{Glossary}
Ayi = my aunt (my mother’s sister)
Yifu = my uncle (Ayi’s husband)
From my travel journal, Saturday 24 September 2011, 8:30 AM in Taiwan (5:30 PM on the 23rd in CA)
We’re in Taipei now, and have for the past half-hour or so been waiting at a shaobing youtiao place that’s supposed to be quite the thing.
Erik, me, and Ayi in line
The line doubles back on itself and then curves around a column.
Yifu was telling us the place is so popular that even the overseas Taiwanese he meets (people at home in San Jose, probably) know all about it. It seems to be in a mall food court, and as a “small shop” was apparently qualified to not give its customers any receipts. But then the government said it gets so many customers it had to start giving receipts… and naturally, after that bit of free publicity it got even more crowded. “And,” Ayi griped, “they still don’t give receipts!”
Central dining area of the restaurant.
We’re at the table now but still no breakfast; Sarah and Devin came to replace us in line with Ayi, so we went to help Yifu hold down the table. Yifu says this place uses traditional coal-burning stoves to give the shaobing a crispier texture. I can’t help but think of the environmental impacts. There’s a big window — the line snakes by it, toward the registers — where customers can watch the food being made. It’s a small menu, too; the place serves basically nothing but soy milk, rice milk, and the youtiao and shaobing. The prices are very low as well: nothing costs more than $55 TWD (just under $2 US) and the cheapest drinks are $10.
L to R: Sarah, Devin, Ayi, Erik (just visible!), and me. Photo by Yifu.
Food’s here!
Breakfast! Photo by Yifu; click on it for more description of what this all is.
Breakfast drinks: soy and rice milks. Photo by Yifu; click on it for more description.
Danbing (egg pancake): one of my favorite foods from the trip. Photo by Yifu; click on it for enthusiastic commentary.
Photo created by my camera's Stitch Assist tool and the free program Autostitch.
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
Though I can’t imagine myself (or my husband for sure!) waiting in any line that long for anything, the food does look yummy! ‘Enjoying your travel journal, Lisa. Guess you are over your jet lag malady by now. Our last trip to Hawaii it took both of us two weeks to get back on track. It seems like the older we get the longer it takes….
Sometimes I wonder if it’s a Chinese thing, waiting in line for food (especially in the early morning). Dim sum places get really packed on weekend mornings too!
I think I’m functionally over the jet lag now, though I still feel a bit different than before we left. My stomach doesn’t get so insistent for its meals, for one thing… and I can never quite tell when I’m tired. 🙂
I’ve noticed that about food and travel too. I think it’s because our focus has shifted (for awhile anyway) and the importance of food is second to the whole travel experience. Once home our focus again changes and food once again becomes King — though perhaps not immediately. But you can watch it reassert itself. Kind of interesting.
Hee. I think I also got used to smaller meals in Asia, since there weren’t so many American-style supersized portions. Not that I didn’t eat a ton, but there were small adjustments, like one piece of toast for breakfast instead of two. I’m trying to maintain that for the present!
That Danbing looks great. Going to look out for that. 🙂
The literal translation is “egg bing” — bing means something like pancake or flatbread. You’ll probably find it on the menu described as “egg wrapped in pancake” or some such, though I’ve only ever seen it in two restaurants in the States. Maybe it’s just too humble to merit much attention? It’s one of those simple dishes where the art is really in the execution. If you like eggs and starchy things and green onions, you’ll like it. 🙂