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Dec. 19th, 2020 12:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolariSo Radio Taiwan International has been on my regular weekly rotation for years, but only recently have they been broadcasting one of their shows live on Facebook, Hear in Taiwan. They usually broadcast live just before I go to bed, so it's a nice thing to catch before bed.
But a LOT of their shows seem to rotate around to food items (or at least gravitate towards it). Occasionally, I'll try and make some of the food they mention, specifically Taiwanese Chicken Steak (大雞排) being one I managed to pull off.
But some of the dishes are so complex, there's no way I could manage it. Thankfully, there's a Taiwanese place nearby called Little Taipei, so I decided last week to go after my interview, but that went so badly, I put it off. Today I decided I needed a treat and went, specifically picking things up I heard on RTI's shows (And a few from Mikey Chen's visits to Taipei).
When I got there, I went to order, and it was the same lady I "spoke" to on the phone last week, who only spoke Chinese. She recognized me when I told her (again, badly) I don't speak Chinese. Sher told me she doesn't speak English so I gave the universal symbol of "I understand." Two thumbs up.
She came around to the paper menu on the wall, and I went over it, looking for some of the things mentioned on Hear in Taiwan/Mikey Chen and I pointed out the menu items to order.
Green Onion Pancake with Egg (蔥油餅夾蛋)
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (川味牛肉麵)
Pork, Chive, and Shrimp Buns (豬肉三鮮包子)
Braised Pork over Rice (滷肉飯)
I completely forgot to get an order of Chinese Dough with Sweet Soymilk (台式油條), and by the time I remembered she was already cooking and I'd already paid. The good news was I remembered I had a conversational translator on my phone, so when she was done cooking, I was able to talk with her awkwardly for a paper menu (they didn't have any), and then she asked me to come back soon.
The pancake was AWESOME. It wasn't like the green onion pancakes I've had elsewhere, which were just that - savory pancakes. This was rolled up with egg and some kind of hoisin sauce. I actually ate that on the way home....
When I got home, I had a feast of the rest. The Noodle Soup that I heard about on my first listen to Hear In Taiwan was actually way different than the one I ordered from Tian Tian Noodles, and much more subtle than I expected. But really good.
The Braised Pork over rice came from a news report Hear in Taiwan had about two town mayors playfully fighting over who had the best (https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2004190). The one I had wasn't sweet at all, so I'm guessing the cook wasn't from Tainan. In fact, I was almost disappointed in it because it tasted a little bland, but then suddenly I hit the pickled veggies and it was fantastic.
But those dumpling. WOW, those DUMPLINGS were fantastic. Quite possibly the best I've had in a long long time. There wasn't any sauce that came with them - and they didn't need any. YUM.
So I need to go back for the breakfast doughnut one day soon, maybe once Hear In Taiwan fills up a menu's worth of food again. :D
But a LOT of their shows seem to rotate around to food items (or at least gravitate towards it). Occasionally, I'll try and make some of the food they mention, specifically Taiwanese Chicken Steak (大雞排) being one I managed to pull off.
But some of the dishes are so complex, there's no way I could manage it. Thankfully, there's a Taiwanese place nearby called Little Taipei, so I decided last week to go after my interview, but that went so badly, I put it off. Today I decided I needed a treat and went, specifically picking things up I heard on RTI's shows (And a few from Mikey Chen's visits to Taipei).
When I got there, I went to order, and it was the same lady I "spoke" to on the phone last week, who only spoke Chinese. She recognized me when I told her (again, badly) I don't speak Chinese. Sher told me she doesn't speak English so I gave the universal symbol of "I understand." Two thumbs up.
She came around to the paper menu on the wall, and I went over it, looking for some of the things mentioned on Hear in Taiwan/Mikey Chen and I pointed out the menu items to order.
Green Onion Pancake with Egg (蔥油餅夾蛋)
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (川味牛肉麵)
Pork, Chive, and Shrimp Buns (豬肉三鮮包子)
Braised Pork over Rice (滷肉飯)
I completely forgot to get an order of Chinese Dough with Sweet Soymilk (台式油條), and by the time I remembered she was already cooking and I'd already paid. The good news was I remembered I had a conversational translator on my phone, so when she was done cooking, I was able to talk with her awkwardly for a paper menu (they didn't have any), and then she asked me to come back soon.
The pancake was AWESOME. It wasn't like the green onion pancakes I've had elsewhere, which were just that - savory pancakes. This was rolled up with egg and some kind of hoisin sauce. I actually ate that on the way home....
When I got home, I had a feast of the rest. The Noodle Soup that I heard about on my first listen to Hear In Taiwan was actually way different than the one I ordered from Tian Tian Noodles, and much more subtle than I expected. But really good.
The Braised Pork over rice came from a news report Hear in Taiwan had about two town mayors playfully fighting over who had the best (https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2004190). The one I had wasn't sweet at all, so I'm guessing the cook wasn't from Tainan. In fact, I was almost disappointed in it because it tasted a little bland, but then suddenly I hit the pickled veggies and it was fantastic.
But those dumpling. WOW, those DUMPLINGS were fantastic. Quite possibly the best I've had in a long long time. There wasn't any sauce that came with them - and they didn't need any. YUM.
So I need to go back for the breakfast doughnut one day soon, maybe once Hear In Taiwan fills up a menu's worth of food again. :D
