Horizontally yours: Dreamland, KaoHsuing, S. Taiwan 夢時代, 高雄, 南台灣

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Dreamland, KaoHsuing, S. Taiwan 夢時代, 高雄, 南台灣

The first time I was in KaoHsuing was in April 1998 and on that trip I was on a heavy mood because I was to set up my network in my new business plan and fierce competition with the other business parties, as I went to Taipei afterwards. At that time, KaoHsuing was just a city to me. 11 years later, it turned out as a modern cosmopolitan but even quieter. The first 2 days didn't impress me much but later on the last 2 days made me re-think about this city.

1/2 Dreamland is a big shopping/entertainment complex close to the Siu Kang Airport (小港機場). On top of it is a Ferris Wheel and a playground. You can spend a whole day there, especially in the book store. I really enjoy browsing the Elite Book shop (誠品書店) and this time I bought some nice books.

3/4. the food court in the basement offering various kinds of local and foreign food.

5. busy food court area. 6. Tan Tsai Noodle 担仔麵 - this noodle derived from a guy called Mr. Hung who migrated from Fujian to Tainan in the late Ching dynasty. Mr. Hung lived as a fisherman but survived hard during the typhoon season. So during typhoon season he would take up a bamboo rod to carry the utensil for cooking a small portion of noodle. So Tan means the bamboo rod. Tsai implies it is a small and humble business. As Mr. Hung sold the noodle for several months during Typhoon season, so he called it as "passing a period of small moon" (度小月) - what a literal term for his name. Now the original shop in Tainan has been over 100 years old. The essense of this noodle is in the minced pork sauce. I kind of like it since the portion is good enough as a snack. Besides, the name already earned our loving memory of Mr. Hung's spirit of surviving and being humble. This noodle is often my recommendation for foreign friends visiting Taiwan.

7. San Sheun Jiao Fu (三商巧福) is a big chain store or may be the first Chinese fast food chain store in Taiwan. It's main dish is beef noodle soup. The taste is quite nice but at a price of NT$70-80 (HK$16-18) for a big bowl of beef noodle, it is worth trying. 8. Kao Hsuing oyster omelette. Personally I don't like it especially that "tomato sauce-like".

9. Hot spicy soup with dumpling. Quite nice and also very cheap NT$80 for both. 10. Taiwanese Bento (便當) - most fast food or lunch box sold at gas station or train station often claim their lunch box as Chie Xheng Bento (池上便當). Chie Xheng is a place in Tai Tung (Eastern Taiwan) and its soil is good for growing rice. Bento is a Japanese name for lunch box. So Chie Xheng is famous for its rice. In fact, we did enjoy quite much on the rice no matter how awlful the food is.

11. beef noodle with pickled veggie - also quite nice and NT$120 for both. 12. my faourite ice - snowy silky ice (雪花冰) - the ice is made of milk; so when it is shred, the texture beomes very silky. Highly recommended!