The family and I have adopted the habit of having a Taiwanese breakfast on the weekends. It is so convenient, simple, and cheap as heck as well as being very satisfying for some reason. The Taiwanese take breakfast very seriously. I would categorize breakfast into two types—the brunch joints and the soy milk (dojiang 豆漿) places. In either place, your choices and customizations are almost limitless.
Brunch
I consider these places brunch places because their large diverse menus may include everything from Western-style pancakes and French toast to giant bowls of seafood noodle soup as well as my personal favorite—danbing (蛋餅) or eggs rolled in savory crepe. Even the danbing has about 10 or more variations to tuck into.
There are also Texas-style toasts, hamburgers, bagels and sandwiches, but all with a bit of a Taiwanese twist. Did I mention there are plenty of fried food options like chicken wings, pork and chicken cutlets and french fries? Breakfast of champions!
You never really know what you’re getting. Nothing exceeds $100 NT (US$3.50) unless you opt for the combo platters with drinks and some sides. Menus usually have at least 100 items to order from, which can be daunting but more fun for exploring. I sometimes just randomly pick an item to sample it. It could be hit or miss, but interesting nonetheless. These are all made to order which is different than the next type of breakfast—soy milk.
Soy Milk (豆漿) Shops
The name is highly misleading as these places sell far more than just soy milk. These breakfast joints are based on Chinese traditional breakfasts and they are dough intensive—definitely not for those on a low-carb diet. They will also have their particular following based on the quality of the freshly made soy milk and the degree of scratch made dough products being offered. The options again seem endless.
There’s the steamed buns case with buns you can palm. Within the case, there could be 15 different sweet and savory options steaming away. When done right, they are fluffy but hefty at the same time and go well with a cold or hot soy milk. In addition, there can also be steam baskets of small soup dumplings （小籠包）available to scarf down for a measly US$1.50 (NT$40).
Beyond steamed goods, there are also baked and griddled foods that are mostly prepared ahead but are very fresh as turnover of food at these places are fast. But to be safe, the earlier the better for breakfast, as everything is at their freshest with the biggest selection early on. Among the foods available are:
- Fried cruller（油條）- traditional fried dough that usually accompanies soy milk
- Shaobing (燒餅) – baked sesame flaky bread makes for excellent egg sandwiches or the quintessential breakfast of fried cruller sandwich (燒餅油條), perfect for dipping into soy milk
- Scallion pancakes（蔥油餅）- griddled and used as a wrap around eggs and variations of egg sandwiches with bacon and ham
- Radish cakes（蘿蔔糕）- dim sum style radish cakes griddled plain or with an egg
- Egg crepe danbing（蛋餅）- egg and various fillings in a simple flour crepe
- Dumplings（煎餃）- steamed and fried at the same time for a crisp bottom
- Pan-fried buns（生煎包）- same treatment as dumplings but thicker dough
- Baked buns (餅) – rich, lard dough baked in a tandoori oven filled with variety of sweet and savory fillings
It seems like the Taiwanese like variety and everything customized to individual tastes. There are no less than 10 different breakfast drinks that can be provided (cold/hot/sweetened/unsweetened) to accompany your doughy breakfast including soy milk, peanut drink, sesame drink, black tea, milk tea, soy milk tea, coffee and savory soy milk soup. All are excellent with the doughy breakfast.
It is literally the fastest fast food one can get. We enjoy watching how the food and orders are processed with lightning speed and, despite the queue, the flow of people is constantly moving. However, one must be prepared with their drink orders as they approach the register because the ladies do not have patience for slow people. These places are not just popular for their speed and freshness but also relative inexpensive price. We can easily feed a family of three with tons of food and drinks for under US$10. Thus, our weekly visits…
Everyday Dan Bing 