Having lived on the edge of Chinatown in New York, I thought I had tasted the full range of Chinese bakery items: red bean buns, green onion rolls, and the like. But the bakeries in Taipei - which seem to exist on every block - offer a variety and complexity of baked goods that far exceeds that found in the U.S. When I first got to Taipei I practically lived on these delicious pasteries every morning.
Taipei bakeries make both sweet and savory pasteries. Many contain some kind of meat. Bacon filled pasteries..
Pizza flavored pasteries..
And more European influenced, sweet pasteries are all available..
Some of my favorites include...a cheese filled danish pastery..
A remarkable curry doughnut. It's sugar coated on the outside, but filled with curried beef on the inside. Sounds weird. Tastes delicious!
A sugar and shredded pork topped bun..
An almond-coconut puff pastry with pineapple filling..
And a sesame bun filled with ham and egg, and sugared, shredded pork. Greasy, gooey, wonderful!
