In a phrase to cut these lips

Snippets: Hey Gorgeous (Part 1)

February 2011

We got comfortable, and then wanderlust kicked in.

It was two weeks after we’d arrived, and we’d since settled into somewhat of a routine. The third floor boys we quickly dubbed aristocrats for their ability to maintain healthy sleeping hours, and Yinghui and I grew comfortable with the receding stages of modesty that came with sharing a room.

Then came the first long weekend in the academic calendar. After having spent a rainy overnighter in Taipei the week before, we eschewed plans for the city and headed instead to Hualien, on the less developed eastern coast on Taiwan. 

Last-minute planning saw us do a panicky shuffle at the train station as we were almost left stranded without tickets, but eventually we wound up on a six-hour-long train ride that meandered it’s way through mountain ranges and agricultural land. The views were pristine and unspoiled, the snaking grip of industrialisation yet to descend upon it’s people. 

Being noobs at this train-travel business, nobody had thought to buy food before we boarded, which left us enviously eyeing the bento boxes of other commuters before dozing off in an attempt to ignore our gnawing hunger, which grew more insistent by the hour. So it was a ravenous crew that disembarked into a misty hualien night, and trooped into the drizzle in search of food.

And what glorious food we found. I don’t think I have ever tasted a better xiao long bao then I did that night. I’m sure it was due in no small part to my hunger, but oh, what delicious buns. Unlike their Singaporean, Din Tai Fung/Crystal Jade counterparts, these mini parcels of airy, fluffy bread arrived warm and moist from the steamer, a parcel of juicy, unctuous meat steeping inside pork broth so rich it flowed across the tongue and lit up every crevice of one’s mouth with joy.

Sated, we wandered languidly through the deserted streets. I vividly recall stopping at a roadside stall for barbecued meat on skewers, a common Taiwanese snack. While we waited for our food, the boys pored over the map of Taroko Gorge - what National Geographic would probably call a ‘natural wonder’, and the main reason we had come to Hualien. Excitedly they discussed the 18km hike - intimidating as it sounded - pointing out attractions we could see along the way, and picturesque, photo-worthy spots. Determined not be left out of the adventure, Yinghui and I agreed to go along, deciding that if we failed to keep up, at least we would have each other for company. Minds made up, we trooped resolutely back to the hostel, anticipating an early night and the next day’s undertaking.