Wanndering – on foot and in spirit

If you have a night life in Taiwan, this is a word you can never escape – Ganbei – ‘bottoms up’! Taiwanese are interesting drinkers and they have their drinking culture. Coming from a society where the only culture in drinking is drinking secretively, I have made some really interesting observations about how Taiwanese drink.

Frustratingly to the Indians, Taiwanese prefer to drink after the meal and not before it. The most they do is to order a beer with the meal but the REAL drinking happens after the meal.  Taiwanese drink ’straight’ to the amusement of Indians where everything is diluted by soda, water or coke.

Taiwanese epitomise social drinking. People go together in groups to drink, usually order by bottle(s) – most likely whisky. All the GOOD places have nice large crystal clear ice blocks and whisky on rock is clearly their favourite drink.  Taiwanese are real fun-lovers when they drink and they have a great appetite for drinking.  When they drink, they usually ‘cheers’ another person – yes, for EVERY sip and hence NEVER they take a sip alone. It is funny because you end up saying Cheers 100 times during the night. Drinking sessions last for 4-5 hours during weekends starting right after dinner to very late in the night. Bars are open till 3-4 AM  during the weekends.  So, there are lot of ‘drinking games’ which are played – simple yet interesting. The flip side is that in most of the games the loser does a ‘ganbei.

Coming to Ganbei, when a person of the opposite sex does a ‘cheers’ and does a ganbei, you  HAVE to do it and it means the person likes you (Wow, such clear communication).  They guys urge the other fellows to ‘ganbei’ quite often.  There is a nice Taiwan wine which is taken in small shots for ganbei.  You SHOULD try it if you have not already done so. Its very strong and leaves a tingling sensation in your throat.

As the night progresses, bottles are emptied, dont worry about ordering another bottle. If it is unfinished, you can leave the bottle with your name on and they will save it for you for a month or so.
There are different drinking places, some clubs with Jazz and other live music, some less noisier lounges with light music, some usually noisy places, some sports bars which are a rage during the soccer season and the list goes on. What is rightfully (?) vilified back home as tantamount to a sin, looks so bearable and friendly in Taiwan – drinking.  Taiwanese are generally friendly and become more friendlier as the bottles empty.  However, in some places people get offended if you refuse a drink or a ganbei when they ask for it.  If you are a teetotaler for right or the wrong reasons,  be careful when you go to places of social drinking.

Last time when my close friend introduced his uncle in one such similar place, he said to me ‘get your glass’. As a mark of respect, I was supposed to say ‘Cheers’ and do a ‘ganbei’ with him.

In India, when someone introduces his uncle, as a mark of respect, you touch his feet. Such a world apart!!!  Ganbei!

No matter how serious the discussion is, before we finish the 10th sentence, my chinese acqaintances would surely say ‘ I love Indian food’. And my reaction would most probably, (and surely if it is a good-looking girl), would be ‘I know a place which serves really authentic Indian food – do you want to go there?’.

Many of the ‘Indian’ restaurants in Taipei are not really Indian – some are Pakistanis. This doesnt change the taste little bit but may only have religious undertones in the meat. Pakistani restaurants use ‘halal’ meat – meat cut in strict islamic manner. Some really picky hindus may not like it and similarly if it is non-halal, muslims would like to stay away. If you follow the ‘religion’ of taste, then dont bother, just go to any ‘Indian’ restaurant – taste is more or less the same.

Here are some Indian restaurants with my reviews. Excuse me if you dont like the meat, because since I am a vegetarian, I have used ‘meaty’ reviews of my friends.

1. AliBaba Indian Kitchen

Address: 2F., 56-58 Nanking E., Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei
(台北市南京東路2段56-58號2樓)
Telephone: (02) 2567-7163
Open: 12pm to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11pm
Average meal: NT$500 per person

This is by far the most popular and restaurant whose recall rate is the highest. To a great extent its fame is well deserved. The best part is the buffett system. And if you are an amateur connoisseur of Indian cuisine, this is a delight to the taste buds. You can enjoy around 10 varieties of meat dishes and 5 varieties of vegan dishes at just NT$400 per person. A maximum of 500NT if you add a cool drink. You can also order ala-carte, and would cost around the same.
I find, and my friends agree, that the food is very good.

2. Tandoor Indian Restaurant
10, Lane 73, HeJiang St, Minsheng (E) Road
(02) 2509-9853/2505-4870
Hours：12 pm-2:30 pm，6-10:30 pm
Credit Cards Accepted / 10% Service Charge

The decor is the ‘most Indian’ of the restaurants I have seen. Nice and clean place, owned by an Indian but serviced by local guys. The food is real spicy and delicious. Slightly more expensive than Ali Baba. They serve Kingfisher ‘The Indian’ Beer. I think if you are taking someone out for a date, then is a much cooler place – nice

(Walkable from MRT Zhongshan High School – terminal stop on brown line)

3. Hindustan

Lane 313, Fu Xing North Road, Taipei, 105 Taiwan

If you are looking for some food, that would take your back to the memories of India, then this is not the place. If you want to take a Chinese, who cannot digest more than a spoon of oil a day and allergic to more than a pinch of spice, this is THE place. The restaurant is run by a Indian-Chinese (adding to the motley of ethnic groups, there is a small Chinese community in Kolkotta). She has made the Indian food more palatable to the Chinese. I dont say the food is bad, but given a choice I would go to some other restaurant because I fall in the first category I mentioned earlier. I like the ambience and service though- its more classier than the others.

(really close to MRT Zhongshan High School – terminal stop on brown line)
4. The Spice Shop – Indian Cuisine
No6, Alley-10, Lane-50, Tien Mu East Rd. Taipei

This was surprisingly introduced by my Chinese friend. It is hardly a Indian’s place, unlike the first 2 places, you wont find many Indians here. The location is not suitable to go for a brief visitor but for a Taipei resident seeking a change, can surely explore this. Many Indians in Taipei know this restaurant as ’some place in Tienmu’. If you are around Tienmu, you should drop by this place, The restaurant is more like an eatery but excellent food. This is run by an Indian.

5. Out of India – Shida night market

This is a small place in Shida night market, frequented by students studying in NTNU. It is just what you expect of a students’ place – small and cheap. I dont rate the food so well, though. The chefs are Indians and is run by an Indian. If you are passing by ShiDa night market and feel you need to eat something different, you can drop by this place.

There are 1-2 other places, but I havent explored them. Will update if I do so. If you are just curious about Indian food, these 5 are enough to satiate your curiosity.

{Equally close to Guting (Red line) and Taipower (Green line) MRT Stations.  10 mins walk}

Taipei is a place for work and fun. I had been to this nice place called Olala Restaurant which provides Salsa classes on Thursdays and Saturdays. If you have been looking for place to learn Salsa in Taipei, this is the one.

Olala French restaurant

台北市仁愛路四段371號1樓

1F., No.371 Jen-ai Road Sec.4

Map: http://blog.xuite.net/zeronet/latin/7439878

The place is located in an alley parallel to Jen-Ai Road, exactly behind the building # 368 on Jen-Ai Road.

You can dance or watch people jiving. The food and drinks are pretty cheap. It is a modest place and nice for friendly gettogether. Salsa classes @ 200NTD/hr

Taiwan is a treat for foodies. One would be surprised to see rows of restaurant serving different cuisines – Chinese Hakka, Shezwan, Korean and Japanese being the most prevalent. While it comes as bonanza to some, vegetarians like me suddenly lose out on options.

What is aquarium in India are soup pots here. Taiwanese cuisine itself is light, simple and easy to prepare and less spicy. It is notably healthy too. They dont overcook and keep the flavour of the basic ingredients.

Pic 1: the Korean Hotpot, Pic 2: Buddhist  Vegan food – my favourite
I have been to interesting places like Mr.Pot, Shabu Shabu where you have a soup bowl place on a stove which is actually built into the table. There is conveyor belt moving at a slow speed loaded with raw food. I almost threw up seeing a baby octupus plate. It is real easy running restaurants like that. Customers themselves have to ‘cook’

Americanisation has crept into their lives – corn flakes, pizzas, burgers, nachos, wafers, donots… If you ever find obese people, be assured it would be never due to the Taiwanese food, its the side effects of Americanisation.

Yeah, you surely get snakes to eat in the Snake Alley close to the most famous Longshan Temple. These days, apparently, the number of snake eateries have decreased.

Night markets are notorious for their food too. The stalls there have the same charm of roadside gadiwala in India

More on Vegans in Taiwan