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It was a month that was, and nearly wasn’t. After a few years of back and forthing with a Taiwanese-American friend, we finally set a date to meet up in Taiwan along with two other friends. I’ve been to other countries in Asia but not to Taiwan, so was anxious to see it. We started off in the south of the island, in Kaohshiung. I stayed at the Hotel Nikko there, which was terrific, but was glad I’d booked a few months in advance as the price rose substantially, which my friend found out when he tried to book a last-minute room there.
We didn’t spend too much time in the city as we were invited to family meals and events, but got to see everything from making rice noodles and tofu skins, to eating shaved ice with various jellies and candied squash and beans.
After three days in the south, I was looking forward to seeing Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Thankfully a few friends who knew Taiwan (and a few readers, too) pointed me toward some especially delicious places in the city.
I’m not one for “viral” pastries. I’m not inclined to get up at 7am and wait an hour for a cupcake or a “life-changing” cookie — no offense to Butter & Crumble, which indeed looks delicious — but was intrigued by Crispy Milk Donuts and thought I’d brave it.
There was a short line but it moved quickly. I snagged two donuts, but only got one bite of the just-out-of-the-oven donut before being whisked away. At the urging of the friendly doorman at my hotel, who said it was “crack,” which I know is a term we’re not supposed to use anymore (I’m just quoting him), I went back to get the full-on crispy milk donut experience.
Donuts can be heavy, cakey affairs, but this one was sleek, relatively thin, and lighter than a traditional donut. They dust the donuts heavily with coarsely ground powdered sugar before handing them over while still warm. You really need to eat it right away and it was something I quickly polished off. By the time I was done, my black shirt was covered with sugar.
Knowing I like ice cream, two friends in the pastry world recommended Snow King. I’m not sure why it’s not Snow Queen(s) since it was staffed by three super-nice women, but this is the place to try ice cream that features Taiwanese ingredients and flavors, such as basil, mango, peanut, passion fruit, longan, taro, pork floss, kidney bean, and my favorite, sticky rice (below, right), spiked with rice wine and candied lotus seeds.
When I ordered seven scoops for the three of us, I figured each bowl would be a grouping of two or three smaller scoops, but we ended up with seven separate, generous bowls, and scoops, of ice cream.
Pork floss is very popular in Taiwan. I saw this at the Nanmen Market. If anyone knows why there is special pork floss for babies, let me know!
We’d just polished off three heaping plates of dumplings that I over-ordered at Takumi Dumplings, but somehow we made it through most of the ice cream.
At Takumi, you order via an app, then wait on the sidewalk for your dumplings to be ready. Then you go inside, sit down, and eat them. The app was rather confusing, so we ended up with a lot. (Not shown: Another platter of dumplings.) Somehow, we managed to eat almost all of them.
A cookie from but we love butter, and pineapple cake at Sunny Hills.
Two other bakeries that I wanted to try were but we love butter and Sunny Hills, recommended by a reader (thx @ rmellorbessant) for their pineapple and apple cakes. They are a specialty of Taiwan, and you can find pineapplecakes in a lot of places, but these were especially good.
One thing that was interesting about both bakeries, which are a short walk from each other, is that they seat you for tea and a cookie, which are free, then (I guess) you buy something. I may have committed a gaffe at Sunny Hills because when I went to pay, they said, “No charge!” which was baffling.
But when I went to the next bakery, but we love butter, before I could buy anything, they sat me down at a table and gave me a cookie and tea. If you go, just be aware that the entrance is designed to look like a classic tailoring shop. Go ahead and step inside, then they’ll lead you to the sleek bakery space.
I don’t think giving away a pastry with a glass of tea is a custom that’s going to make it to Paris (or anywhere else), but I’d felt bad that I didn’t buy any cakes at Sunny Hills.
The cookie (above) was filled with candied longan and made with Échiré French butter. It was so good, I bought two boxes. Fortunately I could redeem myself with Sunny Hills (I was worried they might have posted my picture for the employees, to look out for the freeloader) when, a few days later, I found myself in the food court at 101 Taipei Tower and picked up (i.e., bought) two boxes of pineapple and apple cakes at the Sunny Hills kiosk there. So hopefully I’m off any “watch” list. 😅
And while some people think I eat sweets all day (if only!), I did make it to Din Tai Fung, famous for their Xiao long bao, soup dumplings, considered by many to be the best.
The wait time for Saturday lunch at Din Tai Fung.
If you go, and it’s definitely worth it, avoid weekends. I did notice their branch at the 101 Taipei Tower had just a one-hour wait time, and I think you can browse in the mall while you wait (on their website, they list waiting times for each branch as well), but they also have a take-out, and I saw people eating their dumplings in the nearby park.
David Lebovitz on Instagram: "You can’t go to Taiwan and not go…
Once inside, it’s very calm and efficient. Din Tai Fung is known for treating its employees well, using high-quality ingredients, and having an exceptionally gracious staff. Their branches in the U.S. have become the top-grossing restaurants in America, and I’m crossing my fingers that one day, they’ll open a few branches in Paris. I jokingly* told a local who I was eating dumplings with at Din Tai Fung that the best raviolis asiatiques in Paris would be considered the lowest of dumplings in Taiwan.
It was a fun trip, and I did a lot in ten days but am happy to be home and getting back to focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, where strawberries and asparagus are showing up at the markets. When you’re traveling, you’re often eating in restaurants, which is fun, but it’s always nice to cook for yourself, and eat at home, even if I can’t make Crispy milk donuts. (Although some can.)
Start-of-the-season strawberries in Paris.
My friend, travel blogger Matt, says one should travel like you live. But I didn’t have a kitchen in my hotel room in Taiwan, so glad to be back in my own kitchen.
I’ve also been busily preparing for the release of my next book, a full-on revision of The Great Book of Chocolate. So much in the world of chocolate has changed since I originally wrote the book that my publisher prompted me to completely redo it, adding and updating information, recasting some of the recipes for what’s now available in the chocolate aisle at the supermarket, and creating brand-new recipes.
There’s a chance that I may be doing some events in the U.S. for it, although the global situation changed the economics and viability of international and domestic travel, so we are working on that, to see what’s feasible. I’ll mention any updates here in the newsletter, as well as on my Schedule page.
But if I don’t make it out-and-about, I’ll be creating some videos for the newsletter, inviting friends into my kitchen in Paris, to make recipes from the book to share with you. I’ll also visit one of my favorite shops in Paris, where the owner will tell us what makes French chocolate so good, and how to buy the best vanilla, which is a natural pairing with chocolate, bien sûr…
-David
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Testing various glazes: Pots and lids get glazed about 2 or 3 times, and each coating turns the pots and lids a different shade of green. It takes between 1 to 2 years to develop and test a new color.
I love going to factories, especially ones that make cookware. In the past I’ve visited All-Clad, Le Creuset, and Mauviel, and was the first “outsider” to be allowed inside the KitchenAid factory. So I was thrilled when I was invited with some friends, which included Deb of the smitten kitchen digest, Jane Bertch, and Irene Wong, to visit Staub, one of my favorite French brands, makers of the iconic enameled cast-iron pots and casseroles.
Located in the north of France, the foundry turns out nearly 1,500,000 pots and pans per year. Almost all of it is made by hand, by three hundred skilled employees.
Anything that’s not perfect gets tossed in the reject pile, to be remelted (and recycled) into new pots.
It was really something to see how the cookware was made, beginning from being molten metal, to emerging as shiny new casseroles, ready to send to cooks and bakers around the world…
David Lebovitz on Instagram: "I *love* going to cookware factor…
I had a great time at the factory and made some new friends as well there, and also picked up a few new pieces to add to my collection. I even got to use the smitten kitchen braiser to make Paris Gnocchi, a favorite recipe of mine from My Paris Kitchen.
Preach!…someone who feels the same way about soup in restaurants as I do…
…although I give Asian meal-in-a-bowl type of soups a pass, like the beef noodles I had in Taiwan, above, especially if they have lots of noodles or dumplings in them. (Gotofood/Instagram)
