Stinky Tofu...Episode 2!

Today my 8-page translation project turned out to be a three-pager, giving me about 4 hours of free time. Precious free time!!

I decided to make good use of this gift of time: I searched out a restaurant that was featured on Bizarre Foods. It was one of the few places that was able to defeat the sturdy taste buds and cast-iron stomach of bizarre food eater Andrew Zimmern. Its name is Dai's House of Unique Stink! (Chinese: 戴記獨臭之家)

As a stinky tofu lover, I had to take on the challenge.

After Googling for the location of the restaurant, I found a Taiwanese website that showed where it was. I hopped on the MRT, went to Taipei City Hall Station, and went in search of it. Turns out that the location was wrong. I asked at a local shop, and the woman pointed me down an alley, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, you should see it when you reach the end of the alley." Sure enough, I saw the restaurant, looking exactly as it did on the TV show, at the other side of the street.




Inside it was sparsely decorated, rather plain-looking. This is always a good sign to me: it shows me that they put top priority on their food, rather than in the way the restaurant looks. Here and there on the walls are some pieces of calligraphy extolling the virtues of stink.


The moment of truth was at hand. I decided to test my mettle by sampling two dishes made with their home-fermented tofu. I decided to order the same dishes that Zimmern ordered: cold-stirred stinky tofu (涼拌臭豆腐) and stinky tofu hamburger with beef (漢堡臭豆腐).

Here's the first dish. Zimmern had 1000-year-old eggs on his, but this option didn't seem to be on the menu, so mine didn't have it. This was exceedingly pungent...very sharp in odor and flavor, like a poweful, aged French soft cheese...not runny like brie, but instead boasting a firm, creamy texture kind of like cream cheese. However, I enjoyed it! I don't know how Zimmern, a guy who eats brains, worms and testicles with relish, wouldn't be able to eat it.




Then came the hamburger. The buns of this hamburger were made of deep-fried stinky tofu. It was served with a side of pickled vegetables. Now I could forgive Zimmern for passing over the above if he had at least had the guts to try this one. This is quite mild. And delicious, I might add. Not much of the tofu stink at all...no more so than your average street-stall deep-fried tofu. Come on, Andrew...man up!! This is child's play!




As I left the place, I took a few business cards. I'll definitely recommend it to the gastronomic adventurer. Then, as I walked back to the MRT station, I noticed that I seemd to be enjoying a natural high...perhaps it was just my recent lack of sleep, or perhaps it was the joy of having tried something new, but perhaps there are some peculiar organic chemicals brewing in those fermentation vats upstairs...

Sanzhi space village

In the coastal town of Sanzhi, there's an odd sight to be seen, but not for much longer. It's known by various names: "space village", "pod village", "mushroom houses"...the locals call it the "flying saucer houses". It's also rumored to be haunted.

It's an abandoned seaside resort. Built in the late 70s, the resort languished and fell into disuse due to debt. Since that time it became a favorite site for photographers due to its otherworldly appearance. Sadly, it's being torn down now.

Here are the only three photos I've ever had the chance to take of it:

Stinky Tofu

Shenkeng, just outside Taipei, is exalted far and wide as being the "tofu capital of Taiwan." But one particular variety of tofu, the notorious "chou doufu" (stinky tofu), reigns supreme among the comestibles available in this town.

You know you're at the right place when you see the huge, century-old bishopwood tree (Bischofia javanica) in a small square by the main road. As you stroll down Shenkeng St. (better known as Old Street and even better known as Tofu Street), your nostrils will be assailed by a peculiar odor. It's been described as unwashed feet, an open sewer, or horse manure. But as is the case with Camembert or Limburger cheese, odiferous fermented curds can taste heavenly. Many foreigners don't like it. I love it.

Here's Tofu Street:


Allow chunks of tofu to ferment in rotten vegetable matter for a couple weeks, and the result is stinky tofu. Whether you like this delicacy or not, Tofu Street makes for an interesting scene with restaurant after restaurant displaying bubbling pots of tofu, simmering in rich, spicy broths.












In addition to stewed tofu, you can also get deep-fried tofu and, believe it or not, barbecued tofu. There are many stalls selling barbecued tofu, which are then stuffed with your choice of fillings, such as fermented cabbage. This one, Jindading, is the most famous stall of them all, and consistently has the longest line. It was even visited by Ma Ying-jeou (then Taipei mayor, now president of Taiwan) in 2004.


This happens to be the stall visited by chef and food critic Andrew Zimmern, in the Taiwan episode of his show Bizarre Foods. He adheres to the wise principle that if there are several stalls selling the same thing, go to the one with the longest line. However, he made a mistake. This stall does not sell the same thing as the other stalls. This one specializes in "xiang doufu" (fragrant tofu, or actually, non-stinky tofu). Don't get me wrong: what they sell is excellent, but it ain't stinky.

I decided to go across the street, to this stall: Shenkeng Jindakuai. This had the longest line of all the stalls selling barbecued stinky tofu.


Barbecued, brushed with sauce, stuffed with fermented cabbage and dusted with hot chili powder: it was excellent! A little messy and unwieldy to eat, because the tofu wants to fall off the skewers, but they make a tasty treat for the stinky tofu aficionado. Andrew Zimmern, eat your heart out!


Yum!!

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills

Christmas Day! And just as it was last year, it's a work day. (OK, Ma Ying-jeou, now that you're president, please make it a holiday again, like it used to be!) Anyway, it's a holiday for me, because I demanded this day off from work. If there's one day of the year I won't compromise on with my employer, it's this one.

As last year, I took this day as a chance to go out on a drive with Nick and Ginny, unhindered because everyone else is working this day. This time Clara joined us. (From left to right: Ginny, Clara, Nick)



Road trip!!

Got on National Hwy 1, then onto Provincial 2B, and on the 62 Expressway, and before we knew it, we were on Coastal Hwy 2, on the northeast coast. The speed of our journey amazed us.

Inspired by my visit to the Japanese shrine in Taoyuan last week, I decided to drive us to Jinguashi, an old gold mining area. In Jinguashi are the ruins of another Japanese shrine, the Ogon Shrine (a.k.a. the Gold Temple) up on the mountain.





The bare, standing columns are reminiscent of a Greek or Roman ruin.


On the way back down, we decided go to one of the old mines that was open for tourism:


Inside are some dioramas showing the hard, sweaty labor these miners did.




As we walked down a flight of stairs to the park entrance, we passed an abandoned Japanese house. We poked around inside it and saw that it was a complete mess now, but must have looked very nice in its heyday. It looked recently abandoned (we surmise the occupants simply moved into the brand new house that was built next door). (Oh, by the way, the "orb" you see is not a ghost...it's a raindrop illuminated by my flash.)


A scene we passed as we drove along the mountain road to Jinguashi.


The hills were crisscrossed with these hulking concrete pipes that looked like something from the move Alien. We thought they were for transporting slurry down to the bottom of the hills, but then we read the sign which explained they were flue pipes for venting fumes from the smelting plant below up to the higher reaches of the hills.


Up from these pipes is a structure where apparently ore was loaded onto vehicles. We drove up to check it out and saw the remains of huge hoppers.


Later we went to Jiufen, a picturesque (but over-touristed) former gold mining town nearby.

A Japanese temple...in Taiwan?

A Japanese temple? In Taiwan? Who'dathunkit?

Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese for 50 and a half years (Apr 1895 - Oct 1945), and during that time they built many Shinto shrines in various parts of the island.

What happened to them?

The biggest one of all, the Taiwan Grand Shrine, burned down in 1944 when a cargo plane crashed in the mountain above it and started a fire. Sometime after the KMT retook Taiwan, they cleared the area out and built the Grand Hotel on the site. All that's left is a pair of bronze bulls, which now rest quietly in front of the museum in 228 Park.

Here's one of the bronze bulls:


And here's Taiwan Grand Shrine back in its heyday:


Nearby, to the east, was another shrine, but it was converted into the Taipei Martyrs' Shrine, and looks nothing like a Japanese temple, but more like a Chinese imperial hall transplanted out of the Forbidden City. Indeed, after World War II, the remaining shrines were torn down, left to crumble into ruins, or converted into Chinese martyrs' shrines, and now bear little resemblance to anything Japanese.

Except for one.

It's in Taoyuan, and it makes a worthwhile visit if you happen to be stuck in this dismal city. It was the To-en Shrine (桃園神社) during the Japanese occupation, but it was converted by the KMT into the Taoyuan Martyrs' Shrine. Remarkably, unlike the other converted shrines, it was left intact and has been kept in excellent condition. It's the only remaining fully intact Japanese shrine in Taiwan. (The Martyr's Shrine in Chiayi is partly intact, but the main hall burned down in 1994 and was replaced by an ugly modern tower. And the Ogon Shrine (黃金神社) in Jinguashi (金瓜石) is a ruin.)











Robert asked our Taiwanese friend Brian why this temple was left intact. Brian says "We evicted the Japanese ghosts and let the Chinese ghosts move in."

Wang Yeh Boat Burning Festival

Every 3 years in the city of Donggang, a lively, noisy festival takes place. Robert, Patty, Kitty and I went there in 2006, and in the crowd we happened to bump into Belgian Pie.

It was a lot of fun, and quite a spectacle to witness, but it was an all-night event, and we spent something like 5 hours sitting on the beach for the boat to finally be lit. Folding chairs would have been a good idea for that wait. After the festival, we went to Kending, and had a great time in that resort town.

I brought my old camcorder along, and it wasn't until a couple days ago that I finally edited together a video of it. Now it's on YouTube! Please take a look! (Choose the High Quality option: it's much better!) Here's the link:

Wang Yeh Boat Burning Festival

Robert asked me if I was keen on going again next year. I said, "Only if we bring folding chairs."

Tea Pickers Trail

From Sunday's hike:

In Muzha, this is the gateway to the 1000 steps up to Zhinan Temple. It's close to the back end of the National Chengchi University campus.


Up the stairway. It's a long climb, but there are some interesting things to see along the way.


At one point we came across a farmer who grows his own fruit and vegetables which he sells to passers by. He was sold out when we saw him, but he was kind enough to let us take a look around the grounds of his farm. And on his farm he had a house: a traditional old sanheyuan. It was beautiful, but sadly in a state of disrepair. And members of his family are in a dispute as to what to do with it.


Tis the season for silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis).


After almost reaching Zhinan Temple, we took a side trail that takes hikers down into a valley where Zhinan Elementary School is. Next to the school is the trailhead for the Tea Pickers Trail. I've been up the tea pickers trail several times, but this is the first time I ever saw actual tea pickers there. What a pleasant surprise!


We came across this moth larva: Parasa pastoralis. Check out the rich purple color of the stripe on its back, and the interesting patterns! And look at the defensive clusters of spines.


The trail takes us all the way to Maokong. The Maokong Gondola is out of commission because of a landslide caused by a hurricane. So there were a lot fewer people up there than before. Anyway, we went to our favorite restaurant there: Xiaomuwu (Little Cabin).


Like many places in Maoking, it offers a wonderful view of Taipei:


Here's Kate, about to dig into a nice hot pot:


Here's Kate's roommate, Hsiu-Fen, who joined us on the hike.


My favorite dish at this restaurant: Spaghetti carbonara.


A betel palm (Areca catechu)


Sign says: Toad meat - for skin ailments and acne


On the way back down, we went to Zhanghan Temple.


And old lady there was diligently going through her prayer rituals.


Then we hiked down the trail behind the temple, which took us back to National Chengchi University. Then we went back into Taipei. And later we had dinner at our favorite noodle shop in Liaoning Street Night Market. Good noodles! And some sake!


A great hike with great company!