Food Journey #11 -- Pastries & Desserts in Taipei

Pastries & Desserts give you a sense of guilt in Taipei, why, because they are so damn attractive & the pungent smell is truly unstoppable. Just look at all the photos below, pastries that are rich in colour, sugar and there are also some unusual pastries that I came across on this trip. Must try in Taipei: Mochi (糯米磁) -- any kind of flavour, chocolate, vanilla, green tea, milk team, strawberry, you name it, they have it in Taipei. Definitely much better than the Mochi shops in Hong Kong and it is extremely soft and pairs well with Bubble Milk Tea Pancake Wrapped with Mochi & GreenTea -- I know I have talked about this in my first posting on Taipei, but it was so good that I want to write about it again. Freshly made with pungent green tea stuffing paired with mochi. Very delicious and perfect snack during a hot day in Taipei. Sweet Pototo & Taro Flour Chunks, Taiwanese Pearl (same pearl as bubble tea) with Tofu Flower (豆腐花) with Sugar Syrup on Ice -- The day I had this was 35 degrees in Taipei and it was very refreshing indeed. The Flour Chunks tasted like eating marshmallows minus the sugar as it was simply flour. Every spoonful was full of ice, tofu flower, Taiwanese Pearl & Flour Chunks and the next second, you realise that you have consumed so much carbs that it is ridiculous. If you are weight conscious, this dessert has the word calories all over it but for me, this is purely a heart and comforting dessert for sure. Mango Flavoured Shaved Ice with Fresh Mango & Taiwanese Pearl -- Taiwan is all about shaved ice with fruits and the shop which I recommend you to visit is ICE MONSTER located in Da-An District. Tourist hotspot and a big queue when I arrived at 1400pm because they have over 50 types of fruit flavoured shaved ice which is paired with a scoop of ice-cream. Perfect dessert for Summer and the fruit itself is also extremely fresh & sweet. Have you not noticed that every drink & dessert somehow contains Taiwanese Pearl? Bakery in Market Place by Jasons -- Do pop into the supermarket (Market Place by Jasons) in the 101 building as there is a bakery which is worth a visit. Mountain & pile full of donuts, bagels, fresh bread, cupcakes, brownies, gateau, you name it and they have it all there. The smell is so strong and the colours are also extremely attractive. One unusual object which I found (see photo below) is this hot dog shaped bun which is black and smothered with green herbs on top. I found out from the bakery that it is a Black Ink (from squid) Loaf with Garlic paste, as unusual the colour is, gave it a try and it was very delicious as well. However, the appearance wasnt the most appealing therefore do check it out when go to Taipei. From above and below, you can sense how much calories are involved in eating above. It was worth the try and desserts in Taipei are a delight to have especially during summer. Let me know what you think of the desserts when you visit Taipei next time. Next post will be about Japanese Teppanyaki in Taipei! Catch you later and off to the gym for sure! Geoff