My last meals in Taipei

My last meals in Taipei were in the fast food sections of malls. I didn’t mind since the offerings in Taipei’s malls are awesome and so different from any mall in the world. I don’t even remember what mall we went to but here are some pictures of the things that caught my eye and my appetite.
The first thing that caught my attention was this stall selling shaved ice desserts. Choices for the toppings ranged from fresh fruits to different beans and many things I couldn’t identify. I wanted to try one after lunch but was too full to do so.

The people of Taipei are so nice. Not one person said no when I asked if I could take pictures of their food. They were probably still in a state of shock or amusement to say anything else. In all the fast food we went to in Taipei the most popular dish I saw people order was this giant sizzling squid with beef. I wanted to try it several times but I always saw something I like more. Could this be their national fast food dish?

sizzling squid & beef plate

This small store fulfilled the last of my food wish list.

I love, love radish cake. They also call this turnip cake in Hong Kong or carrot cake in Singapore. The most common place to find radish cake is in dim sum restaurants and it’s usually served in squares and fried. Some offer it steamed in a small bowl too. This was the first time I’ve seen a giant radish cake. I had to order it.

radish cake

They sliced thin pieces and poured a light soy mixture and topped it with toasted garlic flakes. This dish was cold. It was interesting. I felt it lacked flavor and had to load up on the garlic and soy sauce.

After lunch I passed by the stall and they had a new huge block of radish cake. Business was brisk!

In the same stall they also sold pork cua pao. My mom told me to eat cua pao in Taipei because it was so good. The problem was I never saw it until this mall. When I saw it I immediately ordered 1. The bun was steamed for a few minutes then preserved vegetables and sweet ground peanuts were placed in it.

Pork Cua Pao

Next a slice of super soft, flavorful pork belly was added. 

stewed pork belly in a crockpot for the cua pao

My mom was right! It was soooo good. It wasn’t as sweet as the cua pao in Manila. An order of cua pao and radish cake cost NT$110.

The kids enjoying their lunch.

At night we went to another mall and had dinner at the fast food again. See another squid and beef dish? This time with soup on the side.

sizzling squid & beef plate

After seeing that mouthwatering sizzling plate I decided to order from the same stall. There were so many choices and everything was in Chinese. I hope they understand my pointing skills.

Look at all the serving trays piled up waiting for the sizzling plates and soup bowls.

Alas, I ended up with my favorite Korean dish – bibimbap or stone pot rice. I didn’t regret my order one bit.

beef bibimbap

That’s the end of my posts on Taipei. It was a fun trip although we had too many fast food meals. I wish we had more time to explore the other night markets since I loved our experience at Raohe Night Market. I hope my posts on Taipei will help anyone planning to travel to Taipei.