Too Much Food

Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant was highly recommended to us by many of my mom’s vegetarian friends. With branches in Taipei and Taichung, Spring Natural offers buffet-style vegetarian lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in a clean, airy and elegant setting. As the afternoon tea (served between 2:30pm and 4:30pm) offerings are comparable to that of lunch but at a discounted price, my mom and I decided to head over to the Taichung branch to try it out.

Spring Natural’s buffet setup consists of several different stations: cold salads, diy salad station, steamed dishes, dim sum, stir-fried vegetable dishes, vegetarian sashimi (What? How? I will get to this later . . .) and sushi, stews and soups, traditional Taiwanese dishes, as well as an extensive sweet dessert soup, pastry and ice cream station. Soda, juices, and teas were also included as well and upon arrival, a special brew of herbal tea is sent to your table straightaway. Touted as having beneficial properties, the light but flavorful tea was a good appetite opener.

I wasn’t able to get photos of the buffet stations (I felt uncomfortable taking photos of it while the waitstaff were milling about), but here are some photos of the plates that my mom and I put together:

My first plate: pan-fried savory turnip cake, sauteed bittermelon, glazed shishito peppers, cold lotus root salad in passionfruit dressing. Everything on this plate was extremely fresh and well prepared; I especially loved the turnip cake (the chef had just finished frying it up when I swung by the dim sum station) as well as the shishito peppers, which were sauteed and tossed in a soy-sesame glaze.

Mom’s first plate: fried cruller, hot and sour soup, sauteed greens, cold seaweed salad, mushroom “steak.” I didn’t try any of the food here; my mom said the “steak” was so-so while the seaweed salad was good.

I also got the vegetarian version of the infamous Taiwanese “stinky tofu.” I’m not sure what makes normal stinky tofu non-vegetarian, but this version was delicious; the soup was a flavorful umami broth; sour, spicy and savory; the tofu didn’t seem to harbor an overly stinky smell. For those who have never tried stinky tofu and are a bit intimidated by it, Spring Natural’s version would probably be a good, gentle introduction to the dish.

My second plate: a random salad I threw together with various sprouts and a ginger-soy vinaigrette, more shishito peppers (I liked it enough to go back for seconds; normally at buffets I try not to get seconds of anything in order to try as many dishes as possible), braised figs.

I also got this at the sushi/sashimi station: two pieces of sweet “sushi”, actually a mochi-type confection that was made so that it resembles a maki roll. I didn’t really detect much of any one flavor in this . . . it was a bit strange to me. It’s no secret that I dislike anything mochi-textured, and this didn’t impress me either. I believe the center of the maki was steamed sweet potato, the middle layer was sweetened azuki bean paste, followed by the mochi outer layer.

At the bottom of the plate you can see the one slice of vegetarian sashimi that I got for kicks, though I have lean towards a vegetarian diet, I’m a die-hard sushi fan (probably the only thing preventing me from becoming a complete vegetarian). I don’t think anything could replace the taste and mouthfeel of real raw fish flesh; and this was no exception. I have to give credit to Spring Natural for being able to replicate the “look” of sashimi, from its color to somewhat slippery texture, but it didn’t taste nor feel like sashimi at all. I’m not really into the idea of creating vegetarian versions of meat as well . . . I couldn’t get into this.

Mom’s second plate: more stinky tofu, seaweed salad, sauteed greens, egg roll, sweetened red bean pastry.

Despite sampling all that food, we still had room to try some dessert:

Sweetened taro paste cake, chocolate covered peanut clusters, vegan custard (made with agar-agar instead of gelatin). Nothing too special here; I usually find dessert bars at any buffet to be so-so to disappointing, due to the fact that desserts like cake and cookies tend to dry out due to being put outside for long periods of time (but maybe I just have really high expectations of dessert).

Red bean pastry innards, peanut-powder covered hakka-style mochi (hidden underneath the vegetarian maki roll).

Spring Natural’s offerings for their afternoon tea are generous; though I’d stick to their savory dishes such as the soups, dim sum, salads and sauteed items. For those who are vegetarian, Spring Natural goes beyond basic tofu and sauteed vegetable dishes; offering a diverse and enticing menu. For those aren’t, it’s a great place to try some tasty Taiwanese-style meat-free cuisine.

春天素食
台中市西屯區大墩十七街88號2樓
(04) 2328-0956
午餐：11:45 ~ 14:00, 每人500、兒童 300
下午茶：14:30 ~ 16:30, 每人350、兒童 250
晚 餐：17:45 ~ 21:00, 每人600、兒童 350

Spring Natural Vegetarian Restaurant
No. 88 (2nd floor), Dadun 17th Street, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan
(04) 2328-0956
Lunch：11:45 ~ 14:00, Adults NT500、Children NT300
Afternoon Tea：14:30 ~ 16:30, Adults NT350、Children NT250
Dinner：17:45 ~ 21:00, Adults NT600、Children NT350

Getting to Yizhong Street; the main road parallel to Yizhong Street.

One of my favorite places to go in Taichung is Yizhong Street (一中街). Located near National Taichung First Senior High School (considered by Taichung residents to be the top high school in the city), Yizhong Street is a young person’s shopping and food paradise. Within a small space of one to two blocks, Yizhong Street is tightly packed with street vendors of delicious street food and the latest fashions (all for super cheap!). Scattered amongst the street vendors are various restaurants (apparently the (in)famous Modern Toilet Restaurant has a branch here), arcades, internet cafes, beauty salons, as well as a great 24-hour stationary and bookstore. At any time of the day, Yizhong Street is packed with people; since it’s mainly a pedestrian thoroughfare (though you will encounter some scooters here), it’s pretty easy to navigate (as opposed to other markets, where you have to dodge both pedestrians, scooters and cars). I could easily spend a whole day here just sampling the food and buying things for cheap (the trick is to bargain with the vendors!).

One of my favorite 小吃* to get whenever I come back is 潤餅, or “run bing.” You can order these in the U.S. as “spring rolls”, but the use of “spring rolls” is a bit troublesome . . . Spring rolls in the States refer to so many things, from the Vietnamese fresh rice paper rolls to Chinese fried egg rolls to Thai-style wraps with glass noodles. Taiwanese 潤餅 are more akin to moo-shu wraps than egg rolls or spring rolls in that the wrapper is wheat-flour based, but not fried; moreover, 潤餅 are much larger as well (think burrito-sized).

*(translated literally: small eats; I use this as a blanket term for all the great street foods, small bites that you can find at outdoor wet markets and roadside stalls all over Taiwan)

The wrapper for a 潤餅 a paper thin, wheat-flour based crepe wrapper; it’s not that easy to make these, (see this video here to see a street hawker making the wrappers), so when we do make 潤餅 at home, we opt to just buy premade wrappers in the supermarket. Besides vegetables (typically cabbage, bean sprouts, shittake mushrooms, celery, fresh coriander), your 潤餅 will be filled with some chopped meat (usually a marinated pork mixture), fried shallots for the wonderful aroma and flavor, dried tofu for texture and some sugar and some peanut powder for a little bit of sweetness. The combination of sweet and savory flavors make for some truly delicious eating.

When we buy 潤餅, we get them from 幸福潤餅 (if you were to translate it I think it would be called “Happiness Run Bing”?), a place known amongst the locals as one of the best places to get 潤餅 here in Taichung (apparently, the husband and wife team of 幸福潤餅 sell about 500 潤餅 a day!) What’s great about 幸福潤餅 is that your 潤餅 are made to order; you can specify exactly what you want inside, whether you want sugar or peanut powder, more vegetables or less. Vegan or vegetarian? No problem! They’ll make a animal-product free version for you, no questions asked. You like spice? They’ll throw in some spicy sauce as well. Watching your calories? Ask for lean meat only.

One tip: Since the cabbage used in the filling is boiled, their moisture content causes the paper-thin wrap to get soggy fast. If you’re not going to eat these right then and there; as them to “wring out” the veggies more and tell them to pack it to go; that way you don’t end up with a soggy, falling-apart 潤餅 when you do get a chance to eat it.

One roll will set you back 40NT (about $1.25 USD), or 4 rolls for 150NT (about $4.60 USD). At that price, it’s basically an entire meal for cheap; this is why I love Taiwan; you can eat very well on very little here!

幸福潤餅 is located in the venerable Second Market (第二市場), located near the intersection of Zhongzheng Road (中正路) and Sanmin Road (三民路) in the Central District. If you ever get a chance, go to the Second Market and browse around; there’s multiple stalls that are famous for their small eats (such beef noodle soup, Taiwanese “meatballs” (a sort of glutinous rice flour wrapped meat ball with a sweet and spicy sauce), rice “sausages”, fried turnip cakes, steamed meat buns and the like); you can definitely get an amazing meal for cheap here.

幸福潤餅
營業時間: 09：00 ～ 19：30（每月第二、四個星期日店休）
台中市中區興中街4號
04-22293022

Happiness Run Bing
Hours: 9:00 am ~ 7:30 pm daily (closed every 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month)
No. 4, Xing Zhong St., Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan
04-22293022

If you’re confused by my last two posts (the earlier one saying I was already back in Taiwan, the later one saying that it wasn’t worth $2000 to fly back to Taiwan to buy 杏仁餅); I definitely apologize . . . I am still in Taiwan, the post on black sesame polvoron was actually written prior to my coming back to Taiwan (saved as a draft).

I’m definitely enjoying my long stay here; my grandparents have been so gracious and have taken me to a bunch of restaurants here in Taichung. I’ve taken pains to capture every single meal that I’ve eaten out; my entire extended family is so used to me pulling out my camera that they actually rotate the lazy susan towards me with every new dish served so that I can take a photo first!

As I won’t be cooking much here, there won’t be much in the way of recipe posts; rather, I’ll be posting about all the great food I’ve been eating so far here in Taiwan.

The first week I was back, my grandparents took me to a restaurant near our home called 阿秋大肥鵝, literally “Big Juicy Goose”, a restaurant specializing in Taiwanese 小吃 (literally, “small eats”, can be likened to tapas, or small dishes) and what else, goose:

小吃 always pairs well with a cold glass of beer; they have specials on Taiwan’s ubiquitous Taiwan beer here and upon ordering a bottle (or 4 in my grandpa’s case) you’ll promptly be served by a Taiwan beer girl . . .

The menu here is quite cute; you take a crayon and just check off what dishes you’d like to order and hand it to your server.

First up: the house specialty, “fat goose”, slices of fatty dark goose meat, in a light soy broth, accompanied by pickled daikon and carrots. I don’t really like eating poultry, but I must admit this dish was tasty; the goose was moist, the broth was light and not greasy. If you’re a fan of eating the chicken/duck/goose skin with that thick layer of fat underneath, this dish is for you.

Next up: 南瓜炒米粉 (Pumpkin Stir-fried rice noodles), a typical preparation of rice noodles here in Taiwan. Not bad, but not great either.

Marinated and grilled eel. I always thought of eel as a “winter” type of food as it’s so warming, but apparently it’s also considered a “summer” food here as eel is supposed to have “strengthening” properties which help you get through the insane summer heat here. I liked this dish, the marinade was pleasantly sweet and savory and the eel was nicely grilled (crispy on the edges with a moist interior). I couldn’t eat too much of this though, as it’s quite rich.

Next: Stir-fried bean sprouts topped with deep fried shallots. Light and a good palate cleanser after all the meat. This dish was on the house; most Taiwanese restaurants serve a free vegetable dish if you order enough.

Those who know me well know I have a weird thing about not wanting to eat meat (i.e., the muscular part of the animal) but loving eating all sorts of offal (I’m the best and worst vegan ever). This dish was ordered for me specially; pig intestines with sour pickled vegetables. There’s an inordinate amount of ginger in this dish, but it serves the purpose of taking away any “smelliness” that the pig intestines impart. Personally, I love any kind of “stinky” or “fermented” foods (Taiwanese “stinky tofu” (臭豆腐) and 臭臭鍋 (stinky hot pot, a bubbling pot of sticky rice and pork blood cakes, pig intestine and pickled vegetables) are some of my favorites). Have I grossed anyone out yet?

阿秋大肥鵝
台中市朝富路258路(與龍門路交叉路口)
04-22512966
午餐: 11：00 ~ 14：00
晚餐: 16：30 ~ 01：30
365天全年無休

Big Juicy Goose
At the corner of Chaofu Rd. and Longmen 3rd St.
04-22512966
Lunch: 11：00 ~ 14：00
Dinner: 16：30 ~ 01：30
Open 365 days of the year.