Monday, August 06, 2007

The Buffet Place

The buffet place. There's one on every corner selling simple food at good prices. Come to the place where everyone eats lunch....

Taking aim at the dishes.

Who doesn't love fatty pork?

Above, up close and personal.

Large Chinese sausage slices.

Broccoli. Simple but delicious.

Deep fried and sauced: it's how meat should be.

I love eggplant.

Because you can never have too many fried foods.

Chicken.

A popular bean dish.

Pork.

Mashed taro topped with Taiwan's favorite condiment.

Various boiled chicken dishes are a common sight.

Egg, tofu, or radish is often made into cakes like this. Here it is egg.

The lowly pork chop is Taiwan's staple food.

Cuttlefish.

Fish slices.

Little fish are a great favorite of the locals.

Preserved egg with tofu, a ubiquitous side dish.

Traditional Chinese McNuggets.

Deep fried and stuff with seafood.

Boiled pork, sliced and sauced.

Bonito flakes atop bean sprouts.

Eggs are another staple of local cuisine.

Cod or one of several substitute fish.

The diversity of fungi available in Taiwan is always amazing.

Tofu skins, one of my favorites.

Bean thread noodles.

Stewed fatty pork.

Calgary apples? No, just squid balls.

Taiwan style meatloaf.

Fried chicken, an Asian favorite.

Seaweed.

A small cooking area for deep frying.

Don't forget the free soup!

When you're done, the leftovers go into the recycler for pig slops, and the dishes and chopsticks into the trash for recycling.

10 comments:

MJ Klein said...

now i gotta go eat! great post Michael.

Anonymous said...

These photos make me homesick...

ronin said...

Wow, is that place new? Cause it looks a heck of a lot cleaner and more appetizing than the joints I used to frequent in Taipei years ago.

maoman said...

We have a cafeteria like that close to our buxiban. It's great when the dishes are hot (around 4:30), but by six o'clock, all the dishes are uniformly tepid. Blech!

Anonymous said...

man. great pics, you are making me HUNGRY~ off to the the fridge~~~

JZ said...

At least one thing has stayed Chinese in Taiwan: the food.

Michael Turton said...

Yes, it is new. But they do work hard to keep it clean.

Anonymous said...

Thirty years ago I used to eat lunch at a zizhusan joint close to my place in Shipai, Taipei. I noticed construction workers ordered the cheapest fare available. A huge bowl of rice smothered in a generous ladleful of minced pork in tomato sauce that they slurped by the spoonful. They looked fit, lean and mean. I tried it. Although I found it tasty, it was too filling for me. I was numb for the two hours it took me processing that fatty carbohydrate bomb. And, yes, they always ordered a second serving. Real men do.

Flora Chang said...

Michael, these photos are AWESOME!! That looks like a really clean place, too!! I am so hungry... I can't take it... I think I am gonna eat my monitor now.

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your websites for several years and i just want to tell you two things. One is that you make me miss Taiwan more than ever. Second is that your photography is appreciated by many of us who can not return to Taiwan and often as we would like. Thank you so much.