Apparently all I eat is dessert 臺一 (Tai Yi Shaved Ice)

Is it any wonder myinnerfatty became myouterfatty in the past few months? I stopped rowing competitively, I did a lot more blogging, and somehow... my once meticulous diet consisting of carefully constructed macro ratios devolved into an all day dessertfest. That said, I can't complain... you win some, you lose some right? Some of the greatest things I've gotten to try in the past few months would make any doctor cringe, but I think it's worth it (we'll see if I feel this way when I have a heart attack at 35). Anyway, another day, another shaved ice hole in the wall. Another gem I found as a result of me visiting my Aunt K. This one is located across from the main door of 台灣大學 (NTU) on 新生南路 (Xin Sheng South Street). Apparently, the store has been there for the past 40 or 50 years, I know this because there's a picture inside of when it still looked craptastic (they've recently renovated). The store front here doesn't qualify as dive status anymore. It actually looks pretty commercial, and to say the store looks dingy isn't quite right either. Ever since more and more students started pouring in, they've done their best to make it look... chain store like? That's usually a real turn off for me, but I can overlook that... since people are willing to stand on line for 15 minutes for a table here.


They have a couple of trademark dishes, namely ones using their oats (which aren't the traditional style Quaker oats, but rolled whole oats), ones with those rice dumplings known as 湯圓 (Tang Yuan), and ones with red adzuki beans. First trip was with my Aunt and my cousin. We ended up getting the 紅豆麥片牛奶冰 (Red bean oatmeal milk shaved ice) and the 紅豆湯圓牛奶冰 (Red bean rice dumpling milk shaved ice). Both cost a sleek 60 NT ($2) and both were hefty helpings of ice, topped with red beans, condensed milk, and either oats or dumplings (I told you right? Cardiologist's dream). I won't try to describe how good either one was, but if I can use a Taiwanese term... 'QQ' is completely appropriate here. Let's just put it as... this is a notch in quality above Meet Fresh (see here and here), and I love Meet Fresh.


My cousin got something 酒釀 (Jiu Niang). Literal translation, using wine to pull out flavor. I have no clue if it's good or not, nor do I know the price. I just know that it's supposed 'good for women' (um... it's supposed to enhance 'femine attributes'). I also have no clue if that's true... one of life's great mysteries I suppose haha.


I ended up going another time, this time I got the 綠豆麥片牛奶冰 (Mung bean oat milk shaved ice), since, in the summer, you're traditionally supposed to eat mung beans. Something about them being more refreshing or whatnot. Anyway, same cost at 60 NT ($2), so it's really a personal preference, whether you like adzuki or mung beans. In my opinion I can't really taste much of a difference, since the condensed milk should cover up most of the flavor until only a subtle aftertaste is left. Which brings me to my last little side point on this place. If you're ordering, make sure you're a college aged girl... or bring one with you. The people who make the shaved ices are all college aged guys, and when I ordered on my second trip... he poured on what was a pittance of condensed milk, and ladled a partially full spoon of beans and oats. Comparing this with when my cousin ordered, she ended up with toppings overflowing from the plate, and mind numbing amount of milk. I thought it was a one time thing, but when I asked my Aunt, apparently it has always been like this. Terrific. Still... would I recommend it? For sure... an fyi, I walked 2 miles in the rain, during a typhoon warning to go eat there (and it was still packed). That's how good this place is.

Crappy run today. I went to a night market yesterday, filled up good. I think that explains everything. Didn't get to finish the 10k (just short at 6.21 miles), but what's frustrating is that I ran at my half marathon pace. Will make up for this with a true hm tomorrow morning, prior to leaving for TTT orientation. Ugh, 5 days without running... believe or not, it's pretty frustrating to me.

distance for the day: 6.21 miles
distance biked for the day: 0.00 miles

distance on the year: 348.69 miles
distance biked on the year: 142.68 miles