Taiwan: Danshui Night Market (Revisited)

Because my friend had never been to Danshui before, we squeezed in a trip for her. The three of us were all pumped about dinner, but we got distracted by this right at the mouth of the street:

Which is how we ended up starting with dessert. Danshui is known for its tall soft-serve cones. Most people I saw (including us) only ordered the small size. Probably because it's only 10 NT (around 30 cents). My firends got the taro and the chocolate/vanilla swirl. I got the mango:

Too artificial-tasting for me and more icy than creamy. The cone wasn't all that great either. But at 10 NT, can't complain.

My durian loving friend was drawn wide-eyed to this stand:

That's right, fried durian. Three kinds of preparation too. Just for fun, we all shared a bite of the durian wrapped in taro:



I could definitely smell the durian, but I couldn't taste it beneath the flavor of the taro.

Of course I couldn't pass by the fried mushroom stand without buying anything:

I got the mixed cup to share:



Danshui is particularly known for its fish balls. My grandparents told me which fish ball shop is the best and I led the girls down the Danshui Old Street trying to find this one shop. We eventually gave up and went to this restaurant by the river instead:



Turns out the shop we were looking for was about 10 steps from where we gave up the hunt. FAIL. Well, the food was still good where we ended up eating. And there were so many people that all 3 floors were insanely filled.

Danshui is also know for its ah gei (Taiwanese):



It's basically tofu skin stuffed with noodles, capped by fish paste, steamed, and drowned in this red sauce:



I'm not a big fan, probably because I've only had it at this restaurant and I don't really like their sauce. I've heard that the best ah gei is actually found up the hill near Aletheia University, which is closer to where I live. Someday I'll have to check it out.

We got some vermicelli too:



And some noodles:



Finally, the famous Danshui fish balls:



What makes them so special is the meat stuffed inside:



Our entire meal cost the three of us 150 NT total. That's $5 between 3 people. I love Taiwan.

After dinner we walked along the river, enjoying the view and the breeze. I was getting thirsty so we made a stop at this tea place:



I decided to give winter melon tea with milk a try:



It tasted...just like winter melon tea. In my opinion, save the extra 5 NT and just buy the regular winter melon tea. The milk doesn't add anything to the drink.

Even though we didn't get to eat fish balls at THE fish ball shop (okay, okay, totally my fault), I think we did pretty well for ourselves. Now that I know where the actual fish ball shop is, I'll be able to be a better tour guide next time.