…and if you’re a red-blooded male, you might consider the two one and the same.
Let’s start with the dessert…the edible one. Er, the ones you can buy. Aw, dammit, I mean the ones that can either be hot or cold.
…
Okay, look at this picture:
This was a bowl of what could be described as Taiwanese shaved ice or “bao bing” (in Chinese). It is essentially various sweet toppings either covering or covered by shaved ice. The toppings themselves are key and they don’t have to be served with shaved ice because you can have them hot, mixed together in some kind of sweet soup such as red bean soup or ginger soup or just sweetened hot water. Either way, it is about mixing together the various toppings that you like. You usually get to choose three, but of course you can add more if you like. Popular toppings include cooked peanuts, taro, green beans, red beans, big red beans, grass jelly, tapioca balls, “glutinous rice balls,” and many others. Fruit toppings are also available, but unlike this embarrassment of a New York Times article, I wouldn’t characterize “bao bing” as being “fruity.” Yes, there are fruit-heavy variants in Hong Kong and Southeast China, but I’m going to tell you that they’re not the real thing and are instead bastardized versions.
Furthermore, if you’ve only had shaved ice in China, whether off some dodgy street vendor or at your local Chamate (一茶一坐), you’ve likely never seen a decent offering of toppings, and it sucks to be you. If you’ve had it in any of the major world cities heavily overrun by Taiwanese immigrants, you’ve probably had decent “bao bing” though it still pales in comparison to what is on offer in Taiwan. If you’re white, you might’ve encountered “boba” after it became popular in the late 90s, but “bao bing” never quite reached the mainstream amongst non-Asian youths. If you’re thinking of snow cones and colored syrup, you’re very white-bread, so keep reading.
Now, in my experience, most Chinese (er, Taiwanese, whatever) really dig a combination that involves one of the beans and often taro, but for some reason, I’ve always been a fan of grass jelly, tapioca balls, and glutinous rice balls, as pictured above. You should try whatever appeals to you, experiment with different combinations, until you find your spirit animal. If in the end you end up with all fruits, you should just off yourself.
Some background information on my choice of toppings:
- The tapioca balls are often referred to as “boba” which basically means big breasts. You can imagine why. Moreover, no one but Taiwanese people, and hip non-Taiwanese Americans exposed to the ascension of Taiwanese boba drinks into mainstream coastal culture, calls them “boba.” In China, they’re invariably referred to by their more “civilized” name, “pearls.” Bleh.
- The glutinous rice balls…wait, who the hell came up with this name anyway, glutinous rice balls? Anyway, in Chinese, you can call them “tang yuan” or “xiao tang yuan” or “yuan zi.” They can be made out of different things added to, er, glutinous rice, such as taro (the purple ones), or come in different colors such as red/pink (just added food coloring for your visual delight). These aren’t the ones with red bean or black sesame inside, these are just little balls (heh) of chewy delight. The more “Q” they are, the more delightful.
- Grass jelly. This has been an endless source of befuddlement for me. Whereas I’ve had this all the time while I grew up, it simply cannot be found in China. I just never thought it was a Taiwanese thing, but apparently it is, and that kinda pisses me off. Rage. I’m told that grass jelly is one of those love it or hate it kind of things like Tequila but I think those who hate it obviously suck gonads because it simply rocks your socks off.
So yeah, this stuff is delicious and you’ll find plenty of places in Taiwan offering these desserts. “Bao bing” will be more popular during Taiwan’s sweltering humid months while the hot soupy versions of various toppings might get more play during the cooler months. Either way, they are a must-try. Screw the Taiwanese sausages or fried eggs with oysters, this is where it’s at. Period.
Here’s a pimp for Dong Dong where I had the above yum:
Name and number in the picture. Print it out and head there if you’re ever in Taichung (台中, “tai zhong”). Taipei (台北, “tai bei”) naturally has plenty of great options as well everywhere.
Alright, so about the other thing Taiwan does well (enough for me to mention it now after repeated confirmation): Leggy Taiwanese girls. Yes, a lot of Taiwanese girls seem predisposed to wearing shorts, skirts, and stockings that reveal a lot of leg. Some of these Taiwanese girls are women. Some of these women can be old. Some of these old women shouldn’t be showing off so much leg.
And yes, I understand this is coming from a very male perspective.
Now, this phenomenon is really just a fashion trend, that isn’t even unique to Taiwan either. These aren’t “bing lang” girls either, which rightfully are a Taiwan-specific phenomenon. However, I do think anyone who has compared the street scenes in Taiwan to those of other major metropolitan areas can make an argument that there’s a higher per capita incidence of leggy girls in 23 million strong Taiwan. I grant that Japan MIGHT have a leg-up (whoa) in this department but I’m leaning towards no, at least not in my experience there. An even stronger argument could be made that Taiwanese girls have better legs to show off too, you know, with less kneeling and all (oh geez).
There are, of course, young fashionistas and dolled-up girls in mainland China or Hong Kong as well, but you’re just not going to see so much leg on so many girls unless you’re going out to a nightclub or bar. Hell, there’s a higher per capita rate of girls in pajamas even in metropolitan Shanghai than girls with nose-bleed leg exposure. These girls are just going about their daily routines, except they’re pseudo-naked down there.
Sorry lads, no pictures, I’m an observer, not a pervert…in that way.
Now, a lot of people make a big deal about Taiwan’s night markets and of course not without good reason. However, these are two specific things that you’ll definitely see in those very same night markets. There are stalls upon stands upon stores serving “bao bing” and throngs of young Taiwanese legs both strolling by and working in those very stalls, stands, and stores. Both are specific phenomenon that really can’t be compartmentalized into “night markets” and part of a broader aspect of Taiwanese life, however mundane dessert and young fashion may be compared to priceless Chinese treasures and breath-taking scenery. Part of visiting another country (zing) is not what rock formations they have but the smaller but interesting differences between what they like to gobble down and how they prance about themselves. It’s about the people and the lives of those people. Taiwanese desserts and leggy Taiwanese girls, well, they’re definitely both something you should keep your eyes open and tastebuds ready for.
Cripes.
we have grass jelly in singapore and malaysia too. in fact we have them in at least two colors black ones and green ones!
So thus the chinaSMACKification of CNReviews begins…
…I’ll keep my comment short so as not to say anything incriminating on the memory intertubes, but I can say that this post increases my interest in visiting the island of Taiwan. Oh, I mean, I have a sweet tooth! What about Bellagio? How authentic is that? Aren’t there Taiwan style dessert shops in Beijing and Shanghai?
No no, no chinaSMACKification of CNR. I’m just being honest about a very normal thing, not translating tabloidy (but interesting) internet mischief.
There are Taiwan style stuff in Beijing and Shanghai. Happy Lemon is one example, but they serve drinks, not so much full-fledged Taiwanese desserts like bao bing. In Taipei now and the Four Seasons doesn’t have free internet (bastards). If I contort to an odd position by the window, I can get a weak connection to WiFly (via Boingo) but it is unreliable. Currently checking e-mail and typing out this comment in a BenQ display stand inside a “Cheng Ping” bookstore near Taipei 101 (there, I’ve pimped them for being nice about letting me use their display laptops – a Joybook Lite U101W netbook — keyboard is way small). Anyway, as I was saying, I have a lot more pictures and examples of delicous bao bing here in Taipei. Might add them to this post later. Might not.
Taipei is great, very comfortable. I really do understand why a lot of foreigners may opt for the “China-lite” experience by going to Taiwan to study or be an expat. The lifestyle here is an interesting but very comfortable mix between Chinese, Japanese, and American. It spoils you and aside from the older buildings and sidewalks, this place is very easy to live in. But I prefer to think of those foreigners as being wussies who can’t handle a genuine China experience. Heh.
“genuine” China experience?
Yep. The fact that such an adjective is open to interpretation is really part of the point. Ball in your court.
“I grant that Japan MIGHT have a leg-up (whoa) in this department but I’m leaning towards no, at least not in my experience there. An even stronger argument could be made that Taiwanese girls have better legs to show off too, you know, with less kneeling and all (oh geez).”
LMAO. This is ridiculous.
haven’t been to taiwan but i think chengdu’s baobing is pretty decent–and we def have grass jelly. and there’s lots of leg here as well.
Hahahaha…I got to admit, the Taiwanese have a quirky sense of fashion. And I love it!
that place looks like the high school night market in taichung, the place i used to study ^^
in taiwan night market like shilin and ximending .. you can find both ;)
Boba was not coined by those in Taiwan. It originated from HK. But what’s this about China-lite? For one thing, culture is not immutable. It contracts and shifts with time. Next, China is too diverse (56 minorities to begin with), too vast (every topolographic form included), and too ancient (I think you get the point) to be delineated as if one region of China has authority on what means Chinese. Are you suggesting the Shanghainese with their sharp cosmopolitan awareness are not Chinese because somehow Chineseness is defined by singularity and homogeniety? What about speakers of Sichuanese dialect? How do they correlate to your undefined notion of Chineseness? Lastly, Taiwan is only interpreted as an amalgamation of Chinese, U.S., and Japanese influences when you don’t know many Taiwanese people or spend much time on the island. From the acculturated Confucianism still strong in the ways people form familial hierarchies and pay respect accordingly to the majority of Taoist believers, there are heavy undercurrents of Chinese tradition and culture running through what you have blithely dismissed as a ‘China-lite’ region/society/what-have-you. That is, unless, you don’t consider Taoism, Confucianism, the eight great Chinese cooking traditions, the Fujianese, and even the Chinese language (written and spoken), etc. Chinese. No? Check out Xiamen: its streets, its heavy worship of Mazu, its shacha noodles and Fuzhou fish balls, and maybe you’ll see the connection. ‘Til then, don’t judge too harshly for some people’s preferences against yours. The beauty of China is its diversity.
A superficial glance at Taipei would reveal what appears to be the mix of cultures you have described but going down south would reveal a much more traditionally taiwanese way of life. To call Taiwan “China-lite” is a massive fallacy. It has kept and held on to much more tradition than the whole of the mainland managed to. Religion, festivals and customs were untouched by the cultural revolution and are alive and well across the island.
China only has more bad habits and obnoxious behaviour than Taiwan, which panda lovers such as yourself mistake for “culture”.
Guys, people say going to Taiwan is “China-lite” because it shares a lot of Chinese culture but is far more developed, more comfortable, and thus less likely to result in culture shock. In that context, I think its an understandable label.
No one mistook bad habits and obnoxious behavior as “culture”. The most anyone suggested was that bad habits and obnoxious behavior is famously part of the mainland China “experience” that is less present in the Taiwan experience. Hence, the “China-lite” moniker.
Its diversity is definitely part of China’s beauty. Totally agree.