Can we find any food that is not fried in Taiwan?

this is what confuses the hell out of me…[/quote]

Maybe it’s because it’s not loaded with Trans fats and triple threat hormones from Super giant chickens that grow at the speed of light.

this is what confuses the hell out of me…[/quote]

Maybe it’s because it’s not loaded with Trans fats and triple threat hormones from Super giant chickens that grow at the speed of light.[/quote]Umm… it pretty much is, though, isn’t it? Trans fats, for sure. And I’d be surprised if the meat wasn’t loaded with hormones. As for eggs here, I hate them. Nasty watery things with thin shells, all from battery hens. And regarding local produce sold as “organic”, the situation’s getting better, but I don’t think the standards are anywhere near as strict as in the UK (and presumably the U.S. too).

Still, in defence of local cuisine, home cooking and decent restaurant food tends to be a lot healthier than street food or stuff in cheap restaurants.

this is what confuses the hell out of me…[/quote]

Maybe it’s because it’s not loaded with Trans fats and triple threat hormones from Super giant chickens that grow at the speed of light.[/quote]
Maybe not trans fats, but too much of any kind of oil is terrible for your health. As far as growth hormones, I’m pretty sure they go overboard on those here, too. Plus, a lot of produce here seems to be GMO. And what about all the MSG?

Cancer and cardiovascular problems are the leading causes of death in Taiwan. Wonder why?

My goilfriends havent been tubby at all. All that oil and grease didnt do them no harm.

The OP has never been to a supermarket perhaps.

No one mentioned dumplings yet! There’s a couple of good ones near where I live, pork or beef and very reasonably priced. Grab a few tasty side dishes and put together a yummy mix as a dip.

 Soup dumplings (Shang Hai Tang bao) , are a bit more expensive and a bit harder to find but are out of this world delicious. I was at Ding Tai Fong in Taipei a couple of days ago and would never get tired of the dumplings they serve. Interestingly, the pork ones, which are my favorite are one of the cheaper ones on the menu.
  • dumplings (steamed, boiled)
  • steamed buns (some have good stuff inside)
  • soup (too many varieties)
  • hot pot (the comment about 90% of food in Taiwan being fried is false; 90% of food in Taiwan is hot pot)
  • hot pot (I wrote it twice because there are so many kinds)
  • shabu shabu (cheapest I found was 100 NT and it was still two meals in one)
  • lou wei (point at stuff and they boil it in broth)
  • dry noodles (as in the local, boiled variety; usually with bits of pork on top etc)
  • pho (thin beef broth with noodles, etc; there are some great, cheap Vietnamese places around especially in Jung-he)
  • dim sum (mostly steamed)
  • place de la hanging meat (roasted or bbq’ed, much healthier than frying)

Good, local food.

I could go on.

Really, there are tons of options and only a little more expensive. The fried places are so ubiquitous near schools because it’s a cheap and fast way to cook, and the average student wouldn’t know good food if it jumped down their gullet. I would even say they even prefer bland, fried food.

[quote=“myury”]- dumplings (steamed, boiled)

  • hot pot (the comment about 90% of food in Taiwan being fried is false; 90% of food in Taiwan is hot pot)
  • hot pot (I wrote it twice because there are so many kinds)
    [/quote]
    Hot pot is okay, but every kind is pretty much the same. I got sick of hot pot after my first two weeks here!

If you’re talking about what I think you are, this is the one food that I really like here. I used to eat it all the time, because you could make it as healthy as you want – tofu, broccoli, mushrooms. The sauce they put on it is loaded with oil, but you can request they only use a little.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate one of these shops since I moved to Taichung City from Fonyuan three months ago.

barfomcgee: Not sure which part of town you’re in pal, but there are a couple of these places on Li Ming rd. One is on the corner of Li ming and Gong Yi. It’s called Mother. I always request soup at these places, it’s free and turns my meal into hotpot.

Can we find any fool that isn’t fired in Taiwan?

Strange question.

marboulette

The OP has never been to a supermarket perhaps.[/quote]

I meant eating at food stands.
I cant cook for shit… :smiley:

Thats the most important part Tommy :smiley:

Thanks for all the advice… I found a local dumpling place, that only charges $4NT per dumpling that isnt fried.
Also a local vegetarian food stand.

That should suffice until I get bored with eating the same thing every day, or I learn to cook (not likely)
This thread is bookmarked for future use

There’s also plenty of cheap Vietnamese and Thai places if you look around, Japanese Ramen is generally also easy to find, let’s not forget all the cheap Sushi places here and there’s plenty of Korean places (although I’m not big on that).
Not to mention all the BBQ places or even little BBQ vans that cooks up whatever you pick. Sure they do deep fried stuff as well, but it’s your call, although I love some good tiemboulah (not sure how to spell that).
Then there’s all the seafood places here where you can get some really nice boiled/steamed prawns, fish and all sorts of seafood, the three cup squid here is great, but I guess that’s kind of fried in a cast iron pot.
Most night markets also have something called jūn-piá which is a wrap with veggies and roast pork inside which can be quite tasty.
Ba-wan isn’t fried per say, but as it’s boiled in oil, I guess it’s not for you.
You might also be able to find a local Shawarma place, it’s a local take on a Kebab which can be pretty tasty.
If you’re not too picky, then I guess you can try the blood and rice on a stick, they’re steamed and should be reasonably good for you.
Some places also sell these oven cooked buns with beef inside them which are a great snack.
There really is a lot of good food here that isn’t greasy, but sure, it might not be Thai food, but I think on the big whole, the food here isn’t nearly as bad as the crap that the average brit or american eats… :hungry: