Yup, the chubby couple can be crazy at times when it comes to food. Buddha Boy and I woke up early this morning just for bowl cake (wa-gui 碗粿), a common breakfast item for Tainan locals. Octopus (she's now on Twitter too...@Octopus604), on the other hand, was too lazy to wake up...well, she regretted afterwards when we raved about how yummy it was...wahahahaha!!!
Wow...these people were up at 5:50am, were they up for bowl cakes too? :p
With only a minute drive, we arrived five minutes too early so we waited in the car. At exact 6am, we saw a lady pushing an old-style vendor cart
towards her designated spot. Now, we didn't park too far from her stall, maybe only fifty steps away, but as we walked towards her cart, we saw at least four different scooter customers buying take-outs. With only one table set up for sit-in customers, we ended up sharing a
table with an elderly lady who's already half way through her bowl cake.
The southern Wa-Gui 碗粿, or bowl
cake, was a bit different than the north. First, the sauce was a bit
sweeter, but not overly sweet. Deep-fried shallots and minced pork were added in the mix prior to steaming so every bite had the combo of the two. With chunks of pork, egg yolk and shitake mushrooms, this bowl cake was only $30TWD...that's only $1CAD!!! I could have this everyday!!!
What does Tainan locals have in the morning to accompany their bowl cakes? Answer: Miso Soup 味噌湯. Now, for only $15TWD ($0.50CAD), this bowl was ample with ingredients (fish, tofu, deep-fried shallots, and oddly, Chinese doughnuts). According to my mom (when I shared the experience with her later on), both the bowl cake and the miso soup were the classic styles of old Taiwan. MomM even asked me for its address so she could pay it a visit! LOL!
After the early morning snacks, we returned to our hotel and took turns to "release the food". Then, the three of us went for the complimentary breakfast buffet that was included in our hotel package. Yup, it's breakfast #2 for the chubby couple!
We couldn't just eat and eat and eat...so I slotted in an artsy destination on the second day of our road trip. Okay, I admit, the only reason why we're here was because it's free admission...yup, FREE!!! This National Museum of Taiwan History 國立台灣歴史博物館 opened its doors not too long ago and is currently offering free admission for one year from the date of its opening. I know...I know...I'm a cheap ass...wahahahaha!
After approximately three hours in the museum, it's time for food again. We drove from Tainan City 台南市 to Kaohsiung City 高雄市 for a must-visit destination, as requested by my dear husband, Buddha Boy. This stall is famous for their pancakes, but it looked more like an oden cart than a pancake stall.
Yup, this was what we came to Kaohsiung City 高雄市 for...the Green Onion & Egg Pancake 蔥蛋餅.
Thin layer of pan-fried crispy pastry with ample amount of pork in the
middle, this was a simple yet satisfying dish. Good choice Buddha Boy!
Our second food stop in Kaohsiung City 高雄市 was a noodle stall that's famous for their Sugarcane-Smoked Chicken 甘蔗燻雞. We also ordered a Dry Noodle 乾麵, a Pork Bone & Meat Soup 大骨肉片湯, a Mackerel Congee 土魠魚粥, and a couple of side dishes. The smoked chicken was extremely tender and moist with a nice sweet fragrance of sugarcane. The noodles were al-dente but the sauce was a bit weak. With chunks of deep-fried Narrow-Barred Spanish Mackerel, this bowl of Chaozhou-style congee won my heart. The pork soup had julienne cuts of ginger, which was a bit different, but nonetheless, it was tasty. The side dishes were pretty standard.
Known simply as Crispy Skin Rolled Pastry 脆皮捲餅, these rolls were exactly like its name, crispy. Guess what's inside? Pressed tofu 豆腐干 and deep-fried chicken...interesting huh?
We're finally in Pingtung County 屏東縣!!! We're now at 華僑市場 in Donggang Township 東港鎮, where its famous for exporting bluefin tuna 黑鮪魚. Unfortunately, we visited at the end of season so the fish quality was not the greatest. Don't get us wrong, the piece we got was well-marbled and the fat was amazing...that sweetness just melt in your mouth...but after the fat melted, all there was left was that chewy meat...
Another fish that was on my list to try was That Fish 那個魚...yes..."that fish". Now, you must be thinking, "WTF?" Well, after doing some research online, That Fish 那個魚 was simply Bombay Duck 小鰭鐮齒魚. Back in the days, the locals had no knowledge about this fish so they just simply named it That Fish 那個魚 ("na-ge-yu")...cute huh? Both Octopus and I really enjoyed this dish of Deep-Fried That Fish 炸那個魚, but not so much for Buddha Boy. While he enjoyed the crispy outer texture, the inside turned him off...the meat was like a soft jello...a bit slimy too...
After the fish market, we drove approximately half an hour to Wanluan Township 萬巒鄉 for the one and only, and the original, Wanluan Pork Hock 萬巒豬腳. OMFG!!! The meat was so moist, so tender, so flavorful...and the skin...oh that skin...was so Q, so springy. My memories all came back!!! That's exactly how I remembered Wanluan pork hock was. For those living in 604, if you think that so-called signature pork hock at Corner 23 resembles this, don't be fooled...it's nothing close to it. When I tried Corner 23 years ago, I, literally, spitted out as soon as I took a bite of that pork hock...it's gross!
From Pingtung County 屏東縣, we drove to Taichung City 台中市 and checked in at Beacon Hotel 碧根行館 located right in the heart of Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市, the largest night market in Taiwan. Okay, originally, we've booked and paid for a nice fancy motel room in Changhua City 彰化市 (with a queen-size bed, a Japanese tea-room for a second bed, a swimming pool and a big jaccuzi tub in a gigantic bathroom), but things happened and we decided to leave within twenty minutes after checking-in...we didn't even bother with a refund!!! Yup, the cheap Buddha Girl didn't even bother asking for our money back!!! Let's just say we're too "sensitive" to the environment...hahahahaha!
Next, with the help of Go阿姨 ("Auntie Go", a nickname for GPS in Taiwan), we arrived at our next destination in a military dependents' village 眷村 (左營自助新村). This type of village is basically a community built in the 1940s and 1950s to serve as housing for KMT soldiers and their dependents when they flew from Mainland China. Many of the villagers still maintained their roots and kept their own distinct cultures/traditions. Therefore, many authentic/classic flavors can still be found in these villages.
We picked up some Mantis Shrimp 蝦蛄 (aka 攋尿蝦) and had it blanched right in the market. Unfortunately, due to the season, we couldn't experience the true plump
mantis shrimps...the ones we bought were pretty disappointing.
From the same cooking stall, we ordered Three-Cup Cuttlefish 三杯小卷. This was perhaps one of the best three-cup dishes we've tried. Tons of fresh basil with light yet flavorful sauce. The cuttlefish was cooked to a perfect crunch and tenderness. This we enjoyed very much.
After settling in at Beacon Hotel 碧根行館, it's time to eat again! After walking around the night market searching for some kind of filling food, we ended up having a late dinner at a cut-noodle shop.
After filling up our tummies, we began hunting for snacks to bring back to the hotel. This bun-less gua-bao 刈包, known as Pressed Tofu Gua-Bao 豆干刈包 caught my attention. Instead of a flour bun, they used pressed-tofu...I guess it's healthier for diabetics like Buddha Boy?
Right next to the gua-bao 刈包 stall, Buddha Boy picked up an order of Deep-Fried Boneless Chicken Leg 無骨雞腿排. A salad with massive amount of Japanese mayo accompanied the chicken, and honestly, it's actually quite yummy...hahahahaha!
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