hungryinTAINAN: 5 DESSERTS TO TRY IN TAINAN

 

THERE'S ALWAYS TOO MUCH TO EAT AND NEVER ENOUGH TIME, especially when you travel to a new place.  The past two years, I’ve slowly been exploring the cities outside of Taipei after years of just staying in town- Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan- but there is still so much of Taiwan I've yet to visit. I've never been to Kending, Chiayi or Changhua despite the bookmarks from my instagram feed. 

If Tainan is on your to visit list (as it should be) and you need some ideas of where to find dessert worthy of wearing your stretchy pants, I've got you covered. A few weeks ago, I returned to Tainan for an epic day of eats, with desserts on my checklist. After one full day,  a high speed rail roundtrip ticket, five official stops (and a few unofficial ones) and 8 hours of eating my way through the city, here is my dessert crawl of sorts (though be warned they are all over the map and not walking distance at all). I kind of fell in love and would totally revisit these places if I ever made my way back to Tainan. 

This is my second time accepting the gig from the Tainan City Government- they've worked with over 50 shops in 2018 to help business owners with the translation of their menus and to be featured  by English bloggers like me. Check out where I went last year to write up 5 spots for the Tainan English Friendly program.  

 It was definitely a LOT of dessert for one day, but it can be done. 😂 Three short day trips definitely can’t capture the entirety of what to eat in Tainan and my first visit to the night market showed that there’s so much more to explore.

chinese/dessert: i recommend HONOLULU CAFE

HONOLULU CAFE 檀島香港茶餐廳

at Xinyi Mitsukoshi A11, B1

No. 

松壽路11號B1 

( 02) 6613-1013

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: Honolulu Cafe Taipei facebook page 

hours: 11AM–3PM, 5–10PM

Price: $$

Kid Friendliness: 

Visits reviewed: 

THE SATISFYING FLAKINESS OF 192 LAYERS of pastry and a jiggly, custard-like center. This is the egg tart that has lured me and all the other people to Honolulu Cafe's first Taipei shop. 

If you hadn't heard of Honolulu Cafe, the famed cha chaan teng from Hong Kong yet, then the trays of freshly baked egg tarts from the entrance's window and the line of people wrapped around the corner outside the building might pique your curiosity to wait in line too. The store introduces itself with well placed signage "Honolulu Cafe | Since 1940" at the entrance, and hand drawn posters diagramming its egg tarts features for newbies. 

Even though I had been a fan of Honolulu Cafe's egg tarts for years, even bringing boxes back to Taipei from Hong Kong, I didn't know there were 192 layers until I saw it on the poster. I just knew that the flaky crust was one of the best egg tarts I had eaten. So I was extremely excited to hear about the opening at Xinyi Mitsukoshi A11. 

Honolulu Cafe's menu is a dizzying array of choices, especially without English translations, but luckily the waiter drops off an iPad menu of glossy photos to browse and order. 

As we swipe through the menu, everyone excitedly agreed that each person will get their own egg tart, and everything else we can share family style, including a few pineapple buns with thick slabs of butter inside, another classic Hong Kong treat.

The pineapple bun is spongy and sweet with a crumbly crust. Those who love this dish devour it with the butter, those of us who can't just eat straight butter nibble around it. I would choose the egg tart over the pineapple bun, which is not as moist as the Taiwanese bolo pineapple bun or the cha siu version of it at Tim Ho Wan. 

And let's not forget, the drinks. Iced lemon tea, coffee brewed with sweetened milk tea, or iced coffee, something that I've never had at the original shop. 

To be honest, I've never actually eaten inside Honolulu Cafe in Hong Kong, I've only picked up takeaway of a half a dozen egg tarts from their shop's front counter outside the store every time. So stepping into their restaurant I'm surprised by the bright modern decor- there are several seating sections, all slightly different with booths, tables and outdoors. 

After we've ordered, a medley of Hong Kong classics arrived to fill our table and the ones around us- dim sum favorites like steamed shrimp chang fun, platters and noodle soups of roast bbq meat, and claypot tofu dishes. 

For a filling bite, I also enjoyed the Hong Kong style french toast, two slices sandwiching a layer of peanut butter and then drenched in maple syrup and a pat of butter. 

My favorites were the roast bbq pork, crispy pork and duck that come with four different dipping sauces, the deep fried soft shell crab, and the sausage claypot rice. And of course the egg tart. 

Try to eat the egg tarts as soon as it's served. It's best eaten hot, though of course don't burn your tongue. The crust is flaky which makes it messy to eat, and the filling is more custardy and soft than dense and sweet like bruleed Portuguese egg tarts, but that's what I love about it. If you prefer the shortbread crust and filling that doesn't wobble, this might not be the egg tart for you, but for me, I'm happy since I won't have to haul back boxes from Hong Kong anymore!!! 

dessert/taiwanese: i strongly recommend DAZHI FENG YUAN

DAZHI FENG YUAN 大直粉圓

No. 35 DaZhi Street

 臺北市中山區大直街35號

(02) 8509-8805

MRT: Wenhu (brown line) 5 minute walk

price: $ (about NT$60/person) Delivery available 

hours: 11AM- 9PM

Kid friendliness: very. at this price, they can each get their own bowl

visits reviewed: 8/18/2017 and 9/10/2017

DAZHI FENG YUAN IS A SMALL SHOP IN DAZHI, but with more than all the essentials for Taiwanese shaved ice. With over 20 different chewy, colorful toppings from taro balls to grass jelly to boba and red adzuki beans, you could make a number of combinations. Feng Yuan translates to the name for tapioca in Chinese, so that's why you see a big bowl of it on their sign, advertised for NT$30. 

A bowl of shaved ice is NT$60 with a choice of four toppings. I especially like their pearl barley, so much that I got double of it. I know Taiwanese shaved ice toppings can sound strange to people who are used to having their barley with beef soup or beans in chili, but think of how oatmeal which is usually eaten sweet for breakfast is now being used as a savory option. In Taiwan, mung beans, red beans, pearl barley, oatmeal are all sweetened and used for desserts. I've even seen creamed corn as a topping on shaved ice (which still repulses me, but hey, corn ice cream is a thing in the US now, so we can't judge).

They also have douhua, or soy pudding, but I found the flavor to taste a little on the burnt side, which I know some soy milk places are known for, but I personally prefer it without. You can add three toppings to the douhua, which are hidden underneath. 

Dazhi Feng Yuan's ice isn't super fine, but with the creamy and chewy toppings and brown sugar syrup, it all works together. 

And those who don't like the traditional toppings, they have mango shaved ice, but it's seasonal. I haven't tried it yet because I'm still trying different combos of the traditional. My go to combo is usually pearl barley, aiyu, boba and mochi balls, but on this day my friend wanted to try the big red beans and the taro balls. 

They have about 10 seats and it's fairly clean and they let you use their bathroom. Haha. I had to note that because A LOT of little shops won't let you use their bathroom, even though you know they have one. Anyways, this no frills shop has become a go to when I'm in the Dazhi area for a quick snack. Cuz global warming. The shop is near Shih Chien University and Dominican International School. 

dessert/coffee: i strongly recommend COFFEE DPT

COFFEE DPT 

@Huashan 1914 

No. 1 BaDe Road, 7B

八德路一段1號 中七B館

(02) 2341-6520

hours: 12PM- 8PM

MRT: ZhongXiao/ XinSheng

website: Coffee Dpt's Facebook page

visit reviewed: 4/25/2017

[TAIPEI] Anyone who has lived in Taiwan for awhile knows that finding a good chocolate chip cookie here is actually not easy. Most tastebuds here like crispy not chewy cookies, and they are thin wafers or crunchy. 

This is not. 

This is a massive, cheat day worthy soft baked cookie rivaling what I had from @levainbakery in NYC. Completed the guilty pleasure with farm fresh milky vanilla and valrhona swirled soft serve. 

To find this tiny shop, you first have to head towards the middle of Huashan, near the parking lot. I spotted a DPT in the distance and entered the store. 

It was filled with clothes and no cookies in sight. I stepped back out and around the corner, I finally saw the small shop, basically a window to order and a few tables and seats, also outdoors. 

The menu is very simple, and perfect for an afternoon snack after browsing an exhibition at Huashan, or shopping for gadgets at Syntrend across the street. There's espresso, americana, latte, cappuccino, cold brew coffee or tea for drinks, and there's cookie, sandwich, ice cream for food. 

I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting for a cookie like THIS in Taipei.  🍪❤️️🍪😍 The dairy fresh soft serve and cold brew coffee also really good. And I usually dislike black coffee.  Thank you @coffeedpt and @tiffleezzz for the treats and for baking up these cookies in Taipei. I enjoyed every bite!

Yes, at NT$120 it might be one of the most expensive cookies you've ever tried. But it should be also one of the biggest. And in Taipei, a good chocolate chip cookie is a rarity. So it's a small fortune to pay if the craving hits. Out of all the past cookie shops I've tried over the years in Taipei (Anyone remember i-baked or We Love Cookies), this is one of the most satisfying with the chewy, soft baked center and plenty of chocolate chips.

desserts/american: i strongly recommend THE PIE GUY

THE PIE GUY

(No storefront yet, order through order forms on Facebook or Rakuten)

website: The Pie Guy's Facebook 

visit reviewed: 2/17/2017

When a friend of a friend emails and says, "I have a friend that makes pies, can I introduce you?" the answer should always be YES. My ranting about the lack of American style pies in Taipei is nothing new and my search for them over the years has led me to try Mom's Pies, Rose Pie, My Sweetie Pie, Drip Cafe (their lemon meringue and banana cream pies were my favorite for awhile), McDonald's (they've kept the fried apple pie all these years), WXY, and now the The Pie Guy. 

Founded this past year, Pie Guy aims to bring traditional American pies with natural ingredients and crusts made with butter, but in mini sizes. He grew up loving and making desserts with his family, playing with the scientific side of baking and his idea for Pie Guy came with taking recipes that had used over the years but adjusting them for mini form. 

There's over a dozen flavors to choose from and I was lucky enough to get a special sampler back to try his top 9 so that I could try them for you guys. Each pie is packaged in a sturdy plastic case and bubble lid and then in a pizza sized cardboard box. (I received this for free, but the opinions expressed are my own.)

OOOOOOOOHHHH. Where do we start? 

The pies from top to bottom: lemon meringue, apple, blueberry, coconut cream, key lime style, chocolate cream, banana cream, chicken and chili. 

The lemon meringue was one of my favorites, with a sweet and tart filling and torched meringue atop.  You can actually find a lot of lemon tarts in Taipei, but it's so much better with pie crust and meringue atop.

Apple pie was another favorite, made with Granny Smith apples, since this is also one of those "lots of tarts but no pie" situations in Taipei. I still remember when I went to BING last year and they had the most amazing apple pie but a few months later when I went back, it had turned into a tart. Now I don't have to look because now I know where I can get my apple pie fix. 

Blueberry is made with Maine blueberries and the filling swirled through the top of the crust so you can see what flavor it is. 

Key lime style has a different crust, with homemade graham crackers that he also premakes. The fresh limes are from Taiwan, so that's why it isn't called key lime and he didn't want to use bottled juice. I am a sucker for pies with a bit of sourness to go with the sweet. Loved this one too. 

Chocolate custard was the right amount of sweetness and comes with bits of bittersweet chocolate atop the whipped cream, which all goes well with the buttery crust.

I brought these to a potluck and they all got devoured after my photos so I didn't get inside photos of all of them. The chicken and chili ones are, of course, best heated up and Pie Guy felt like the mini sizes made them easier for reheating in Taipei kitchens. You can eat them cold, room temperature or ten minutes at 180 degrees in the oven. 

So since Pie Guy doesn't have a store (yet!), he's made it easy to order with forms in English and Chinese on Facebook. Pies come in sets of three (NT$499) and multiples of three, with prices slightly cheaper as you order more, six mini pies are NT$799 or nine mini pies are NT$1069. There are also  weekly popups in Nangang or Neihu so you can see the pies in person, with the schedule also on Pie Guy's Facebook page. 

Usually the pies come is sets of three with the same flavor, but I'm excited to announce that I've convinced Pie Guy to do a special HUNGRY IN TAIPEI x PIE GUY sampler pack, with apple, blueberry and key lime style mini pies! 

You can try THREE different flavors in one 3-pack (which you would usually need to order 9 pies to try three flavors). The flavors available for this set are apple, blueberry and key lime style for a promotional price of NT$449 for a limited time (only until 6/10/2017) which will include FREE shipping, which takes 3-4 days. 

This sampler pack is available only through these order forms: 

HUNGRY IN TAIPEI x PIE GUY sampler ENGLISH order form 

HUNGRY IN TAIPEI x PIE GUY sampler CHINESE order form

I've also partnered up with the Pie Guy to do giveaways on my Instagram and Facebook pages this week, so try your luck with winning some mini pies there. Yay!!! Who doesn't love pies?