From Taipei to Tokyo
One of my previous posts eludes to the cultural history of Taiwan. Other than the natural inheritance of Chinese culture, you can see traces of Japanese culture everywhere in Taiwan. Throughout almost half a century of colonization, it's not to say the there are no complaints regarding the Japanese's treatment of Taiwanese people, but the social system and infrastructure established from those days formed a great foundation for Taiwan. Two of my grandparents speak Japanese and it is reminiscing for them to experience elements of Japanese culture.
Continuing from the historic relationship, the Taiwanese people today are extremely welcoming of Japanese merchandises, food, entertainment and cultural overall.
To begin with, a fabulous feast of sushi Omakase tasting presented by meticulous sushi chefs abiding strictly high standards. Not only was the ingredients the freshest and carefully chosen by the restaurant, the skills and techniques of the sushi chefs are also being witness constantly, zero failure is tolerated. Needless to say, the hygiene of the work stations is under the eyes of the customers as well.
This restaurant called Fresh Station also features fresh fruits as an ingredient in the Omakase tasting. Even before we started, the chefs laid out pickled fruits as palate cleansers on our plates and constantly replenished them throughout the meal.
Before we know, the tasting has started with a nigiri and the journey continued.
Followed by 7 courses of nigiri, our attention was directed to two main plates combining the land and the sea.
Towards the end of the meal, the chef laid out 3 pieces of sushi made with fresh fruits. It was certainly an interesting variation of sushi, offering as a refreshing course after the main plates.
(From left to right) - Yellow Watermellon with Cucumber, Kiwi, Pineapple with Shiso
As always, the meal finished with a traditional ending, miso soup, chawan mushi and more fresh fruits as desserts.
In the past 2 years many cities, including in the US, have surrendered willingly to the healing power of Ramen. Not the ones you buy in a pack with pre-fried noodles and cook in a pot at home, but those with thick firm noodles simmered in flavorful broth cooked with bones for hours and hours. Often with thick sliced pork and soft boiled egg, Ramen always warms my heart. In Taipei, there are countless ramen restaurants, some are branches from Japan and some are opened by Japanese chefs or Taiwanese chefs trained in Japan.
The famous Ippudo that lured New York's heart is also in Taiwan.
Another fairly popular food trend that I have yet seen to spiral in the US is the fried pork cutlets - Tonkatsu. Unlike many fried items in the US and elsewhere, the tonkatsu is breaded delicately that the texture is light yet crispy. At Ikinza, I chose the pork loin that is tender with light fat, which turned into juicy pork cutlets.
At last, Taipei and many cities likewise have been fans of matcha green tea as drinks or flavors. The opening of Tsujiri was very popular, unsurprisingly. The store elaborates on Matcha as a drink with long history and tradition in Japan to more modern interpretation ranging from tea to ice cream.
When you're in Taiwan and crave Japanese food, by all means go for it. I wouldn't guarantee everything is authentic, but after all Taiwan inherited and still shares much of the Japanese perspectives and way of living and eating. Decades after the Japanese authority left Taiwan, we continue to embrace the trends in Japan and mesh the two cultures into beautiful sparks.