Hsin Tung Yang Sesame flavored dried bean curd: Dried bean curd is one of my favorite Taiwanese snacks and is not quite like anything I've had from American grocery stores. Fried bean curd, saturated in sesame oil, is wrinkled almost like an enlarged raisin, but comes in large strips like beef jerky. It has an intensely savory sweet chili-garlic flavor and leaves your fingers and tongue slick with a (unhealthy) coating of grease, which undoubtably adds to its deliciousness. I can't say exactly where this bag was from as my parents had i... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended taiwanese asian tofu hsintungyang sesame flavored dried bean curd 4.0
Kuan Sheng Food Seaweed Thin Crackers: These are specialty crackers from Taiwan that are bright matcha green. They contain a kitchen sink of Asian ingredients, from buckwheat to glutinous rice, mung beans, green tea powder, black sesame, and, of course, seaweed. Altogether, though, it somehow works, creating thin, buttery cookies that taste earthy yet faintly sweet and has a slight medicinal quality to it (it contains some mixed Chinese herbs as well). My mom brought this home as a gift from one of her students, so I’m not sur... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended cookies asian taiwanese kuanshengfood seaweed thin crackers 4.0
Hwa Yuan Jenyowe Cuttlefish Crackers: From Taiwan, these seafood crackers are shaped like curled squid tentacles and have a vivid glazed orange color. They taste like a cross between shrimp crackers and fried calamari - definitely seafood flavored, but not easily pinpointed to a single type of underwater creature. Cost less than $2 for a bag at Hong Kong Supermarket in Manhattan's Chinatown. Not healthy, but tasty. 3.5/5.0
recommended seafood hongkongsupermarket taiwanese junkfood hwayuan jenyowe cuttlefish crackers 3.5
Meet Fresh Sweet Potato Tofu Pudding: Meet Fresh is a sweets shop from Taiwan serving a variety of hot and cold desserts combining classic toppings such as mung bean, taro, and barley, along with glutinous rice balls, boba, and other chewy treats. Their first New York City location is around the corner from Cooper Union. I ordered the chilled version of their tofu pudding with sweet potato, which came with a small mound of ice, all swimming in a lightly-sweetened honey water. The sweet potatoes came in homely, large chunks, a... (read more) 2.5/5.0
desserts nyc taiwanese sweets meetfresh sweet potato tofu pudding 2.5
Snowdays Creamsicle shaved ice with coconut ash condensed milk: A collaboration between Korean fast-casual chain Korilla and Taiwanese shaved ice shop Snowdays, this dessert combines orange creamsicle shaved ice with a drizzle of black charcoal-colored condensed milk, giving it the appearance of Korilla's tiger mascot. Available exclusively at the Korilla stand at Madison Square Eats, a single-size container costs around $7, which is quite expensive but can also easily be shared among a small family. Overall, the dessert is not bad; the milky coconut p... (read more) 3.0/5.0
desserts shavedice taiwanese nyc korilla collab snowdays creamsicle shaved ice coconut ash condensed milk 3.0
Powder Ube shaved ice with mochi and condensed milk: This is the third flavor I've had from Powder, a Taiwanese shaved ice shop in San Francisco. The first, black sesame, was excellent, with a light texture but creamy flavor. The second, matcha, had a great green tea flavor but was more dense in texture. This last one was, unfortunately, the worst texturally, which is apparent from just the image itself - the starchy potato may have made it harder to achieve the same airy consistency that the black sesame ice had. Ube is a seasonal summer ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream ube sanfrancisco taiwanese shavedice powder shaved ice mochi condensed milk 3.0