Taiwan Treats: Avocado & Pudding Shake.

I've written before about Taiwanese pudding- a ubiquitous treat, rather similar to a spanish flan, or a caramel custard. Somehow, it seems to find its way into everything. At a seaside market in Hualien, Bordeaux and I sampled one of the strangest Taiwan treats yet- a smoothie of ripe avocado and Taiwanese pudding. We simply ordered an avo shake, but apparently the pudding is added to sweeten the mixture. It was blended until the ripe avocado and the chunky custard were smooth, then plopped into a plastic cup. And- surprisingly- it was delicious. Rich, creamy and decadent, with a richness from the avocado, and a caramel sweetness from the custard.

PS- Bordeaux and I totally got spotted by a reader while we were out shopping yesterday! This is a big world, and we definitely don't have a huge readership, so it was a totally surprising experience. Thanks for coming up and saying hi, and I hope all of my readers are as hip as you!

Taiwan Treats: Shaved Ice.

Of all the Taiwan Treats I've cataloged, likely none are as distinctly Taiwanese as shaved ice. It's designed with Taiwan's climate in mind, as it's the perfect refreshment for a steamy-scorching subtropical summer. It can feature a variety of toppings that evoke the cuisines and produce of the island, from syrupy mango to starchy-sweet redbean and taro. And perhaps more than any other dessert, it shows off the playfully inventive nature that makes Taiwan so unique.

First, a layer of shaved or crushed ice is taken from a larger cube. Sometimes it is served 'fresh', elsewhere it is soaked in a sweet syrup. This is heaped generously into a vessel, which can range from a modest cup, to a family-sized platter. Next, toppings are heaped on- one topping, two toppings, or maybe nearly a dozen, depending on the creativity of the vendor.

I had read about shaved ice before coming to Taiwan, and I was intrigued to try it. So on our first afternoon in Taipei, Bordeaux and I found a rather modern shop that specialized in it. With stark white walls, glowing red lanterns, and an open hi-tech kitchen, it hardly resembled the simple shaved ice shops described in out guidebook. We later found out that this was a national chain, with locations all over Taiwan. The shaved ice we sampled that afternoon was 'pineapple ice', which sounded tempting, and was described on the menu as being the most traditionally Taiwanese. We took the glass mug out onto the porch, and tasted it. Though the flavor was pleasant, the pineapple flavor was way too sweet, and the syrupy consistency was terrible for the tropical heat of late afternoon. I left the shop feeling more sickened than refreshed. We tried another Meet Fresh a week later, and sampled an entirely different concoction- shaved ice with red bean, taro, and lentils. Though the wholesome starchy flavor was delicious, the ice was again way too syrupy and filling.

Thankfully, I wasn't put off from trying it all together. We searched out a different shaved ice shop, and tried a new dish- pudding shaved ice. As I've written before, pudding in Taiwan is more like a flan, or a caramel custard. The pudding was placed in the bowl first, and it was topped in a mountain of ice and sweetened condensed milk. Against all expectations, this dish was actually less filling and far more refreshing than the two we'd tried before. The non-flavored ice nicely countered the sweetness of the pudding, instead bringing out its rich milkyness.

But perhaps the best bowl we've had came after out lunch at Hsinchu's Eating Temple. In a neon-painted four story tower next to the temple, we ordered a bowl of mango shaved ice. The ice was crushed into a feathery texture, and spooned over a bowl of fresh mango and pineapple. The tropical fruits mixed perfectly with the finely shaved ice, making the ideal tropical treat for a humid tropical afternoon.

Taiwan Treats: Pudding Milk Tea.

I've written about pudding milk here in Taiwan- but pudding milk tea is something entirely different. Not milk tea flavored like pudding, but rather milk tea filled with chunks of pudding. It's an unusual idea, distinctly Taiwanese, and it works rather well. Ideally, the milk tea should be creamy but not too sweet, so that it can balance out the richness of the pudding. And of course, an extra large straw is a requirment.

Taiwan Treats: Mango Green Tea.

Stopping by a drink stand on a sweltering walk home from school, I picked up a mango green tea. Not a mango flavored green tea, but rather a blend of fresh mango, ice, and chilled green tea. It was ideal for chilling off in the afternoon heat- icy, fresh, and not overly creamy. Though I love the blended mango smoothies on their own, they can be a little sweet- the green tea added a nice nuance, and an attractively flowery flavor.

Taiwan Treats: A Birthday Eggtart.

Never one to be thrown by having to celebrate my birthday in a different country, Bordeaux surprised me this morning not with a birthday cake, but with a two-tiered birthday egg tart. Along with the archaic name 'Isla Formosa', egg tarts are one of the few traces of lingering Portuguese influence on the island. They're also one of the tastiest confections available in Taiwan. We haven't had these ones yet- I'll update tomorrow to let you know how they were.

Editor's note: Thanks for the birthday messages! The eggtarts were great, and even had a little surprise jelly inside. So Taiwan!

Taiwan Treats: Coffee Jelly.

I normally opt for milk tea or a fruit smoothie when stopping at a drink shop here in Taiwan, but last week I decided to try a coffee. But since this is Taiwan, I decided to get it in a local style- filled with jelly. The chunks of dark brown jelly were slipped into the cup, coffee was poured in, and the whole thing was sealed, for me to pierce with a straw later. Trying it when I got home, I was impressed with how good it was. The coffee was strong and rich, with a sweet creaminess that reminded me almost of coffee back in Southeast Asia. The main difference here was the jelly: in addition to adding an unusual texture, it added a nice caramel flavor.

Taiwan Treats: Log Cabin Cake.

Cuteness is very important in Taiwan. It's visible in the adorable corporate mascots of major businesses, in the smiling plastic toys sold at 7/11, and in the mannerisms of little children, groomed to be adorable. And it was visible in this cake, a slice of a chocolate roll decorated to look like a tiny log cabin. I should point out that cake in Taiwan is generally not very good. This one, for example, was more spongy than rich, with a sugary cream frosting that had almost no chocolate flavor. At least it was kind of cute, right?

Taiwan Treats: Pudding Milk.

"Pudding" is an unusual term in that it seems to mean something different in every part of the world. In the US, pudding is a very specific smooth, custard dessert- most commonly associated with the Jell-O Brand and Bill Cosby (are pudding pops still on the market?). In South Africa, 'pudding' tends to be used as a general catchall for desserts; an invitation to a potluck might ask that you bring a salad, drinks, or 'the pudding.' I have no idea what it means to the English, but I imagine it involves some sort of meat and an obscure Anglican holiday.

In Taiwan, like in the US, pudding specifies a specific dessert- only here, it's a formed caramel custard rather similar to flan. It was this kind of pudding that found itself as the flavoring for a milk-box that Bordeaux picked up for me at the minimart. The drink itself was a little unusual, though not as much as I expected. It had a slightly off-putting buttery flavor, but that was outbalanced by the pleasant taste of a creamy caramel.

Taiwan Treats: Pomelo Sprite.

For those readers who, like myself, can't read Mandarin, I'll translate- this is a bottle of pomelo flavored Sprite. And for those readers who, like myself one year ago, don't know what a pomelo is, I'll explain- it's a large bowling ball sized fruit, similar to a grapefruit, but with a slightly sweeter and less bitter flesh. Native to Southeast Asia, it's also known as Chinese Grapefruit .Though it's tough work extracting the juicy pink segments from the thick, fibrous skin, the tartness of the fruit is rather enjoyable, and it's the basic ingredient for one of my favorite Thai dishes, a tangy salad called yam som o.

Considering that pomelo is a relatively Asian specific fruit, I was a little surprised to see it marketed as a flavor for an international soda. Primarily for that reason, I picked up a bottle. The product itself wasn't terribly impressive: not particularly evocative of a pomelo's flavor, and marked by the slight sugary sliminess of regular Sprite. But at the very least, it had me thinking about the intersections between consumerism and globalization. On one hand, the fact that this Sprite is pomelo flavored is a comforting sign that even in the face of international trends and dictates of taste, regional communities are able to assert their own tastes to the degree that an international corporation would develop a unique product as a response. On the other hand, is this just a clever tactic for an international corporation to expand its global economic territory?

Taiwan Treats: WOW Frog Eggs.

I'm really not one for novelty drinks or treats sold on any gross-out qualities. Maybe it was the silliness of the concept, or the fun graphics of the toad leaving a trail of bubble eggs. Or maybe it was that the drink itself- a lemony lime juice with chunks of lemon jelly (i.e.- the frog eggs)- was actually really tasty, and a nicely refreshing treat to help cool off from the crowds of the Guangzhou night market. But whatever it was, WOW Frog Eggs totally won me over.

Taiwan Treats: Papaya Milk.

I had originally planned on starting my summer of writing from Taiwan with a post on the visual overload of arriving in Taipei- the view of a jagged patchwork of rice paddies cut away by churning teal waters as our plane turned sharply over the island on its way down to the runway; the mix of exotic herbs and ancient flavors in the air, contrasting with the oddly anonymous spaces of the city; or our first night dining out in a frenetic evening market. But, in the true spirit of the everyday exoticism of this blog, I decided to focus on something small: Papaya Milk, the first drink I had upon arriving in Taipei. Sold in a grade-school style milk box, Papaya Milk has the perfect rich and creamy flavor of just-blended ripe fruit. And the splashy all-orange graphics only help to make it all the more appealing.