With a scribbled map at hand, we scaled the streets and alleyways near the hotel, but no Taiwanese breakfast was to be found. Stomachs were rumbling as the seven of us wandered desperately around what looked like the financial district, pulling aside locals and asking them where to find hot soymilk. Most were puzzled. Finally, Agnes made a quick decision for all of us. She shot her hand in the air to summon an approaching taxi.

“Where can we get hot soymilk?” she asked the driver.

“Oh, Soymilk King is very close”, he replied.

… Soymilk KING? Take us there, taxi driver!

The taxi driver’s “very close” translated into a city tour across Taiwan, through a tunnel and over a bridge. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived in a district even my dad had never been to, right in front of the famed Yong He Soymilk King (or just “Soymilk King” as I like to call it). Our eyes scanned the open air kitchen, and our ravenous expressions quickly changed to joy.

The makeshift kitchen at Soymilk King consists of a few tables for prepping and stacking bamboo steamers. This is where burly men and ladies in colorful bandanas cook, chop, and clean.

Instead of verbalizing orders, customers at Soymilk King fill out a checklist of menu items, a popular method of ordering food in East Asian restaurants. While Agnes read off the menu, my dad and Kelly checked off the orders. Meanwhile, I went around to the other side of the restaurant to see what was cooking in the kitchen.
Opening out into the street, the kitchen is where bread in varying shapes, sizes and degrees of flakiness is grilled and fried. These pipping hot, freshly fried goods are then whisked off into paper bags to be sold to hungry passerbyers or plated to be eaten by those ordering at the restaurant.

Hovering over a vat of hot oil and wielding a super long set of chopsticks, this unenthusiastic man nurses snaking strips of dough in the hot oil until they transform into properly puffed and golden you tiao (long, savory fried cruellers – a true art form).

Back at the table, our breakfast had arrived:

Kelly, Mom, Betty, and I ordered bowls of sweet soymilk, which consist of warm soymilk mixed in with sugar to create a soul-warming concoction just sweet enough to counterbalance the saltiness of the you tiao. Stirring is imperative to incorporate the sugar into the warm soymilk, and more sugar can be added as you please.

Agnes ordered the sweet soymilk with egg, the same as my sweetened soymilk, but enhanced with a frothy scrambled egg mixture. I prefer my eggs in salty dishes, but for those who who want a rich protein boost, this is the soymilk for you.

Dad and Zinnia got the salty soymilk, a mixture of salty soybean milk and cut-up bits of you tiao that sop up the flavorful milk, all topped with generous slivers of leek. Pour in a small dose of vinegar to taste and you’re set. This is a denser version of soymilk, which is a meal in and of itself, but like most things can always be accompanied by more fried stuff.

Sticky rice rolls are plump rolls of glutenous rice filled with a you tiao center and stuffed with dried meat floss. Dried meat floss — yeah, it sounds gross, but this Taiwanese specialty has a gentle sweet and salty flavor that goes wonderfully with any rice or dough. “Meat floss” is seasoned pork that has been dehydrated and shredded into fine, crumbly threads, creating a very distinct flavor-texture combination. Unfortunately, the King’s sticky rice rolls were a bit dry and bland.

You tiao wrapped with xiao bing is a double dose of fried carbohydrates. I never thought I’d say this, but double fried carbs might be a little too much fried carbs. Most of us ended up eating the you tiao, abandoning the denser surrounding xiao bing.

Freshly plucked from the cauldron of oil, this you tiao is too hot to handle, which is where the paper wrapping comes into play. Crisp on the outside, light and airy on the inside, this may be the best you tiao I’ve eaten yet.

Last but not least were the xiao long bao (soup dumplings). The doughy skin was thick and the pork inside moderately juicy, but not quite juicy enough to contend with some of the soup dumplings I’ve tasted. After discussing our food, we agreed that this style of xiao long bao would be better appreciated by Northern Chinese, who enjoy a good chewy dough, over us Southerners who prefer our xiao long bao with thin skin and gushing with molten soup. Speaking of molten soup dumplings, here are tips on how not to eat soup dumplings.

In short, if you find yourself at Soymilk King, stick to the breakfast basics: soymilk and you tiao. With the abundance of good food in Taipei, you’ll need to save some stomach room for all the other snacks you’ll see on the way.

Yong He Soymilk King
132 Fu Xing South Road Section 2
Taipei, Taiwan +886 (0)2 2702 1226

Baby sliders topped with a mountain of fried onions

Ray’s Hell Burger

Blueberry Lemon Thyme and Lemon Opal Basil Gelato from Dolcezza

After our day in D.C. was over, we headed southbound and arrived in Louisa late that night.  Throughout the next few days, we cooked up a storm, using the farm’s gracious bounty, which included farm fresh eggs plucked straight from the chicken coop. The light brown and bluish-white eggs were very different from the supermarket variety; slightly larger than ping-pong balls, these petite eggs had hard shells and lacked the gluey yolk taste and texture of store-bought eggs.

Farm fresh eggs

Tristan and I were the first to wake up on Friday morning so we made egg soldiers with a side of his mom’s vegetable chili for breakfast

The makings of an egg soldier

We concluded that eggs for breakfast were just not enough, so we tried fitting them into all meals of the day.  Determined to eat as many eggs as humanly possible during our four-day stay, Olivia decided to prepare a hearty 20-egg mondo frittata for dinner.  Little did we know, she was a seasoned veteran when it came to frittatas; breakfast frittata is a Sunday morning tradition in the Abtahi household.  According to Olivia, using a cast-iron skillet yields the best results—it has heat retention qualities that allow for an even cooking temperature– but you’ll need the help of friends to help coax the enormous frittata out of the skillet.  Luckily, your protein level will definitely be replenished five-fold after this meal.

Olivia putting the final touches on the frittata

TEAMWORK

Glorious frittata

What is a frittata? After extensive research (thank you, Wikipedia) about the omelettes of the world, I discovered that a French omelette is cooked on a stovetop and served folded, a Spanish Tortilla is made with potato and egg and served open-faced, and a Italian Frittata is partially served on a stovetop and then broiled to finished.  Olivia’s is an adaptation to the traditional frittata recipe and doesn’t require broiling because she slow cooks it with the top on the skillet.

Olivia‘s Frittata Recipe

The season’s best spoils are a great excuse for an eggcellent fritatta (sorry, I couldn’t resist!). The best part about this frittata is that you can use just about anything in it. Potatoes, peas, corn, or even zucchini never fail. I’ve enclosed its basic ingredients below- but feel free to improvise as your fridge sees fit.

Total Cook Time: 30 (10 minutes prep)

Serves 6 for Dinner, or 8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
20 Eggs
1 Large Red Onion, diced
3 Medium Tomatoes (or 1 1/2 big Tomatoes), diced
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Stalk of basil leaves, torn into dime-sized chunks
2 Tablespoons of milk
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of salt

Equipment:
10-inch cast-iron skillet with lid- I recommend a big 10-inch pan with a 2 1/2 inch lip. If you’re cooking for less people, you can half the recipe with a 5-inch pan. Just remember to use one with the same depth!
Whisk
10-inch plate

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat the skillet about 5 minutes to get it good and hot.
2. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive onto the hot pan. Add the onions and cook until browned at medium heat, roughly 5 minutes.
3. As soon as the onions become golden, add the diced pepper, tomatoes, and salt. Cook all at medium heat until soft, with the tomatoes’ juice bubbling in the pan.
4. As the vegetables cook, whip the eggs and milk in a large mixing bowl. The fluffier the better!
5. Turn off the heat and pour the cooked vegetables into the same mixing bowl. Add the basil, leaving a few leaves for garnish.
6. Clean the cast-iron pan with a paper towel. This is very important! If you do not clean it, the Frittata will stick to the pan.
7. Place the pan back on the stove at medium heat. Add remaining olive oil, being sure to coat sides of pan.
8. Check to see if the pan is hot enough by flicking a bit of the egg mixture onto it. If it bubbles up, you’re good to go. Add the egg mixture and immediately seal the pan.
9. Now you play the waiting game. Don’t peek! Make sure the pan is properly sealed by placing your finger on the top of the lid. If it’s not as hot as the lid’s rim, you’ve got some time to go. If your lid doesn’t fit perfectly, you can always tinfoil the edges and clamp down.
10. After about 15 minutes, your frittata should be done. Listen for the bubbling sound- that means it’s set. Carefully open the lid and turn off the heat. Place a round plate directly on the frittata and flip over. Sprinkle with remaining basil leaves and voila!

Optional: Place reserved basil leaves in center.