Food homesickness

Cuisine Food & Drink
1

One thing that pisses me off is that, other than soybeans, the price of a tin of beans is ridiculously expensive. I saw some lima beans and thought I’d make some soup, then I checked the price - a buck and a half for a few measly ounces. Two bucks for a tin of refried beans?! No wonder it costs me nearly ten dollars to get a decent meal at the Mexican restaurant. What’s so painful is that, if you want to eat like a local and subsist on tofu on chicken with rice every night, everything’s so cheap. You can get a lunchbox with a side of meat + 3 veggies + rice + tea for a buck and a half. But if you want a taste of home, it’s all going to be imported and priced through the roof. A non-exhaustive list of food cravings that cannot be satisfied in Taiwan.

a) Pop Tarts

b) Beef Jerky. They have dried beef/pork strips but it ain’t the same. I could do with a few Slim Jims, too.

c) Real beef, period. That dry, underfed Australian Beef raised on desert grass doesn’t cut it.

d) Real milk. I’ve started drinking powdered milk because it tastes just as good and is a lot cheaper than the imported junk here, which because of the transport overseas is just powdered milk anyway.

e) Twinkies

f) Greek food. I could really go for a lamb pita followed by a baklava right now.

g) Donuts. Which is a blessing, actually, or I’d wind up a few dozen pounds overweight. When I was in the Philippines, they had a Dunkin’ Donuts on every street corner. The people were noticably fatter.

h) Real bread. Not the sickeningly sweet, starchy stuff here.

i) Catfish with cornbread & hushpuppies & coleslaw. I shouldn’t be complaining, though, the fish here is abundant and much, much cheaper than in North America.

j) Mountain Dew

k) Little Debbie Snacks

l) Mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of rolls

m) A real variety of cheeses and beers beyond the five or six brands usually available in the shops

n) A pancake breakfast with real (that is, cooked) bacon and scrambled eggs. Which brings me to -

o) - pork that is properly cooked. Not undercooked with bits of white fat still inside. Haven’t they ever heard of trichynosis?

p) Good, cheap Tex-Mex, without having to pay an arm and a leg for a plate of nachos.

2

[quote=“Rubicon Bojador”]
o) - pork that is properly cooked. Not undercooked with bits of white fat still inside. Haven’t they ever heard of trichynosis?[/quote]
I think the explanation for the rare pork is that the pigs in China and Taiwan are healthier than the pigs in North America, and don’t have trichynosis. Therefore we don’t have to worry.
Or it could be another example of medical ignorance on the part of the citizens of greater China.
I miss my Mom’s homemade pizzas, and really good hamburgers and steaks.

3

I really, really doubt that the pigs are healthier in China. In order for that to happen, they’d have to feed the pigs a healthy diet and keep them in healthier conditions than the mud, feces, and filth of a pigsty. And from what I’ve seen of Taiwan’s pig farmers, they feed them slop and the pigs live in shit, same as everywhere else. So I chalk undercooking pork to ignorance.

4

[quote=“bababa”]
I think the explanation for the rare pork is that the pigs in China and Taiwan are healthier than the pigs in North America, and don’t have trichynosis. Therefore we don’t have to worry. [/quote]

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


Right!

[quote]In the US: From 1970-1990, a total of 1820 cases were reported. Most were associated with pork; however, at least one third of the cases involved wild animals. Currently, fewer than 100 cases are reported per year because commercially produced pork comes from grain-fed pigs. Infections are frequently associated with ethnic groups, such as immigrants from Central Europe and Southeast Asia, who may prefer raw or undercooked meat. Infections may also occur during foreign travel, especially to Mexico and Asia. The percentage of infected domestic swine in the United States is 0.001%; however, one autopsy study documented a 4% incidence of old infection.

Internationally: In Europe, where pork inspection is mandatory, most cases are associated with horse or wild boar meat. In Latin America and Asia, domestic pork is the chief source of infection. The rate of Trichinella infection in swine in China is as high as 20%.[/quote]

emedicine.com/med/topic2306.htm

5

Thank you for this valuable information, Comrade! Why is it then that no one I know in China, Korea, or Taiwan seems to have heard of this problem, and are so surprised when I and other foreigners insist on well-done pork?

6

Sheer ignorance?

7

Sheer ignorance?[/quote]

Or pig ignorance?

8

MMmmmm…breakfast !

9

Sheer ignorance?[/quote]

Mah mates, the locals are immune, have inbuilt genes to deal with those filthy swines and can out eat cannibals.

10

[quote=“Rubicon Bojador”]

a) Pop Tarts

b) Beef Jerky. They have dried beef/pork strips but it ain’t the same. I could do with a few Slim Jims, too.[/quote] I hear ya!!!

[quote]
c) Real beef, period. That dry, underfed Australian Beef raised on desert grass doesn’t cut it.[/quote]
See my post on "cooking with Aussie Beef, and again I thought I was the only one…:unamused:

[quote]
f) Greek food. I could really go for a lamb pita followed by a baklava right now.
[/quote] was a place next to AlleyCats but shut down…

[quote]
g) Donuts. Which is a blessing, actually, or I’d wind up a few dozen pounds overweight. When I was in the Philippines, they had a Dunkin’ Donuts on every street corner. The people were noticably fatter.
[/quote] You could go stand in line for God only knows how long in Tianmu at the Mr.Donuts…

[quote]
h) Real bread. Not the sickeningly sweet, starchy stuff here.[/quote] makes good french toast but otherwise don’t let me get started.…:unamused:

[quote]
i) Catfish with cornbread & hushpuppies & coleslaw. I shouldn’t be complaining, though, the fish here is abundant and much, much cheaper than in North America.
[/quote] Are you a Southern? Otherwise, you can make all this yourself, yes it’s gonna cost you a pretty NT for the stuff at Jason’s, but if it gives you a moment of peace from your ranting, then do it!!! :laughing:

[quote]
l) Mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of rolls
[/quote] can do it at home=See Martha Steward.com

[quote]
n) A pancake breakfast with real (that is, cooked) bacon and scrambled eggs. Which brings me to -[/quote]
Jason’s sells Biskquick, bacon forget it, you aint gonna get that nice crisp salty kind,eggs abundant here

I fell ya on your cravings, but you gotta roll up those sleeves and DYI it. Best of luck on doin it

11

[quote=“bababa”][quote=“Rubicon Bojador”]
o) - pork that is properly cooked. Not undercooked with bits of white fat still inside. Haven’t they ever heard of trichynosis?[/quote]
I think the explanation for the rare pork is that the pigs in China and Taiwan are healthier than the pigs in North America, and don’t have trichynosis. Therefore we don’t have to worry. [/quote]

Or 5000 years of eating pork this way and trichynosis hasn’t hurt anyone heh.

Or just think of pork as a condiment, like salt, pepper, garlic etc. :wink:

12

[quote]i) Catfish with cornbread & hushpuppies & coleslaw. I shouldn’t be complaining, though, the fish here is abundant and much, much cheaper than in North America.
[/quote]

You’re killing me… I get the food homesickness all the time, and I agree on occassion I will cook the things I like from back home, but damn, so expensive!!

My mom is sending me a care package and in it plenty of beef jerky.

You can get Mountain Dew along with Dr. Pepper at a small store in one of the alleys off Shida along with other western items such as cornmeal and pinto beans, but it is all expensive. I think the Mountain Dew and Dr. Peppers are about 35 NT so they are not that bad.

Good luck

13

[quote=“Rubicon Bojador”]A non-exhaustive list of food cravings that cannot be satisfied in Taiwan.

a) Pop Tarts

b) Beef Jerky. They have dried beef/pork strips but it ain’t the same. I could do with a few Slim Jims, too.

d) Real milk. I’ve started drinking powdered milk because it tastes just as good and is a lot cheaper than the imported junk here, which because of the transport overseas is just powdered milk anyway.

m) A real variety of cheeses and beers beyond the five or six brands usually available in the shops
[/quote]

Pop Tarts - I used to get these at Florida Bakery on Ren Ai.

Beef Jerky. Come on, man. Taiwan has the best beef jerky in the world. It’s the real thing!

Real milk - the closest milk to good old American 2% milk is Weichuan’s Love Milk.

Cheeses? Tons of exotic cheeses available in Breeze and Jasons, including my favorite sanck cheese - Cambozola. Drawback: it’s damn expensive!

14

I craved muesli like something wicked. Also McVities Digestives in the big size.

15

Can get pop tarts at Jasons. Eating some now.

16

You know what I crave? Tienmu Grocery. They had almost everything on the OP’s list. Sure western treats are much, much easier to get at local supermarkets than they were 4 years ago, but they are still years off of having the things that Tienmu had. After a while, you get used to not having the things you love from home, but still anyone who has mentioned this topic in my presence knows the one thing I truly miss from back home:

Barq’s root beer.

Which they have, at least as a fountain drink, in the Philippines. :slight_smile:

I also miss twinkies, hostess cupcakes, Hawaiian punch (Tienmu Grocery had just started carrying it last year), Golden Grahams cereal (and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch, with or without Crunchberries), Philly vegetable cream cheese (especially on cucumber and Italian dressing sandwiches) and strawberry cream cheese which is available at Florida Bakery for an arm and a leg, chicken patty sandwiches, coney sauce, and turkey hotdogs. I can’t seem to locate these things at either Jason’s or Costco. Let me know when they start carrying Barq’s. I am seriously thinking of petitioning it.

17

-24 ounce Porterhouse, bag of Kingsford, apple wood chips and my Weber (gas is for cars).
-Diet Pepsi (or even real diet Coke, coke light is plain nasty)
-Soft taco’s from Taco Time
-Hershey bars w/almonds (bought a Kaiser bar by mistake once, I was ready to kill someone, just didn’t know who…)
-Breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
-A blistering platter of chile rellenos, tamales and enchiladas from my fave-o mom an pop Mexican eatery in southern Idaho. (Man, those folks are the tops, they even put up with my kids ordering hamburgers although the 9 year old is developing a fondness for chips and salsa. That’s how it starts you know, salsa. I’m going to see if she’ll top her scrambled eggs with salsa instead of ketchup)
-20lb corn fed beef brisket, slow cooked and smoked on the Weber (see above) for 8 hours or more. (The dance starts the night before with a glass of tequila while I mix up my dry rub. After the rub is mixed, I’ll pull out my fillet knife, sharpen and steel it, then pare off every bit of membrane . That usually kills another glass of tequila. I rub down the brisket, seal it up, reserve a bit of rub for my mop, and pop the slab in the fridge. The next morning, I get up and fire up the grill. While the coals are cooking down, I take a few bottles of dark beer, an apple, 1/2 onion and the rest of my rub and throw that in a pot. Cook til the onions are soft, then we’re ready to grill. Handful of wood chips , slab on the grill, mop liberally, close lid, adjust dampers so a bit of smoke puffs out the top, then go find something lazy to do. The girls and I may bust out the wedges, chipping net and the shag bag and practice our short game. Or I’ll bring out the little TV and catch the game(s) of the week. Or I’ll mow the lawn. I just have to be around because every 1/2 hour, I gotta turn the slab, add chips and mop. About 6 hours later, we start prepping the potato salad, baked beans, asparagus, ciabatta rolls, pickled peppers, ice down whatever beer that hasn’t already been consumed. At the 7 hour mark, I check for doneness. It’s done when I can’t stand it no more, and not a minute sooner. The only downside is that I can’t make a bbq sauce to save my life. Well, I can’t make a sauce that’s any better than the 2 dozen varieties my local grocery store stocks)

I guess it’s not so much the food I miss, but what it represents. It’s just home and it’s how my immediate and extended family and our friends socialize. It’s how our kids learn to behave in polite (and not so polite) society. It’s where I forget about the grind of corporate life, cut loose with highly embellished stories of my mis-spent youth, flirt with my wife in front of her friends and recharge the batteries just enough to get us to the next blowout.

Well, I’m not sure if I’m homesick now or pleasantly surprised at how this thread reminded me of home. Go figure, I thought I was just going to toss out a few treats I could really go for right now and it turns out to be a therapy session…

Later,
Rob

NP - Life Without You, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Soul to Soul

18

Berries, berries, berries! Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries.

19

They used to have real Diet Coke here. Whatever happened to it, and why did they replace it with Coke Light (which doeasn’t even exist in the US)?

Now I KNOW I’ve eaten Hershey bars with almonds here. Yes, Hershey, not Kaiser. I used to get them in the local convenience stores back when I ate Hershey chocolate. Do they not have them now? I’ll have to take a look and report back…

20

Ya wanta know what I could go for right about now? Big League Chew