Gaining Ten Pounds

Normally, I am filled with regret and self-incrimination after gaining ten pounds (warning for the youth:  easy on and hard to get off is true once you get north of 30 years old!).  However, on the recent trip to Taiwan, I decided from the get-go to just let it all go and eat like there is no tomorrow.  In my youth, I lived under the delusion that everything will always be accessible to me in the future.  But, now, I realize this is probably the last time I will be in Taiwan.  (not that I don't want to travel, but it's just not likely to be to this particular country).  

Anyone who has been to Taiwan or knows Taiwanese people, knows it is all about the food.  I mean, everyone always says that about all cultures.  But, in this case, it is more than true.  Everyone is talking about food, hawking food, asking about food, thinking about food, etc.  Interestingly, the focus is so on-the-food, that western ideas of service and amenities are almost entirely absent.  Want a napkin, grab some of these cheapo thinner-than-tissue "napkins" yourself.   Want a drink, head over to the fridge and help yourself.  Want to clear your table?  Forget it, that old lady at the back of the floor ain't touching your dishes until you leave.  Need to use the bathroom?  Send in one of your kids to scout it out first... is there a door?  Is there an actual toilet?  Is there toilet paper?  I sound kind of prudish but, actually, I wasn't surprised by this (not my first rodeo by any means) - but what stood out to me on this trip was the disparity between the quality of the food (very high) and other trappings of eating out (usually (but not always!) quite low).  I found myself reflecting on how often I have eaten out in the United States and had a very fancy setting and very nice (overly attentive?) service while eating food that was, well, kind of meh.

Anyway... a random gustative photo travelogue:

Fish head soup

Duck Eggs in the back

Just when you think they can't fit another dish on the table... they manage to somehow.

Whole fish came out at the end of almost every meal

Shrimp dish with almost every meal.  Always slightly different!

Being the designated chicken fiend, I was anointed to tear the roasted chicken (roasted with head and claws on!) apart with the provided gloves.  Apparently a roadside stand tradition now in a restaurant setting. 

Japanese restaurants are very popular.

This is my face after one of our drivers convinced me to chew on some of his Betel nut.  At the end of our ride, he offered me more.  I declined.  Not a gustative highlight.

And, for dessert...

Shaved Ice!