Taiwan - Jiufen

Nine Things
The town named Jiufen on the northeastern coast translates to "nine things."  Story goes nine households made up the town a few hundred years back.  Only way in was by boat so whenever one docked for trade everything was bought in multiples of nine.

Jiufen was a forty mile drive of coastline along a narrow ribbon of road. We skirted around Taiwan's right shoulder, mountains on the left, cliff on the right.  Jen two-fisted the top of the steering wheel with her chin just above her knuckles.  She's light on the accelerator like a grandma.  Impatient trucks lined up behind us, roaring by at the narrowest of openings.  The local fishermen were non-plussed.  They charged by on rusty mopeds, rods resting outwards on their handlebars like lances.   I was surprised nobody died along the way.

When gold was discovered in the late 1800's prospectors arrived by the thousands and stripped the hills for sixty years.  At its peak in the 1920's the town grew to over 100,000 people.  Once the gold ran out, they left.  The old factory was left behind to stand watch over the Pacific.

Near the top of the mountain, rust colored rainwater traced the old veins.  It was cool and misty, reminded me of Scotland.

We wound our way to the very top of the town.

Ok, not the very top - the dead have the best view.  Their homes are better than those of the living.

We parked and strode to the main drag.  The street was so narrow that the awnings touched each other.  It was raining lightly but none of it reached us.

We hunted for eats in the maze of stores and shops.  Jen insisted we try something particular to Jiufen and soon we found it.

Three still born squirrels, please!!  No, just kidding, but they sure didn't look very inviting.  These are vegetarian meatballs.  After a lot of questions and research, my best explanation is wheat gluten colored with red vinasse (a red wine byproduct) and wrapped in a glutinous rice shell.

We took a seat inside the small shop as our squirrels were readied.  I had that all too familiar "get ready to pretend to like the food from the lady who paid for your hotel and drove you here" feeling.

They were heated up in a soup and crowned with greenery.  Much to my surprise, no faking was required.  Sweet, gooey, slightly herbal.  Very nice after all.  I wiped it out in minutes, faster than the ladies.