Whatever is 豆乳雞?

First time I ever heard of 豆乳雞. It's basically fried chicken wings chopped up into bits, and again good pals of mine would know I'm a sucker for the sharp tail-end of chicken wings. But alas, I can't request for that part specifically in my packet of 豆乳雞 (NTD50 for a small packet, again quite expensive)


You know why? We have to call 30mins in advance to CHECK if there are still chicken left, not confirmed have. Walk-in customers have to wait for as long as 40mins, and they're happy to do so! You've got to be kidding me man.

They have a number-board like Bingo! where customers get allocated specific time slots in 5mins intervals to come collect their deep-fried treats. Eg. two customers might both have No.28 and one to collect at 7pm and the other at 8pm provided there's a complete cycle in 1hr (which i assure you there definitely is).

Just fried chicken? What's the big deal? Well, I was lucky to collect mine freshly fried. Crunchy, ok. Taste, slightly peppery with curry flavouring. Given that it's not exactly cheap, I've come to a conclusion that Taiwanese are really more food-mad compared to Singaporeans. Millionaires $$$ are made here with a loyal foodie-following. I'm in the wrong line...

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Well, I tried it to see what's all the hype about. It makes for a good stomach filler when rushing from place to place without a proper meal, or just before a heavy drinking session. Half a nut rating because I could've taken a shower if that big wok of oil used to fry the wings had been water.

One Night In Macau

First time in Macau, the glitz and glamour of mini-Las Vegas. The night lights and scene is really quite happening. Won abit at blackjack at the casino (could've been more but the gambling bug bit me on the last day and I lost my logic and calm)...

Other than the Portugese egg tart that everyone definitely eats once in Macau, our Macau client brought us to eat this wan-ton mee place. It was definitely quite pricey, HKD20 for this bowl of wanton noodles. The egg noodles was springy and flavoursome, unlike the usual machine-made noodles. Upon closer inspection of the newspaper cuttings on the wall, the noodles are made in the traditional way where the artisan sits on a huge bamboo pole and bounces/flattens the dough to perfection. (probably that's why the dish is so expensive)

The other star of the show was actually the braised chicken feet. (another of my favourite food!). The gelatinous texture plus the crunchiness of the ligaments in the chicken feet - amazing combination. (Macau chickens run more than Singapore ones?). The large intestine is too fatty for my liking.

The deep-fried wanton is comparable to the best-ones I've tried in Singapore. The round cuttlefish ball is rolled in crispy dough bits, there are still bits of fresh cuttlefish meat in it.



Healthnut Rating:
Comments: When there's deep-fried food involved, plus fatty intestine, it'll probably taste as good as it is unhealthy. No dinner for me tonight! The noodles are worth the air-tickets over to Macau =) Will definitely be back.

Home Cooked Goodness

My house-mate/colleague's a great cook, and I've been the beneficiary of several of his meals since this first home-cooked dinner I've had in Taiwan.


There's chai-po neng (preserved veg omelette), poached bai-cai in meat sauce, fried leftover chicken nuggets, fried guo-mao cai (a type of veg) and fried vermicelli with Japanese scallops.

Everything's abit too salty for my liking but home-cooked meals still tastes best somehow. I'm waiting for the soup which apparently is his 拿手好菜.



But can't complain, having a chef in the house sure has its benefits. Give me a few months and I hope to start whipping up a few healthy dishes too.

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Wait till I cook my own home-prepared meal, it'll rate a perfect five.

Holy Makeral! (Tuna actually to be exact)

The legendary blue-fin tuna that I've read so much about, I literally came face to face with it at 東港. The head on the left is NOT plastic, it's the actual size of the tunafish! *cringe* Kevin told me, imagine having fish-head curry using that head, it'll probably be able to feed the whole of KYK...

The place is Sashimi heaven. We missed the 5am bidding session when fishermen will bring in their toro catch and there will be a several bidding sessions over the various portions of the blue-fin tuna. Just like in Tsukiji market in Tokyo, Japan. It's toro-season now in Taiwan and according to the newspaper reports, Toro-yield is down 40% this year. Probably due to over-fishing? Bad news for sashimi lovers.

There are several stalls, so it's highly competitive. The stall-owners basically pull you towards their stall as you walk past slabs and slabs of fresh tuna. I finally decided on a stall, (anyhow choose because I just wanted to try the damn tuna!)

After talking to the stall-owner, I learnt that the back of the tuna is fattier and tastes smoother while the belly is meatier. There are many other parts of the tuna and I just couldn't learn them all, give me some time. (and money).

I ordered a slab worth (NTD700), probably one of the more expensive dishes I've had since coming over. I had three slices with their wasabi and I had enough. The sashimi was too rich for me to continue and enjoy it! Three slices was sufficient to feed my sashimi kick! (to think in Singapore we ate plates and plates of salmon sashimi). The toro was meatier than salmon, had more bite to it.

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Raw fish, good protein plus omega-3 fat. Pity it's expensive =) Till Toro-season next year again!

Red-Bean - The Real Deal

Also found in 平東, we drove to this place after our smelly-tofu expedition. It's famous for its 紅豆餅, or better known in Singaporean context as the pandan pancake that Mr Bean sells. The shop is called 萬丹.

But I can safely say, Mr Bean, NO FIGHT! The ingredients they use in the pancake here is fresh and plentiful. One pancake costs NTD12, they come in 4 flavours. (Red Bean, Taro [yam], Custard, Black Seaseme) It's obvious for those who know me well which one I'll choose. Red Bean all the way.

People buy in the boxes here (of 12 each). But still full from the smelly tofu, we queued 25mins to buy a miserly 8 (need to tapao for others). The photo on the right clearly shows the red-beanS, not red-bean paste. Each bite was full of red-bean! Definitely value for money. It's not sweet too, just flavourful red-bean.


Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Nothing really unhealthy about this Taiwanese pancake. But I'd have preferred the pancake to have the pandan fragrance found in the pancakes in Singapore. But the red-bean is definitely sufficient to be the star of the show.

Delicacy? - Smelly Tofu

Hard to imagine, just selling SMELLY Beancurd, this shop in 平東 can have a take-away queue that never seems to end plus a shop-ful of hungry customers anticipating the deep fried beancurd.

A big plate costs NTD90 while a small one costs NTD60. The smell was unmistakable the moment you walk near the stall. It's so famous that people (like us) drive 45mins from Kaoshiung city just to get here.
Even the people cooking it have to wear masks (probably cos of the smell). But like they say, the smellier the tofu, the better it tastes. (Durian?)

Looking at the photo below, you surely must be able to guess the health-rating I'm going to give this dish. The only way this can score higher is if it tastes so good that it's worth the 40mins drive.

The skin is addictively crispy, the preserved veg provides for a nice balance to the crunchy tofu. The smell is non-existent (trust me), the fermentation process just helps add to the texture of the inside of the tau-kua. When served fresh from the boiling oil-wok, damn solid!
Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Tofu, being one of my favourite food, no matter how it's cooked, justifies the rating. I'm feeling hungry just looking at the photos again. Looks like the blog is not a good idea after all to prevent me from eating too much, if I get hungry everytime I blog =)

Tea-rific!

An hour's drive away from Kaoshiung lies this uber romantic teahouse with a million dollar seaview. Actually, our Australian supplier says its worth USD20million for a beachfront property with a similar view. And here we are on a nice raised wooden platform overlooking the ocean and taking in the sunset.

This is the kinda place that only locals will probably know. We were the only customers there. Me, my partner and his gf, with our Australian supplier with his wife.



The boss brought out two types of tea for us to try, think one of them was Oolong, the other was Pu-er. Very good service, and patient explaining on how best to taste and brew the tea.

It was a idyllic moment. Good tea, good company, excellent conversation peppered with Aussie humour and sarcasm.

Healthnut Rating:
Comments: Would have been a perfect 5 rating if not for the complimentary cold steamed-peanuts which I devoured a lot of. Simply addictive but also high in fat... Oh well...