I think it’s safe to say that Taiwan has breakfast nailed. Between the consumption of delicious noodles first thing in the morning (which is genius) and their amazing breakfast restaurants, we all have to admit that they are the undisputed king of breakfast.
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.
Here’s a warning: the line at Tian Jin Flaky Scallion Pancake is probably going to be long, and it’s definitely going to move slowly. It was quite long when I showed up at around 9:30 on a Monday morning, and it was just as long when I finally got my pancake.
If an affordable restaurant has been recognized by the Michelin Guide, you can pretty much guarantee that there’s going to be an intense line to get in. And lo and behold, the Michelin-approved Taiwanese breakfast joint, Fuhang Soy Milk, is fairly notorious for the line that snakes out the door.
Apparently noodles for breakfast is very conclusively a thing here, because I had noodle soup for breakfast the other day, and now here’s another plate of tasty pre-9AM noodles.
There was something particularly depressing about eating at McDonald’s in Vietnam. I’ve only been here a few days, but it’s already clear that this country has some of the best food of anywhere I’ve visited so far. It kind of sucks to waste a meal on McDonald’s, but I’ve come this far. No point in turning back now.
From the outside, you can barely even tell that Fu-ka is a restaurant. Tucked away in a quiet residential street near one of Kyoto’s many shrines, it’s pretty much the definition of a hidden gem.
The bus going from the Jigokudani Monkey Park to Nagano station isn’t super frequent, so after getting my fill of monkey business, I had a little bit of time to kill.
Enter: Enza Cafe, a small restaurant that specializes in ramen near the beginning of the monkey trail.
Remember when I mentioned that the eel at Hashimoto was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten? Well, I’ve got another dish to add to that list.
Tokyo is a magical place.
I love ramen, but apparently the ramen back home is garbage, because the bowl I had at Hayashi in the Shibuya district of Toyko was life-changing. It’s almost implausible how good it was. Like, did that really happen? Did I dream it?
You know how I know I like Busan? I hadn’t even checked into my hotel yet, and I had already seen several street food vendors dispensing tasty treats.