EAT AND BUY
leaf, ginger, and whole garlic cloves. A German tourist at the next table, eating the same dish and apparently for the first time, let out a contented “Wunderbar!” as he pondered his first mouthful. So true. The next most enjoyable Eat experience on this journey was a collective one enjoyed along the narrow arteries of the Anping Old Street area. Bright and airy Chen’s Oyster Rolls, at 786 Anping Road, serves up rolls that fully deserve their farflung reputation. My travel gang voted this Chen’s No. 1, and gave No. 2 to its milkfish thick soup, thicker than a chowder and brimming with sea treats. Anping has long been known for its oyster omelets, and we gave Chen’s No. 3 to the house version. A griddle-cooked Taiwan culinary icon, it’s made with potato and sweet-potato starch mixed with egg batter and cilantro, topped with a sweet-and-sour sauce. Tanks already close to full, we nevertheless had new happy experiences at Chou’s Shrimp Rolls (408-1 Anping Road) and Yifeng Winter Melon Tea (768 Anping Road), two other old-time Tainan enterprises. Like Chen’s rolls, Chou’s shrimp variation features a crunchy skin of deep-fried batter, green onion, ground pork, and the star ingredient. The traditionalstyle fruit tonic at Yifeng is handmade by boiling the melon with brown sugar on an old-style stove. An honorable mention goes to the yummy popsicles sold at Qigu Salt Mountain. While Western popsicles are not much more than frozen sugar water, Taiwan’s are closer to the field, made with such good things as fresh pineapple, lightly sweetened taro, red bean, and green bean, etc. Best of this tourist attraction’s popsicle adventures is egg yolk with walnut, a combo that you might find counter-intuitive (like I did) in theory but delicious in practice. The other distinctive offerings – plum, almond with walnut, and grape/spirulina (check Wikipedia) – were also most satisfactory.
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You’ll no doubt notice these treats are called “salt popsicles.” Fret not – it’s a normal ingredient, locally produced salt is used, and there’s no hint of saltiness in the tasting.
Buy Back again to Budai Fish Market. Many Taiwan tourists schedule Budai for the last day of any trip to the area so that they can load up on fresh catch just before heading home. We did the same. I made my wife and dad-in-law, Taiwanese and passionate about their seafood, two very happy campers by showing up back in Taipei with a big styrofoam box filled with crab on ice. Prices here can be as much as 50% lower than what you’ll find in Taiwan’s big cities. As well, note that many people buy their own seafood and eat it on site – the air-con eateries will prepare it for you for a nominal fee. This is generally cheaper than similar dishes on their menus. My most treasured purchase, from this and other Tainan area visits over the years, is a “sword lion” that now adorns my front door and protects my home. Ubiquitous in Anping until as recently as 30 years ago, today sword lions grace the exteriors of about 40 old homes and businesses. Legend has it that Koxinga’s troops carved fierce lion heads on their shields, and when barracked in Anping residences hung them on doors. The practice spread among local residents. Each lion clamps a sword (or two) in its mouth – handle on the right invites good luck, handle on the left dispels evil. You’ll find a wide selection in the tourist shops along Yanping Old Street in Anping. When browsing Yanping, also drop in at the quaint centuryold wood-façade, wood-interior shop at no. 84, which sells delectable traditional homemade mijian , dried fruit preserved in honey. Taiwan is nicknamed the “Kingdom of Fruit,” and the southwest inland area is prime fruit-growing country.