[Songshan, Taipei, and Bagua Mountain, Taichung, Taiwan] 微熱山丘 Sunny Hills
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...