Move aside vacuum packed imported eel. The real shit is here. So if you've had eel, you've probably had the Japanese version—somewhat doused in teriyaki, sealed up in some plastic jig, and unsealed upon serving on top of rice (sushi or a don-type meal). The Taiwanese version is slightly different—steamed instead of panned (not quite sure on this, but the textures suggest so). Anyway, the tastes are much more subtle in this version, for better or for worse.
Very simple. /mi/ /fən/ is a thin rice-based noodle that is virtually tasteless (they make Italian spaghetti noodles a party in the mouth in comparison). Eel, in comparison to fish, is also quite tasteless. Aroma-less and taste-less, this dish would be horrendously bland if not for the sweet soy-based sauce that they douse everything in. It's a weaker form of the vacuum packed, sushi version if you're looking for a reference.
Texture is the key that separates the eel from the rest of its water-dwelling friends. Somewhere between fish and chicken in toughness, the eel also has a unique, meaty crunch given by its thin, edible endoskeleton. Actually, this texture matches the /mi/ /fən/ quite well.
Reflections:
Another yum dish. I think I've been eating too much of the Japanese version though—this sauce lacked potency. Being so used to the Japanese unagi made this eel bland in comparison. Ah well.
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