Authentic Hakka Dishes, Meinong District, Taiwan

Never could I imagine, trotters can be braised till so gelatinously soft and the meat, fat and skin literally slide of the bones and knuckle bones. The portion we got looked like it was from the hind leg as it was less meaty, no problem for me as it has more skin and sinew, therefore plenteous of collagen and gelatin!

The sauces intermingled into the soft morsels and it was so good. The texture was smooth, with some rough, soft, sticky and oily. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we have our "ban thio' noodles. It was thick and cut into lengths for soup or fried noodles. They said you couldn't go to the Hakka villages in Meinong without sampling these noodles. So at the urging of our guide we went to this restaurant. We were not sure whether they were good and our stomachs could hold up.

We have the dry and the soup with pork bones broth. The dry ones was fried like our 'Char Kuey Teow' with a twist. It was fried with dried squid, bean sprouts and chives. For those who like the dried squid aroma and taste will certainly bond with this dish. It was better than the soup noodles as its taste was more subtle and only those used to lighter tasting food will appreciate it.

These are Yelian and are specially associated with Meinong. It is grown in ponds and harvested by cutting well into the depths of the waters and the leaves pruned off leaving the stem. It was delicious when fried with garlic and the ubiquitous soy bean paste.