[RD] Discovering Taiwan

[warpus]

Meeting RogueState
at
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles

RogueState is a Washington DC area drum n bass DJ, producer, and co-founder of the Translation Recordings label. You can catch him every monday from 7-8 PM (ET) on the Translation Sound online radio show at Bassdrive.com. He's also got some of his tunes & mixes available over at Soundcloud.

Back in the old days we used to dabble in the PC textmode art scene, which is how we became friends. I'd actually never met him in real life though. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I got an unexpected message from RogueState that he was landing in Taipei monday morning and might be available for a 4-6pm meetup.

I asked him what his favourite restaurant near Main Station is and Liu Shandong Beef Noodles was the answer. This restaurant has been in business for over 70 years and had been honoured with Michelin Bib Gourmand honours in 2018. This is where we ended up meeting up for my second ever bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

I noticed several differences between this beef noodle soup and the one I had right after I landed in Taipei. The noodles were different both in shape and texture, but there was also no tallow as a side, not that I could see at least. I went with RogueState's recommended toppings in the end (chilli oil and something else). The beef was also better here, and the broth had slightly different undertones. In the end it was good to experience a second slightly more refined dimension to this dish and it was great to finally meet RogueState. After dinner we hung out for a couple hours, up until the moment I had to pick up my bags and jump on the train.

 

[warpus]

Train to Taichung

Navigating the ins and outs of the Taiwanese passenger rail system was relatively straightforward. For $375 NTD ($11 USD) I was able to purchase a reserved seat on the 2 hour long train ride to Taichung. I did this by walking up to one of the teller windows and interacting with one of the agents in English. One credit card tap later and I had my ticket.

The next step was to show up at the train station with a bit of time to spare and look at one of the departure monitors in order to locate train 181 that was departing at 19:30. From there it was obvious that my train was on time and that I should make my way to platform 3B. On the way there I had to peoplewatch a bit to determine that my ticket had to be inserted into a slot right at the gate, beyond which only paying customers could be found. Upon insertion the gate would open, allowing you to pass, and present your ticket for you to pick up on the other side. I admit the first time I went through this a voice in my head was afraid that my ticket was going to be eaten, but these fears proved to be unwarranted.

Why did I pick Taichung as my next destination? It had the next decently large cluster of points of interest I had marked on my map. There were other cities along the way worth seeing, but I wanted to get a bit away from Taipei's overcast skies as well.

A passenger rail map of Taiwan is basically a loop that follows the coastline, made up of five distinct lines that are operated by the Taiwan Railway Association. On the map above all these lines are marked in black. On top of this the TRA also operates four other inland and branch lines. Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is marked on the map in orange, running from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south.

I have marked the location of my origin (Taipei) and destination (Taichung) with two red lines, to make it easier for you to see which part of Taiwan I was headed to. It would have been possible to take the high speed train for this journey, but the high speed rail station in Taichung was much further away from all the attractions I was interested in, compared to the regular train station.

The ride was punctual, comfortable, and smooth.

 

[warpus]

First Impressions of Taichung (台中)

Taichung is the second largest city in Taiwan by population; about 2.85 million people call Taichung their home. It is a part of the larger Taichung-Changhua Metropolitan Area, which has a populaton of about 4.3 million people.

Taichung is considered to be the gateway to central Taiwan. The Mandarin name of the city (台中) literally translates to "Central Taiwan".

I arrived here right on time, at about 9:42pm. having booked a hotel room near the train station for 4 nights. This train station is located in the older historical centre of town, while the modern centre is a bit further away. I opted to make this part of Taichung as my HQ since a lot more identified points of interest were in this part of the city.

I didn't really have a chance to take in much of the city vibes when I arrived, so I didn't really have much to say about it at this point. I was happy with my hotel (not pictured in the photos), as it was only the equivalent of $60 USD a night and had all the amenities I needed. The one sore point was that there were no open restaurants nearby at this time, so I had to eat my first meal in the city at the local McDonald's. Verdict: The BigMac tasted a bit better than what we get here in Canada, but it was an uneventful meal overall.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Design inspired by Snakes and Ladders ?!

 

[Samson]

First Impressions of Taichung (台中)

Taichung is the second largest city in Taiwan by population; about 2.85 million people call Taichung their home. It is a part of the larger Taichung-Changhua Metropolitan Area, which has a populaton of about 4.3 million people.

Taichung is considered to be the gateway to central Taiwan. The Mandarin name of the city (台中) literally translates to "Central Taiwan".

View attachment 727204

View attachment 727205

I arrived here right on time, at about 9:42pm. having booked a hotel room near the train station for 4 nights. This train station is located in the older historical centre of town, while the modern centre is a bit further away. I opted to make this part of Taichung as my HQ since a lot more identified points of interest were in this part of the city.

I didn't really have a chance to take in much of the city vibes when I arrived, so I didn't really have much to say about it at this point. I was happy with my hotel (not pictured in the photos), as it was only the equivalent of $60 USD a night and had all the amenities I needed. The one sore point was that there were no open restaurants nearby at this time, so I had to eat my first meal in the city at the local McDonald's. Verdict: The BigMac tasted a bit better than what we get here in Canada, but it was an uneventful meal overall.

Do you know what the colourful statue is holding? My first thought is a mace, and that would be an odd juxtaposition with the cartoony style.

 

[Snowygerry]

Looks more like a basket on a chain - incense maybe ?

Something like this :

 

[warpus]

Design inspired by Snakes and Ladders ?!

The only thing I've been able to figure about this is that the ladder-like design is a railroad track. That would make sense, as this building is facing the train station & the nearby railway museum. The three pronged elements on the building's facade are a bit of a mystery, but they sort of look like lampposts.. but not quite. I thought they might be railroad signals of some sort, but I couldn't find a reference to one that looks like that being in use in Taiwan or elsewhere. This building is a hotel named Hotel Leisure Taichung, which I thought might contain hints about what these might be, but that didn't really help either. It could very well have been an artistic mix of influences, including the snakes and ladders boardgame. Hey, maybe they made it not so obvious so we'd spend some time talking about it, or just a way to attract attention to the building for those exiting the train looking for a place to stay.

Do you know what the colourful statue is holding? My first thought is a mace, and that would be an odd juxtaposition with the cartoony style.

It's toy train, actually! I think I took another picture of it during the day, but I can't seem to track it down right now. Here's a look at it from another source

 

[warpus]

Day Six Reflections
Monday, November 11, 2024

Total Distance Walked This Day - 13.5 km

This day I had another curious encounter with an older Taiwanese person. This time it was a woman at the coffee shop where I got my breakfast pastries.

Spoiler :

I ended up getting a note with her name and phone number (edited out in the photo). She walked over and gave it to me after smiling at me from across the room. We held a brief conversation during which she asked me where I was from. Her English was fairly basic, but we managed to hold a brief conversation. I didn't end up calling her, but I didn't really know what to make of the interaction to be honest. The pastries were good though.

I wasn't really sure what sort of city Taichung was going to be, but when I got there it was kind of quiet. There just wasn't much going on in this part of town at 10pm on a Monday.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Romance!

 

[bene_legionary]

breakfast pastries

I have very fond memories of stuffing myself with tarts like those when my mum used to take me to the restaurants in the little Chinatown we have in Christchurch to have dim sum. If I were a little freer right now, I'd go and have lunch there. It's not far from university...

 

[warpus]

I have very fond memories of stuffing myself with tarts like those when my mum used to take me to the restaurants in the little Chinatown we have in Christchurch to have dim sum. If I were a little freer right now, I'd go and have lunch there. It's not far from university...

That flaky one I posted reminded me of the Portugese Pastel de Nata, but IIRC this one was more of an egg tart. I don't know a ton about baked foods myself, it ends up being a bit of a game of get lucky ordering a good tasting pastry when I'm travelling. In Taiwan I fared well overall, but I generally don't really seek out baked goods that often. The one I will never forget is the freshly fried donut with custard inside that I got at a random street food stand in Tainan. That was one of the best donuts or even pastries I've ever had.

 

[warpus]

Day 7

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

I had absolutely no plans for my first full day in Taichung other than exploring a bit of the city on foot.

s

Christmas isn't a public holiday in Taiwan and Christians make up about 4% of the population, but Christmas decorations start going up in November nevertheless. From what I understand, in Taiwan these decorations are moreso enjoyed for being holiday and winter themed, and are not really a traditional Christmas celebrating cultural tradition. There's also a commercial/business influence in a "shopping season" sense, and you could also say it reflects Taiwan as a place with many influences, both from the east and west. It is something I noticed though.. It wasn't unusual to run into occasional Christmas decor on my trip.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I see what you did with those two pictures!

 

[warpus]

Bah-oân Taiwanese meatball (肉圓)

For my first real meal in Taichung I walked up to a hole in the wall restaurant near my hotel that's been in operation since 1933. Just by looks alone you'd never guess that this place received a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation in 2020. It quite literally looks like a hole in the wall, there is no wall separating you from the inside of the restaurant. In the front you have the kitchen appliances and staff making the three dishes you'll find on their menu. So even before you decide that this is where you want to eat, you can watch everything being prepared right in front of you.

As I stood there watching the proceedings one of the employees reached out to me and informed me that he knew what I wanted to order - the Bah-oân meatball dish. He was of course right. This place only serves three dishes, but they are famous for their meatballs. The name of the restaurant is Taichung Meatball after all. The other two dishes are a glass noodle soup and a fish ball soup. The vast majority of tourists who come here likely heard about their meatball dish though, and I would not be surpirsed if the vast majority of their customers overall come here for the meatballs as well. It's got to be their top seller.

The Bah-oân meatball dish seems simple enough, it's a pork meatball encased in a semi-translucent sweet potato starch dough that's then deep fried.

This dish is really quite remarkable. It's just such an interesting combination of textures and flavours. When I first bit into it I was instantly blown away by how complex it tasted, compared to what I was expecting. I mean, how interesting can a meatball in a bit of dough really be? The dough itself is slightly chewy and sticky, but the outside is slightly crispy. The filling is pork-based, but contains shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, garlic, and other spices. The dough was the most interesting part for me, as it mixes so well with the sweet and savoury gravy they pour on top, as well as the sweet soy sauce, garlic paste, rice vinegar, chilli sauce.. and I swear there were more ingredients in there. At least one herb that poked out its flavours every other bite. Almost a bit minty at times, but not quite. Eating this dish was a sort of adventure, as each bite seemed a bit different in terms of the flavours and textures. I was a big fan!

Here's a video I found on youtube that highlights this restaurant and walks you through it:

The video claims that the restaurant name is actually Taichung Meatman, but I could not verify this. Everywhere else I've looked it seems to be translated to Taichung Meatball. Either way it was a definite highlight! If you ever end up in Taichung and are near the train station, you have to try this dish, which cost me the equivalent of $1.20 USD or so.

 

[warpus]

Taichung Cultural Heritage Park

This cultural park spans an area of 5.6 hectares and contains about 28 historical buildings, most of which were initially constructed by the Japanese in 1919 as part of a brewery. This is another example of a previously industrial or abandoned part of Taiwan that's been repurposed as a sort of cultural hub. Aside from the buildings there's also plenty of pedestrian friendly outdoor spaces here, with assorted sculptures and other things worth seeing along the way.

The main attraction here are the historical colonial era buildings, but many now contain exhibitions, art installations, workshops, shops, cafes, markets, etc. A bunch of the buildings aren't even accessible, so to me at least exploring these cultural parks became a bit of a game. Some doors didn't open, and the ones that did lead to a diverse variety of spaces to further explore.

 

[warpus]

More shots from Taichung Cultural Heritage Park

The red structure above is a stage that is used for occasional performances and events.

It was relatively quiet here today, not too many people around. The buildings that had exhibitions and shops were all staffed, but I didn't see too many other visitors walking around. That's probably the norm for an early afternoon on a weekday, but I quite enjoyed the lack of crowds.

 

[warpus]

Cultural Routes of Taiwan

There was an interesting set of exhibitions at Taichung Cultural Heritage Park that showcased Taiwan's coal mining history. The Taiwanese coal minining industry had been largely phased out by the end of the 20th century, but it played an important role in the development of the country. There's been a bit of a recent effort to preserve old buildings in coal mining towns and to educate Taiwanese citizens and visitors about the history and influence of coal mining in Taiwan.

These coal mining exhibitions here were a part of the Cultural Routes of Taiwan initiative, which had a broader focus on Taiwan's industrial heritage.