85°C America – Imagine a Starbucks Where People Waited in Line for an Hour for Pastries

85°C is the Starbucks of Taiwan, with a branch on every corner and people from all walks of life stopping in a couple times a week for drinks — boba milk tea or sea salt lattes. 85°C has since opened 4 branches in America, all here in Southern California, but the draw is a huge assortment of breads, pastries, and fancy cakes — as well as a drink bar with many of the drinks that made them famous in Taiwan.

[* apologies for the lead photo. 98% of the clients are Asian, so this photo of the white girl in the inappropriate shirt is not representative.]

Yong He – Soy Milk King in Taipei!

Traditional Taiwanese breakfast is a bowl of soy milk alongside xiao bing you tiao — small bun, oily stick — an unsweetened cruller inside a flaky bun. We went to one of Taiwan’s most famous shops for this treat, Yong He.

Gong Cha – Salty Boba?

Gong Cha is a Taiwanese chain of boba shops that gives an interesting twist – salt-laced milk froth on top of tea. For a drink that is often candy-sweet, will salt be sweet or an abomination?

Shin Yeh – Taiwanese Food Elevated

While Din Tai Fung is Taiwan’s most famous restaurant, and the one all the ABCs flock to, Shin Yeh may be Taiwan’s best Taiwanese restaurant.

Taiwan – Obligatory Din Tai Fung Post

No visit to Taipei is complete without a visit to the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung. Rightfully famous for xiao long bao (XLB), the delicate soup dumplings being made by this crew of workers, DTF is arguably Chinese food at its best – cleaned up, carefully made, yet still unmistakeably Chinese.

Tomb of the Unknown Japanese Restaurant in Tienmu

Like an idiot, I didn’t write down the English name of this wonderful Japanese restaurant we went to in the Tienmu neighborhood of Taipei. If you can read the business card below, let me know and I’ll update this post. It would be a service to mankind because this was an incredible kaiseki meal that cost about $25 each all in.

Taiwan – Always More Delights!

Spotted on the MRT, Taipei’s metro trains, this great new ad campaign selling the highlights of visiting Taiwan. How great is it that along with the national museum and their mountain hot springs, Taiwan wants to highlight their giant fried chicken cutlets?

Dragon Beads Boba – a Fun Gimmick

During our visit to the Shilin Night Market, we also tried a couple bobas. One was forgettable, and one was the Dragon Beads boba – what the stall advertises as “filling pearl tapioca.” Boba filled with flavors. Crazy.

Taipei – Bikes for Rent

Walking across from Taipei 101 in the Xinyi District, we spotted people riding along on these colorful bikes. They have this great automated system for renting the bikes.

Just a random footnote to our Taiwan trip.

Snackdouche – Doritos Golden Cheese

Part Four of our special Snackdouche: Taiwan edition.
The setting: TamKang Church in Danshui, Taiwan
The store: The vending machine in the lobby
The snack: Doritos – Golden Cheese flavor

A quick break in the action led to an impulse purchase of Doritos from a vending machine. What did 10 NT (about 35 cents) buy?