A Rare Exception

I am never a fan of Tai Ping Koon, quite possibly one of the oldest local restaurants still standing and serves the so-called “Soy Sauce Western” cuisine, a fusion cooking style of sort mixing old-school service a la russe with a “Chinese characteristic” – how politically appropriate. But I thought I would make this an exception for once to eat there again given the restaurant is right across the street from where we were staying for the night. 

Motsunabe for One

I have been craving for motsunabe since I planned for the Kyushu trip a few months ago. This Kyushu specialty hotpot with beef or pork tripes and intestines was the perfect comfort food in the cold winter, combining the rich and fatty offals with an equally rich and steaming broth served in the traditional nabe pot. We had a great one during our last outing to Fukuoka a couple of years ago, and I intended to do the same this time with the weather more suitable for this kind of food.

Then and Now

We usually came to Taipei with no specific itinerary, and just eating and drinking and shopping our way through at our familiar spots. But this time we managed to follow a similar routine but with a few new shops just for a change to try out something different.

Stranded in the Ceramics Valley

We were hopelessly stranded in a small ceramics shop/café in the Sanbao Valley art village when the rain which started slightly after lunch turned into a full-fledged storm. Luckily, a vacant taxi came to rescue after some point, we jumped right in and headed straight to Sanbao Ceramics Art Institute, a few kilometers down along the meandering road deep into the woods in the Sanbao Valley, for some much needed refuge.

Summer Produce: Young Ginger Roots

Ginger root might be available all year long in local wet markets and grocery stores, but you will only see the milder young ginger root (子薑) in early summer, beginning at around the time of Dragon Boat Festival until early August. It’s rather easy to distinguish them – the regular, mature ginger roots are often tougher with dark, thick skins; while the young ginger roots, though in the same size, her thinner and paler, almost translucent skin, looks juicier and more tender, with a pinkish tint towards the tip.

Weekday Urban Farm Lunch

I came to learn about this cool café/bookstore called ACO in Wanchai purely by chance (thanks to the almighty power of Facebook "recommendations"), and after seeing the posts on their Facebook page recently about the lunch they offer as part of the "Food Art Experience" project, I was intrigued by what they are trying to do and asked a few friends of mine to join me on a Friday afternoon to check it out.

HCMC Foodie Trip: The One with Banh Mi

One of my regrets of not spending more time in Ho Chi Minh City was not being able to try out all the wonderful street food in town - well, I guess there's never enough time since on every block at every corner you see people cooking and eating, day or night.

But rather than lamenting on the food that I didn't have time for, I would rather look back at the delicious stuff I was able to try during my short stay, and on top of my list would probably be Banh Mi.

Early Morning at Tsukiji Fish Market

A couple months ago just as I was planning my itinerary for the multiple trips to multiple destination, I suddenly realized it's been a long while since I went to Tsukiji Fish Market and that this might be the last chance to go before the market's moved further away from the city some time next year. So I tweaked my itinerary a little bit by adding an additional stop in Tokyo at the end of my second Japan journey.

Jajamen on a Snowy Day

Every guide book for Morioka will probably mention the so-called "Three Great Noodles" of this major city in Iwate Prefecture - namely the Wako Soba, Reimen and Jajamen. We set off as our mission to try out all three during our short stay in Morioka. Among the three, my personal favorite was Jajamen.

Culture Walk - Yaumatei

I played tourist for one Saturday morning and signed up for the Culture Walk event down the memory lane in the old Yaumatei. This was part of Hong Kong Arts Festival program and during this 2 hour walking tour, the curator gave us - a group of around 10 - a brief introduction of Cantonese opera development in Hong Kong through various spots around the legendary Yaumatei neighborhood.