LARD-th Vader 大腸包小腸

My company secretary Ah Guan seems hell-bent on making me put on weight. She says I'm too skinny, and has set out on a quest to bring me around to eat all the GOOD FOOD. She's taking orders from LARD-th Vader, trying to get me on the Fat... I mean Dark Side.

Nuff justification. This street stall is a 老字號 selling 大腸包小腸 (NTD35) outside a temple. Ah Guan told me the 大腸 portion is traditionally made using the intestine-casing rather than the rice-casing used in more commercialised materials.

The sizzling-crackling sound of the sausages over the grill and the intense smokey fragrance is an experience in itself, as you see three pairs of hands busying themselves, turning sausages around on the grill while serving customers.

The first bite of the 大腸包小腸 *CRUNCH* with the snappiness of the 大腸 skin. The glutinous rice wrapping is flavoursome, I suspect yam is used in it as well. The 小腸 sausage, minced pork with lean meat and bits of LARD, yes LARD, puts all other sausages to shame. The picked cucumber balances the savoury 大腸包小腸 with its freshness and tinge of sourness.








Healthnut Rating:
Comments: May the force be with me. I fled the scene of crime hurriedly before I was tempted to down another. I will NOT succumb to the temptation of the LARD side... at least for now

B&B: Broke & Breakfast

Bed & Breakfast? Not exactly, more like broke! and breakfast. Living on a shoestring budget is fun in a warped kinda way. Finally had the luxury of sleeping-in a bit later, woke up at 9am instead of the usual 730. The healthoholic in me beckons. Determined to abide by my health-values, it was organic muesli (dry) with orange juice (NTD60) for me. The muesli (NTD260) was bought from Melaleuca store, some MLM chain with save-the-earth convictions.

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Dry, thank goodness for the raisins & apricots, else I'd be better off eating sand. At least it's healthy!

The Special Wan

No it's not Jose Mourinho, The Special ONE. And neither is it you Kevin Wan. The Special Wan, is probably the best meal I've had thus far in Taiwan. Located in an unassuming little street, served in an unassuming little bowl, the Special Wan definitely looks unassuming in it's own little way. BUT! You've gotta be kidding me man, this has got to be the shiok Wanton I've tasted.

The Wanton is hand-wrapped in silky smooth wanton skin, white rather than yellow like the one found in Singapore. The pork-filling is sweet with crunchy bits of LARD (sighz, dammit, if not it'd be perfect for this healthoholic). Comes in a bowl of ten (NTD60) with a poached egg. The pork soup's clear/sweet and I doused it with generous servings of white vinegar.




Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Soup-based & tastes so good! I have found my lunch/dinner for the next 6months!

飯團 Breakfast

How to go wrong with you tzar kuay (dough fritters)? You tzar kuay with anything tastes good. The 飯團 (NTD10) was wrapped in leaves and steamed in a bamboo basket so the rice had a nice fragrance to it.

Wrapped in the rice? you tzar kuay, pork floss and preserved vegetable. Weird combination but oddly satisfying. The crunch of the preserved veg allowed me to lie to myself that I was hitting my daily veg-quota.

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: You tzar kuay is BAD for health but tastes soooo good

I Miss Baby Carrots...

Week 1 comes to a close in Taiwan, Kaoshiung. Work's challenging & fun. People're friendly & nice generally. But yet, I'm struggling. Why? Cos there's just darn too much good food here!!!

Taiwan, A Health Nut's Nightmare. Concept? How three (or more) simple meals a day can be a torturous dilemma, an internal kumite between my healthy-self and my indulgent-self. But a man's still gotta eat. The blog will be on my everyday food-choices in Taiwan.

Rating: the lower it is, the more delicious & sinful the food is. (afterall, I'm rating the food from a healthoholic's perspective) Eg. One healthnut means, stay away if you value your health! Two would probably mean, still good but 100 sit-ups later please. Five? Raw baby carrots =) Food that is both unhealthy & mediocre will not be featured, I will take them as occupational hazards as a health nut.

Ok then, please excuse me while I finish up my sit-ups for the night. Stay tuned for the health nut's fight against evil Taiwanese food.