Dear Steemit friends :
Today's gourmet adventure takes us to Tamsui, an area north of central Taipei. Tamsui is part of the New Taipei City, which seeks to combine nearby towns around Taipei into one “new” supersized Taipei city. Formally called the Tamsui Township, Tamsui is a modestly sized town with a population of around 160,000 and is a popular place to visit in the evening. Visitors can walk along the banks of the Tamsui River and watch the sunset behind the famous Guanyinshan.
It's name is derived from the pronunciation of "Clear Water" in the Taiwanese dialect, and although the official pronunciation in Mandarin is Danshui, cultural preservation efforts have permitted Tamsui to keep it's original name.
Tamsui has quite an eclectic history because of the numerous peoples who have settled there, for instance, the Ketagalan aborigines, the Spanish, Dutch, Han Chinese and Japanese. The influences of these different settlements can still be seen and felt in the small narrow winding streets.
Because of it's proximity with the mainland, Tamsui became the largest port in Taiwan during the 19th century serving as an important trading and export centre for many indigenous products. By the turn of the 20th century, due to extensive accumulation of sediments in the Tamsui river, most trade operations moved east to Keelung.
Tamsui is the last station on the MRT's red line and the journey there takes around 45 minutes from Taipei Main Station. Since the MRT metro system opened in 1996, the area has undergone significant redevelopment. The river banks are now populated by nightmarket style restaurants and stalls, whilst further inland, property developers have built modern high rise buildings to accommodate a growing demand for people living here and commuting to central Taipei.
Despite the modernisation, Tamsui still feels very authentic to me. I can see the new buildings intertwined with the old, but they have done very well to preserve the feeling and essence of the town and it's heritage. Hopefully my pictures below will capture some of this and give you a feel of the area.
On July 15th 1988, in the wake of proposals to construct the MRT Metro Line as well as the MRT Station in Tamsui, the Taipei <-> Tamsui train service which had been open since 1901, ran for the last time. After 87 years, many people were disappointed by the closure of this service but it's closure ushered a new era of modern transportation, and stimulated local economic growth to unprecedented levels.
This is one of the decommissioned trains from that service which is now placed where the old station used to be.
This is the old street nightmarket. On the weekends, this road can be described as people mountain, people sea. Most of the shops sell Taiwanese snack foods, as well as local Tamsui souvenirs. This along with the river bank is always worth a visit.
Finally we arrive at the Hai Feng Restaurant. Much likey other Taiwanese home run restaurants, it appears rather ordinary. What makes this restaurant stand out is that it has been open for 55 years! There is a saying in Taiwan, "There is no such thing as bad food in Taiwan" and that is because the food industry is very competitive. If it isn't good quality, the chances of sustaining business are slim.
That is why this restaurant has built up such a good reputation, allowing it to stay in business and thrive for so many decades.
When you visit Taiwan and especially Tamsui, you will be expected to eat a lot of seafood. That's just one of the advantages of being a small island and situated by the sea. Fresh, seafood galore!
Here you can see the catches of the day at the front of the restaurant.
The Menu.
Simple and full of mouth watering pictures. For the more experienced diner, there is a word only menu with other more specialised dishes. For the most part, the specialities and most popular dishes are on the picture menu.
Food Time
Sausage egg fried rice.
Garlic fried Water Spinach.
Steamed Grouper with stir fried seasonal vegetables.
Steamed Crab.
Salmon and Swordfish sashimi.
Taiwanese Oysters.
One of the most popular dishes in Taiwan is the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette. It is known for it's savoury and fresh taste and is often found in nightmarkets all over Taiwan. A defining feature of this Omelette is the thick potato starch added to it giving the egg wrap a very thick consistency.
Here, you are provided with a different kind of savoury dip to go with the fried oysters. They taste like bliss!
A common arrangement of restaurants in Asia is to have the seafood livestock on display. This serves two main purposes, 1. To attract customers passing by and 2. To guarantee freshness when served.
Here you can see the fish tank with various size grouper fish.
It's difficult to see in this night time picture, but Tamsui has a wonderful view of Taipei City down the Tamsui river.
Opposite the MRT Station, you'll find this busy street called Yingzhuan Road. This road leads up to the mountain, at the top of which you'll find the Tamkang University campus.
So, now that we've seen Tamsui and one of it's most famous restaurants, let's go back to something more familiar..
Here we are back in Ximen. I thought i'd show you what I always get for breakfast!
Green Onion Pancake.
This delicious fluffy pancake is served with a fried egg and then your choice of filling. I opted for the bacon, but there are plenty of other choices. These kinds of stalls are considered 'fly by night' operations, officially illegal but rarely enforced. They'll pop up around places with large foot traffic and disappear on wind of police. I love these these secret stalls, the food offered tastes great and the prices are so cheap!
Ah-Chong Flour-rice noodles.
This is another local delicacy that has been incredibly successful ever since it's inception in 1975. Something as simple as a bowl of flour rice noodle "soup" has brought people back to this store for over 40 years. In the evening, you'll always see lots of people queuing and standing outside eating their noodles. It's that popular!
The flour rice noodles are cooked in a sort of soup stew. Believe it or not, the only meat in it is pig intestines. The locals all attest to how good it is and I must say, I agree.
The best way to eat it is with these sauces which are conveniently provided at the side.
This would make a lovely snack in colder weather, but even on a hot summers day, it was still a great bowl of noodles!
Taiwan is surely the place where they make ordinary looking food taste extraordinary!
I absolutely love exploring Taiwan and learning about it's food delicacies. One thing you'll notice is that the restaurants most respected by the locals are all home run businesses which have been established for many decades. It's these kinds of places where you'll find the most authentic Taiwanese food, often through word of mouth or in more recent decades, the internet. Just because these places don't present themselves as luxury dining places, doesn't mean they don't serve top quality food, and for that reason, I must recommend visiting these places for no other reason than to enjoy the incredible food at amazing prices.
As always, please upvote the post if you liked it, follow me for more, and leave a comment to let me know what you think!
又到了和大家分享台湾美食的时间，心里莫名很激动呢。台湾美食好像永远不会让你失望，无论换多少目的地，你都会找到让你心仪的美味。之前带着大家品味了台北的正宗小吃，每一款都让人垂涎三尺，今天我想带大家探索一下台湾那让人赞不绝口的海鲜。在台湾吃海鲜，可以有多种方式，渔港，食街，夜市，无论是高级海鲜餐厅，还是各具风味的街边快炒小吃店，都能找到美味海鲜的身影。今天我们来到台北离海最近的淡水，一起来寻找鲜美的海味吧。
淡水是个非常迷人的小镇，有着说不完的故事，它位于新北市西北沿海，淡水河的出海口的北边，这里也是西班牙人侵入台湾时重要的防御要塞。淡水作为游客们来台必去的地方，有着最浪漫的落日夕阳，也有着古今交错，中西文化交融的古迹和繁荣历史。从捷运站出来，眼前已经是淡水的夜景。刚刚被雨水沁润过的鹅暖石地面，竟然有一只正在悠闲散步的漂亮蜗牛，是在迎接我的到来吗。中正路上靠近捷运站的广场，停着一部古早蒸汽火车BK20，原来这是为了纪念淡水的最后一班列车，1988年7月15，服务了87年的淡水线火车从此走入了历史。
远处灯火辉煌，几乎照亮了夜晚的半边天，我顺着热闹的方向走，来到了淡水老街，夜晚繁华的市井生活，让我能够零距离的了解与体验这个小镇最灵动的一面。 这里因为地理原因有便利条件，所以老街上布满了各具特色的海鲜餐厅，我选择了一家有故事的海鲜餐厅，有着55多年历史的淡水老字号，海风餐厅。最早以一道炒螃蟹成名，之后这家餐厅的味道便深深留在了人们心底，如今这家餐厅承载了很多人的美好记忆，也继续用它最美的姿态热情迎接着一波波远道而来的客人。才走到门口，就感觉到了餐厅里的热闹劲，人声鼎沸。门口摆满了各式各样货真价实的生猛海产，新鲜肥美的海瓜子，水晶鱼，琳琅满目，简直让我挑花了眼。
门里门外这熙熙冉冉的人群，更能让我最直接的感受到在这里，人们对于吃海鲜的那股热情劲。店内的工作人员如招待家人般的温情，仿佛可以勾起人们心底对亲情的思念。这里的菜单更是可爱极了，是我见过最有创意也最有人情味的菜单，每一道菜都被用心打印成照片，手工剪裁后，贴在了花花绿绿的菜单上，并且还细心用英文写下了菜名和价格，多么温馨呀。闻着香味就知道美味要上桌了，香肠炒饭色泽饱满，让我胃口大开。绿油油的蒜蓉水蕹菜，仿佛是刚刚从泥土中收割，那股鲜嫩的气息，还有如沐春风般的口感很是难忘。
接下来是时蔬炒石斑鱼，把海鲜与特调酱汁，九层塔等配料搭配下锅，大火快炒，才使得食材上桌时，还能够保留它最鲜嫩甜美的味道。清蒸的螃蟹上桌，螃蟹的清香沁人心脾，蟹黄的颜色被白嫩的蟹肉衬托的更加鲜艳，秋天品味螃蟹，简直是最美好的事情了。新鲜的三文鱼厚切的肉，肉质鲜美。最后是煎炸蚵仔，吃起来更是停不下来，入口香糯爽滑，脆嫩可口。吃着海鲜，赏着海景，让我想起一句话叫做海内存珍品，天涯共美味，海风餐厅的确名不虚传，带给我难以忘怀的好味道。走出餐厅后，还欣赏了一会捷运站对面的河边风景，对面观音山的倩影在浓郁的夜色下，更显风韵。在海风温柔的抚慰下，结束了这样美好的淡水海鲜之旅。
不过呢，这次的美食之旅，还没有全部结束。第二天清晨，我又赶在早高峰之前，兴致勃勃的来到西门町峨眉街上的阿宗面线。无数次经过这里，都堆满了人，大家人手一个碗，忘乎所以的笔直站在街边，吃得呼呼作响，顾不得形象，阵势真的惊人，不禁让我更加好奇这碗创造奇迹的面线。这次终于有机会品尝一下一直心心念的美食了。阿宗面线创业至今30多年，从街边小贩到多间连锁店，这个名字简直红遍大江南北，我身边每一位去过台湾的朋友，在说起台湾美食时，都会响亮的喊出它的名字。大肠面线终于到手，我先品尝了下它的汤头，非常清爽，面线柔滑顺口，虽然很细但非常有韧度，Q弹脆口的大肠，升华了整个口感。吃到一半的时候，我尝试了阿宗面线出名的秘密三宝，那就是辣椒，蒜泥和乌醋，味道瞬间变换，不仅提升了面线本身的香气，更有辣味配酸味，从内而外散发的爽快，我不经的沉迷在面线的独特风味中，久久不能自拔。今天的美味之旅要告于段落了，之后还有更多有趣的台湾美食故事要和大家分享。