I had shrimp spaghetti here because I recognised the characters for shrimp on the Chinese menu. It was OK but the white sauce could have used more cheese and there was no Parmesean on the table. Chinese don't really like cheese much but noodles are common to both Chinese and Italians. But according to legend, Marco Polo stole the recipe for noodles from the Chinese in the first place. Cost:
120 NT approximately $4 US.
The shrimp were with head and shell intact. For Chinese, with a pealed shrimp you can't be sure whether it is fresh or not. So even at an Italian restaurant it is the Chinese way of serving shrimp.
I went here on a Saturday and the tables were all reserved so I went back on Thursday. I was the only customer so I got full attention. I had ground lamb meat and spicy onions with nan. It was good but the portion was small compared to the Indian buffets I remember from the US. The small meal costs 374 NT, the most I've spent for a single meal in Tainan. OK once, but Chinese food is a better deal for me.
I had pho at this Vietnamese Restaurant. The proprietress from Vietnam says there are lots of Vietnamese in this neighbourhood. The noodles that the Chinese call He Fen are exactly the rice noodles the Vietnamese use in pho. There's a certain camaraderie of foreigners in a foreign country. No matter what foreign country they come from we are still just outsiders in Taiwan. Cost 50NT approximately $1.50 US.
This Bavaria Restaurant has seen better days. It is now closed but it got me thinking: Just what is Bavaria food? The sign in Chinese Characters actually says "European food" but that seems too broad a category. What what would "Asisan Food" be? It's just across the street from the NCKU campus.
2 comments:
Your experience with the shrimp spaghetti reminds me of the time that Larry and I were in France. He thought he recognized what a certain menu item listed in French item and ordered 2 dishes with it. It turned out that it was tripe and he couldn't eat either dish! I don't get many unpleasant surprises anymore as a vegan. I like most vegetables!
The Vietnamese restaurant looks intersting. I would lik eto know if it is different from the Vietnamese restaurants in US. It must be more authentic than here since it much closer and there are many Vietnamese workers in Taiwan.
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