Taipei Eating: Street food

Probably the first kind of food you will encounter is street food. Like any south-east Asian country there is a huge variety, vegetables, meat, seafood, fish and sweets of every kind can be bought on the roads and alleys of Taipei. One of the best things about street food is you get what you see, and you don't need any Chinese to order it. Just point and pay! Here are a few things to look out for.

A firm although slightly pricy (100NT/$3+) favourite is the grilled squid(烤魷魚) served with a variety of different seasonings. You can also find deep fried squid, but its generally flavoured with MSG, ruining the taste somewhat.

A healthier treat on the street is chopped guava(芭樂) seasoned with plum and sugar. You'll see a small wagon with green pear like fruits. Inside guavas are a delicious pink, crunchy but not too crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly sour, and absolutely delicious.

The ubiquitous sausage(香腸) (25NT/80c+) are also worth a try, but remember to have them with a clove of raw garlic for the truly Taiwanese experience.

A guaranteed foreigner's favourite is the danbing(蛋餅) (25NT/80c+). An omelette pancake that is filling and cheap for a filling snack on the go. I have never met anyone who doesn’t like these.

Places to easily find street food
Although street food is everywhere, you might have not have time to experience the full range of specialiaties on offer. The best place to experience a lot of different kinds street food is at Longshan night market. They have everything imaginable, the price is reasonable and most importantly, the locals love it too!

Shilin nightmarket is another good place to go for food, but it is definitely very touristy and a little more pricy. They have an excellent selection of weird and exotic fruits like star-fruit and dragon fruit: the bastard child of a strawberry and blackberry. Weirdly delicious, and a little expensive (100NT/$3+ for a portion)!

Prawn (shrimp) Fishing

I had heard about prawn fishing before I came to Taipei, and was keen to try it out. Although not located in the centre, there are at least two areas where it is possible. If you're not a vegetarian, then this is the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Taipei.
Fishing for prawns is relaxing, satisfying, exciting, and totally Taiwanese.

Getting there
The easiest way to get to the prawn fishing place is to catch the MRT to Shilin station, take exit one and walk straight down to the main road and catch bus 255 at the bus stops on the right to Waishuangxi Bridge (外雙溪橋). The prawn-fishing place is right next to this stop (it's a long building with a big entrance).
you can also catch the 小18, 小19，市民小巴 from Jiantian MRT station as well as the 棕13 from Dazhi MRT station.

Introduction
When you arrive, don't be too surprised but they don't speak English and they aren’t very helpful, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what you do. You pay 500NT ($18) and get a fishing rod, knife, hook and bait (some liver and dried-shrimps). This is for 2 hours of fun! You pay at the end, so if you go over time, they'll charge you then. Also, if you lose the hook or finish your bait, just ask for me for free.

Step 1: Getting started
Choose a pool and get some chairs and have a seat. You will notice that other people have nets where they put the prawns they have caught. Where we went, they were hanging on the wall, so get a net and tie it to the hooks near the pool and drop it in.

Step 2: Baiting
Although different people say different things, it was clear that the prawns prefer the liver, and me and my friends found out that a combination of dried-shrimp and liver is the best.
If you have sausage fingers this can be fiddly: cut the liver pretty small (no bigger than the size of the largest dried-shrimp) and hook it firmly on to the hook. Then gently put the line and hook into the water.

Step 3: Catching
When you feel a bite, don’t do anything, you should feel a few tugs, and then just gently pull the line with shrimp out of the water. If you pull too hard, or react too quickly, the shrimp might get away. When you have him, don’t be scared of his weird claw-arms (it really doesn’t hurt if he pinches), and unhook his mouth. Then put him in the net that you got earlier, to await his doom.

Step 4: Waiting
The amount of prawns you catch is not so dependent on your skill as a shrimper, but rather on how many of them there are in the pool. You will notice that the owner will periodically restock the pool’s supply by tipping a large crate of live prawns into the water. So sit back, relax and enjoy a beer or two (you can get them from the fridge, and they’ll charge you later) while you gradually catch your next meal.

Step 5: Preparation
When you’re done, hand in your gear in exchange for some skewers and wasabi-soy sauce. You’ll be directed to the grills and a huge pile of salt. This next bit is definitely the hardest part, and its better just get it over with.
Part one is to skewer the (still struggling) catch of the day. You do this by holding it firmly in your left hand by the back, and shoving (for lack of a better word) the skewer under the tail through its abdomen (because I have a better word) and into its head. If you get the head, you will most likely kill it quickly, and it will stop struggling.
Part two is to salt them up. Put them on the salt mountain, turn them around a few times so they’re nicely salted and while you’re doing the others, just leave them in the salt.
Part three is to fire up them grills (you might need assistance) once they’re salted and cook them. The warm light of the fire will calm your nerves and as they turn a delicious red, you will forget what you just did to your dinner.
They should take about 5 minutes to cook, turning them around occasionally.

Step 6: Eating
Head over to the tables with your freshly caught supper, dip them in the sauce and enjoy! The place I went to didn’t offer any other dishes or meals, except instant noodles, so it might be worth bringing your own accompaniments.

Chiang Kai Shek Shilin residence (士林官邸)

Getting there
Take the red MRT line to Shilin Station and leave out of Exit 2, turn left down the bendy Lane 505 of Zhongshan North Road, and follow it straight until you get to the big Zhongshan North road, cross and continue along Fulin road. You'll see the residence grounds on your right, walk a little further to find the entrance.

Chiang Kai Shek Shilin residence
Originally the heavily militarised residence was actually a flower/botanical centre and there are many installations and nature inspired sculptures, flower gardens and open spaces to walk around and explore.

Wandering through the gardens of Taiwan’s ex-dictator admiring the flowers, make you proud to be from a democratic country. But what’s makes this place really fun to visit, are the abandoned, semi-collapsed buildings which were inhabited (presumably )by CKS's jump-suit clad henchmen. In order to explore them, leave the main paths and head to the more overgrown areas. You will see buildings and ruins poking out of the overgrown vegetation.

On a more serious note, it is interesting to see how the man lived. His military-green painted mansion and his chapel both give a much more insightful view of the man who ruled Taiwan than his propagandistic memorial in the centre of town.