bakery/cookies: I strongly recommend FLORIDA BAKERY

FLORIDA BAKERY
No. 26, Ren Ai Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 2702-1175

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing or ZhongXiao/DunHua

website: bread.com.tw Chinese and some English and Facebook page

hours: 6AM - 11PM

$-$$

kid friendliness: lots of fun cookies and snacks, as well as supplies for DIY projects at home

visits reviewed: 4/25/2011 & 4/28/2011

I don't know what took me so long to check out Florida Bakery. Last Christmas, when I went to a cookie decorating session at a friend's house, I commented on the bright and vibrant colors of her royal icing. She told me that she ordered them from Florida Bakery and that option stuck with me. When I finally spotted the sign on Ren Ai Road and had some time to spare, I wandered in to browse.

Besides a huge store offering the typical breads and Taiwanese pastries, there's also a whole row of handmade, frosted cookies in adorable shapes and colors like pink elephants, polka dotted hearts and rabbits making funny faces. The colorful ones are NT$130/g and the ones with just chocolate decorations are NT$90/g. While it's kind of pricey, anyone who's ever made and decorated cookies with royal icing knows that it's a lot of work, so it's worth it for a special occasion and it's one of the only places I've seen them in Taipei.

There are also bridal themed ones with heart shaped cookies decorated with black and white tuxedos and wedding cakes that would perfect as a bridal shower or wedding favor. They also do custom order cookies, like for baby showers, but there's a minimum order and advance time requirement. For the holidays, they also do various themed cookies- for Easter, there were painted easter eggs and chicks; for Christmas, there are candy canes, Christmas trees and stockings. Browse their website for more of their designs.

 

So of course I couldn't resist and had to pick up some to share with friends. The cookie is crispy rather than chewy, while the royal icing is very hard and a thick layer of sugary sweetness.

 

There are also jelly candies and other cookies like chocolate chip (on the hard rather than soft chewy side).

At the back of the bakery, you can spot the busy bakers hard at work, as well as a shelf full of familiar looking goods from the US- salad dressings, jams, mustards, sweets. If you've ever wondered where to get Spam or Jello or food coloring or tortillas in Taipei, then you have to rush to Florida Bakery.

To the right of the store is a refridgerated section where you can find tortillas, cheese and deli meats. This is a good option for tortillas if you don't want to buy the supersized bag from Costco (that I never end up finishing and sticking in the freezer). Florida Bakery also has tortilla chips by the bag, and corn tortillas with an advance order. The store is open very early to very late, making it very easy to stop by before or after work.

Now I don't have lug back so many things from the states anymore. If only a Trader Joe's would open up in Taipei, then I'd be so happy.

OTHER LOCATION:

No. 23-5, Zhongshan North Road, Section 3, #23-5, 4F
(02)2594-6923

markets/chinese: i recommend NAN MEN MARKET

NAN MEN MARKET
At Roosevelt Rd and Nan Hai Rd
Taipei

$

date visited: 12/22/2006



To mark the beginning of winter, I guess it's a tradition to eat tang yuan or boiled round rice glutinous balls. Why? Maybe to keep your stomachs full and warm for the cold? I'm not exactly sure.. but it's tradition. If you didn't eat any last friday, then you can hurry to Nan Men Market and buy a pack to take home and boil yourself.

There are quite a few vendors that sell it, but supposedly this one is the most famous. And on this special tang yuan eating holiday, Dong Zhi, there was line and up to a 20-40 minute wait as the lady hand made each ball while customers (im)patiently waited. I've seen this phenomenon at other stores and it's amazing how antsy people will get over their mochi balls!


the line awaits

she can't make them fast enough!

After they are cooked, they almost look like mini snowballs bathing in water. Biting into a ball, you get the chewiness of the rice ball and the sweet oozing taste of the sesame or peanut or red bean paste. They make salty ones too, but I definitely prefer the sweet fillings.

from another vendor- 10 in a pack- this one has peanut paste inside

I ended up here while running errands and a local friend of mine thought it would be a good place to stop by. It''s definitely a sight to see... with lots of local foods available to purchase to take home- chinese style jerky, tang yuan or sesame or peanut filled rice balls, man toh or chinese steamed bread and buns, sausages, dried fruits, candy and even a huge array of cooked dishes like shrimp, fish, vegetables and meat.

Many of the stalls sell similar food to the others, so you just take a quick circle around before deciding on which vendor you like best.

I was intrigued by the vendor roasting their pork jerky over a hot grill and ended up buying NT$50 worth cut up into finger-licking good slices.

Taiwanese jerky is different from American jerky in that it's usually sold by weight and look like red plastic slices rather than sticks wrapped in plastic. They come in all sorts of flavors, such as black pepper, but I prefer the sweeter flavors. You can ask for a sample before you decide- generally, the vendor will cut a tiny piece for you to try.

My friend also highly recommended the vegetarian buns from this man-toh stall- they sold six buns in a bag for NT$70, as well as an array of different colored man-tohs and buns, including cha sau buns (bbq pork) and green onion bread. They also sold nien gao or rice cakes and rice cake noodles. There was even a cinnabun looking roll that the vendor said was coffee flavored.

Totally worth browsing if you have the time and the stomach for it, since you're likely to find some good deals, but most of the stuff is out in the open rather than pre-packaged or in a fridge which some people may not be used to. If you don't speak Chinese, I think the point and nod method will work here since there aren't really any English signs anywhere. The only thing is that I wished that the sesame rice balls were sold ready-to-eat, but this isn't the place for that. Ah well, I can always head over to Jiu Ru for a bowl.