) in Ximending.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[asthio88]

TAIPEI STREET FOOD



Braised Pork Noodles (滷肉&#40629

The one food my family and I eat the most whenever we are in Taiwan is no other than Braised Pork Rice or Noodles (滷肉飯
/滷肉&#40629. We simply love the melt-in-the-mouth super flavorful pork which is braised and stewed with thick soy sauce (醬油&#33167, rice wine, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, peppercorn, cinnamon, etc and sometimes with mushrooms too. There is a difference between the pork used in the northern and southern Taiwan; the north uses ground/minced pork but the south is mostly of whole big chunks of 3 layers meat (三辰&#32905 or cubes.

Thanks for viewing.... 
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[blueskye168]

hmmm...slurp-slurp-lehhh...!!!!!

Bro asthio88, aiyoh...sooo many yum:lovegrin:yum in Taiwan, can 'feel' that you must have been enjoying their delicacies to the Fullest:thumbsup: while there...so very nice:thumbsup:,great time there...yah...haha...!!!!!!:bsmilie:

 

[asthio88]

hmmm...slurp-slurp-lehhh...!!!!!
Bro asthio88, aiyoh...sooo many yum:lovegrin:yum in Taiwan, can 'feel' that you must have been enjoying their delicacies to the Fullest:thumbsup: while there...so very nice:thumbsup:,great time there...yah...haha...!!!!!!

Indeed bro Eric, it was a very 'foodfull' trip ;p you know, it's one of those trip where the (main) purpose was for food. Without my kids around, my wifey and I were able to be more adventurous. Apart from the scare we got due to the earthquake in Hualien and the possibility of flood in Taipei, it was all fun

 

[ntheni]

TAIPEI STREET FOOD



Braised Pork Noodles (滷肉&#40629

The one food my family and I eat the most whenever we are in Taiwan is no other than Braised Pork Rice or Noodles (滷肉飯
/滷肉&#40629. We simply love the melt-in-the-mouth super flavorful pork which is braised and stewed with thick soy sauce (醬油&#33167, rice wine, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, peppercorn, cinnamon, etc and sometimes with mushrooms too. There is a difference between the pork used in the northern and southern Taiwan; the north uses ground/minced pork but the south is mostly of whole big chunks of 3 layers meat (三辰&#32905 or cubes.

Thanks for viewing....
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滷肉麵 looks great!!! :thumbsup:

 

[asthio88]

TAIPEI STREET FOOD



Braised Pork Rice (滷肉&#39151

The braised pork rice from Taipei Station Gourmet Restaurant (站前美&#39135, a small shop with a few tables right outside Taipei Railway (Main) Station was our absolute favorite. Don't be fooled by the so-so looking rice set, the melt-in-the-mouth braised pork was really delightful. This restaurant is also famous for its lean pork-large intestines mee-suah (瘦肉大肠面&#32447.

And the mee-suah:

Thanks for viewing & have a nice weekend.... 
​

 

 

[ntheni]

TAIPEI STREET FOOD



Braised Pork Rice (滷肉&#39151

The braised pork rice from Taipei Station Gourmet Restaurant (站前美&#39135, a small shop with a few tables right outside Taipei Railway (Main) Station was our absolute favorite. Don't be fooled by the so-so looking rice set, the melt-in-the-mouth braised pork was really delightful. This restaurant is also famous for its lean pork-large intestines mee-suah (瘦肉大肠面&#32447.

And the mee-suah:

Thanks for viewing & have a nice weekend.... 
​

 

I hate your overseas food photos... enable me to drool over it but unable me to taste it!!!! Evil!!

 

[asthio88]

JIUFEN STREET FOOD

"During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the village here housed nine families, thus the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later Jiufen/九份 ("Nine portions" in Chinese) would become the name of the village.

Jiufen (九&#20221 was only an isolated village until 1893, when gold was discovered in the area. The resulting gold rush hastened the village's development into a town, and reached its peak during the Japanese rule. Many present features of Jiufen reflect the era under Japanese colonization, with many Japanese inns surviving to this day. During World War II, a POW camp named Kinkaseki was set up in the village, holding Allied soldiers captured in Singapore (including many British) who worked in the nearby gold mines. Gold mining activities declined after World War II, and the mine was shut off in 1971. Jiufen quickly went into decline, and for a while the town was mostly forgotten."
(Source from Wiki)


After the filming of famous movies such as A City of Sadness/悲情城市 (1989) and (animated film) Spirited Away (2001), Jiufen came to life and became a very popular tourist destination for visitors to relive scenes from those movies. Jiufen is a charming little town on a mountain in Rueifang Township of Taipei County near Keelung. It’s really a picturesque town with nostalgic charm ~ winding lanes, old shophouses with many tea houses and spectacular seaside views.

Though a small town, Jiufen has many culinary specialties to offer and the common addition of hong cao/紅糟 or red yeast (usually used in making Chinese wines) in many of their food is one.

Red Yeast Braised Pork Rice (紅糟滷肉&#39151

This was taken from the popular Ah Ying Restaurant ( 阿英紅糟肉&#22291. It was very different from the 'normal' braised pork rice ~ more fragrant but a tad too sweet for my liking.

Red yeast cuttlefish ball:

Thanks for viewing....
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[ntheni]

Hahaha so sorry ;p Use them for your future trip, you can try those you like.

yes yes I will hahaha but got too many places I want to go but too little time & money :bsmilie: