For some reason, it's almost a MUST for me to eat McDonald when I travel. Generally I eat McDonald because... well, when you're in a foreign land, let it be Taiwan, China, Europe, or anywhere, McDonald is something that is familiar. Nothing is worse than waking up in the morning and wondering around thinking which of these breakfast spots are clean to eat at in Guangzhou. Plus, it's fun trying out all the different pies. Best is still apple pies though!
I knew I was gonna have a busy day on Monday since my flight was at night and I wanted to take full advantage of it. I had a lot on my agenda: use my free voucher for Taipei 101 observatory, check out the baking convention that shared the share convention hall as lighting, eat at one of the hotspots at Uni-Hankyu Dept. Store, and do some last minute shopping. So to start off the day right, decided to pop into McDonald for familiar Sausage McMuffin!
Sausage McMuffin with a hash brown. I actually also got the milk tea but I forgot to take a picture of it. McDonald's in the US needs a milk tea machine dammit. (10am)
Like every McDonald, the menu's always different but you can be sure this will be on there. The sausage is a little different and so are the buns, probably due to the ingredients, but different in a good way! Taiwan is known for its pork and the flavor it has.
After eating breakfast, got to the Baking Convention. Bread, baked goods, or baking products are a big business in Taiwan. Taiwanese people love carbs, and the bakeries are always trying to out do one another.
Good sized crowd in the morn.
Some of the displays and baked goods. Lots of these crazy looking artisan bread that placed in competitions in Taiwan and around the world. Plenty of free samples too! I was constantly sampling bread, desserts, sauces, preserves, waffles, drinks, and anything that could involve what you could find at a cafe or bakery.
The top left picture is actually a display of a flour vendor. Apparently what kind of flour and the yeast type are all thoroughly researched by different vendors and they have displays to show you what it can look like if you use their products.
Also some gelato/ice cream vendors. Is gelato the next big thing in Taiwan?
Of course, Din Tai Fung is also there, selling xiao long bao. There were a lot of Chinese tourists from Mainland so they were going crazy over it.
A master pastry chef from Tokyo doing a demonstration.
Some chocolate pieces displayed.
I wonder how many girls would love the chocolate heels hahah.
There are also competition and this was one of the winners in the wedding cake decorating category.
Lots of intricate details.
1st place in the sugar sculpture category.
The "famous pastry/baked goods" aisle where you can buy gifts. They have vendors from all over Taiwan selling baked goods unique to their cities and regions. Many offered discounts and samples as well so the aisle was packed.
I couldn't resist these pineapple cakes: 台南関廟 土鳳梨酥 Tainan Guan Miao Pineapple cake. Bought quite a few boxes to give a few away as gifts haha.
So what's so special about it? Well rather filling these pastry with the traditional pineapple cakes fillings, which contains some wintermelon jam as a way to cut costs and give it that sticky consistency, they use sweetened pineapple chunks. There's no fillings in there, just pineapples. It's actually a popular product now and several makers are making it this way.
Don't know if you can tell but it is real pineapple chunks!
My free ticket up the Taipei 101 Observatory! It's actually my first time up there! Too bad the outside deck was closed due to maintenance or something.
Elevator is is the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest elevator in the world! 89 floors in 35 freaking seconds. Crazy Japanese (Toshiba).
View from the top. It has a green tint since the windows are tinted. It's also foggy that day so you couldn't see very far :[
There was a photography exhibition on the 89th floor as well with pictures showing some important moments in Taiwan's 100 years history. Look how they used to pole vault. No mats!
The famous damper ball on the 88th floor. The 7 ton damper ball is used to lessen the effects of an earthquake. When the building sways from a quake, the ball will go against the sway to balance out. Pretty cool.
Of course they cartoonized it and made it into their mascot haha.
There's also a coral gemstone exhibition and some pieces show amazing amount of details. Just imagine how time consuming it is for the artist!
After 101, decided to go to Uni-Hankyu for a late lunch at 2pm. Anzu Katsu was still too packed so decided to try 花月嵐 Ramen, which is a famous chain from Japan. They specialize in garlic ramen with a pork soup base! Garlic!!
They give you fresh garlic so you can add more into your ramen! I think I'm gonna fall in love with this place...
Since I ordered a combo set, it came with a rice bowl, ramen, and a drink. The pork rice bowl was the most saliva-inducing bowl of ramen ever. As soon as the waiter put it down, you immediately get a whiff of the garlic. They take pork, stir fry with sauce and then added garlic to it. It's sorta like a minced pork rice but with a heavy dose of garlic. You don't see any garlic but oh man, it's in there. Officially my favorite rice bowl now.
The spicy garlic ramen! The crazy thing about the ramen here is that they add PORK BACK FAT. Yes, you read it right. Pork back fat is actually used by Japanese a lot to enhance the flavor of certain things since it doesn't melt as easily so you can still it swimming happily in the thick pork broth. The garlic flavor isn't as pronounced as it was in the rice bowl so I pressed all the garlic they gave me and added it to the soup. You can never have too much garlic! Great fatty chasu pieces as well to complement the ramen.
I like how they use one dried chili pepper to show that it is spicy :P The spiciness actually surprised me a little.
LOOK AT THAT GLORIOUSNESS!! The funny thing is, the ramen is actually not any more oily than some of the other's I've tried. Maybe because it is still in the solid state so it doesn't coat your lips or mouth as easily but the broth is packed with awesome pork flavor. Garlic + pork fat = I drink all the soup till the last drop.
Thank goodness for the Coke that comes with the set cause... man I'm sure my sodium intake for the day was way over already.
After finishing my Coke, I was STILL thirsty so decided to get a drink at 廣安階 Guang-An Jie, which specializes in traditional desserts. (2:40pm)
Got a 檸檬愛玉 lemon aiyu jello drink. They added real passionfruit which was a nice touch but too much sugar so it was overly sweeet =/ After getting the drink, found a seat in the food court, used my Nook for a little, and relaxed. It was a hectic morning/noon trying to see all of the baking convention as fast as I could.
As I was walking back to my grandma's for dinner, I HAD to get another milk tea, since... well, I'm flying in a few hours so.. XD Went to 聖瑪麗 Merry Cafe, a bakery, and got the fresh milk green tea.
McDonald??? Yes... for some reason I was also craving a chicken sandwich from McDonald so I went and got one RIGHT before dinner. Not the smartest thing.
Spicy chicken sandwich. My favorite McDonald item ANYWHERE. There's fried chicken at McDonald in Taiwan, just like KFC, and I love the spicy fried chicken. Since I just wanted to satisfy my cravings for fried chicken, decided the chicken sandwich is the better option :P
Crispy, crunchy, spicy goodness.
This was my dinner on the flight haha. No more upgrades left for me so I flew economy back. Yes, what a big difference. Barely touched it... I still hate airline food.
For the breakfast (meal before landing), I got the porridge again but the side dishes were better this time! They had a braised pork with edamame and a garlic pickled vegetable.
After getting back and looking through my pictures, I certainly didn't eat as much as I usually do if it is such a short trip like this due to work, but still glad I got to try a few new things. Too many times I settle the places or the food I know to be on the safe side. For now, bye Taipei, and maybe see you in October!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment