A Typical Breakfast in Taiwan
The one thing you’ll continuously hear if you visit Taiwan is how good the food is. This is not a lie, and not even some sort of disillusion on the part of a small group of people who just like to eat stinky tofu all day. It’s actually true.
You have your beef noodle soups (牛肉面 / 牛肉麵 [niú ròu miàn]), your curries (咖哩 [gā lí]), your shaved ice (刨冰 [bào bīng], also called 剉冰 [tsua bing] in Taiwanese), and my favorite, pork chops with rice (猪排饭 / 豬排飯 [zhū pái fàn]).
However, one of the greatest things you can get here is a nice filling breakfast from any number of street vendors. It’s usually inexpensive (about $1.50USD), and although sometimes a bit greasy, it tastes great!
Last week, I had the chance to go to a famous breakfast location in Taipei that, although not a street vendor stall, definitely had a certain charm of its own.
This was namely the lineup that we had to wait in to even get into the building. We arrived at just after 8am and inched along for at least an hour, and you can see for yourself the people fading into the distance and around the corner in the picture below.
You may want to get some snacks for the line.
The name of this place is 阜杭豆漿 [fù háng dòu jiāng] and it’s definitely worth the wait. See the picture below for a look at what we ordered for three people (total cost was about $10 US and we were more than stuffed by the end).
![Going counter-clockwise, we had: 冰豆漿 / 冰豆漿 [bīng dòu jiāng] – cold soy milk 鹹豆漿 /咸豆浆 [xián dòu jiāng] – salty tofu soup 蛋饼 / 蛋餅 [dàn bǐng] – fried “pancake” with egg 厚烧饼 / 厚燒餅 [hòu shāo bǐng] – egg sandwich with crispy bun](http://blog.chinesepod.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10653924_10154593403245165_392244512_n.jpg)
All this for around $10!
冰豆漿 / 冰豆漿 [bīng dòu jiāng] – cold soy milk
咸豆浆 / 鹹豆漿 [xián dòu jiāng] – salty tofu soup
蛋饼 / 蛋餅 [dàn bǐng] – fried “pancake” with egg
厚烧饼 / 厚燒餅 [hòu shāo bǐng] – egg sandwich with crispy bun
I apologize in advance if some of these translated names sound vague or strange; there’s really no good English names for these foods, so I suggest you just come to Taiwan to try them for yourself! At least you know how to say them in Chinese now!
If you ever visit Taipei, or are nearby, here is the address for your reference.
台北市中正區忠孝東路一段108號2F
2F, #108, Section 1, Zhongxiao East Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
Happy eating!
-Aaron
Supplementary:
Watch as Fiona introduces us to the delights of Breakfast in Asian, including 馒头，蛋饼，and 豆浆
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Gwilym James
October 4, 2014 @ 11:16 am
@aaron, I love dan bing’s. I try and stick to the 玉米蛋餅 Yùmǐ dàn bǐng since they are healthier and less greasy. I like the sugary 紅茶 Hóngchá they give you too.
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:07 pm
I Love danbing,我喜欢吃蛋饼,Not我爱蛋饼,Do you know?
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:09 pm
红茶Or brown tea,Do you know? Can we make friends?
Gergely Imreh
October 5, 2014 @ 9:34 am
Shao bing you tiao jia dan! Or mantou ja dan. But most of the time I just just end up having houtui tusi… And don’t forget the hong cha (I prefer hot)! Liang mian is pretty healthy too..
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:05 pm
烧饼,油条,煎蛋,馒头,shaobing youtiao jiandan mantoSkype(yz3319)I teach you Chinese
Kerisa Xuexichinese Reesa
October 6, 2014 @ 1:07 am
I’ve never been to China or Taiwan to try any of the amazing food, but the 蛋饼 / 蛋餅 [dàn bǐng] – fried “pancake” with egg looks amazing. Nice article!
Shannon Kennedy
October 17, 2014 @ 12:56 am
Both the egg sandwich and friend pancake look delicious!
扬子
December 30, 2014 @ 2:30 pm
我好期待和你视频/
Self-Service Buffets: How to get a cheap healthy meal in Asia | The ChinesePod Blog
October 20, 2014 @ 8:18 am
[…] for its wide selection of food options. And “wide” doesn’t even cover it. As I outlined in a previous post, the breakfast options alone are quite […]
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 1:45 pm
Shannon Kennedy 做我的朋友,We are friends,My Skype Number(yz3319).电话是13238903319
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:03 pm
喜欢你,Blue eyes
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:04 pm
中国人不用拼音也能打汉字,比如5笔,
扬子
December 29, 2014 @ 2:11 pm
Shannon Kennedy,Can we make friends?记得加我Skype(yz3319)
扬子
December 30, 2014 @ 2:29 pm
你学这些能看懂中文吗?