Shaved ice (Haleiwa, Hawaii)

What is it? Shaved ice doused with flavored syrup. There are tons of flavors to choose from; you can even order your shaved ice with vanilla ice cream or azuki beans.

Where to find it? Matsumoto Grocery Store in Haleiwa, Hawaii. There's shaved ice throughout Oahu, but Matsumoto is known for their shaved ice.

Thoughts... As with everything in Hawaii, so good...

Shrimp scampi plate (Kahuku, Hawaii)

What is it? Shrimp scampi plate. Garlicky, shrimp served with two scoops of rice.

Where to find it? Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku, Hawaii. There are other shrimp trucks in the area, but Giovanni's is one of the most popular.

Thoughts... The shrimp was super meaty, the flavor was super garlicky, the plate was super good.

Plate lunch (Waimanalo, Hawaii)

What is it? Plate lunch. Kahlua pig plate lunch (foreground) and bbq chicken plate lunch (background). Both plates are served with rice and macaroni salad.

Where to find it? Keneke's on Kalaniana'ole Highway, Waimanalo, Hawaii

Thoughts... I could live off the plate lunches in Hawaii. Complete happiness on a plate.

Kalua pig and cabbage (Honolulu, Hawaii)

What is it? Kalua pig and cabbage, pulehu shoyu chicken, corn, rice, and macaroni salad.

Where to find it? Iva's Hawaiian Grinds, Honolulu, Hawaii. Iva's is a food truck amongst the vendors at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet.

Thoughts... The smoky, shredded pork and shoyu chicken make this a filling meal. Afterwards, walk off the meal at the swap meet.

Haupia (Honolulu, Hawaii)

What is it? Haupia. Looks like an apple pie that you would get from any McDonald's in the States but the filling in this pie is creamy coconut pudding.

Where to find it? Honolulu, Hawaii

Thoughts... It's interesting. The crust is the same as the apple pies and the filling is good.

Spam Musubi (Honolulu, Hawaii)

What is it? Spam musubi. Rice topped with a piece of spam and terriyaki sauce wrapped with nori (dried seaweed). (The spam musubi is covered in plastic wrap, the food itself isn't shiny.)

Where to find it? ABC store in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are tons of ABC stores (think 7-eleven meets a gift shop) throughout Honolulu, but not all stores sell hot food.

Thoughts... Quite good considering a main ingredient is Spam (I've always been a bit hesitant of meat in a can). The rice helps tone down the saltiness of spam and the terriyaki sauce makes the musubi really good.

Tacos and Tamales (Culver City, California)

What is it? Tacos, Enchiladas, and Tamales

Where to find it? Tito's Taco in Culver City, CA

Thoughts... When I went to visit a friend in LA for the weekend, she took me here to Tito's Tacos. Everything is less than $3 so you can order a few different things to try. The best Mexican eateries in the States are in Cali.

Granita di caffe con panna (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Granita di caffe con panna. Lightly sweetened, frozen espresso layered with whipped cream.

Where to find it? Tazza D'Oro near the Pantheon.

Thoughts... Tazza D'Oro is known for their espresso and you can't go wrong with whipped cream. This treat is worth stopping by Tazza D'Oro, plus there's the Pantheon nearby.

Baked goods available 24 hours! (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Baked goods - pastries, sandwiches, pizzas, mini pizzas, calzone-like goods, so many to choose from...

Where to find it? 24 hour bakery in Rome, Italy. I apologize for not remembering where this was, but in my defense, it was 1 am when we got there. The bakery itself is below street level and you need to walk down a flight of steps to get to it.

Thoughts... The perfect place to satisfy any sweet or salty cravings. They have almost every baked good imaginable. I made the mistake of asking for "two" (in Italian) and pointing to these small pizza-like discs and ended up with 200 grams worth of pizza-like discs. Just a heads up.

Gelato (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Gelato topped with whipped cream (optional) served in a cone.

Where to find it? Throughout Rome, Italy. This particular gelato stand, Old Bridge Gelatoria, is across from the Vatican Museum.

Thoughts... So many flavors of gelato and so many places to try. The best strategy would be to plan your walking destinations around gelato stands so you can eat gelato while you walk.

Home cooking (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Home cooked meals served family style. The menu is whatever they decide to serve. The day we went we had: olives, mozzerella balls, proscuitto, pasta, stewed pork, stewed tomato, fried veggie balls, and a tart for dessert.

Where to find it? Der Pallaro in Trattoria Der Pallaro, Rome, Italy.

Thoughts... Absolutely eat there if you can.

Suppli (Rome, Italy)

My suppli got squished by the time I got to it.

What is it? Suppli (full name: suppli al telefono since there's mozzerella cheese in the middle and when the cheese gets stretched while eating it, it looks like a telephone cord). Mozzerella cheese is stuffed in a tomato rice ball and then fried.

Where to find it? Pizza shops in Rome, Italy.

Thoughts... I could eat ten of these as a meal and be happy.

Pizza (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Pizza

Where to find it? Rome, Italy

Thoughts... The pizza in Italy is not much different than here in the States. Most pizzas are dough, sauce, cheese, and possibly topping. The main difference is that you pay for pizza by weight (grams) as opposed to by slices.

Pastry (Rome, Italy)

What is it? Flaky pastry sandwiches marscapone cheese, then gets rolled in nuts and drizzled in chocolate sauce.

Where to find it? Rome, Italy

Thoughts... I was already full from my meal at this point, but just had to eat this.

On to another country...

Finally done posting Taiwan pictures (for now) and moving on to other countries.

Pork bun (Hualien, Taiwan)

What is it? Pork bun. Spongy bun with a fatty, pork filling served with soy sauce to dip.

Where to find it? Hualien, Taiwan

Thoughts... Soooo good. The juicy filling reminded me of xiao long bao fillings. The spongy bun had a slight sweetness to it that added to the filling and dipping sauce.

Glutinous rice in bamboo (Taiwan)

What is it? Glutinous rice cooked inside a piece of bamboo.

Where to find it? Taiwan

Thoughts... Delicious. Sorry, don't have much more to say than that. I don't recall the exact ingredients in it. I think a mixture of mushroom and pieces of meat.

Candied tomatoes and strawberries (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Tomatoes and strawberries dipped in boiled sugar. The result is a hard candy outer shell with fruit inside.

Where to find it? Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... This treat is not for people with braces. The hard candy gets stuck in your teeth.

Dragonfruit and jelly drinks (Fenshihu, Taiwan)

What is it? Dragonfruit drink (right) and jelly drink (left). The jelly drink is a sweet, sour beverage filled with cubes of jelly.

Where to find it? Fenshihu, Taiwan

Thoughts... I didn't try the dragonfruit drink, but the jelly drink was very refreshing.

Taro pastry (Fenchihu, Taiwan)

What is it? Taro pastry. Flaky dough is wrapped around a taro filling and then deep fried.

Where to find it? Fenchihu, Taiwan. There is one main food alleyway in Fenchihu that runs parallel to the railroad tracks.

Thoughts... I'm a big fan of taro and fried foods. So this was a perfect harmony for me.

Hua Che Bing (Railroad cake/pastry) (Fenchihu, Taiwan)

What is it? Hua Che Bing (translation: railroad cake/pastry). Pastries stuffed with a sweet or savory mixture enclosed in flaky, thin crust layers.

Where to find it? Fenchihu, Taiwan

Thoughts... Back in the day, Fenchihu was a popular train stop for workers logging the trees in the area. Hua che bing was a convenient meal to grab on the go. The market in Fenchihu is quite small as a fire wiped out some shops and the remaining few shops rely on visitors passing through on the way to Alishan. Like in most parts of Taiwan, there is a 7-eleven in Fenchihu.

Lunch box (Fenchihu, Taiwan)

What is it? Lunch box. Fried pork shop, soy-poached egg and chicken drumstick, pickled veggies served over rice in a thin wooden box.

Where to find it? Fenchihu, Taiwan. This was a restaurant's lunch special.

Thoughts... I could never get tired of the lunch boxes in Taiwan.

Ji Rou Fan (Chicken Rice) (Chiayi, Taiwan)

What is it? Ji Rou Fan (translation: chicken rice). The dish is simple: hand shredded chicken on top of rice and garnished with a pickled radish. The chicken broth resulting from boiling the chicken get poured over the rice adding flavor to the dish. Also shown in the picture: soy-poached radish, bamboo shoots, and chitlins.

Where to find it? Fountain Chicken Rice, Chiayi, Taiwan (at fountain traffic circle on Jungshan Rd.)

Thoughts... We asked our taxi driver if there was some food Chiayi was known for and he dropped us off at this restaurant. A simple dish that hit the spot.

McDonald's Fried Chicken Rice Sandwich (Taiwan)

What is it? McDonald's fried chicken rice sandwich. Instead of the traditional hamburger bun, this sandwich is sandwiched with two rice patties, where the rice has been toasted together to keep it's shape.

Where to find it? Any McDonald's in Taiwan. This particular sandwich was at the McDonald's in Kenting, Taiwan.

Thoughts... Quite good. I didn't miss having the regular bun.

Tomatoes with soy sauce (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

What is it? Unripened tomatoes with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, ginger, and powdered sugar.

Where to find it? Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Thoughts... Unconventional to my taste buds, but surprisingly good.

Peanut candy (Tainan, Taiwan)

What is it? Peanut candy. A block of peanut suspended in hardened sugar (like the one used for the Taiwan ice cream burrito) is shaved. The shavings are then pressed through two heated rollers until the shavings stick together to form a sheet of peanut shavings. The sheet gets rolled around itself to form a candy roll.

Where to find it? Tainan, Taiwan

Thoughts... The texture of the peanut candy reminded me of the center of a Butterfinger candy bar. Stick to your teeth goodness.

Ba Wan (Translation: Meat circle) (Tainan, Taiwan)

What is it? Ba Wan (meat circle). The sticky, glutinous outer dough is made of rice flour. Inside is a mixture of meat and vegetables. I would classify this as a variation of a dumpling.

Where to find it? Tainan, Taiwan

Thoughts... I love anything made of rice flour. The sticky consistency adds an interesting texture to savory and sweet dishes. The outer texture is similar to Tang Yuan (sweet, sticky rice flour dumplings that get boiled in water), another favorite glutinous rice dish of mine.

Fish meatball soup (Tainan, Taiwan)

What is it? Fish meatball soup. Ground fish and possibly another meat get mixed together and dropped into a boiling liquid to make meatballs. The fish meatballs are served in a broth soup.

Where to find it? Tainan, Taiwan

Thoughts... Below is a picture of the open-air restaurant I ordered this dish from.

Guan Cai Ban (Coffin-shaped bread ) (Taiwan)

What is it? Guan Cai Ban. (Coffin-shaped bread). The center of a thick piece of bread is hollowed out and filled with creamy savory mixture of meat and vegetables. The piece of bread gets reassembled and then deep fried.

Where to find it? Taiwan

Thoughts... The filling reminded me of chicken pot pie filling.

DIY Cotton Candy machine (Taiwan)

What is it? Do-It-Yourself Cotton Candy machine

Where to find it? Store in Taiwan somewhere

Thoughts... It's not your typical backpacker's feast posting, but this machine was too cool to not add. The white, yellow, pink and green packets on top are the sugars that you poor into the center of the machine. Pop in some change and start spinning your own cotton candy.

Train Lunch Box (On the train in Taiwan)

What is it? Lunch box on the train. Fried pork chop, soy sauce boiled egg, and pickled mustard greens served over rice.

Where to find it? Served on a train in Taiwan. Train workers will wheel a cart down the aisle stacked with lunch boxes.

Thoughts... Some of the best train food I've ever had and cheap too.

Mee Sua (Ximen Ding, Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Mee Sua. Vermicelli-like noodles served in a thick (almost gooey) soup. I believe they also put in some chopped up chitlins in this dish.

Where to find it? Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle stand in Ximen Ding, Taipei, Taiwan. There's also an Ay-Chung restaurant in the Bay Area in California that serves mee sua and other Taiwanese dishes.

Thoughts... This dish is so good that this is the only item sold at this stand. There's just a big vat of mee sua that the server just dishes out as fast as he can. Even with as many workers that they have, there can still be a line. It's that popular.

Another popular way of serving mee sua is with oysters.

Oh Ah Chien (Oyster omelette) (Shihlin Market, Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Oh Ah Chien (Oyster omelette). Oysters are combined with eggs and scallions to make an omelette. A ketchup-like sauce is then poured on top.

Where to find it? This dish can be found here and there in Taipei, but is most easily found in the Shihlin Market.

Thoughts... A popular Taiwanese dish the sweet ketchup like sauce is the differentiating factor between stands.

Soup noodle stand (near Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Soup noodles with seaweed and hard-boiled eggs

Where to find it? This particular stand was off a street shopping area somewhere near Taipei.

Thoughts... Soup noodle stands serve up some great grub. Just pull up and sit in one of the available stools around the cart. The seaweed and hard boiled egg were boiled in spiced soy sauce broth giving it its flavor. The soup noodles can also be ordered to go as the to go container is a clear plastic bag knotted at the top. I love it.

More seafood (Danshui, Taiwan)

What is it? Seafood restaurant known for its pan fried crabs

Where to find it? Danshui, Taiwan. The restaurant is within walking distance from the metro stop.

Thoughts... Really good crab and seafood. The ladies outside take down your order. When you walk in to the restaurant, you walk past the open kitchen and can watch the massive woks with flames shooting around it.