Keelung's nights are normally wet and chilly, a result of the light rains and winds which are regular features of Keelung's oceanside climate. The frequent light showers have even given Keelung a special nickname, "Rain Harbor." Yet every evening flocks of people brave these elements in the area known as "Temple Entrance" (miao k'ou) in order to sample the treats offered on the city's "snack street." Here, shoulder to shoulder, they sit or stand at countless street stalls enticing one and all with the varied fragrances from sizzling woks.
Keelung is one of Taiwan's more bustling cities. During the daytime, its streets are full of cars and trucks on their way to and from the city's busy port. At night, Keelung's inhabitants take over their streets, mostly to make their way to Temple Entrance to enjoy themselves in the fashion of their parents and grandparents before them, leaving everyday cares behind.
One of Taiwan's oldest cities, Keelung was founded toward the end of the Ming Dynasty (l368-1644) on a site surrounded on three sides by mountains, and on the fourth by one of Asia's best natural harbors.
In deference to the rainy climate, most of Keelung's food stalls shelter beneath covered arcades. And since it is a port city, the stalls feature dishes based on fresh seafoods. However, the stalls gather near the temple more for reasons of tradition than geography. The early settlers of Keelung, from the Minnan region of south China, primarily Changchou and Ch'uanchou, were fishermen who went often to the port's temple to pray for safety for their sea voyages. The temple and its surrounding area naturally developed as a center of other activities.
"Temple Entrance" actually refers to the areas on either side of Keelung's third largest temple, Chien Chi Kung, along two streets famous for their food stands--Jen San Road and Ai Szu Road. Very narrow and only about 500 meters long, the two streets crowd in over 100 food shops which offer 300-400 different dishes. Jen San Road developed first, and after it became crowded, Ai Szu Road began offering alternatives. Now, each evening at 6:00, Ai Szu Road is closed to traffic, and gourmets from every part of the island fill its narrow passage.
The fresh seafood is arranged in refrigerated cases in front of Temple Entrance restaurants. Here you can select the freshest prawns, sashimi, sea cucumbers, sturgeon, tuna, mollusks. And not only can you choose the seafood for your meal, but the dishes you order are made to your taste. The patrons choose to have each dish either steamed, boiled, fried, or deep fried. So the seafood available here, because it is personally selected and then cooked to order, is the best available anywhere.
When you mention Temple Entrance, many knowledgeable people immediately think of "Ti'en Fu Lo," a shop, directly across from the temple on Jen San Road, featuring a special tempura made from fish paste. Outside the shop, the sign simply announces "T'ien Fu Lo"; inside the cooks busily press the fish paste into shape. The tempura is deep fried to golden brown; then each large piece is cut into sixteen slices, dipped in hot sauce, and eaten.
Wang Te, the restaurant's owner, described the tempura procedure: He begins with top grade shark and eel, which he filets. The filets are then ground to a paste and mixed with flour, corn starch, salt, and sugar. The whole process is still done by hand and, according to Wang, is not only faster than by machine, but also results in a tempura of a shape and texture unmatched by machine-processed tempura.
Besides its fresh fried and boiled seafoods, Temple Entrance also focuses on stews, principally shrimp and squid on Jen San Road, and eel on Ai Szu Road. The stews are made by first boiling or parboiling the seafood, then adding a little fish paste and corn starch to thicken it. The result may be deep fried, or made directly into soup. No matter the method, all techniques are designed to preserve the original flavor of the fresh seafood.
Tou ch'ien stew, sold at a shop located next to T'ien Fu Lo, is unique to Taiwan and is one of the area's more famous dishes. Tou ch'ien is a dish from Fukien Province, and its recipe was brought over to Taiwan by the shop owner himself. It begins with pressed rice and soybeans, which are fermented in water to produce tou ch'ien. This is then boiled, to be eaten with oysters, shrimp, and other ingredients, even pig intestines.
Another popular dish is the spring roll. The Keelung version is made by stuffing a thin flour skin with chopped pork, turnips, bamboo, egg, bean sprouts, cabbage, coriander, sesame, dried bean curd, hot sauce, and peanut powder. These Keelung spring rolls are not true spring rolls since they are not fried; they are simply eaten as is, all of the filling ingredients having been cooked in advance.
Across from the right side of the temple is a shop specializing in the Fuchou dish ting pien tso, a thin rice cake which is eaten in soups with shrimp, pork, lily root, squid, tree fungus, and bamboo. This dish is available also in Tainan, but the Tainan version is centered on oysters instead of shrimp.
Also available are many traditional Taiwanese treats. These include fritters, meat balls, taro balls, fish balls, mi t'ai mu, and oyster omelets. There are also sweets like peanut cakes, mung bean cakes, mi lao, ma lao, and ai yu ping.
In Temple Entrance can also be found a number of surprising foods. One English sign reads, "Chi's Pure Pigs' Feet Juice." Yet upon closer investigation, you find that Mr. Chi is selling pigs' feet, not the juice. Another stall sells sweet fermented rice balls that give off a strong scent of rice wine; just smelling them is intoxicating. Still another shop specializes in medicinal foods. Specialties include a specially simmered chicken, black-date chicken, and sesame chicken.
Fresh Taiwan fruits are available in quantity. Pineapples, pears, watermelons, and guavas, among others, are sliced and ready to eat. The guavas are specially prepared, their very hard, inedible seeds removed and the meat sliced into bite-size pieces. People call this guava dish "good news for lazy people."
Although the snacks at Keelung do not have as long a history as the dishes available in the city of Tainan, and they lack the tradition of the cuisine of old Lukang, they are not only varied and inexpensive, but also representative of the seafoods of northern Taiwan.
An evening in "Rain Harbor" sampling the available dishes, is a gourmet satisfaction beyond words. This is a major reason Keelung draws so many visitors, despite its notorious rainy climate.
[Picture Caption]
1. A medicinal-food stall in Keelung's Temple Entrance district. 2.3. Some of the many foods for sale in the area. 4. Foods boiling in the wok include tofu, tofu skin, and tempura. 5. Shish Kebab--chicken rolls, wings, and drumsticks. 6. Temple Entrance's temple has been around for over 100 years.
1. Seafood chopped up to make stew. 2. Tou ch'ien is made of rice and beans. Here it is processed and packaged for sale. 3. Keelung, a natural harbor, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on the other. 4. Freshly fried seafood. 5. Stewed seafood delicious with a touch of fresh, green coriander. 6. Pork stew with bamboo strips. 7. Noodle stew.
1. Mr. Chi's specially prepared pigs' feet. 2. Mr. Chi hard at work. 3. A Jen San Road oyster omelet. 4. Rice noodles fried with onion and pork lard. 5. An old city gate in Keelung. 6. Ting pien tso are sliced thin and cooked with other foods. 7.8. Taro treats and Keelung meat balls.
1.2. Keelung spring rolls are filled with pork, dried tofu, carrot, cabbage, celery, and peanut paste. 3. Yu ts'ung k'o. 4. A freshly fried sandwich, made with tomato, cucumber, ham, and mayonnaise. 5. A delicious meat bun. 6. Sushi stalls are always busy. 7. Seafood stalls sell delectable treats such as the three colored egg shown here.
1. Yu fan. 2. Rice cakes steamed in bamboo have a delicate flavor. 3. Curried rice is inexpensive and good. 4. Crabs at a seafood stall. 5. A goose meat stall on Ai Szu Road. 6. Shrimp. 7. A customer happily peeling shrimp. 8. Fresh seafood and tofu on ice.
Upper Left, Temple Entrance's only fermented rice ball stall. Upper right, Traditional sweets. Bottom, A nice cool and sweet ice after a hard night's eating hits the spot.
2.3. Some of the many foods for sale in the area.
2.3. Some of the many foods for sale in the area.
4. Foods boiling in the wok include tofu, tofu skin, and tempura.
5. Shish Kebab--chicken rolls, wings, and drumsticks.
6. Temple Entrance's temple has been around for over 100 years.
1. Seafood chopped up to make stew.
2. Tou ch'ien is made of rice and beans. Here it is processed and packaged for sale.
3. Keelung, a natural harbor, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on the other.
4. Freshly fried seafood.
5. Stewed seafood delicious with a touch of fresh, green coriander.
6. Pork stew with bamboo strips.
1. Mr. Chi's specially prepared pigs' feet.
3. A Jen San Road oyster omele.
4. Rice noodles fried with onion and pork lard.
5. An old city gate in Keelung.
6. Ting pien tso are sliced thin and cooked with other foods.
7.8. Taro treats and Keelung meat balls.
7.8. Taro treats and Keelung meat balls.
1.2. Keelung spring rolls are filled with pork, dried tofu, carrot, cabbage, celery, and peanut paste.
4. A freshly fried sandwich, made with tomato, cucumber, ham, and mayonnaise.
6. Sushi stalls are always busy.
1.2. Keelung spring rolls are filled with pork, dried tofu, carrot, cabbage, celery, and peanut paste.
7. Seafood stalls sell delectable treats such as the three colored egg shown here.
2. Rice cakes steamed in bamboo have a delicate flavor.
3. Curried rice is inexpensive and good.
4. Crabs at a seafood stall.
5. A goose meat stall on Ai Szu Road.
7. A customer happily peeling shrimp.
8. Fresh seafood and tofu on ice.
Upper Left, Temple Entrance's only fermented rice ball stall.
Upper right, Traditional sweets.
Bottom, A nice cool and sweet ice after a hard night's eating hits the spot.
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