Asia's ten greatest street food cities

So here's what I spent most of November and December working on. 9,000 words about 100 street foods in Penang, Taipei, Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Singapore, Seoul, Xi'an, Manila and Phnom Penh.
Read more: Asia's 10 greatest street food cities | CNNGo.com

Taipei street food

I know that I didn't give Taipei nearly the airtime it deserved here--I've been a little burnt out from all of this traveling and eating lately and haven't updated the site nearly as much as I should have. Within about an hour of arriving, Taipei became one of my all-time favorite food cities. I didn't eat a single meal indoors, it was street food street food street food, rain or shine.



The place in the first picture is a dumpling stand in Shida night market. These are the dumplings they sell, sheng jian bao. When I lined up to get my dumplings I had to take a number and I was 58 away. Not 58 people, but 58 groups. The sheng jian bao, small pork dumplings sprinkled with sesame seeds, were so juicy and delicious that I barely complained about the fact that I was standing the rain, eating them with grease running down my face.


Chou dofu--deep-fried "stinky" fermented tofu. Apparently deep-frying them takes away some of the stinkiness.


Black sago (tapioca) icey dessert with fresh tofu (I loved this)


Gua bao, Taiwan-style braised pork served in a steamed bun with pickled greens. It's things like this that really make me pity these anti-cilantro folks.


Niurou miantang (beef noodles) from Laopai Niurou Lamian Da Wang as recommended by EatingAsia. I don't think this picture truly conveys the enormity of this bowl--it was difficult to finish, even for my big fat face. Served with pickled mustard greens.


Hujiao bing, "black pepper cake." Juicy pork marinated in soy and sugar with a very generous helping of scallions inside an unleavened bun. Heaven.

Food for the gods in Taiwan

I was in Taiwan for Tomb-Sweeping Day, a weekend that has the locals heading to the outdoors and sprucing up the graves of their relatives. It's also a popular time for heading to the temples, it seems.

I've seen a lot of temples on this trip, and I've seen a lot of offerings at said temples. Bags of rice in Malaysia, bottles of sake in Japan, every country seems to do it a bit differently. But at Longshan Temple in Taipei they don't bother with token offerings--they go all out with all types of random assortments of food.

"On a large table near the altar, the faithful will place offerings to the deity.  Different methods are used to propitiate different gods.  While sandalwood incense is more usual, lit cigarettes are commonly left on the altar of the “Dog Temple” (十八王公), on Taiwan’s North Coast.  Matsu and Guan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy) accept only vegetarian food offerings, while whole pigs are splayed before the Hakka ancestors at Yi Min Temple in Hsinchu.  Some gods like a little wine, and tea may be offered to almost any deity." Taiwan Touch Your Heart Tourism

Piles of processed foods like ChocoPies, Saltines, and other delicious treats. There was also more than a few bottles of soybean oil.

But there were also piles of homemade food as well. Horrified by all of that lovely food going to waste, I was pleased to see a very elderly woman sneaking around and swiping steamed buns and putting them in her bag. She did it in a very respectful manner,  though, giving a little bow to whatever deity she was taking it from. I also saw some monks who appeared to be packing up food, possibly to distribute to the needy (I hoped).

As I was leaving the temple I saw a long line of people, and garbage bags of empty bowls and spoons. It looked promising. I have learned that generally when you see a long line in Asia the best bet is to get in it, because there's usually some pretty delicious street food at the end of it.

As it turns out, the line was for tangyuan, glutinous rice balls in a thick, ginger-flavored broth. And best surprise ever, it was free! I was not able to ascertain why it was free, nor who was distributing it, but apparently this tasty little snack is served during special events such as the Lantern Festival and Winter Solstice.