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.
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| 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.
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| The goodies |
The idea is very simple, you take a basket and a pair of thongs, approach the cart and start putting things in the basket. You then proceed to give the basket to the lady (in most cases) who will ask you how spicy you want it, it ranges from 1 to Mexican, so
beware as the Mexican level actually made me (an avid chilli-pepper Mexican eater) sweat. At this point you have to pay, it all depends on how many things you decided to put in your plate, and if you don’t speak Chinese or Taiwanese it might be a problem to know how much to pay, but my advice is to pay with 200 NT, must of the the times it will be slightly less than 100 NT so you will be on the safe side.
She will then proceed to boil this deliciousness in a very rich and savoury broth, will add the spicy component and serve it in a plate, this happens in a matter of minutes you will be sitting and enjoying.
The plate looks absolutely gorgeous, something in between a stir-fry and a stew, but much healthier, not dry, not a soup but with a slight hint of that delicious broth. Yumm!
beware as the Mexican level actually made me (an avid chilli-pepper Mexican eater) sweat. At this point you have to pay, it all depends on how many things you decided to put in your plate, and if you don’t speak Chinese or Taiwanese it might be a problem to know how much to pay, but my advice is to pay with 200 NT, must of the the times it will be slightly less than 100 NT so you will be on the safe side.
She will then proceed to boil this deliciousness in a very rich and savoury broth, will add the spicy component and serve it in a plate, this happens in a matter of minutes you will be sitting and enjoying.
The plate looks absolutely gorgeous, something in between a stir-fry and a stew, but much healthier, not dry, not a soup but with a slight hint of that delicious broth. Yumm!
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| The Selection |
Our selection you ask? Well, rice blood cakes, meatballs, spinach, seaweed, tiny mushrooms and smoked tofu on one dish and tofu, sausage, fishcakes and cabbage.
All washed down with some lovely Jasmine iced tea.
All washed down with some lovely Jasmine iced tea.
If you find yourself in the vicinity of Tainan, you will definitely find one of these joints, I guarantee it! It is a MUTS TRY!
Price Range: 50-100 NT per dish (Around 1.1 to 2.5 €)
Price Range: 50-100 NT per dish (Around 1.1 to 2.5 €)
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