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Taiwan Hash browns and Randomness

French fries (Freedom fries if you like) and Hash browns, or just plain potato foods are sometimes hard to find in Taiwan. Although french fries certainly gained popularity from western influence, hash browns have yet to make much headway. After seeing how much oil they use on basic foods like Chow Fan and Chow Mien, it would seem like hash browns would just fit in on the side somewhere. However, don't despair, they do indeed exist in Taiwan and I have proof!

I was walking back from school with a friend when I spotted a pile of these at one of the vendors on the side of the road. So apparently, in Chinese, Hash Browns are called shu-bing "薯餅". I think that's a shortened version of the name though so that it would fit on the vendor's menu. Frying stuff in oil seems to be a Taiwanese special ability so the hash browns were pretty good plus they gave me an extra, something, for free!

I had no Idea what it was but gave it a shot. At first it reminded me of maybe a small donut but as soon as I bit into it, it definitely wasn't a donut. The inside was very 'doughy' and generally had little flavor, but since it was free, no complaints. I would never buy it on my own though because the hash browns were far better.

So this is me still living the simple yet very fun life. I found hash browns woo-hoo!