Spicy Hot Pot Flavored Instant Noodles 滿漢大餐

Allow me to introduce one of the possible best friends for college students, who doesn't know how to cook, who prefer to eat at home, and who wish to save a lot of money,
Here it is, spicy hot pot flavored instant beef noodles,
滿漢大餐麻辣鍋牛肉麵-

See the price mark on the right?
It's only $48NT, that's less than $1.5 U.S.!!!

I was gonna bring this baby back to America,
By the way, I'm back to California from Taiwan already, wee bit homesick...that means Taiwan.

So yeah....I got way too many shoes...for work of course! Yes, that's my legit explanation for exploding luggage.
As a result....there's no way I could fit in any food inside my luggage,
I mean two luggages...
Very sad..I was gonna get green bean paste mooncakes from 犁記...
Deep sorrow....
Shoes or food...shoes or food......what a tough decision,
At least I found an ultimate solution for the instant noodles, let's eat it now!

First open the cover till half way through,
Wait, we all had instant noodles before yeah? Should I introduce the "cooking process" step by step?
Mmm...this product is kind of different from the ones in the States...
So here it goes~

You will first find packs of sauces, spices, and meat chunks inside-

Here is the evil one, since it's spicy hot pot flavored noodles, you get this chili powder pack-

On the package, it marks 33 degrees (little bit spicy), 66 degrees (medium spicy), and 99 degrees (tastes like chewing chilies),
I'm definitely going for the whole pack!

Otherwise what's the point of getting spicy hot pot flavored noodles!

So you open all the tiny packs for sauces and spices and pour on the dried noodles, but do save the one with meat unopened,
Pour in the hot water till 80% full, close the lid and place the meat pack on top,
Wait for 3 minutes-

Open the lid and the meat pack, pour the meat (including the juice) back to the soup,
Voila-

Instant noodles with real beef chunks!!!

You get about 4 to 5 pieces of beef inside the package, not a bad deal for $1.5 yep?

Cindy's special rating for instant meals: 7

*Can't compare this with real fresh food.

永樂市場的(魚土)魠魚羹 - Fried Kingfish Soup

Small street vendors are one of the places you can find truly local, delicious Taiwanese food,
And 永樂市場 (Yun Le Market) is the area for authentic fried kingfish soup.

The small stand is located near the market I mentioned earlier and 迪化街 (Dee Hwa Street),
The market is famous for selling various fabrics since at least 80? years ago,
You get the point, it's a very old place.
As for Dee Hwa Street, it's famous for a wide assortment of snacks, Chinese medicine, and stuff people use during Chinese New Year.

Here is the picture of the owner and the store front-


Fried kingfish soup-


Basically the fish was prepared and pre-fried on the side,
After the customer placed the order, the vendor will chop up few pieces of the fish and then add into the gooey soup.

Fish meat close up-


You can add more black vinegar and chili paste per your preference,
There are no bones inside the fish, the vendor did a good job taking out all the nasty stuff.

Apparently they marinated the fish prior frying it, or they added some essence for the coating,
Maybe both,
But the fish is very fresh and the meat is semi-bouncy, not the flaky kind.
Give it a try sometimes, pretty good!
Around $1.75 U.S. per order.

Cindy's Rating: 7

永樂台南(魚土)魠魚羹
Next to 永樂市場 (Yun Le Market) and 迪化街 (Dee Hua Street)
If you're around the area, just ask the residents for the exact location.

Summer 2009 Taiwan Travel Note Part 1

Let’s not talk about food today, instead,
I’ll show you where I have been wondering around in Taiwan.

National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall 中正紀念堂–


This place was built in the memory of Taiwan’s President Chiang Kai-Shek,
Now it serves as a place for art/cultural performances and a city park for everybody.

Pigeons around the area-


Pound area,
Sleepy black crowned night heron-


Turtles-


Busy ants-


I don’t understand why they wanna build a bridge over that little hole,
I mean, they can just walk around it…it’s not that hard..

Himalayan tree pie?? Not too sure what kind of bird it is-


Move on to Neidong National Forest Recreation Area 內洞國家森林遊樂區,
You can find detailed information via the link,
Right now, I’ll just show you some of the pictures I took during the visit-


This is my dad!-


Was gonna put family picture up here, but I looked awful and oily haha.

More tiny friends over here, my mom got scared while I was taking those pictures-




There will be more food and scenic pictures later on!