i should cook more often...

Simple foods that I eat often/LOVE and will attempt to make when I return home (and it will all refrain me from eating out). Hopefully I can perfect my basic cooking skills this summer so I never have to bug my mom about what temperature to cook things at or have my omelet turn out completely lumpy and result in scrambled eggs instead (or ummm burn the pan again).

-onigiri - triangle sushi/rice ball - my favorites (from 7-11) are the salmon 明太魚 and beef炭火燒牛肉 - I could eat one everyday, though I would probably use brown rice instead of white rice.

-okonomiyaki 
-cauliflower soup from Saveurs

-smoked salmon with honeydew from A-plus 

-banana walnut waffles - [will use wheat flour] I had the most delicious pancakes at The Diner, an American breakfast diner nearby --and I'm not even a huge pancakes person. The pancakes were sooo fluffy and had actual slices of bananas in them!

-white fish (seabass or trout) with paprika carrot sauce from Saveurs 

I honestly sometimes wonder how I'm not obese yet or what I'd look like if I never ever exercised =) 


Oh, and I decided that I'm going to compile all my food pictures, organize them by restaurant, and post them on Picasa. Or just categorize them for my sake and/or future portfolios if I ever decide to tread into food photojournalism!

take me to the place i love, take me all the way.

I write this post with great sadness....because I don't want to count down the days that I am returning to not-so-exciting States. It is very grey outside. Dark. Pouring rain. I am stuck inside, recollecting myself after two long nights in a row and chilling to Ray LaMontagne. Reminiscing all that has happened this semester. Be prepared, my good friends, I have plenty of crazy stories for you! In the meantime, I am planning to live the next two weeks to the fullest. Cheers to more long, crazy nights to come and lots of eating!

the wonders of afternoon tea

When I think of afternoon tea, I imagine pretty porcelain floral tea cups, sweet cranberry scones, and girly gossip with (girl)friends. But in Taiwan, it is much more than that. Well, I've never had "afternoon tea" back in the States, nor have I ever really anticipated to anyway. I mean who has time to allocate an hour or two in the mid-afternoon to drink a cup of expensive coffee and eat delicate cakes and desserts? And, I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant in Cali that serves afternoon tea. It certainly isn't embedded in American culture..

Anyhow, today a friend treated me to afternoon tea at a bright, colorful café called Bunny Listens to the Music (兔子聼音樂). We met at 2pm, so not quite the time to eat a full meal or to only eat sweets. So, we shared an afternoon tea set, which came served on two-tiered plate stand. Two real-deal foccacia ham (or turkey?) sandwiches and two scone-like sweets. My friend explained to me what they were....they were some kind of French dessert (far breton)that had a crumbly surface and prune on top. The top tier had two green tea macarons and two cakes of our choice: a slightly sour apple tart (tarte tartin) with a crumbly crust and a maple brulee cake. The set also came with two drinks, I chose an iced cappuccino. Unlike in the States, nothing we ate was too sweet. My throat didn't burn after the sugar load. Also, apparently they get all their ingredients imported, so everything is very high quality. I could certainly taste the difference between their desserts and other cakes I've had from Taiwanese bakeries and restaurants.

far breton

a real sandwich! most Taiwanese afternoon tea places give flimsy sandwiches made with yucky white bread.

tarte tartin

 LOVE. my first time eating macarons in Taiwan! I've been craving them for months.

This café is definitely on my return-to-before-heading-home list. Their cakes are the best I've had in Taiwan, or maybe even the best I've ever had. Afterward, my friend took me to Bunny's sister bakery: Boite de Bijou. Mmmm it is [carb] paradise. All their breads are nothing like other Taiwanese bakeries. Their bread is French-style ~ crunchy outside and moist inside and barely sweet. I couldn't resist, but had to buy breakfast for tomorrow. A dark chocolate bread that is surprisingly not sweet nor bitter and a whole grain bread. Sighh, if I could, I would buy their bread everyday. Ah, can I just move to Taiwan NOW?

in love.

我愛上了okonomiyaki! I mentioned okonomiyaki (好吃燒 - literal translation = delicious to cook) sometime ago, but if you don't remember what it is....it is Japanese pizza, or pancake, that is very, very delicious. Made from cabbage, flour, water, and eggs - and whatever stuffings you chose. There are several variations of it. There are ones with noodles inside - Hiroshimayaki, others with egg inside or topped with a runny egg - Modernyaki (mmmm!). 


My friend introduced an okonomiyaki place that is located in B2 of one of the SOGO's in Zhongxiao Fuxing area called Tenya (TEN室). At this place they cook the okonomiyaki in front of you, or you can choose to make it yourself. Basically you have a teppan on the center of the table, you choose which flavor you want, then the waiter will bring out the ingredients in a bowl, pour it out on the iron griddle, and you watch your okonomiyaki sizzle away. 


I went to Tenya last night with two friends. We each ordered a different okonomiyaki and shared: beef kimchi, squid, and pork Hiroshimayaki with melted cheese and noodles. 


The TEN室 okonomiyaki experience:

squid okonomiyaki ingredients

beef kimchi okonomiyaki

...and then there were three.

Final result. Okonomiyaki sauce (tastes a bit like BBQ sauce), mayo, wasabi mayo, katsuobushi powder. 

I must must must learn how to make this. Apparently it's quite easy to make ^_^

THIS makes me happy.

Every bakery in Taiwan has at least one cutesy cake. Passed by a bakery in Breeze Center (upscale mall in Zhongxiao E. Rd. area) food court earlier today that had this. I've seen quite a few piggie cakes, but none with a fence and all. Teehee.

So sorry everyone...I had just finished editing and re-sizing all my pictures from the weekend. Will be writing a post sometime later this week...perhaps tomorrow.

good, good weekend!

Arrived in Taipei late last night from my trip. I am still in the midst of catching up on homework and editing pictures (and recollecting everything I did over the weekend), so I will write about the trip sometime later this week. In the meantime, here are some images from the weekend...

this was at a hotel on a hilltop. the hotel is actually under the same management of the hotel we stayed in, except of course this one is twice as expensive.

Flower Vase Rock through my eyes.

there were many scenic spots along the coast. we rode mopeds throughout the island, so we could stop anywhere we wanted.

since the island is made of coral, there is coral underwater and standing tall on land.

we woke up at 4:08am on Sunday so we could watch the sun rise...total fail. it was foggy and hazy, and no sign of sun. though, we sat there waiting til near 6am. this was shot at 4:46am.

 refreshing mango lime ice.

my coral + shells collection from Xiao Liuqiu!

on an island in the sun

Departing tonight for 小琉球Xiao Liuqiu for the weekend! Xiao Liuqiu is a small (very small - 6.8 sq. kilometers) island off of the southwest coast of Taiwan. It's the only offshore island that is formed by coral reef, and actually is one of the largest coral islands in the world! 

 ...well, it might not be this pretty due to chance of rain/gray skies, but we can only hope for blue skies and sun right? 

 the famous Flower Vase Rock (made of coral) credits