Day Tripper: Wulai

Today I would like to share with you a simple, yet amazing day trip you can make easily from Taipei. This is a great destination for anyone, whether you just have a day to spend, or if you decide to stay the night. I'll let you be the judge.\"DSC04702\"

Wulai is a beautiful town nestled in the mountains of Taipei County. You can get there by taking the number 849 bus from the Xindian MRT station. Be sure to bring a book though, because you're looking at an hour bus ride to get there. The air there is fresh, which in and of itself is a huge relief for those of us who are used to breathing the fumes of all the busses, cars and scooters in the capital city. But Wulai has more to offer than clean air to breathe.

Wulai is famous for its hotsprings, as many other similar communities in Taiwan. As such it's a great place to go to relax and pamper yourself. If you've never soaked in a hotspring, make sure you treat yourself while you're there. 

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There is also a famous amusement park which is run by the local aboriginal tribe. 雲仙樂園 is owned and operated by the 泰雅tribe. You can get to the park by riding a gondola over, though be warned animals are not allowed in the park(we learned thus the hard way, as we had to leave our dog kenneled at the gondola station. The amusement park offers a look into what the native people's lives were like. You can engage in lots of fun activities, like traditional bow and arrow shooting and canoe rowing. You can also sit down and enjoy some food and drink while watching a traditional aboriginal display of song and dance. There is also a gift shop/museum and there is a hotel in the park for any who want to make a weekend out of it.

My favorite attraction in Wulai, however, is not the amusement park or hotsprings. It's the Wulai Waterfall 烏來瀑布. It's a bit of a hike to get to the base of the waterfall, but believe me when I tell you that it's worth it. The air is so clean and pure around the waterfall, and you can't help but to be filled with a sense of peace and well being. Go and see for yourself, but be warned: you might not want to leave!

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So now you have a day trip planned, all you have left to do is to go and enjoy yourself! Let me know what you think of Wulai!

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Chinese Lesson 17: Weather

Hi, Ruby here, today I want to show you how we say weather in Chinese. We like to keep class short, so you can learn more easily.

1.晴天

 Sunny day

qíng tiān 

2.陰天

Cloudy Day

yīn tiān


3.霧天

Foggy Day

wù tiān 


4.下雨天

Raining Day

xià yǔ tiān 


5.颱風天

Typhoon Day

tái fēng tiān 

 

We are back!

Hey everyone, sorry for such a long lapse in my posting, life has been crazy! I just wanted to let y'all know that I'll be back to writing soon, and we're also going to have a new co-author on the blog...my wife Ruby! Also, my Chinese learning book that I have been working on since last year is nearing completion, so keep checking back for more information. That's all for now, stay tuned! 

Also we like to know what new things you want to hear from us.

1. Travel

2. Language

3. Cuture

4. Others

Please leave us comment in the below then we can get into it!

Have a awesome day!

Logan and Ruby

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5 Things I don\’t like about Taiwan(WHAT?!???!)

Living in a foreign country offers many unique and exciting opportunities. You get the chance to really get to know your new "home" a lot better than you would if you had just visited it for a week or two of travel. You will get the chance to see and do things that people who are merely visiting will never get the chance to do or see. You'll get to know and appreciate your host culture, discover new favorite foods, and have the best possible chance for succeeding in learning a foreign language. This sums up nicely my time spent in Taiwan.

 

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however. As fun as it is living abroad, It can be equally frustrating.  As often as I spend time talking about all of the things that I love in Taiwan, today I will be sharing my top 5 "complaints" about what has become my "second home". Enjoy, and as always please share your experiences/opinions below!

 

1. Random old guys backing you into a wall and forcing you into endless conversations:

\"photoI love a good conversation as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's just not a good time to chat me up. But this happens pretty often. You know that feeling you get when you are reading a really good book, intently turning the pages to see what happens next? I love reading, and always brought a book on the train ride from Taoyuan county to Taipei for my weekly martial arts classes. It's a great way to kill the time you are otherwise wasting in transit. Can't tell you how many times I've had a well meaning elderly man sit next to me and interrupt me every few seconds, even after I tried as tactfully as possible to disengage myself from conversation. The results? Me still on the same page ten minute later! This used to drive me nuts.

 

2. People don't understand your Chinese, because you look funny:

\"photoI like to think that I don't have a huge ego problem, but I know that my Chinese is pretty darn good. So it always annoyed me when someone didn't understand my fluent Chinese, because they saw me and expected English to come out of my mouth. It also used to drive me nuts when I was with my wife and someone kept asking her questions about me, even after I displayed that I was more than capable of speaking for myself. I know it's not meant to be rude, but it kinda is!

 

 

3. The lack of concern that many people have for the environment:

\"photoOf course this is getting to be a problem everywhere these days, but I felt it was more so in Taiwan than it is back here in Texas. True, the rapid rate of Taiwan's industrialization has had some negative consequences for the environment, but that's not the whole story. People throw their trash all over the place: streets, bushes, gutters, rivers…no place is safe! I remember vividly one time while I was waiting for my bus, an old man walked by me and casually shoved an empty pack of cigarettes into a bush. Seriously, go hard is it to find a trash can?

 

4. The casual rudeness that people often display:

\"unnamed\"In the big, metropolitan city of a Taipei, people are conditioned to lookout for themselves, and to disregard others around them. When you're in a crowded street, or MRT  station in Taipei, you will get shove, pushed, stepped on, elbowed, and much more. Some of this is, of course, due to the dense population, unavoidable. What I don't like, is how the majority of people won't even give you a simple "excuse me" when they jab you in the kidney as they squeeze by.

 

 

5. The crazy traffic!:

\"photoThis one is pretty self explanatory. There are countless cars, and especially scooters in Taiwan, and only a limited amount of space. This leads to heavily congested traffic, a scarcity of parking spaces, an extremely high rate of deaths on the road(especially for those riding scooters) and generally chaotic streets everywhere. To top it off, people generally have very little regard for the laws of the road, , which makes it doubly dangerous, for drivers and pedestrians alike.

There it is. I'm glad I got that off of my chest. Now, don't take this post the wrong way. For everything on this list, there are at least a hundred things I have to say that are positive about Taiwan. I love Taiwan, and it really and truly is my "home away from home", but I'm here to give you the whole story, and sometimes the truth is ugly!

What has your experience in Taiwan been like? Please share below!

[popdom id=\’2\’]

5 Things I don\’t like about Taiwan(WHAT?!???!)

Living in a foreign country offers many unique and exciting opportunities. You get the chance to really get to know your new "home" a lot better than you would if you had just visited it for a week or two of travel. You will get the chance to see and do things that people who are merely visiting will never get the chance to do or see. You'll get to know and appreciate your host culture, discover new favorite foods, and have the best possible chance for succeeding in learning a foreign language. This sums up nicely my time spent in Taiwan.

 

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however. As fun as it is living abroad, It can be equally frustrating.  As often as I spend time talking about all of the things that I love in Taiwan, today I will be sharing my top 5 "complaints" about what has become my "second home". Enjoy, and as always please share your experiences/opinions below!

 

1. Random old guys backing you into a wall and forcing you into endless conversations:

\"photoI love a good conversation as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's just not a good time to chat me up. But this happens pretty often. You know that feeling you get when you are reading a really good book, intently turning the pages to see what happens next? I love reading, and always brought a book on the train ride from Taoyuan county to Taipei for my weekly martial arts classes. It's a great way to kill the time you are otherwise wasting in transit. Can't tell you how many times I've had a well meaning elderly man sit next to me and interrupt me every few seconds, even after I tried as tactfully as possible to disengage myself from conversation. The results? Me still on the same page ten minute later! This used to drive me nuts.

 

2. People don't understand your Chinese, because you look funny:

\"photoI like to think that I don't have a huge ego problem, but I know that my Chinese is pretty darn good. So it always annoyed me when someone didn't understand my fluent Chinese, because they saw me and expected English to come out of my mouth. It also used to drive me nuts when I was with my wife and someone kept asking her questions about me, even after I displayed that I was more than capable of speaking for myself. I know it's not meant to be rude, but it kinda is!

 

 

3. The lack of concern that many people have for the environment:

\"photoOf course this is getting to be a problem everywhere these days, but I felt it was more so in Taiwan than it is back here in Texas. True, the rapid rate of Taiwan's industrialization has had some negative consequences for the environment, but that's not the whole story. People throw their trash all over the place: streets, bushes, gutters, rivers…no place is safe! I remember vividly one time while I was waiting for my bus, an old man walked by me and casually shoved an empty pack of cigarettes into a bush. Seriously, go hard is it to find a trash can?

 

4. The casual rudeness that people often display:

\"unnamed\"In the big, metropolitan city of a Taipei, people are conditioned to lookout for themselves, and to disregard others around them. When you're in a crowded street, or MRT  station in Taipei, you will get shove, pushed, stepped on, elbowed, and much more. Some of this is, of course, due to the dense population, unavoidable. What I don't like, is how the majority of people won't even give you a simple "excuse me" when they jab you in the kidney as they squeeze by.

 

 

5. The crazy traffic!:

\"photoThis one is pretty self explanatory. There are countless cars, and especially scooters in Taiwan, and only a limited amount of space. This leads to heavily congested traffic, a scarcity of parking spaces, an extremely high rate of deaths on the road(especially for those riding scooters) and generally chaotic streets everywhere. To top it off, people generally have very little regard for the laws of the road, , which makes it doubly dangerous, for drivers and pedestrians alike.

There it is. I'm glad I got that off of my chest. Now, don't take this post the wrong way. For everything on this list, there are at least a hundred things I have to say that are positive about Taiwan. I love Taiwan, and it really and truly is my "home away from home", but I'm here to give you the whole story, and sometimes the truth is ugly!

What has your experience in Taiwan been like? Please share below!

[popdom id=\’2\’]

Interview With a Chinese Learner: Ray Hecht

Hey everyone, how's it going? Today I'm coming at you with another interview. Today's victim is Chinese learner Ray Hecht.  He''s been living in Mainland China for years, and has a lot of interesting things to say on his blog about China, dating in China and learning Chinese. Plus he shares some pretty sweet art and poetry as well, so hop on over to his site and check out his writing! Being a fellow comic geek, I can relate to a lot of what he has to say!

Now on to the interview. 

\"螢幕快照Q: What Made you decide to learn Chinese?

I was first interested in Asian culture by way of Japanese manga and anime, being a long-time comic geek in my youthful days (and still a geek in my older days). As I got older I became more interested in film, and after watching many classic Kurosawa I came upon Cantonese films of Wong Kar-wai in my teenage years. Eventually this led to watching the film Farewell my Concubine, directed by Chen Kaige, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. In addition to watching the 90s films of Chinese 5th generation filmmaker Zhang Yimou, I became fascinated by China. However, I studied Japanese in college. Learning kanji did give me me a head start in learning hanzi, although the languages are quite different. I never did end up moving to Japan, just visiting a few times (learning some of the language did help). I later got an opporutnity to move to Shenzhen and I fully embraced it. Currently, Mandarin is the only other language besides English I speak with any fluency, though I always have more to learn. 

 

Q:How long have you been a student of Chinese, and how long did it take you to become conversational?

I've been studying for six years, and in the first year I learned 'survival Chinese.' I've been getting better at being more conversational in the last 3 years I suppose, but on having deep conversations I know I still have ways to go. The problem is that most conversations are the same: "Where are you from?", "Are you married?" "How many years have you been in China?" etc.

 

Q:What was your biggest challenge learning Chinese? And what came easiest to you?

My biggest challenge at first was definitely the tones. Then, the characters although I am always making progress even though it takes years. When it comes to characters, just be patient but make a little progress all the time. In speaking, the grammar of Chinese is easier and I was able to formulate simple sentences quite fast (even if not pronouncing it correctly). "I like…" "I'm from…" and that sort of thing. 

 

Q:What advice would you give to our readers who are just embarking on their journey with Chinese?

I suppose the best advice is to be fully immersive, go to China — or Taiwan, or Singapore — and start speaking. If you are in a big city in China, be careful not to be in the bubble that is the expat scene in which you rarely even speak Mandarin. Push yourself to practice those phrases you studied in real-life, it's the only way!

 

Q:Do you have a favorite Chinese phrase? If so, what is it and why?

Well, 多少錢 duoshaoqian ("How much money?") would be the phrase I say the most often, in going out shopping everyday. Some vocabulary words are fun, when Chinese can be so literal. Technological words such as 電腦 diannao (electric brain: computer) and 電影 dianying (electric shadow: movie) and many more. 

 

Q:What's your one biggest "hack" for learning Chinese?

One trick is to not stress about tones too much, and just try wait you're best until one day it becomes effortless. You can still communicate, don't be afraid to make mistakes. With pronunciation, one can imitate another more advanced learner of Mandarin instead of imitating native speakers. After all, any fluent learner was once a beginner and can offer great advice. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to share with us Ray! I hope everyone will learn from Ray's experiences, and move forward in their own studies. I especially agree with his point on getting out there and SPEAKING. So what are you still doing here? Get out there and practice your Chinese!

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Lesson 16:Naughty

You know right from wrong, but it doesn't mean everyone always cares about it. You should, but bank robbers don't usually care if what they're doing is right or wrong when they're robbing a bank. Some might, but I'm sure they're the minority. So why don't we learn about what you shouldn't do, in Chinese!

http://youtu.be/2GkwvYWY0K4

 

 

批評 pī píng- Criticize

你最好不要批評你的兒子

nǐ zuì hǎo bù yào pī píng nǐ de ér zǐ 。

You shouldn't criticize your son.

 

嘲笑 cháo xiào- Laugh at

小朋友不該嘲笑老師。

xiǎo péng yǒu bù gāi cháo xiào lǎo shī 。

Kids shouldn't laugh at their teacher.

 

吐口水 tǔ kǒu shuǐ- Spit

哎呀! 不要吐口水,好噁心!

āi ya ! bù yào tǔ kǒu shuǐ ,hǎo ě xīn !

Eww! Don't spit, that's gross!

 

 zòu- Punch

我老婆常常揍我。

wǒ lǎo pó cháng cháng zòu wǒ 。

My wife punches me all the time.

 

推 tuī-Push

媽媽!姐姐一直推我了!

mā mā !jiě jiě yī zhí tuī wǒ le !

Mom! Big sister keeps pushing me!

 

在人家背後說壞話 zài rén jiā bèi hòu shuō huài huà -Talk about others behind their back

小黃很愛在人家背後說壞話。

xiǎo huáng hěn ài zài rén jiā bèi hòu shuō huài huà 。

Small Huang loves to talk about others behind their back.

 

搶 qiǎng- Steal

你不用搶錢,我給你。

nǐ bù yòng qiǎng qián ,wǒ gěi nǐ 。

You don't need to steal money, I'll give it to you.

 

翻白眼 fān bái yǎn- Roll your eyes 

妹妹每一次翻白眼都讓我生氣。

mèi mèi měi yī cì fān bái yǎn dōu ràng wǒ shēng qì 。

 I get so angry everytime my little sister rolls her eyes.

 

 八卦 bā guà- Gossip

我不懂為什麼女人怎麼愛八卦,真無聊!

wǒ bù dǒng wéi shé me nǚ rén zěn me ài bā guà ,zhēn wú liáo !

I don't understand why women love to gossip so much, it's so boring!

 

說謊 shuō huǎng- Lie

你對我說謊,下一次就不相信你。

nǐ duì wǒ shuō huǎng ,xià yī cì jiù bù xiàng xìn nǐ 。

If you lie to me, then next time I won't believe you.

 

That's it for today. I hope this lesson was useful, so make sure to let me know what you think in the comments below! Oh, and stay tuned for the follow up lesson next week on being "Nice". See you then!

10 places to eat Western food in Taipei

The topic of today's post is one that is, and always has been close to my heart. Any guesses what that could be?….FOOD!

In the past I have written extensively about various Chinese dishes and delicacies, ranging from the humble dumpling, to the stomach twisting stinky tofu(stomach twisting for most foreigners, that is). But I haven't written much about specific places for you to go eat. I have done a few reviews of night market stands, but not much besides that. I also have written next to nothing about all of the amazing Western influenced food you can get in Taipei.

Today, we rectify this. Because, chances are, if you stay in Taiwan as long as I did, you're going to start to feel a little homesick for some good ol' Western cooking! Without further ado, I give you my top 10 places to eat Western food in Taipei!

1. NY Bagels

\"Ny

This place is just great. Located in Taipei's 東區(other places in Taiepei as well, such as City Hall station), this is my top destination for a midnight Western style breakfast after I've read my fill over at the 24 hour ESLITE bookstore just down the road. French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, they do it all! Granted, there are some pretty awesome mom and pop western style diners in Taiwan, but I like the food here the best. Give them a try, you won't be dissapointed!

 

 

2. Evan's Burger


\"Evans-Burger-2\"With several locations around Taipei, and two in the vicinity of Shida Night Market, this so one of the best places to go for a burger in town. The style is very authentic, and besides burgers you can get all kinds of other great American foods, and their shakes are awesome! Another reason I love eating at Evan's Burger is that they have my all time favorite soda imported from back home…DR PEPPER BABY! You would not believe hard difficult the stuff can be to get in Taiwan!

 

 

3. Bongos

\"bongos\"This place has great burgers, and quesadillas and loads of other stuff as well, but the real fun about going here for me is the books. I'm a nerd, what can I say? The dining are here is surrounded by bookshelves just jam-packed full of English novels, and if you dig through them, you'll not be surprised to find some awesome reading material(scifi, fantasy, general fiction, whatever, they've hot it all!). The books are all second hand(though I'll wager they've seen more than just a pair of hands!) and you can trade in your old books too! Check them out in the NTU area! tons of other great restaurants around there too!

 

4. Amy's Kitchen(La Casita)

\"amysThis place has the best Mexican food you can get in Taiwan, period. It's all very authentic, not as good as what you'd get back here in Texas, but as close as you can reasonably expect considering where you are(and it's worlds better than the Chinese-style Mexican food you can get at other places in Taipei that just don't get it right).They've also got great margaritas(I don't drink anymore, but I'm sure they can make a virgin one as well). They also allow you to write on the wall with a permanent marker, offering some interesting atmosphere to the restaurant and a time you'll never forget! They're a little tough to find, your best bet is to google the Chinese address and show it to a cab driver.

 

5. Macho Tacos

\"machoWhen I went to college in Austin, Freebirds and Chipotle style gigantic burritos were a staple of my diet(maybe one of the reasons I was so fat when I graduated and moved to Taiwan in the first place!). While Macho Tacos isn't a carbon copy of either major American chain, they do offer a pretty similar dining experience, and have by far, the best burritos in Taiwan. Too bad this joint didn't pop up sooner, I was always on the lookout for Mexican food during my early days on Taiwan, Check them out in the Shida night market area.

 

 

 

6. Alley Cats

\"alleycats-huashan-arts\"Best pizza in Taiwan, seriously, just try them and I'm sure you'll be a believer too! Located on the back side of Ximen Ding's famous Red House, Alley Cats has been serving up awesome pizza to Taipei's night owls for a long time, which is pretty easy, considering they're surrounded by bars! Their pizza is Chicago style, thin-crusted and delicious! They're also affordable, considering how much good Western food can cost in Taipei, not cheap, but affordable.

 

 

 

7. West-15 Diner(西十五牛仔很忙)

\"west15\"This place has all of the essentials, and lots of them! The menu consists of burgers, fries, pasta, salad, soups, wings, and much more! Oh, and it's buffet style, so the staff will keep bringing you dishes to your table until you burst! It's a little pricey, but you can get your money's worth, for sure, especially us guys. Besides the great food, another reason this place is so popular is because the owner dresses like a sexy cowgirl, and so do the rest of the waitresses, none of which are hard on the eyes. The place is within walking distanced Liuzhangli station, and google can get you the rest of the way from there.

 

8. Mary's Hamburger(茉莉漢堡)

\"20091105-maryshamburger\"This one is a little out there if you are located in the heart of Taipei, but if you are in the neighborhood, it's a good place to stop for dinner. Located in Tienmu, just by the American school, it shouldn't be hard to find. They have great burgers and fries and I would recommend checking them out next time you're in the area to peruse the flea market, take a bus to Yangming Mountain to hit up the hotspring resorts, or whatever it is that brings you there.

 

 

9. Casa Della Pasta

\"casaI love spaghetti and lasagna, but it can be super difficult to find a really good pasta place in Taiwan. Taiwanese spaghetti is generally served with a pretty watery sauce, not the meaty kind that Westerners love, and never has enough Parmesan cheese. Enter Casa Della Pasta. With several locations around Taipei, This place has great Italian food, and you can get as much parmesan as you want to go with your pasta, just expect to pay a little more than you would at other spaghetti places around town. Remember you get what you pay for.

 

10. Hooters

\"hooters\"I know what your thinking, and stop it, okay! This fine establishment made it on the list because of the great American style good, right?…Awww, who am I kidding, we all know why Hooters is popular with the guys, pretty obvious. The foods great, and they have a hula-hoop show, and some of the girls can swing 10+ hula-hoops at a time! Now that's something you've just got to see! Check them out, they're conveniently located by the Nanjing E. Rd. station.

 

 

 

 

That's my list. It's not all inclusive, there are tons of other places to get great Western food in Taipei, so feel free to share your favorties below!

Also, remember to join my mail list for updates on all the happening on eazychinese.com!

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 things that I never saw until I went to Taiwan

Hey everyone! Today's post is short and sweet. I just wanted to share with you all some of the more unique and interesting things that I have seen durring my stay in Taiwan. Enjoy and share your experiences below!!!

 

1. People washing clothes in a stream

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2. A person go into a trance as they were possessed by a god

\"2012-09-28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. 3 people on the same scooter, or a woman with 3 dogs on a scooter(okay, so that's two things!)

\"5-on-a-scooter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Parks full of elderly people performing choreographed dancing to music, or subway terminals equally full of breakdancing youths.


\"20111106_080606_dancingpark\"
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Two cars trying to fit through the same alley(approximately 1 car width wide), but different directions, oh and a scooter or two as well.

\"1\"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. A cab driver hit a pedestrian and then blow her off when she complained(both my wife and I have been hit by cars too)

\"taiwanTaxi2\"
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. A whole roast pig(think Hawaiian style, minus the apple in the mouth)

\"roast_pig\"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. This!

\"chinese-acupuncture-cupping\"

 

10 Scary Chinese Foods!

 

The most popular articles I have ever written are… and…. So today, I'm going to keep the food theme, but add a bit of a twist, so keep reading and find out about some of the most unique(and disgusting!) Chinese foods!


1. 皮蛋 pídàn- Thousand year-old eggs

\"pidan-1\"
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rumor is these bad boys were marinated in horse piss to give them their distinctive flavor and smell way back in the day. This just shows you the reputation they have! These days they are soaked in salt, and a mixture of chemicals to give them their distinctive salty, ammonium flavor.


2. 臭豆腐 chòudòufu- Stinky tofu

\"Stinky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've written about this dish before, but I'm going to include it in this article as well, because foreigners really do think it's Disgusting(I capitalized and bolted the D for emphasis!), but come on! It's not that bad, especially compared to one of the other items on this list!


3. 豬腳 zhūjiǎo- Pigs feet

\"IMG_0872_20101224_Taipei_ShowShanti\"

I can't tell you how much I love these! My mother in law makes the BEST marinated pigs feet in the world! The meat is so tender, it melt in your mouth! Just goes to show, that great food ain't always pretty!

4. 豬血糕 zhūxiěgāo /鴨血 yāxiě- Pigs blood cake/ duck blood

\"Zhu_xie_Gao\"Pigs blood cake and duck blood are often served with other dishes or in hotpot to compliment the other flavors, as they absorb the flavor of soups, sauces, etc. It's really not that bad, though the idea of it is kinda gross, you might think Chinese people are vampires!

5. 烤章魚腳 kǎozhāngyújiǎo- Grilled octopus tentacle

\"4266107978_e0e9273612_z\"

What's better than a delicious, rubbery octopus tentacle on a stick? A GIANT delicious, rubbery octopus tentacle on a stick, that's what! When I first moved to Taiwan, I remember thinking to myself "What the heck I that?" as I strolled through the night market one night. Little did I know that I would come to love this weird food, and so will you!


6. 豬肝 zhūgān- Pigs liver

\"6a00c225259fe3604a00e398cddd860004\"

Not usually eaten on their own, pig livers are adding in to many dishes to make for a hearty meal! They are eaten, because in traditional thought, they are believed to increase the blood count in your body.

7. 雞腳 jījiǎo- Chicken feet

\"OLYMPUSChicken feet are especially popular with Chinese women, as they are thought(because of traditional Chinese medicine) to be good for the skin. These are pretty good, but I'd take pigs feet any day, because chicken feet have barely any meat on them! They're great if you like cartilage, skin and tons of tiny bones though!

8. 魚下巴 yúxiàba- Fish jaw

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This dish is pretty scary looking when the waiter brings it to your table, I mean, come on! Do people actually eat that! As a matter of fact, they do! The meat tastes pretty good, though it can be difficult to get at all the good parts. Hey, try it before you judge!

 

 

 

9. 魚卵 yúluǎn- Fish eggs

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In Taiwan, when you order a fish at a restaurant, you get a fish, head and all. In America, you get a fillet! In Taiwan, when you get a fish with a belly full of eggs, you consider yourself lucky as you chow down on your bonus. In America, you yell at the waiter, send the fish back and mot likely empty the contents of your stomach. It really is amazing how different our taste buds can be!

 

 

10. 豬舌頭 zhūshétou- Pigs tongue

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Last but not least, is pigs tongue! We've eaten pretty much every other part of the animal, so why leave the tongue alone? These are shaved into thin slices and grilled, and both look, and taste like pepperoni! They are awesome, so make sure you try this one before dropping the hammer!

 

 

 

That's our list, and I had to cut it short because my hands are getting tired from typing. I could easily go on! It just goes to show how much of the animals we eat in the West go to waste! I hope you enjoyed this article, and if you did, please join my mail-list! Until next time….