STAY/EAT/BUY PENGHU
fact small farm plots. Roosters announce the mornings, before the sun shows up. The B&B’s rooms are large, sparkling clean, and simply appointed. There is a large guest-only TV room, and barbecue fa ci l it ie s out sid e. ( Ro om s st a r t at NT$2,500; breakfast included.)
Note: Most Penghu homestays/B&Bs will arrange scooter rentals for you, and many on the main islands will pick you up at the airport or Taiwan-Penghu ferry dock. Migrator Intertidal Homestay ( 候鳥潮間帶民宿 ) Add: 34-3, Chengqian Village, Baisha Township, Penghu County ( 澎湖縣白沙鄉城前村 34-3 號 ) Tel: (06) 993-2511 Website: www.migrator.com.tw Yurong B&B ( 語榕花園民宿 ) Add: 21-3, Qianliao Borough, Magong City, Penghu County ( 澎湖縣馬公市前寮里 21-3 號 ) Tel: (06) 921-9845 Website: www.yurong.com.tw
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What’s Best to Eat, and Where’s It Found? A key Penghu-experience rite of passage is cooling down with a serving of the famed local “cactus ice” – and, I dare say, doing so on several occasions at several different locations. The islands are home to six types of cactus, the one supplying an edible fruit introduced by the Dutch around 1645 when they controlled the island of Taiwan. The fruit has a nice sour/lightly sweet balance. A standard bowl starts with a heaping bed of shaved ice; a scoop of cactus ice cream is added atop, then surrounded by cactus-fruit slices smothered in cactus-flavored syrup also flavored with cane sugar. You’ll find many shaved-ice stands along Magong City’s Zhongzheng Road, always busy with tourists. However, on my three Penghu visits to date the most flavorful cactus ice I’ve come across is sold at the portable stand at the base of the ramp leading to Shanshui Beach (see main Feature article). Overall, the best shaved-ice eatery is Magong’s Yuguan Fresh Herbal Jelly – your proof being the inevitable crowd milling about before it. The star attraction is “Emerald Herbal Jelly Ice,” a heaping work of colorful art featuring all
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Travel in Taiwan
sorts of toppings, including herbal jelly, red beans, and condensed milk, and even sweetened corn and soft Penghu vermicelli. It’s delicious – and a meal in itself. The cactus ice is also very good. On this trip, online tourist polling led us to the cubbyhole “Old-Time Tianjin Xiaolongbao” eatery in Juguang New Village (see our main Feature article), where the experience fully backed up the enthusiastic recommendations. I had never tried – or even heard of – Tianjin cuisine before, and this foodie went away a very happy (middle-aged) lad. The owner grew up in China’s Jiangsu Province, and learned her cooking at the hand of her Tianjinraised mother. The main signature offering is minced goat-meat steamed dumplings. You’ll see herds of goats around the islands. This is an extremely savory dish, just short of gamey. The “secret” ingredient is cumin. Two other especially tasty menu selections were the hot and sour soup and the corn juice – yes, corn juice. The soup was fiery hot, with more black pepper than standard and tiny chunks of chili pepper
Steamed dumplings & corn juice
lurking like landmines. This made the cold juice even more welcome. You wouldn’t think corn would make a good cold-drink ingredient, but it decidedly does – blended to almost smoothie consistency, and lightly sweetened. Another spot tried because of strong online support was “Rixiang Fine Food Shop.” The restaurant’s décor is plain – it’s the distinctive homemade dishes that get everyone excited. The house specialty is a unique, entertaining creation called “Exploding Volcano.” “What!?” you’re saying. First off, it’s most yummy. Cactus-