A small venture

I need some better impulse control, or else eating a massive breakfast buffet each morning for 10 days is really going to do me in. Good thing there's a scale (kilograms only) in the room. Around 14:00, I went out in search of lunch. Walking along the main thoroughfare outside the hotel (Guangfu Road Sec 1), I navigated the narrow street with some difficulty. There are no sidewalks to speak of: around one metre of pavement separates the front of a store from the road. The right lane is slightly wider, to accomodate parked cars and scooters which often straddle the painted line.

As I wandered past numerous hair cutting salons, tiny scooter and car repair shops, betel nut beauties, and snack vendors, I realized I was one of the few pedestrians. My walk involved frequent darting out onto the road in order to make my way past the parked cars. Most customers drive up to storefronts on their scooter, made their purchase, then departed. I even saw miniature dogs perched on the floorboard of some scooters! Here's a photo of some fashionable headgear to wear while motoring:

I picked up this sesame ball filled with red bean paste for $25TWD. Very oily, with a shell that was too thick, but I liked how it's deeply browned.

Buns steaming on the side of the street.

A takoyaki (章魚燒) vendor drew my attention. Of course, I didn't know what it was at first, nor that it was a Japanese import. Much gesticulating and stilted Mandarin was exchanged. He started by oiling the hemispherical molds liberally, then ladling a batter into the molds, sprinkling them with onions, cabbage and a bright orange powder (cheese? tempura scraps?), octopus chunks, and then more batter. When they were partially cooked, he used two metal skewers to deftly rotate them, ensuring it was evenly cooked, and the balls were round. More oil went over top, and the spheres began to sputter and brown. To serve, he sprinkled the takoyaki with ao nori, something spicy (togarashi, maybe), okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, shaved bonito flakes, and placed the whole thing in a paper container. These were absolutely delicious! This vendor might have been part of this franchise.