Everyone who has lived in my environment for a while knows that I don't like cooking. If I do so on rare occasions, the food should be prepared quickly and without trouble. The sound of the oven when my frozen pizza is ready to go always delights me. However, I have found an answer to the balance between a terribly unhealthy diet and my idleness: Taipei. I already mentioned the extraordinary food scene in this city, but the more places I discover, the better I like it. Thus, the only cooking utilities I own are a pair of chopsticks and a spoon.
In my opinion, the best of many ways how food is made here is called "hot pot". The simple procedure involves a bowl of water, stuffed with meat, vegetables and basically everything you like. The cooking plate on your table is used to get the water boiling, upon which you can start eating all the delights you find in your bowl. Unlimited rice and tea is of course included in the price. If you start wondering about the high costs of this eating adventure, you couldn't be more wrong: due to the fierce competition of "hot pots" around town, most of them are priced a moderate two to three Euros. No kidding.
Since Asia is somewhat notorious for its strange eating habits, I want to clear up something: most meat you get in Taiwan is either chicken or beef. On one occasion, I purposely tried snail in a Thai restaurant. It was not bad, but there is a reason why it is not the most famous meat in the world, and this reason is not the small size of a snail. Insects are rarely found here - in fact, I have not tried it once (or so I think). I will be able to tell you more about it in January when I visit Mainland China.
Should I not have time to go to a restaurant, the 7-Eleven convenience store around the corner is the place to go. They have all sorts of pre-cooked meals which are warmed up in the microwave, ready to go in a minute. Don't give me a speech on diabetes or obesity here - I know this is not the best food you can have, but it is actually quite tasty. Generally, the 7-Eleven is the meeting place and social centre of all the exchange students. Be it a morning coffee or an evening beer, the chairs outside the store and the cheap drinks inside make it the ideal place to hang out when you don't want to go out. Already used to the 24h service, I will be sure to miss it upon returning home, although the constant little treats I'm shoveling down my throat are bad for both my health and my wallet.
There's one thing though which I haven't been able to get used to in terms of eating: warm salad. Instead of serving cold salad on the side, Taiwanese restaurants include the boiled salad leaves in your meal. That is - forgive my cultural insensibility - just wrong.
To conclude, there's one blog which I found really useful for picking a good spot to eat: http://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com. Should you have any questions about the what, where, why or how of eating out in Taipei, you can be sure to find the answer on this website.
Thanks for reading once again,
Martin
-out eating
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