Taipei - what's the juice?

[bianfuxia]

I am going to Taipei in a week or so for the weekend. Lightning visit, but that's all the time we can spare. We get in late on a friday night and leave Sunday.

What's cool to do there? I'm interested to get a feel for the difference between Taiwan and the PRC, but mainly, do any of our Taipei members or people who've been there have especially fun things they like to recommend?

I'm not into bars really. Food is good though!

thanks in advance,

R

[Yang Rui]

Don't miss the National Palace Museum. The exhibits are absolutely amazing. I'm not even that big on museums, but i was blown away by it. If i was going back to Taiwan I would definitely go again. Some of the pieces there would have taken one artist an entire lifetime to complete and would have required him to learn special breathing skills so that his breathing didn't disturb the intricacy of the work. Amazing stuff. You could spend a whole day there, but a couple of hours would be enough to see the best exhibits that really make you stop and think (the olive pit boat, the pagoda carved out of a single piece of ivory etc).

Apart from that, you get pretty good tea in Taiwan, so if you like that sort of thing, it might be worth a trip to a teahouse where someone makes Oolong for you. Can't recommend any off the top of my head though I'm afraid.

If you're in a hurry, i don't think the Chiang Kaishek memorial (or whatever it's called now) is particularly exciting.

I found the biggest differences between TW and the PRC lay not in the appearance of the place, but in social attitudes and the people. Therefore, if you want to see differences, I suggest you try talking to as many people as possible in your short time.

Have a good time

[adrianlondon]

Go into central Taipei and eat as much Chinese food as you can; Japanese food is good too. And drink bubble (pearl) tea. And eat some more.

[owshawng]

Also Taipei 101 has great views of Taipei and is in a upscale shopping area of the city. The night markets can be fun too. Try to eat breakfast a a Mei y Mei breakfast shop. The minced pork burgers are awesome.

[82riceballs]

definitely go to the night markets!!! I don't remember what the name is (and I"m killing myself right now!!), but there is a stinky tofu shop somewhere in taipei (if ur interested)...

[Long Zhiren]

definitely go to the night markets!!! I don't remember what the name is (and I"m killing myself right now!!), but there is a stinky tofu shop somewhere in taipei (if ur interested)...

士林區 (Shilin Night Market)? This is a fun one. On the MRT, it's six stops north towards Dansui from Taipei main station. From the direction of the tracks that you just got off, head to the left about a block, and north another few blocks and you'll be right in the middle of it. I like the shaved ice desserts 泡冰 bao bing. Look for a stand with the most available toppings.

If you want really weird stuff, look for Snake Alley. 萬華區 Wanhua district near 龍山寺 Longshan Si temple. I've never been there and really have no interest for that kind of stuff either.

[Lu]

Definitely go to the Palace Museum, it's absolutely awesome.

Longshan Temple is also nice; across the street from it is Snake Alley (Xihua jie, or was it Huaxi jie, I always forget). At Longshan temple MRT.

The 101 is still the highest building in the world, and is also quite beautiful to look at (I think).

For tea you can go to Maokong, they have a cablecar going there now, and after some problems when it just started it seems to work fine now.

You can also try a hotspring, there are many of those. I recently went to one in Beitou, but there are more.

CKS Memorial Hall, now called National Democracy Memorial Hall, is actually an interesting place to go if you want to get a feel for the difference between China and Taiwan (and the mess that Taiwanese politics is now: they changed the name, but the statue is still in there).

Night markets: the biggest is Shilin, near Jiantan MRT. Then there is Shida, small but nice (Taipower building MRT); Gongguan (Gongguan MRT); a big one with mostly clothes near Songshan station; and many more that I haven't been to yet.

There is not one but many stinkly tofu shops in Taipei, just follow your nose.

For the best shaved ice, with fresh fruit, go to Monster, on Yongkang jie. It's the place with the long line in front, worth the wait. On the corner of Yongkang and Xinyi lu is Dintaifeng, the famous xiaolongbao restaurant. Very good. Also comes with a long wait.

But actually I think that the food, although good, is not nearly as great as the food in Beijing.

Have fun!

[bianfuxia]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like a fun (and tasty) place. Thanks for you effort in giving me ideas.

R

[shanghaikai]

Haha, I'm currently in Taipei! The people above have already given you plenty to do for your time here but grap a Tourist map from a hotel or metro and you should be set. Very easy to get around here so no worries!

[fireball9261]

Try to have papaya milk shake, sugar cane juice, and Ding Tai Feng's Shao Long Bao (鼎泰豐's 小籠包). You can find papaya milk shake and sugar cane juice in most juice and shaved ice shops. Sugar cane juice maybe a little harder to find, but it's very good. The cold papaya in Taiwan is almost like ice cream, very delicious.

Ding Tai Feng is a very good Chinese Restaurant in Taipei and many famous international movie stars like their Shao Long Bao 小籠包 there. Keanu Reeves is one of them. The restaurant itself is very interesting. When you are in line, you can see how they make all kinds of bao and dumplings. When you are in the restaurant itself, it doesn't look like you are in the city when you look out the windown (a nice big tree view). The food there are very good Shanghainese style dim sum. You can order a lot or just have a taste. The wait is a bit long though, but it's worth it.

[shanghaikai]

Ding Tai Feng is from Taiwan.

[fireball9261]

Ding Tai Feng is from Taiwan.

Yes, the first shop opened in Taipei, and the owner's family was not in the Restaurant business originally. The second one is in Shanghai. I think there is one in Japan, and the last one is in Los Angeles, California (U.S.). The one in U.S. is not as good as the ones in Taipei or Shanghai. I have not been to the one in Japan, so I wouldn't know about the one in Japan. The owner in U.S. (one of the Ding Tai Fen's owner's sons) said the problem is in the flavor of the pork in U.S. Well, I have shao long bao in other U.S. Chinese restaurants, and they have much better shao long bao than Ding Tai Feng's U.S. branch, and they all use the same type of pork. Since I am a Jiang-Zhe Ren and I eat shao long bao since childhood, I know a good one from a bad one. The Ding Tai Feng's shao long bao in U.S. is no good. However, their other stuff are OK. I just don't feel the food in the U.S. branch is worth the long wait. Other Chinese restaurants in the same area and nearby Monterey Park or San Gabriel areas are as good or better (and cheaper too).

I can't talk about Ding Tai Feng's shao long bao any more. One day, I dreamed that I drove from California to Taipei to have the shao long bao. When I woke up, I was extremely disappointed and dispressed!

Also, close to Taipei's Ding Tai Feng, there is a restaurant called Gao Ji (高記). I am not sure whether they are still there. Their 蟹殼黃小燒餅 (xie4 ke2 huang2 xiao3 shao bing3) is out of this world, much better than other places like 永和豆漿 (yun3 he2 do jiang). When I had it last, I remember its flavors for a full week!

[adrianlondon]

Din Tai Fung (sic) started in Taipei. There are quite a few of them now; including one in Beijing (very good!) and at least two in Singapore (although they're kind of small).

[Lu]

There's a thread on Din Tai Fung somewhere in the food forum. Its soup buns are xiaolongbao rather than 'shao long bao'.

And do try papaya milk (mu4gua1 niu2nai3), it's delicious. Sold in most juice shops, just like pearl milk tea (zhen1zhu1nai3cha2), which is also really good.

[fireball9261]

Sorry, shao is the original Taiwan spelling for small. Xiao is the current mainland Chinese pinyin spelling. Sometimes, I mix them up.

[Lu]

shao is the original Taiwan spelling for small

According to what system? And then how does that system spell 少?

[shanghaikai]

Last I recall (it may have changed since), the first official American Ding Tai Feng was in Los Angeles. They're in Taiwan (naturally), China (Shanghai alone has at least two), and a ton in Japan (somewhat ironically...but not really).

As for "shao" vs. "xiao," I do know Taiwan used and is still accustomed to using a lot of Wade-Giles but I personally have no idea if "shao" represents "xiao" as PinYin is concerned. There were also a few other more obscure romanization systems in play in Taiwan that could be the culprit but I wouldn't be an expert on those things.

For the record, the girls in Taiwan are steaming hot. I've never seen so much thigh with such frequency and INTENSITY (RAWR!) in my life.

[Lu]

Hanyu pinyin is xiao,

Tongying pinyin is siao (I think),

Wade-Giles is hsiao, the version used in Taiwan is also hsiao,

Yale is syau (I think),

MPS2... not sure but my guess is syau or syao,

so I'm pretty sure 小 isn't spelled shao in any system used here, except the personal made-up ones. But in a way, that is actually the most widely used romanization 'system'.

At the same time I shouldn't pick on Taiwanese for not knowing any of this.

[bhchao]

The one in U.S. is not as good as the ones in Taipei or Shanghai. I have not been to the one in Japan, so I wouldn't know about the one in Japan. The owner in U.S. (one of the Ding Tai Fen's owner's sons) said the problem is in the flavor of the pork in U.S. Well, I have shao long bao in other U.S. Chinese restaurants, and they have much better shao long bao than Ding Tai Feng's U.S. branch, and they all use the same type of pork. Since I am a Jiang-Zhe Ren and I eat shao long bao since childhood, I know a good one from a bad one. The Ding Tai Feng's shao long bao in U.S. is no good.

I agree with your assessment. I used to live in San Gabriel and frequented the Ding Tai Feng in Arcadia several times. The shao long bao there cannot compare with those made by other Chinese restaurants in the area. I have had better shao long bao at cheaper prices elsewhere, especially at native Shanghaiese-owned restaurant. Also the shao long bao at Ding Tai Feng in Arcadia is too expensive for its quality ($6.50 USD). It's almost criminal.

I heard that Nanxiang in Shanghai has better quality than Ding Tai Feng in Taipei.

[fireball9261]

According to what system? And then how does that system spell 少?

They are Thomas Wade system and Kwoyeu Romatzyh (國語羅馬字). In both systems, the "x" sound and "sh" sound are very similar. In the Thomas Wade system, "x" sound starts with "hs" and 少 starts with "sh". In Kwoyeu Romatzyh (don't ask me what system the spelling for the Romatzyh. I copied from the dictionary I used.), both "x" and "sh" sounds start with "sh". In U.S., many English menu for the 小籠包 spelled with "shiao long bao". It is probably wrong for any of the systems, but that's what I learned from, and that's what my American friends wrote down when they asked me what it was called. In recent years, many restaurants decided to use "small steamed dumpling" even though original food item for Chinese dumpling in America is 餃子 and not 小籠包. I sometimes tell people it's little steamed bao with very thin skins because the Americans know of Cantonese chashao bao so they can imagine the shape. (Btw, they do not spell this item in this way in U.S. either. I am using the mainland Chinese pinyin here just so no one gets confused.) Personally, I don't care which pronounciation system is used on my menu and for my non-Chinese friends as long as they could order it without my translation, it would be fine. Many of the spellings are wrong anyway, and the others are from various dialects. Many Chinese restaurants in U.S. believe that the westerners would not like the authentic Chinese food, so the authentic Chinese food items are in special menus and not in English. As a Chinese, I spent a lot of time to translate these special Chinese menus and explain not too common Chinese food items to my non-Chinese friends over the years. Since 少 is rarely showing up on any Chinese menu, I would not need to bother with how it should be spelled.