I got one of those bread things with the stuff in it from those bakery-esque places (Yes. This is the best way I can describe this thing).
On top there is an orangey stringy… stuff. Its dry. Kind of like what I’d imagine dried sugar cane to resemble. Very thready… uh… like… gah I don’t know. Its kind of salty?
Help 
That’s dried, sweet, shredded pork. Enjoy! 
Probably what jimi says – “pork floss”, although they can also make similar stuff from fish (I saw a jar of the stuff made from salmon a couple days ago).
While we’re on it, have, er, “fun” exploring the, er, “uniqueness” of Taiwan’s bakery-esque places! 
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Probably what jimi says – “pork floss”, although they can also make similar stuff from fish (I saw a jar of the stuff made from salmon a couple days ago).
While we’re on it, have, er, “fun” exploring the, er, “uniqueness” of Taiwan’s bakery-esque places! [/quote]
Actually, I’ve been to about 5 or 6 and it’s hit or miss. I usually order two things and one is awful while the other is decent.
This thing with the pork floss… I would have prefered bacon. 
But the second thing I got was a pastry made of about an inch thick of flaky, airy fila dough, covered with sliced roasted almonds and confectionary sugar. I think they flavoured the fila with vanilla extract. YUM!!!
Me was happy enough with that to make up for this failed “pork. floss.”
It helps if you can read the label or ask to see what nasty stuff they may have stuffed the bread with. Red bean paste, fake custard etc. are common. Awful stuff!
After 12 years here, I was so traumatized that I was driven to start baking bread myself.
Secret topping! :roflmao:
LOL! Lilli, keep them coming.
Oh, I remember those dissapointments very well. I’d better spare you the “wait, this is not chocolate” surprise: black soft muffins are probably sweet beans, not cocoa based. Yes, they look the same.
Check out the French bakery behind Shida’s MTC, much safer and yummier.
Ah yes! Inadvertently biting into your first pork floss bun is like a rite of passage here.
Reminds me of the time I saw some tasty-looking black beans at a buffet. Thinking I’d be getting a mouthful of warm, savory, salted-just-right beans with a hint of smoky ham flavor, I found them to be cold and sweet. Ugh!
Lesson: they do things strange here. Like putting ten eggs in a carton instead of 12, and selling bread slices of double thickness (which after 11 years in country, I still haven’t figured out what they’re supposed to be used for).
[quote=“Chris”]…
Lesson: they do things strange here. Like putting ten eggs in a carton instead of 12, and selling bread slices of double thickness (which after 11 years in country, I still haven’t figured out what they’re supposed to be used for).[/quote]
The bread slicer needs only half the knives … cheaper!
I’ve always wondered why bread is not really baked done … just squeeze it, you get a sticky ball of dough … and it smells sweet, is laden with preservatives, colorants, dough ‘improvers’ …
Because it’s not bread, it’s “bread” (or “toast”).
My theory is that Taiwanese (and Chinese - it’s the same over there) culture first experienced baked goods in the form of cakes and things that were meant to be sweet, and the mentality that baked = sweet/dessert just completely took hold. Sadly, the majority of them don’t know what they’re missing.
Bill Cosby wouldn’t mind … even a cookie is breakfast, it has all the food pyramid ingredients … carbs, protein, fat … (eggs, sugar, milk, shortening) … some have even ‘fruit’ … as in jelly. 
In the US they actually sell things called “breakfast cookies” now 
.
ahead of his time…
In the US they actually sell things called “breakfast cookies” now .
ahead of his time…[/quote]
Never saw one.
Because, of course, they’re not selling bread - they’re selling toast. And everyone knows that toast = bread that’s twice as thick as a normal slice, and has nothing to do with any application of heat. Toast is best served soft and squishy with goop on top. All you silly people don’t know how to speak Englishee properly, or eat western food in the right way. Barbarians!
No, as I understand it, the Taiwanese notion of ‘toast’ (tu3si1) is not double-thickness sliced untoasted sandwich bread. The double thickness one is called hou4pian4 tu3si1 (lit. “thick piece toast”). The single thickness one is just tu3si1, ‘toast’ (despite being untoasted).
In the US they actually sell things called “breakfast cookies” now .
ahead of his time…[/quote]
Never saw one.[/quote]
ok, a little off topic, but:
If you’re lucky it’s dried, fermented goat’s foreskin. If you’re unlucky …
