Surprise, surprise. In regards to my expectations about the food, I was once again deceived by preconceived stereotypes. In my defense, I’m sure a number of National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries were also partly responsible in contributing to these flawed expectations.
Before I arrived here, I visualized myself sitting cross-legged, meditating after some mixture of yoga and tai chi, and calmly sipping on some organic, goat urine-based concoction which would tell all the toxins inside me to piss off. I would slim down to .006 percent body fat, achieve a super-human metabolism, and live to be 103 years old.
Well, this wasn’t the case. Admittedly this was at least in part because of my laziness. The idea of doing Bikram yoga, especially in a climate where I already profusely sweat as is, was probably overly ambitious. And my white-boy flexibility (or lack thereof) has never really been compatible with any of those activities anyways.
And while my envisioned exercise regiment was a tad idealistic, the apparent lack of healthy food was surprising. I was convinced that Asian food would be ultra organic, balanced, and nutritious—especially considering how fit everyone seems to be. How else could such slim physiques be possible? (maybe they’re on to something with the betel nut chewing?)
Instead of the uber-hippy lifestyle I imagined for myself, my daily habits usually include indulging in some steamed pork dumplings for breakfast, wolfing down a lunchbox before class, and then sampling fried night market delicacies before retiring for the night. And, of course, running whenever possible to negate the effects of the aforementioned gluttony.
I’ve already given a brief description of how unhealthy Taiwanese food can be in previous posts; how my lack of self-control is continually at odds with my aim of living a healthy lifestyle. But of course I’m always quick to conclude that I wouldn’t have it any other way. This food, though not exactly best for the belly (or arteries), more than makes up for it by satisfying the taste buds.
Indeed, the majority of the local food I’ve come across here is fried, greasy, salty, sugary, or all of the above. Especially at the night markets. Local delicacies include fried squid, scallion cakes, dumpling balls, wontons, pot stickers, and a whole host of other bomb foods which I don’t know the names of.
And if all this food sounds disappointing because it sounds like you could order it at PF Changs or Panda Express, there are always those crazy foods that you’d only see on Strange Eats or perhaps even Fear Factor. In the past year I’ve sampled stinky tofu (which literally smells like a baby’s diaper), chicken feet, liver and hearts, and dried pig’s blood. HmHmHm.
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| Dried pig's blood. Not bad if you can get over the thought of it. |
Food in Taiwan is certainly not restricted to traditional Chinese dishes, however. Throughout the country exists an eclectic fusion of mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, American, Indian, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese cuisine— an edible testament to the country’s international history. I never imagined that during the course of the week I could eat sushi, curry and naan, Korean hot pot, teppanyaki, pho, and of course, Outback Steakhouse. That’s a pretty tough lineup to beat.
So while it wasn’t what I was anticipating, it’s turned out to better than I could have possibly imagined. Sometimes the best things in life are the unexpected. And the unhealthy.
