Shaved ice (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Shaved ice topped with your choice of toppings (beans, fruits, sweetened condensed milk, etc.).

Where to find it? Ximen Ding (Ximen Square/Station area) in Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... Shaved ice, Taiwanese style, is refreshing especially in tropical Taiwan. I always order my shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk and like to mix up toppings from sweet red beans to sticky rice balls.

Jian Bao (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Jian bao (translation: fried bun) is meat bun that is pan fried, as opposed to steamed.

Where to find it? Shilin Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... Meat in a bun is delicious.

You Tiao with Soy Milk (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? You Tiao (translation: oil stick) is a fried stick of dough that is served in different ways alongside a bowl of freshly made soy milk. Above is you tiao wrapped with an egg pancake. Below is you tiao with dried, shredded pork rolled in rice.

Where to find it? Breakfast stands/nooks in Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... This is a typical Taiwanese breakfast. The you tiao with dried, shredded pork is one of my favorite breakfast food.

7-eleven hot food (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Meat on a stick. The skewer on the left is pork wrapped in cabbage. On the right, are fish balls on a skewer. The sticks are kept warm in hot broth which you can ladle into your cup. The broth itself has a ton of flavor.

Where to find it? 7-eleven in Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... You probably think I'm kidding, but I'm not. The hot food at 7-eleven (home of the slurpee) is awesome. Besides meat sticks, they also have meat buns available. Plus, 7-eleven is as rampant throughout Taipei as Starbucks is in Manhattan.

Green Tea Kit Kat (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Green tea flavored Kit Kat

Where to find it? Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... I wish this was available in the States. Green tea-flavored white chocolate surrounds the familiar Kit Kat wafer.

Wonton noodle soup (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Wonton noodle soup

Where to find it? Food stall in Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... The broth is very simple in taste, but quite satisfying.

Dan Dan Mein (Taipei, Taiwan)

What is it? Dan Dan Mein (Dan Dan noodles) served with pig's feet and seaweed

Where to find it? Taipei, Taiwan

Thoughts... Dan dan mein is one of my favorite noodle dishes. Minced pork in a bean paste sauce is ladled over noodles. The pig's feet takes a bit getting used to texture-wise, but it is worth getting over skeamish part for the flavor.

Back to Taiwan...

After touring Japan, we went to Taiwan for a week before heading back to the States. Taiwan definitely has some of the best street food in the world.

Chinese food in Japan (Kyoto, Japan)

What is it? Chinese food presented in a Japanese bento box

Where to find it? Kyoto, Japan

Thoughts... The Japanese people take pride in food presentation. For Chinese meals, I'm used to the large communal plates service, but here everything was carefully placed and presented. Apparently, even a child's lunch meal in Japan is an ornately prepared and even assembled to look like a cartoon character.

Green tea mochi with sesame seed paste (Japan)

What is it? Green tea mochi with sesame seed paste

Where to find it? Japan

Thoughts... This had a stronger green tea flavor for mochi than what I usually tried. I love mochi.

Tonkatsu (Kyoto, Japan)

What is it? Tonkatsu. Fried pork cutlet served with cabbage served with a soy sauce, sesame paste sauce.

Where to find it? Kyoto, Japan

Thoughts... The actual act of eating food in Japan is a wonderful experience. For this dish, you grind the sesame seeds to a paste while you wait for the tonkatsu to be served.

Mega Tamago and Mega Tomato (McDonald's, Kobe, Japan)

What is it? Mega Tamago (Egg) and Mega Tomato sandwiches. It's similar to a Big Mac, but with 3 meat patties and either an egg or tomato on it.

Where to find it? McDonald's in Kobe, Japan

Thoughts... I didn't actually try oneit. I just had some Kobe beef for dinner... :-)

Sushi lunch box (Atami, Japan)

What is it? Sushi lunch box

Where to find it? We picked up these lunch boxes at the train station in Atami before boarding the bullet train.

Thoughts... The sushi in Japan is so fresh and it seems like everyone knows how to prepare it.

Kuro-tamago (black egg) (Owakudani, Japan)

What is it? Kuro-tamago (translation: black egg). Eggs are hard boiled in the volcano-heated hot springs. Boiling in the hot springs turns the eggs black.

Where to find it? Owakudani (translation: Great Boiling Valley) in the Hakone National Park.

Thoughts... Sulphur vents around the spring fumigates the area with a strong smell of sulfur. Supposedly eating one of these eggs adds seven years to your life. Eh, why not, tastes like a hard boiled egg.

Ramen (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Ramen in a miso-based broth topped with pieces of fatty pork, fish cake, and seaweed (nori).

Where to find it? On the eighth or ninth floor of a shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan

Thoughts... Not to be confused with 10 cent ramen available in the States, this bowl of ramen was heavenly. The broth is saltier than what I'm used to, but delicious nonetheless.

Takoyaki (Octopus ball dumpling) (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Takoyaki. Octopus pieces are mixed with batter and cooked in semicircular cups. The dumplings are then drizzled with a teriyaki sauce and topped katsuobushi (fish shavings).

Where to find it? Nakamise food stall around Asakusa Kannon Temple.

Thoughts... These dumplings have a very strong flavor from the teriyaki sauce and an interesting texture from the batter and octopus.

Sushi (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Sushi. This particulary location is also known for its fresh tofu.

Where to find it? Tokyo, Japan

Thoughts... In Japan, they do not mess around with the quality of fish that gets used in sushi.

Mochi (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Green tea mochi with red bean paste filling. Mochi is a sticky treat made with glutinous rice that is filled and flavored with different ingredients such as peanuts, seasame, red bean, green tea, etc.

Where to find it? Nakamise food stall around Asakusa Kannon Temple.

Thoughts... Mochi is delicious. Some people are turned off by the gooey texture, but I love it.

Senbei (Rice cracker) (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Senbei (Rice cracker). The rice cracker is grilled over charcoal (basted with a shoyu-based sauce) and then wrapped with nori (seawood).

Where to find it? Nakamise food stall around Asakusa Kannon Temple.

Thoughts... The crisp, airy rice cracker with shoyu and nori make this an interesting cracker with asian flavor.

Red Bean Paste Bun (Tokyo, Japan)

What is it? Red bean paste bun. Batter and red bean paste is dropped into molds and then baked over flames.

Where to find it? Nakamise food stall around Asakusa Kannon Temple.

Thoughts... This cake filled with sweetened red bean paste comes in different shapes. Quite tasty and not too sweet.

Cheesecake (New York, New York)

What is it? Cheesecake

Where to find it? Juniors Bakery, New York, New York (Manhattan location near Times Square). The original Juniors is in Brooklyn.

Thoughts... This is some good cheesecake - very filling and should count as a meal, even though you eat it for dessert.

Hot Dogs and Papaya Juice (New York, New York)

What is it? Cheap hot dogs with papaya juice.

Where to find it? Gray's Papaya, New York, New York. There's a few Gray's Papaya in Manhattan.

Thoughts... Apparently, the original hot dogs and papaya juice establishment is Papaya King, but I haven't been there. So for now, this place is my favorite hot dog place in NYC. Note: Sometimes the papaya juice is not as sweet, but it's cheap, I'm happy.