Gastro Monkey // 美食家

I went to Japan knowing that I wouldn't make it through my extensive list of things to eat. Researching all of the possibilities was overwhelming. There's ramen, udon, sushi, tonkatsu, bakeries, and yakitori. And so much more! But I was only there for about a week so I had to do my best! Originally, I had a restaurant in mind. I don't remember what it was called anymore, but it was a yakitori place. Walked around for what felt like an hour, stomachs growling, to no avail. We wandered around about to give up, but then I thought, let's keep trying by going down this street a little further. Luckily I didn't give up. Near a bridge (no idea where, but I wish I did!), there was a narrow alley to the left. Signs were hanging up festively. I asked my friend what it said, and she translated it to drunk alley. I was pretty excited! Didn't find the restaurant I wanted, but found this instead. We walked the length of it, trying to decide which one to go to. Most o...

If you are a craft beer aficionado, then you are in the know. Pliny the Younger is one of the most famous craft beers out there. It's only been twelve years since its inception, but it has grown in popularity exponentially. The first time I went to try this magical beer, the wait was about two hours. I was still getting my feet wet with all of the amazing craft beers in the country. I thought it was strange that we arrived at Russian River Brewing at 9am on a Saturday morning to wait for beer. We were maybe 30th in line. Soon, we discovered that we were surrounded by people who came from far and wide for this beer. One group was from Minnesota, another from Sydney Australia. Die hard beer fans! It says on the wall that their capacity is 135 people. When we got in, there were still plenty of places to grab a seat. We sat at the bar so it would be easier to order. That day (Feb. 2, 2013 - thanks Foursquare for keeping track for me!), there were no restrictions on how many glasse...

I like coming to Chun Shui Tang/春水堂  because of the pearl milk tea. I have been drinking pearl milk tea since I was in 6th grade, when my aunt brought back a bag of drinks after grocery shopping. I remember thinking how odd it looked, with little black balls at the bottom. My cousin was excited; she loved it. I was the last to grab one. One hesitant sip and choke later, I was hooked. I downed mine and instantly regretted it. My cup was empty and I wanted more. Sadly, I watched everyone else enjoy theirs slowly. From then on, during every visit to Taiwan, I would request this magical drink daily. On a good day, I would be allowed to sit on the back of the scooter and buy the drink also. Watching them mix everything and manually shaking it into frothy perfection was a joy (I also used to sit in front of the glass partition at Cinnabon and watch that magic happen while my mom went shopping at the mall).  Chun Shui Tang is hailed as the originators of pearl milk tea. In Chine...

If you've ever been to Taiwan and walked through a night market (or any random street, actually), you probably smelled what appeared to be some rancid trash or really bad feet. Pungent and definitely an assault to the nose - this smell is not for everyone. Growing up, I gagged on the smell. I only had one cousin who lived in Taiwan who actually loved eating it. I thought he was disgusting. Little did my younger, more Americanized self know, stinky tofu is one treat that's hard to beat!  First of all, it's fried. Fried food is delicious. You can fry just about any food and it'll be amazing. Secondly, once you bite through that crispy outer layer, you are rewarded with a softer tofu center. I love the contrast. Then, to get a more of a different flavor, you can also add the chili sauce that is either served with the tofu, or from the jar on your table. If you are at a good stinky tofu stall, they will also have really good pickled veggies. Sometimes I can't finis...

If you haven't noticed, I like simplicity when it comes to food. It's not that I dislike fancy or complicated foods, I just have a great appreciation for simple foods done right. Case in point, the underrated 米粉湯/rice noodle soup. There are tons of these stalls all over Taiwan. I haven't been to a bad one yet (not that I'm looking for a bad one, just sayin), but this one is probably my favorite.  The cart is located amongst a ton of other food carts, so don't worry about being hungry afterwards. I think to eat in Taiwan, one must approach it as they would a marathon. Small bites, lots of food, and you'll be able to eat EVERYTHING. Her cart as a few different items, but I come here for the  米粉湯/rice noodle soup and the  油豆腐/tofu. The broth is so clean and light, the noodles are the perfect QQ texture, and the fried shallots and tiny shrimp provide the perfect textural combination and umami flavor. The tofu is great because it also holds in the soup. It alter...

A s Taiwanese as pineapple cakes. Can we make that a thing? Like as American as apple pie?  To go to Taiwan and not try the 鳳梨酥/ pineapple cakes would be a travesty. There are so many different companies that make their own version of this simple snack, but not many make it as good as it could be. There are also different kinds, such as pineapple cakes with wintermelon pieces blended in, pineapple cakes made with native pineapple, and pineapple cakes made with foreign pineapples. It seems to me that most people I know prefer the foreign pineapples because they're sweeter. I prefer  土鳳梨/native pineapple because they're more tart. It also provides a better contrast to the shortcake surrounding it (versus sweet on sweet, especially with the wintermelon fillers that some use). And for a really good pineapple cake experience, enjoy it with some quality tea. You can use tea from a tea bag, but the best tea is always from leaves. I usually use some high mountain Oolong or J...

One of my favorite places for a snack is Ay-Chung. I love their 麵線/mee sua. It is quite fragrant and full of flavor for such a simple little bowl of noodles. The broth is a thicker soup with bonito flakes and other ingredients that they keep secret. The last time I went, it was 50NT. You can eat it plain, but I prefer adding some garlic, vinegar, and chili to it. Some people seem to think that this is oyster vermicelli, but the noodles aren't round (thus, they call it "flour-rice noodles"), and there are no oysters. Some might say that these noodles aren't for the faint of heart--those are pig intestines in there. It's also all they serve. And rightly so! They have been around since 1975 and know what they're doing. The only questions you need to answer are if you want the small or large, and how many bowls.  If you want one of the real tastes of Taiwan though, this is a can't miss item. If you don't like the crowds in Ximen, there are other locat...

In a quiet strip mall just less than half an hour away from downtown Seattle is a little gem - Izumi. Inside, just beyond the curtain that says  いづみ,  the decor is very minimalist and simple. Their website says you can make a reservation if you have over 5 people, but I have always just shown up. When it's our family eating there, we just wait patiently for a seat. It can get pretty busy on Friday and Saturday.  This time in particular though, I went with the intention of just sitting at the sushi bar and ordering the omakase. The last time I went, I ordered the beef teriyaki, which is not like it sounds. It's a NY strip steak cooked medium and has a terrific homemade teriyaki sauce drizzled on it. Can you say umami? It is the only place that I order beef teriyaki. Anything teriyaki, actually. That said, I also ordered their king crab nigiri and wondered why I had never actually sat down to eat just their sushi. So, this trip, I made it a priority. It was quite the o...

I can't imagine beginning this blog with any other food. For as long as I can remember, my one true love is beef noodle soup, or  牛肉麵. Our family used to always go to Green Village in Seattle's Chinatown. The broth was always so flavorful and beefy. There was only one downside to the noodles - they were not handmade. Before my grandma started making her own noodles at home, Green Village's beef noodles were my absolute favorite. I was spoiled by her freshly made noodles which had the perfect QQ texture. Nowadays, I am most likely to give a place a try only if they have hand made noodles. I have made a few exceptions, but I'm always sad when I drink the soup and ignore the noodles. As I learned from Tampopo , it's just not good if you can't eat everything in the bowl and slurp the soup to empty! 半筋半肉麵 is my favorite. Tender beef and tendons. I added the pickled veggies after I took the picture. Every good beef noodle joint should have really good pickled ve...