The Anping Tree House

I must admit that this is not the most exciting place in Tainan, but it is, indeed, a very interesting place worth visiting.

First we need to talk about Banyan trees, they are revered in Asian cultures, they are a symbol of perseverance, immortality and the gift of shelter provided by the gods, for some the branches represent bad energies and are usually associated to haunted places (oh the duality of life!). And I am not surprised at all, these trees start their life as a parasite of other plants, and as they grow bigger they become a tree by themselves (much like human beings), they can continue growing for centuries and cover large areas, they give a lot of shade, which let me tell you, in this subtropical weather is a godsend, and to be perfectly honest, the views from inside are a bit creepy. 

The drill is as usual in the touristic places here in Tainan, you go to the counter, purchase your ticket (30 NTD) and get your ass inside, there will be people at the entrance checking that you are not trying to a smart-ass.  

The Banyan Tree

Boiled, hot and spicy goodies!

As I have come to realise during this past week while losing myself in this gorgeous city, is the culinary obsession that the Tainanesse (not sure if this is the correct way of calling them, but fuck it) have with food.

Menu and prices.

There are many exotic things and many not so exotic ones, and this, more than exotic is unique and interesting; think for a second on a buffet, an omelette bar and a Japanese shabu-shabu, are you there yet? Ok, now forget the details of each of these things and let us meet this local delicacy.

There are literally hundreds of this kind of joints around Tainan, the first thing you will notice is a cart outside the little shop containing a ridiculous amount of delicious things; from blood-rice cakes, sausage and meatballs, to any kind of fresh veggies, noodles and mushrooms of all sorts, passing through all the imaginable (and unimaginable) permutations of tofu.

The goodies

Minoru's Diary in Taiwan: Finding a flat & getting to know a city.

On day two I embarked myself in the titanic task of finding a suitable place to live for my next months in the City of Tainan, Taiwan. And I say Titanic for two main reasons: 1. I don’t speak Chinese, and 2.  There are only two types of flats available for a short period of time; either very nice pricey places or very cheap “shitholes”. With the help of a Colleague and a Professor (both locals) I set up a few appointments and off I went. Most of the places I saw were small, dark, smelly and dirty, but very cheap, nonetheless, the first flat I saw was very big, bright, and in general, awesome. However, people continued telling me that the horrible places I saw were very convenient (more on this word on future posts) and that I should not take the first place because it was too expensive and far away from my place of work (around 1 hour commute). I start to get the feeling that the locals prefer not to move a lot, to be close to work rather than having a nice place to live, I guess everybody has their own priorities. 

So despite of the insistence of the locals not to take the nice flat I liked since the beginning, I decided to take it. I was advised to call all the landlords of the places I didn’t like and explain why I didn’t want to take their place, and to look for reasons that would sound euphemistic enough… In the end I decided that the “reason” I would give them would be that I absolutely needed a place with a kitchen. And so, before I knew it I was setting up my moving date; the land lady would pick me up at my hotel to take me to the flat and do the whole charade (moving, contracts, payments, etc.).

I now have a lot of free time (adding the fact that the jet lag keeps waking me up at ungodly hours in the morning), so armed with my trusty camera, my now Internet connected cellphone, a big bottle of water and some tourist brochures, I exit the comfort of the air-conditioned hotel room into the hot and humid land of wonders that is Taiwan. 

My plan is as usual; there is no plan. I just walk and wander as I please, taking turns whenever I feel like, in search of hidden wonders and off-centre places. This works awesomely, somehow I find myself surrounded by an overwhelming amount of temples, shops, restaurants, and well, Taiwanese. 

A view of the NCKU Garden.

Let's Roll Some Oysters!

From the outside, Chen’s Oyster rolls looks a little bit like your typical fast food chain, but don’t be fooled by these looks, Chen’s Oyster Rolls holds great surprises for your taste buds. It is the real deal, real fast and delicious food and all of the ingredients are acquired just a few meters away in the Fish Market; its hard to get any fresher than that!

The logo!

Soup In Your Dumplings (No kidding!)

The firs thing you can notice when approaching HaoWeiDao (上海好味道小籠湯包) Soup Dumplings (other than the giant red and yellow sign) is the open kitchen, in which a group of cooks in red shirts prepare the dumplings with great mastery. The dough is rolled with small and thin pins then they are filled with a gelatinous broth; savoury, packed with meat (or not) and different veggies. Then in the hands of a couple of “dumpling masters” they are closed and beautifully placed in the steamer.

The craftsmen behind this lovely creation.