Here’s something that any traveler who likes to eat should have in his or her arsenal: if you want to order at a restaurant that has no English menu (which is extremely common in Taiwan), and there’s no food near the order-taker for you to point at, you’re not sunk yet.
If you open up Google maps, you should be able to find the restaurant you’re currently in. Click on it; reviews and photos will pop up. Scroll through the photos, find something you want to eat, and then show the picture to the order-taker. I’ve done this several times, and so far, it’s always worked.
Of course, this assumes you have data on your phone, but you should always have data on your phone. Getting a SIM card with data is generally pretty cheap, and is absolutely invaluable in so many ways. A smartphone with data is a traveler’s best friend.
I wound up with a dish called dan bing, which is essentially like if crepes and scrambled eggs had a baby. A delicious, delicious baby.
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s tasty: the soft eggs and the chewy crepe contrast quite nicely, and the green onions in the egg give it little pops of flavour. It’s improved by the chili sauce on the table (because most things are improved by the chili sauce on the table), but even on its own it makes for a simple and satisfying breakfast.
My system did backfire ever-so-slightly, however; I ordered a drink that I assumed was going to be soy milk. It turned out to be milk tea. Don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely delicious, but I try to avoid caffeine whenever I can.
Location: No. 263號, Songde Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
How to find it: Well, there’s no English on the sign (or any English name at all, as far as I can tell). It’s basically right at the corner of Songde Road and Xinyi Road, next to a car wash. It’s hard to miss — like with many restaurants here, the cooking area is right next to the sidewalk.