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Taiwan Diary: Dànbǐng
Dec. 4th, 2022 01:54 pmI've been feeling pretty down about my life in Taiwan lately for a variety of reasons. Tied for first place are my chaotic work environment and my body refusing to adjust to the humidity, but lately, probably due to Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've been feeling extra foreign. It's why I cling to Starbucks as hard as I do. It's the one place I feel pretty normal here. I recognize the food and the quality, and the stores themselves are comfortably bland. I can get out of my tiny apartment to do some work and be around people, even if I'm not really interacting much so I feel a bit less lonely. But I do plan to stay here for at least one more school year, assuming my school doesn't get shut down. 😅
One thing that I've come to really like is dànbǐng. Dànbǐng is a sort of crepe/pancake thing, although unlike crepes or the sort of scallion pancakes you see in China (jiānbǐng) which are made from a batter, dànbǐng are made from a thin dough and often topped with a thin omelet. The dough actually reminds me more of flour tortilla dough, but then the pancakes are rolled like crepes and fried until they are crispy on the outside. They are typically served as a breakfast food or from carts in night markets. I haven't eaten them often because I usually get something from Starbucks and I don't live near any of the little carts or shops that serve these sorts of breakfasts, nor does Zhubei really have a night market. I did have some in Taipei when I visited a night market, and today I ordered some for lunch. Most of the restaurants serving them close around noon or one o'clock, and I don't get food delivered to work, except for (you guessed it) coffee. Today I ordered dànbǐng with egg, cheese, and bacon, and friends, it was tasty! I think I need to make this a weekend staple. I had been craving a good breakfast burrito, especially the sausage, egg, and cheese burritos from my hometown Mexican restaurant. They make their own tortillas, and the burritos are like the size of a small baby. I got so many this summer and ate half for breakfast and half for lunch. Dànbǐng are much, much smaller, but they are tasty, and they satisfy a particular craving for Western-style breakfast flavors while still being something Taiwanese that I enjoy.
One thing that I've come to really like is dànbǐng. Dànbǐng is a sort of crepe/pancake thing, although unlike crepes or the sort of scallion pancakes you see in China (jiānbǐng) which are made from a batter, dànbǐng are made from a thin dough and often topped with a thin omelet. The dough actually reminds me more of flour tortilla dough, but then the pancakes are rolled like crepes and fried until they are crispy on the outside. They are typically served as a breakfast food or from carts in night markets. I haven't eaten them often because I usually get something from Starbucks and I don't live near any of the little carts or shops that serve these sorts of breakfasts, nor does Zhubei really have a night market. I did have some in Taipei when I visited a night market, and today I ordered some for lunch. Most of the restaurants serving them close around noon or one o'clock, and I don't get food delivered to work, except for (you guessed it) coffee. Today I ordered dànbǐng with egg, cheese, and bacon, and friends, it was tasty! I think I need to make this a weekend staple. I had been craving a good breakfast burrito, especially the sausage, egg, and cheese burritos from my hometown Mexican restaurant. They make their own tortillas, and the burritos are like the size of a small baby. I got so many this summer and ate half for breakfast and half for lunch. Dànbǐng are much, much smaller, but they are tasty, and they satisfy a particular craving for Western-style breakfast flavors while still being something Taiwanese that I enjoy.
