Breakfasts Fit for a King

December 1981

中文

This breakfast includes twisted fritters of fried dough, an egg, a Chinese muffin, and a bowl of bean curd milk.

Early morning sunshine penetrates the mist to cast shadows through the leaves and branches of trees which line the road. Soon, the sound of traffic indicates that Taipei is awaking from its slumber to start a new and busy day.

Taipei city, the political, cultural, economic and transportation center of Taiwan province, has a wide range of customs which can be attributed to the influx of people from every part of Taiwan and the China mainland. As well as enriching the city's culture, these people have also enhanced the art of eating. Even breakfast, already rich in variety, is rapidly improving in quality, symbolizing progress in the Republic of China and changes in its people's lifestyles.

The most popular items in a Chinese breakfast are soybean milk, flaky sesame buns known as shao bing, and crispy crullers known as yu tiao. As they pass a shao bing shop, few people are able to resist the delicious aroma which emanates from within. "Sweet soybean milk with an egg, shao bing and yu tiao," shouts the waiter. "Two bowls of salted soybean milk and two pieces of egg pancake!" At the rear of the restaurant, chefs are busy preparing the ingredients.

Soybean milk is made of juice from soybean extract with water and sugar added, while the salted version is made by adding soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped green onions, sliced yu tiao and fried pork flakes to the mixture. Shao bing and yu tiao are regarded as indispensable accompaniments to soybean milk. Yu tiao has a history of more than 800 years. It is said that during the reign of Kaotzung of the southern Sung dynasty Minister Chin Kuei brought a trumped up charge, which resulted in the execution of 39-year-old Yueh Fei, an outstanding field commander. Later, the people were so incensed that they vowed to eat Chin Kuei's body--symbolically at any rate. So they kneaded dough into the shape of two bodies (to represent Chin Kuei and his wife), deep fried the result and ate it to show their anger.

Shao bing, also known as "hu bing" and "chui bing" in the Tang dynasty, was introduced to China by the Persians. It was regarded as the ideal food for a nomadic people, since it could be easily carried and would keep for a long time. In Taipei today, Yungho district is regarded as the best place to taste soybean milk and shao bing. Many of the shops are clustered at one end of the Chungcheng bridge and service is round the clock, and people gather there as early as 3 or 4 in the morning.

Other popular breakfast dishes in Taipei are traditional snacks such as congee (rice gruel) in the Cantonese style, small juicy steamed rolls, steamed dumplings, thin egg pancakes, shortcakes, and bean curd jelly. A type of tea known as yin cha often accompanies the meal. The custom of yin cha was brought to Hong Kong from Canton after the end of the war of resistance against Japan. It is therefore known as "yin cha Hong Kong-style."

More than 50 separate dishes are served at yin cha restaurants. Among the most popular are steamed shrimp dumplings, shao mai steamed with oyster eggs, roast pork buns with brown sauce, egg rolls with sliced chicken, egg yolk layer cake, Cantonese-style fried noodles, steamed noodle rolls and other dishes whose names alone are enough to make the average Chinese customer's mouth water. Opening hours for most yin cha restaurants are from 8︰30 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.

Servings are either small, medium or large, with price ranging from NT$20 to more than NT$100. Tea is charged according to the number of customers at a table. Because of their low prices and fast service, yin cha restaurants often have standing room only.

If their diet is usually made up of too much greasy food, many people, particularly the old, like to sample more simple foods, such as gruel with side dishes. In the agricultural society of the past, most families were frugal and thrifty. Simple dishes served for breakfast included such items as soy preserved turnip roots, preserved bean curd, pickled vegetables, salted duck eggs and gluten. Today, because of rapid economic progress and higher incomes, such items as baby shrimps, cuttlefish, pork and dried mushrooms are added to the traditional breakfast meal of congee.

At foodstands set up outside markets, housewives workers, students and office workers can be seen eating lou jou fan (rice with gravy and chopped pork), jou keng (pork potage with shredded bamboo shoots), mi fen tang (thin rice noodle soup), yu fan (fried rice with pork, baby shrimps and dried mushrooms) and the standard fried noodles. Meals such as this cost no more than NT$30. A particularly popular dish, which can be taken away and eaten in the office or workshop, is known as fan tuan, consisting of sliced yu tiao, dried turnip roots, spiced mustard roots, meat flakes and peanut powder wrapped in rice.

Nutritious and hygienically prepared Western food, served quickly, conveniently and at a reasonable price, has gradually become more accepted among office workers. Most popular restaurants in this style which have sprung up in Taipei over the past few years, have such names as McDonald's, Burger Queen, Little Beauty, Snoopy and Weichuan.

Served in attractive surroundings and made with the most modern equipment, hamburgers, French fries, fried chicken, sausages, eggs, sandwiches, ice cream, soft drinks and juices are the most popular items at these establishments.

A good breakfast is one of the best guarantees of a day full of energy. As dietician Adele Davis once said: "Have a king's breakfast, a prince's lunch and a pauper's supper."

[Picture Caption]

Top: A typical breakfast includes a sweet potato and peanut pudding, noodles, dried meat, salty-egg, bean curd, and other tidbits. Right: This breakfast includes twisted fritters of fried dough, an egg, a Chinese muffin, and a bowl of bean curd milk.

1 . Cake and small coconut pies. 2. A glass of milk and a sandwich. 2. Boiled dumplings, pieces of sweet potato, and other tidbits. 3. 4. There are many kinds of Cantonese snacks: Chinese meat balls, spare-ribs, egg-rolls, shrimp, thousand-layer cake, as well as other sweet things. This a la carte style is very popular in Taiwan for entertaining guests or to accompany an informal gathering. 5. Western-style meals are also very popular.

1. A woman worker enjoys breakfast consisting of a bowl of rice with assorted meat and fish and a bowl of pork-ball soup. 2. This student enjoys a bowl of soup and rice noodles, bean curd, and pig's intestine. 3. Hot noodles with pieces of meat in a sweet sauce, and wonton soup. 4. Fish and noodles, chicken and fried noodles. 5. Fried turnips. 6. A typical street-stand in Taiwan selling all sorts of snacks.

1. Eggs boiled in tea leaves simmer, while warm dumplings are placed in steamer with warm bottles of milk. 2. Dumplings and bean curd milk. 3. Bowls of fried noodles and pig's-blood soup make a quick and easy breakfast. 4. A heaping bowl of rice, a fried egg, and broth. 5. Chinese biscuits. 6. Dumplings eaten hot right off the skillet. 7. Strangers meet for breakfast at one of Taiwan's "fast-food" stands.

A typical breakfast includes a sweet potato and peanut pudding, noodles, dried meat, salty-egg, bean curd, and other tidbits.

Cake and small coconut pies.

A glass of milk and a sandwich.

There are many kinds of Cantonese snacks: Chinese meat balls, spare-ribs, egg-rolls, shrimp, thousand-layer cake, as well as other sweet things. This a la carte style is very popular in Taiwan for entertaining guests or to accompany an informal gathering.