dear taiwan mangoes,

why are you so damn juicy (and thus, incredibly messy)?!? I literally had to eat a mango over the sink because it was sooo juicy. I have a hard time cutting the mangoes here. They are dense and packed with lots of juice. I usually cut the sides of a mango and then cut into the flesh of those pieces into little squares. But even then, with these mangoes, juice spills out everywhere. Every time I eat a mango I try to find a new method of cutting/eating it. But alas, I have yet to figure out a way that doesn't leave my fingers and chin sticky all over...

On another note, I have been so tired lately. I dunno what it is. Perhaps it's the extreme weather change. I had two cups of coffee earlier today, and I'm still about to close my eyes. I swear I'm immune to caffeine. It doesn't keep me awake at all! All it does is make my heart race and make me workout as if I were on steroids. 

I go home in 23 days :(

fml.

I was having a good day today...until I clumsily knocked over a bottle of nailpolish on my desk...which then cracked and little pieces of glass scattered across my room. Not to mention, my floor (thank god it's tile) had a nasty puddle of shimmery fuchsia nail polish. I scrubbed the stain with bleach, which made me dizzy while I slaved away. Took me almost an hour to clean up the mess. Thankfully, a good friend came to help with nail polish remover, which worked 10x's more efficiently than bleach, and it doesn't smell like it'd kill me. Oh, and a mosquito decided to bite the tip of my nose :/ Wow, my week is soooo off to a great start.

At least today was gorgeous out! I went to Banciao (Taipei county) area to hang out with my aunt (dad's sister) and cousins visiting from Australia. We ate sukiyaki for lunch--yay I can finally cross this off my list of 'things to do before leaving Taiwan'. Then we drove to Tucheng 土城 to visit a temple. The temple was very peaceful, unlike touristy Longshan Temple, and had a nice view overlooking Taipei county.

the awesome view

the Buddhist temple's architecture is quite simple. just white foundation and green roof.

hey there, cool-looking caterpillar.

guard of the temple

goosebumps.

I have to share this amazing trippy performance. Just wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrjwqXwyzNU

It was on replay all last night...perfect tune for a shitty day/night. Well, the sun and blue skies are back. But it certainly isn't here to stay :( The rest of the week will be raining. Sighh.

grey weather, just fool me.

Taipei's weather is so bipolar. It has been raining quite a lot lately and humid at the same time. Earlier this week it was sunny and breezy. Today? Today is chilly. The air feels nice like a cool SoCal summer night, but it looks like it will rain later. Thus, I am forced to stay inside to do homework and begin on final term papers. No fun :( Well, I guess that means Garden State soundtrack will be on repeat all day today..

 Yangmingshan day just feels like a faded memory.

the sounds of summer

This song is ahh-mazing. It has been on repeat for the past three days in my iTunes.

On another note, I think my stomach has finally adapted to the food here. I can't count how many stomach bugs I've caught these past few months, but my tummy is getting stronger :) I went to RaoHe night market last night and ate a few things from vendors: mango snow ice (芒果雪滑冰) and a pepper bun(胡椒餅) - in addition to sharing a plate of beef kebabs and naan from an Indian/Pakistani  restaurant, and so far my guts happily accepted all those things. Yay!

from taiwan to bermuda

Red-eye flight booked to Bermuda: check. I opened up my email to find a little surprise...my itinerary for Bermuda that my mom just booked. Will be departing SoCal merely two days after settling back home. Grrrreat. I will probably be severely jet-lagged, from Taiwan to California to Bermuda. So many time zones!

 captured this over the weekend when I was in the area. Going to the top is still something I have yet to do, but hopefully will do before leaving!

I don't wanna leave Taipei :( I'll miss the city life--no need for driving, the ubiquitous presence of 7-11 (convenience!), bakeries everywhere, street markets, etc etc. But I WILL be back in about a year. I am planning my life after graduation, and Taipei is in the plans. 
~~Plan A: find a job in a marketing or PR firm or in-house at some company like Lexus or Bacardi + free-lancing food photography on the side
~~Plan B: if I can't find a decent-paying job: teach English for one year at the most + possibly find an internship + food photography
If neither works out, that means off to grad school/work in the US! Then maybe move to Taipei for a bit afterward.

Also, our 小琉毬trip got pushed forward to next weekend since Taiwan's weather sucks. It's 梅雨，which is rainy season, so this weekend will be raining with possible chance of thunderstorms. Next weekend better be blue skies!

bonjour,

southern French food. Had an incredibly delicious dinner at Saveurs today. It was my second time eating there, but this time we went for dinner. We were the only five in the place, which caught me by surprise because when we went last time it was packed, and reservations were definitely a must. Then again, it is Wednesday night. As always, pictures:

cauliflower puree soup sprinkled with ground black pepper

1st layer = marinated shrimp with pesto

2nd layer = salad with lemon vinaigrette

3rd layer: tomato mozzarella pie (phyllo dough)

dory filet with orange rosemary paprika sauce, potato au gratin (so heavenly), broccoli

the ideal end to a great meal: peach pie with a crackly top crust and egg tart filling. not as sweet as I was expecting, but very very yumyum!

Okay, so now you probably all think I'm a pig. But the food at Saveurs is all quite healthy - barely any grease (I mean, generally, French food isn't anyway), and best of all it's all cooked with heart and soul. There is only one chef - who is from Bordeaux, France, so it is authentic, "homey" French food ^_^