I kinda felt like having chicken rice for my last meal in Malaysia, but I wasn’t particularly keen on walking in the sweltering heat to a restaurant that probably would have been closed thanks to Chinese New Year.
Being in Penang during Chinese New Year’s is a bit of a bummer, because basically everything is closed. There is, however, a pretty huge Indian population here; if you want to eat out, your two choices are Indian or a chain restaurant.
Every now and then I eat something that really rocks my world. The nasi lemak with ayam goreng at Village Park Restaurant was one of those things. Holy moly, it was so good.
Some dishes that you eat while traveling are good, but they take you out of your comfort zone. The taste or the texture is unfamiliar, and you need to eat a few bites to even decide what you think of it.
On the other hand, there are dishes like the grilled pork rice at Yongle Shao Rou Fan. It doesn’t ask anything of you but to enjoy it.
Ah Tang is famous for something called milkfish porridge, which is essentially a very ricey soup with a whole bunch of fish chunks in it, traditionally eaten for breakfast.
I was a little concerned about having something so fishy first thing in the morning, but of course, I shouldn’t have been. When it comes to food, Taiwan knows where it’s at. They won’t steer you wrong.
The beef soup from Ah Cun might just be the simplest dish I’ve eaten since coming to Taiwan. It’s basically just chunks of beef in a simple broth.
It’s proof that if your ingredients and your technique are top-notch, then you really don’t need to overthink things. Simpler is better.
You know the drill by now; if you see a bunch of people lining up for food, get in that line. I live my life by that code, and it pretty much never fails.
It definitely didn’t fail today. Liu Chia specializes in zhongzi — glutinous rice crammed with various fillings and then wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed.
Taichung’s Second Market is a cornucopia of tasty eats; I’ve already had a delicious bowl of porky rice, some really tasty noodles, and now a very hearty breakfast.
While doing some morning exploration of Taichung recently, I stumbled upon a street vendor with an impressive line. He was serving up big balls of sticky rice filled with all kinds of stuff.
I like sticky rice. I like stuff. I like eating foods that the locals like. Sold!
Happy accidents can be your best friend when you’re traveling. I wasn’t planning on eating a delicious bowl of porky goodness, but it happened and I’m certainly not going to complain about it.