On our second day in Taipei, we decided to be a bit more adventurous. We booked a car for the day and headed to the outskirts of town.

Of all the places that we visited, the one with the most food was 九份. It somewhat resembles Stanley market, but on sale was more food and fewer clothing items. I was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food that was available, so I decided to take a walk around before settling on my first purchase.

It was not the first vegan option I encountered, but it was the first one that stood out to me as something special. It had a fragile exterior but a heart of gold. It was a sweet potato bun.

The little bun was very sweet and dense, so I decided I would opt for something a little saltier next time. However, all of what I had in mind dissipated the moment I set my eyes on the glass shelf displaying a colourful selection of fresh mochi. There was mango, strawberry, matcha…anything you could imagine fitting inside a mochi, it was there. I ended up going for the mango and strawberry flavoured ones, because they seemed to be the most heavily advertised and they were the current fresh, seasonal fruits.

Strawberry and Mango Mochi in my collapsible container

I was ecstatic to find a recycling facility for plastic bubble tea cups and covers behind the mochi stall, because it’s rather rare to find bins - let alone recycling bins - on the street markets of Taipei!

Once again, the mochi was also stuffed with a layer of dense, sweet, red bean-like filling. So this time, I followed through with my promise, and the next thing I ate was something salty. Salty and stinky.

It is not common that I eat street food in Hong Kong, so what excited me the most about this day was being able to use my own container for the first time. It was a painful sight to see nearly every individual around me using a disposable cup, bag, straw, bowl, etc, so I didn't want to further contribute to the waste that was being produced. At all the stalls I ended up visiting, the shop keepers were very open towards the idea of using my own container; they didn’t view it as a burden, but rather as a sign of promise. The container I used was from Japan Home Centre - it is extremely easy to carry around (it's even collapsible!) and is now on my list of travel essentials! I'd highly encourage you to bring your own container, especially while hunting for street food; it's a super simple way to keep your food clean, reduce your carbon footprint, and show off your inner eco-warrior!

Upon landing in the capital city of Bubble Tea, we hopped into a cab that took us to our home for the week, which was located a ten minute walk away from the famous streets of 西門町. After taking a short rest and taking a quick look at our Airbnb, we departed the room and headed out for some food. Below our apartment, we discovered a small noodle shop on the corner of the street. With various types of noodles advertised on their menu, what stood out to me was the 油豆腐 - both a taiwanese and vegan staple. Something I can always count on to perfect my meal.

When we entered the small shop, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had more that I could eat than just 油豆腐. There were noodles, vegetables, and different types of tofu. Like you would in a casual dim sum shop in Hong Kong, we selected our food on the sheets of paper provided and indicated how much of each item we wanted and of which size.

After our 3pm lunch, we took a short walk around the neighbourhood. Not long after, we were exhausted (must have been due the strenuous one hour flight earlier), so we headed back home. A couple hours later, we found our stomachs growling once again - a sign that it was time for dinner.

Initially, we had settled on heading to 士林夜市 to stuff ourselves with street food, but after stumbling upon a stall selling stinky tofu, we knew it was our calling to remain in 西門町 and explore the neighbourhood market instead.

While my parents happily munched away on their squid, beef, and other meaty items, I found that there was little for me to eat. Eventually, we ended up going to a Korean restaurant that sold noodles with vegetable, faux meat toppings. There were fake sausages, beef balls, fish balls, dumplings, and more!

What a way to end a wonderful day spent in a wonderful city.