I wasn’t even particularly hungry when I walked by Kintoku and saw the huge crowd of people lining up for what appeared to be some kind of burrito. I tried to resist, I really did — but I couldn’t. If there’s a bunch of people lining up for food, I’m getting in that line. It can’t be stopped.
Are wheel cakes the king of street vendor desserts? In Taiwan, at least, I think the answer has to be yes. Vendors selling these things are everywhere.
Were the pies from Pie Man the greasiest thing I’ve had in my life? I don’t know; maybe. Were they delicious? Most definitely.
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!
Yes, there are several bakeries and ice cream shops in Taichung, but if you want a classic, old-school Taiwanese dessert, you need to check out Uncle A-Dou’s Frozen Taro.
It’s hard to go wrong with a night market. It’s basically just food, food, and more food. One of the more popular ones in Taipei is the Raohe Night Market, and one of the more popular stalls sells pepper buns that everyone agrees you need to try.
So of course I tried it, and yep: everyone’s right. It’s quite good.
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.
Keelung is a small, seaside town that’s a very quick train ride from Taipei, which makes it an effortless day-trip destination. And that’s a good thing, because the night market here is definitely worth visiting.
Further proof that if you see a line-up for food, you should immediately get in it: this delicious noodle soup that was in heavy demand at 8:30 in the morning.
Pancakes shancakes. Cereal? Get out of here with that. Noodle soup for breakfast is clearly where it’s at.
Line-ups for food are a traveler’s best friend. Have I mentioned this before? I have? A million times? Well, it’s true.
The latest line-based discovery: a street food stand called Uncle Bean, which serves up some seriously delicious tofu-based desserts.