Oh Snap! Let's Eat!

Pork Knuckle Dinner at Chef Teng

Chef Teng is a well known restaurant chain in Taiwan.  Like any other chains though it started with one restaurant.    I learned that the background of Chef Teng is that he studied some french cuisine in Japan a while back and incorporated some French cuisine in to Taiwanese food, which I found interesting.  The most popular dishes are Beef Noodles Soup and Stewed Pork Knuckles.  Chef Teng’s has been around for years, and now there are several different locations, including at the Kaohsiung Airport!

This is where I had my last meal in Taiwan before returning to the states.   I had a BLAST even though most of the time it was about visiting family.  The food has been spectacular!

Pork Chunks Meal with Pumpkin soup at Chef Teng

Of course before going back to the states, I wanted a yummy milk tea from Taiwan!  You can actually find them in Atlanta at many Asian restaurants too, but for some reason it is just not as good as right there in Taiwan. (In case you’re wondering Bubble Tea originates from Taiwan!  If you don’t know what that is, you’re gonna need to try it soon, it’s delicious!)

Milk Tea at Chef Teng

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Duck Blood Lunch

“What do you mean ‘eat some duck blood’!?” You might ask.  Well, what I mean is exactly that.  Duck blood is eaten in some European and Asian countries.  For example, there’s the Czernina from Poland, and there’s Duck blood and vermicelli soup from China.  In Taiwan, it is usually made in to a tofu shape and is basically cubes of clotted duck blood.  (The redness of the soup is just Spicy  Mala Sauce btw… we don’t drink the blood.  That’s crazy!  :P)

Take a moment to get used to the idea, cause there’s more:  Stinky Tofu.  The best way to describe this is to remember how cheese is basically a fermented/cultured milk product.  Well, Stinky Tofu is basically a fermented/cultured tofu (which is made out of soy).  Why is it called that?  Because it may be a bit (or a lot) smelly!  Just like cheese!  Which makes me wonder… maybe in Taiwan, they should call it ‘cutting the stinky tofu’.

Anyway, back to my original topic.  My family and I stopped by a restaurant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan that is known for their Duck Blood dishes (and maybe even their Stinky Tofu, pictured below).  We ordered a few and shared it among ourselves in a normal Chinese fashion.  Here’s what we had:

Duck Blood Dish

Stinky Tofu

Now, this next one is not something seen often like Duck Blood and Stinky Tofu in Taiwan.  This is a special Stinky Tofu Spring Roll pictured below.  To me, it tasted much like a normal spring roll, but with a small hint of stinky tofu which made it perfectly yummy to eat:

Stinky Tofu Spring Rolls

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