Another FAILED Perm, Tea Time & another dinner at Din Tai Fung

They FUCKED up my perm last time. Yes. Perm. Embarrassing YES. But they fucked it up, so they should be embarrassed.

You know the bigger the boot…

The bigger the foot!

Tea Time @ Afternoon Tea in Sogo

Delicious Corn Chowder….

Duck Risotto with Poached Egg and Salad

Spicy Spaghetti with Grilled Prawns

Chicken Sandwich Salad [yes with buttery toast]

Tons of Espresso alllll for meeeee…

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Banana/Kiwi/Walnut Roll

Lemon Angel Cake

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

Delicious

… I went back for a nap…and to rest my poor twisted swollen ankle…… afterwards I met up with all my aunts and mama at Din Tai Fung for dinner…

Woodear Fungus with Goji

Dan Dan Noodles – mmmm Spicy and Peanuty

Meat Buns

All this food, ALLLLLL consumed by us ladies…

Xiao Long Bao <3 The loves of my life

I ended up in food coma with Mr. Piggie staring at me til I fell asleep…. icing my ankle

Tea Time at 明森宇治抹茶

Right after lunch, we headed to 明森 for Tea Time.. yep after a 2.5 – 3 hour lunch we then went straight to a 2 hour tea time.. told you us Taiwanese ladies know how to eat ;]

It was slightly hidden in a small straight off of a main road…

We got our own room to fit all… 11? 12? however many of us… doors had to be closed cuz we were super loud and laughing the whole time.. but doors kept opening cuz we kept getting drinks and food ;] HAHAHA

And my favorite cousin met us there!!! <3 My fellow tall Taiwanese fashionista twinnie!!!

We shared two different pots of teas with two other daughters at the table and me and her both got a Matcha Soft Serve Ice Cream over Tofu Pudding [豆花] and covered with Black Beans

SOOOO GOOD! SOOOO GLAD I got this. Slightly salty and barely sweet THICK HUGE Black Beans [good for black hair] over DELICIOUS SUPPPPPPER MATCHA infused soft serve over totally tender freshly made tofu pudding. OH HAPPY DAY!

Us being sillies :]

Black Sugar Jelly w/ Peanut Powder

These were so good. I cut them up and dumped them into my sundae. What I love about Taiwan is that they have so much black sugar stuff now. Black Sugar Mochis are my favorite *hint hint* ;]

Puffy Matcha Macarons

Puffy and filled with a matcha cream, it was soooo good! The first one I had still had a firm creamy filling but the one I had at the end of the day was SOOOO melty and creamy. MMMMMMM… different varieties *LOVE*

Basically a 綠豆椪/綠豆凸 but with Matcha…

Nothing was too special abotu this, they WERE really pretty looking though, but I eat these all the time. Flakey/powdery and kind of melts in your mouth and binds it together like a mouthful of …. powdered sugar almost. But not crazy sweet.

Matcha Ice Cream Sundae with Matcha Jelly, Mochi, Red Beans, etc…

We got a few of each of the hand cakes/cookies/snacks/jellies so we had SOOOO much – we ended up with 11/12 different dessert plates… And YES we ate it ALL. Actually, my cousin and I had to clean up shop at the end since the other two girls were weaksauce and the older ladies were whining about getting fat/being full ;] Hey the more macarons and jellies, the merrier, well for us two :] We ate, we drank, we laughed, we conquered. Great day out with the ladies – minus a snotty bitch or two, HUMF! Won’t complain about it here tho, SEE TWITTER for my anger management issues LOL

Now?… off to dinner :] After heading to the ER first.. my hives were at it’s worst and I was DYYYYYYING and looked like I was freaking sunburnt and stun by bees :[ OK, LOL, not that bad, but pretty bad AND SOOOO UNCOMFORTABLE. SO TOTALLY DYING.

Delicious ShangHai Dinner at Dian Shui Lou [點水樓]

I barely ate today… well this morning… tired, cranky, I’m half sick, I can’t tell if it’s the humid ever-changing weird weather of Taiwan, allergies, or I’m actually getting a bit sick…

I stopped by my new favorite, Cafe Kitchen for some coffee, whiskey and this new one..

Rum Coffee

Espresso, brown sugar and a shot of rum :]

I bought a few CDs and cute Hello Kitty stuff and headed out to dinner at Dian Shui Lou [點水樓]

Cold Dish: Jelly Fish Salad [涼拌海蜇]

Cold Dish: Mini Anchovies [小鱼ゅ] and Fried Tofu

Cold Dish: Braised Bamboo

Delicious and not greasy or oily or heavy at all :] SO GOOD!!!

Cold Dish: Betel [檳榔] Palm Blossoms

Cold Dish: Sweetened White Bitter Melon [白苦瓜]

The usual, if they have it, I get it. Y’know :]

Since I always get it and never really talked about it:

“This unique variety is developed recently and has become very popular in Taiwan. Creamy white skin fruits are very beautiful in the gardens and attractive in the markets. This variety has appeared recently in the supermarkets on the West Coast and has been commanding a higher price than other varieties. In Taiwan, fruits are often protected and covered using paper sleeves, by closing the top end but keeping the bottom end open, to block the sunlight exposure and to minimize fruit skin scratch during the fruit growth, to obtain beautiful fruits. Seeds are black in color.” [Source]

Cold Dish: Drunken Pig Feet [猪脚]

It was weird having this flavor, I’m used to it being with chicken, but it was with piggie trotters :] aka piggie knuckles and piggie feet hahahah… It’s also weird eating pig’s feet COLD.. hmmm still think I love it most soy sauce broth braised :]

Xiao Long Bao / Soup Dumpling / 小籠包

Delicious but I still love Din Tai Fung’s the best!!!  Soupy but just a little bit small and there was so many in the steamer that they got cold and hard quickly :[

We started talking to our fellow dining neighbors and they actually offered some of thei dishes to us.. like this Scrambled egg with salty duck egg and fish...

Creamy, salty delicious. I actually didn't taste any of the fish but definitely had a lot of the salted duck yolk, SOOO GOOD!!!  They actually give you a whole clay pot of it.. how you eat the whole thing without a table of ppl is beyond me.. okay, lies, I could probably eat the whole thing :]

Sauteed Loofah 勝瓜

I love eating this with lots of ginger and clams the best but we got this plainly sauteed this time. So fresh, tender, with a bit of crunch OMG delicious!

Dong Puo Rou 東坡肉 – Braised Pork Belly

Falling apart and melting on my tongue.. the fat the meat, sooooo creamy and delicious.. it came with a steamer of buns to put the fatty pork in – the sauce tasted a bit of soy sauce and peanut base.. and came with delicious steamed bok choy.

I had a lot of these.. SOOO GOOOD.. piping hot and melted and slid down my throat like happiness…

I needed more greens… so I ordered another plate of veggies for me…

Sauteed Garlicky Pea Shoots – Dau Miu 豆苗

Very fresh and perfectly cooked. A bit on the salty side for me.. but still delicious and I feel like I ended up eating most of it :] YUM! I always need plenty of my dark greens in my belly. HAPPY!  Veggies here are so much more tender and delicate and fresh tasting here in Asia than back in the states.. can I just not go back?!

Steamed Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐

While I usually like it fried with pickled kimchi the best… I also love it super spicy, mala, steamed.  But even tho I asked for this to be super spicy it wasn’t. SAD.  It was sprinkled with edamame and pieces of pork and only some of them are stinkier than others… :T So some pieces were good some were meh. WTF?! Sad.. My least favorite dish I’ve had here.. :P Poo

And then.. even tho we probably weren’t gonna get any, or maybe just get some 心太軟 [which is a favorite of me and my daddy's.. which is mochi stuffed sweet sweet red dates] we ended up taking out neighbor’s suggestion… so for dessert we got

奶黄包 – Nai Wong Bao – Egg Custard Buns

They came out fresh and piping hot… the innards were gooey, milky and buttery and just oozed out.  Even tho it was BURNING hot I couldn’t help but gobble up two ASAP. So delicious and I even licked off the custard that dripped on my plate from the first bites. YUM! Here’s a quickie recipe from SplitMartini.com

Look at that deliciousness…

Dian Shui Lou [點水樓] is one of my favorite places to go to for dinner in Taipei… especially for great Shanghai food.. :] And when I’m bored of always eating Din Tai Fung for xiao long baos…. DEFINITELY hit one of them up :] They’ve got a few locations in Taipei!

Tea Time at Spring City Resort in XingBeiTou

Every year I go to different Hot Springs Resorts to find out which I like the best… I haven’t been to Xing Bei Tou in two years so it was time to go visit again.  Last year I went to one in Taichung to live at for a few nights at Fresh Fields and it was AHHH-MAZING!!! I never really finished blogging about that place. OOPS – this is why I’m trying to blog while I eat HERE :] I get lazy and distracted with more fun and eats when I’m back in the states. #randombabbling…

HEE HEE HEE these figures are all over the train station SO CUTE

Nuuuuude

Climbing Taipei 101

CHEEEEZING*

Certification hahahaha….

First of all, I was displeased in the beginning since it looked nice but then they misplaced our vouchers and it took FORRRRRRRRREVER for them to find them even tho we had called in the morning to make reservations. WHAT THE DILLY YO?!??!… FINALLY after choosing Tea Time over Dinner – since we could only hot springs for an hour with the “set” and we’d have to wait a few hours after to eat dinner.. we got Tea Time. BAD CHOICE. More on that in a bit…

BUNNY

Obviously no pics of me in the hot springs since it was NUUUUUUDE ;D The room was TEENY TINY – boo – and super stinky.. and there was only 3 bathrooms for ALL the people in the hot springs to use instead of individual – I should’ve brought my bikini so I could Hot Springs outside for better air ventilation and just.. less stinky?!… more space?!… this was kinda disappointing since i’ve been to so many good ones in Taiwan so far :[ Sniffle.

All cleaned up, dressed back up and ready to grub - STARVED

Opted for Tea Time... the chinese and japanese menus looked promising but dinner was TOO FAR AWAY for my tummy to wait

Tea Time was a set meal and than a dessert/soup/salad bar attached.

I made two huge helpings of salad

Got some French Onion Soup - minus the crouton and cheese...

And ordered the Pan Fried Salmon

Salmon is a very flavorful fish and this wasn't overcooked and had good flavor.  Came with yellow rice and steamed veggies.. the sauce was a bit too greasy tho :P

My Hot Springs date got the Chicken Roll

I thought the outside would be tofu skin but it ended up being chicken skin.. the chicken meat itself was bland :[ BOO! And same rice and veggies as my salmon...

"Sweet" Soup for Dessert

Everything was just overly sweet so I just got two bowls of the hot Grass Jelly and added Green Beans to it :] YUM!

I’ve never had HOT grass jelly before, it comes out liquidy and slowly solidifies while you eat.  The green beans [mung beans] were the least sweetened of what they offered.. [Peanuts, Jacob's Tears, Red Beans, etc etc...]

Desserts Bar

Scone, Cookie, Honey Cake, Portuguese Egg Tart

NOM NOM!

Yeah the desserts weren’t good either… :P The egg tart was the best out of the bunch and it was probably the worst honey cake ever :[ SADNESS.

Small Cheap DELICIOUS Eats All Day Long: 小南門 點心世界 & Agnes b. Cafe Revisited

I got my “cupcake” skirt on and headed out into the, now, chillier weather for a quick bite and shopping and exploring

I’ve been craving somse REAL Taiwanese Potstickers so off to 小南門 – 點心世界 at Breeze Center I went

Difference between what you call a potsticker and a Taiwanese one?! Well first.. the size/shape and the way they’re made…

“…the Taiwanese potsticker is an elongated wrapper that houses a thin strip of filling, most commonly pork with cabbage, but other varieties do exist (curry, kimchi, shrimp/pork, crab/pork are the others I’ve seen), that gets pinched in the middle, but not at the ends. They’re basically like mini burritos that are open at the ends. Unlike traditional wontons which get boiled first, these go straight into a covered wok with a slight amount of water and a fair bit of oil, coming out with charring only on the flat bottom side. As a result, you end up with a string of potstickers that are conjoined in rows of fried dumpling perfection….” [Source]

Seriously.. once you’ve had one of these you’ll forever say no to takeout potstickers.. well, maybe – But I still prefer homemade ones, my mom makes delicious ones BUTTTTTTT…. I love Taiwanese ones the most.

Regular potstickers = Still tasty [Source]

Okay back to the main point… we got a nice seat in the back of the restaurant… it was already 1:30/2ish so it wasn’t as packed… it was the same seat I sat in the last time I was here…

Some mini dishes while we wait for our order of potstickers and soup

One of my favorite veg dishes to eat in Taiwan..

龍鬚菜 Gracilaria Lemaneiformis [thanks to MyInnerFatty & Jackson for helping me out on this one]

It’s sort of like an algae?! But then I thought it was a fern.. STILL CONFUSED… and “Zemanta” isn’t helping :P.. and strangely in chinese translation according to google it’s like an asapargus?! But literally translated into long dragon’s beard or whiskers or something like that. Whatevz. DELICIOUS!  The flavor reminds me of fiddleheads in a weird way but I guess it’s an algae?! Awkward… google told me they find red ones grown in ppl’s freaking fish tanks HAHA… they just end up in my belly ;D

Braised Bamboo with Scallions & Chili Peppers

A bit oily but bamboo is really good for soaking up that oil and helping you poop it out :] Yep, I said it here on my food blog. POOP.  Bamboo is great :] I love it and like I’ve said, it’s always made super fresh here in Taiwan.

Bitter Greens & Enoki

My mom makes this bitter green really good with tofu and lots of chili peppers… I think it’s a mustard green but I have to double check with chinese to english translations.. this one was kind of weird tasting to me… it tasted a bit like cleaning solution, maybe it was just super bitter and since it was just blanched and not spicy it was different from what I’m used to.

Mini Anchovies and Fried Tofu Strips with Hot Chilis

Yep! One of my favorite cold side dishes to eat! You’ve seen it many times on this blog already.

Sweetened White Bitter Melon

Another familiar dish that needs no explaining on here!  But white bitter melon needs to be grown or imported into the States now! Same with that….fern/algae veg I love hahahaha…

Pig’s Blood Cakes [豬血糕] with Peanut Powder

Haven’t had this in awhile, I usually just have it at night markets and on a stick.  But it’s my favorite form of pig’s blood.. I prefer my pure blood cakes to be goose or duck… this is mixed with rice and steamed and lots of peanut powder on it makes it even more yummy!

Sauteed A-Cai

A bit too greasy and salty but STILL SOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!

Their famous Taiwanese Potstickers!!!

I have to admit, while the skin is crispy to perfection and the filling is SOOO good… the filling was lacking.. in amount.  There used to be so much more. Damn recession. I’d rather pay more $$ for the real deal than half assed filled dumplings :[ POUT.

Baby Clam Soup

Lots of ginger, a light sprinkling of scallions and lots of baby clams.  Since clams are already salty you don't need any seasoning. This is how I make clam soup at home, just water, clams and ginger. YUM!

Can you believe all of that food was only for a few bucks?!?!?! That's what I love about Taiwan, some of the most delicious foods I've eaten here is simple and complex in flavors all at the same time and soooo easy on the wallet - and you wonder why I eat so much of it :] Fourths please!!!

After shopping around Breeze Center we stopped by Agnes b. Cafe for a breather…

Chloe

Hazelnut, Chocolate, Feuilletine, Sponge Cake

Sadly this tasted like it was in the fridge for too long. :[

Marion

Nougatine, Caramel Custard, Puff Pastry

Crispity crunchy sooo good and not too sweet :] LOVE it.. the top was crunchier with a nice sugar coating and a chocolate and the bottom was just plain puff which was fluffy.

Dinner was 3 of us at the food court. Yep, THREE of us, ALL this food only for less than 20$ !!! Just look below and have your jaw drop and drool come out. ALL THIS FOOD FOR ALMOST NOTHING!!! YUM!

三杯鸡 [Literally, 3 Cup Chicken] with Soup and 3 Side Dishes

3 Cup Chicken [三杯鸡)

Why 3 cup chicken? 1 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of sesame oil and 1 cup chinese rice wine :] YUM!

Vegetarian Mushroom Hot Pot Meal w/ Side Dishes

I ordered the seafood hot pot but they accidentally gave me the vegetarian mushroom one…

Vegetarian Mushroom Hot Pot

Tons of various mushrooms, and mostly nice big and meaty oyster mushrooms.

I realized this after I tasted NO seafood and could only find veg and TONS of mushrooms in it. Not complaining but just wanted a refund since the seafood pot costed more… BUT they apologized and the lady gave me a FREE seafood hot pot. Yeah so I ate both. #fattie

Seafood Hot Pot

Full of shrimp, squid, tofu, veggies and of course, more mushrooms. YUM. Very light broth.. ohh and there were some thin slices of beef sirloin in it as well :]

Oyster pancakes, beef ball soup and veggies

Fried Tofu

You’ve already seen these dishes…

After some shopping at SOGO I ate two bowls of red bean soup with dried longan and lots of mochi black seasame balls [黑芝麻湯圓].

Chanel Tree?!?! My dream come true!!

WooBar [W Hotel Taipei]

SOOOO I’ve been in need of a change of scenery from the usual from the past few days… and perhaps a glass of champagne or two :]  It’s rainy and cold now.. what happened to this super sunny 81 degree weather I came to?!… I bundled up like crazy and headed out, Starbucks in hand, to W Hotel.

10th Floor – WooBar

We got a cozy cute table near the windows looking out into rainy [boo] roof with a pool.. still a good view tho.. even might have seen a cute guy there.. but then again I was delirious and hungry.

Taipei Champagne

Lychee Liquer with Fresh Orange and Lemon, topped with Champagne

MMMM….. finally got a little bubbly in me…

Side note: As much as I love Taiwan, it’s like family overload since it’s just 24/7 and it can get a bit stressful… also all these asians and overcrowdedness like Manhattan x100 is just…  *anxiety* I love the city but after awhile this germaphobe/claustrophobic chicklet freaks out a bit.  For example today on the train, Friday night after work/after school I nearly had a nervous breakdown – asian ppl are just SO much ruder and I was just pushed all over the place, I may be tall but I weigh a lot less than most people…. :[ But I ain't no rag doll k!??!?! BOO!

So we ordered the special Tea Time set to share.... THIS IS SOOO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD.

Colorful Winter Afternoon Tea Set

Condiments for the scones and then some....

Whipped Cream w/ Chocolate Balls

Strawberry Jam & Aussie Honey

Grissini with Parma Ham & Lobster Egg Creams

Lobster Egg CreamThis was delicious. Would've been even better with a little shaved truffle :] But I’m not complaining.. it was a bit too buttery/oily?! But it was sooo goood… tender pieces of lobster and delicate egg custard on the inside… reminded me of chawan mushi :] NOM! This was the first thing I went straight for since you need to eat it hot and plus seafood and egg.. need it piping hot :] I ADORED the way they presented/plated it – things are delicious eyes first. Then smell, then taste :]

Arancini with Marinated Vegetables & Crab Stick Toast w/ Caviar
It’s funny because I’m watching Iron Chef America Mozz and Chef Symon just made some arancini.  I’m very picky about my arancini – it’s either really good or BLAH. These were good.. loved the little bits of veggies on the stick :] Fun! Of course these are always better piping hot and fresh…

Crab Stick Toast w/ CaviarThey looked cute but it wasn’t that special.  I liked the crunchy toast tho – just cuz I love toast and I love crunchy :] And the pop pop pop of the caviar on top. Salty. But aside from that, the fake crab was just… fake crab. Or at least I think it as fake, either way – meh.

Truffled Potato/Chicken Tea Sandwiches & Caviar Crisps with Cream Cheese
Okay I added the chicken because I tasted chicken and celery and no potato, def no truffle but they said truffle and potato *confused* but then whatever, they were tasty. Slightly toasty white bread – MMM sometimes you just need your wonder bread!!!

Creme Fraiche <3 South Park <3 LOVES

Caviar Crisp with Cream Cheese

I thought it would be creme fraiche but it was CREAM CHEESE!!! Still good tho.. just cream cheese is a bit more overpowering in taste and texture for me.  Need more caviar.. LOVE caviar [you guys obviously know that already tho] <3

NY Cheesecake & Orange/Cranberry Scones

OMG this is my favorite cheesecake I’ve had in Taiwan. Usually the cheese taste is a bit off for me here, but this was SO delicious. Light, airy, fluffy… NOM!  The scones on the other hand were a bit dry and flavorless for me.  I like a scone that tastes SUPER scone-y but still super moist. I also love my scones with devonshire cream & jam <3

Vanilla Creme Brulee, Lemon Meringues & Gummy BearsThe meringues were teeny and super yummy! Great lemon flavor and just enough extra meringue to make a girl like me giggle. If it was a bit toastier it would’ve been even better but I’m not complaining.

Makes Tiffies happy!

Vanilla Creme BruleeVanilla bean seeds and all – great brulee crust and amaaaaaaazing custard on the inside. HAPPY!

Gummy Bears
Obviously…..

OH this made me oh oh oh oh oh SO HAPPY!!!

Bag of Macarons, Chestnut Raspberry Tarts w/ White Chocolate & Chocolate Lips

Bag of Macarons

Raspberry, Pistachio and….. Passionfruit?!.. These were mini and delicious! LOVE LOVE LOVE! I could eat macarons for forever!  A little on the sweet side but delicious none-the-less ;D

Chestnut Raspberry Tart w/ White Chocolate “W”

I wasn’t too ino the flavor combo but I ate the chocolate “W” :]

Chocolate Lip

Creamy chocolate-y center and so good.. there was a ice metallic sheer to it to :] YAY yummies

*MWA* XOXO to YOU ;*

Tea Time at Brasserie Liz

I woke up early, got a little mini exercise in.. okay, I lied, I got my mouth a little exercise ie FOOD :] Tons of food while I got ready to go out and shop and lunch and tea time and shop and eat and eat and shop ;D Basically…. eat and shop!

Ready to go go!!!

Lol silly :]

FIrst up!!! SOGO Food Court for my favorite Kimichi Seafood HotPot with lots of banchan… can you believe ALL of this for less than 10$?!?!?! DELICIOUS!!!

6 different Banchans of my choice!!!

All together now!! DELICIOUS!!! The HotPot had Shrimp, Squid, Tofus, Noodles, Clams, Kimchi and tons of other deliciousness!!!

My mom and aunt also got a table full of delicious foods… soups, veggies, oyster pancakes, noodles, fried tofus, etc etc :] I ate a lot of their food too HEE HEE

After a short shop around, like at Spiral Girl for some cute skull top and leggings… we headed over to Brasserie Liz which used to be my favorite cafe with delicious macarons and ice cream sundaes – so sad I can’t remember the specific name right noww….. it had something to do with Petit Prince ;] But yes another French cafe replaced it… well, “Brasserie” :]

Beautiful chandeliers now too…

Oh Julia Child

Tea and a cute little strainer…

“Paris Brest”

Pretty sure it was “engrish” mistake :] But it was like a cream puff shaped like a bagel and filled with delicious hazelnut mousse and covered with toasted almonds!  There was ice cream on the side.. since ice cream came with every dessert we got strawberry this round – SOOO GOOD.. the strawberry ice cream wasn’t too sweet and slightly tart – AMAZING! I could eat it forever!

YUM! Innards! SEXY

Next up?! Souffle… with Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Cream

This thing was HUGE, took forever but was WORTH the wait. Not sweet, creamy and just heavenly!! It was SOOOO warm and delicious… so fluffy and amazing.

Mille Feuille of Red Wine Pear w/ Fruit Pates & Macarons
…and surprisingly, MORE ice cream :] YUM!  The chocolate ice cream is SOOO GOOD, with chocolate flakes/shavings and everything!!!

Delicious layers of pastry and cream and the poached pears.. the pears were a little on the sweet side for me… and by this dessert I was ready to burst but I couldn’t stop eating!!!

NOM! Raspberry macarons <3

I had SO much sugar I was hit with a wave of sugar high.. walked it off with loads of shopping :] Next post on that….!!!

Taiwan* Second & Third Day, Return to AoBa, 劉家小馆, Kaffee Amadeus & a Vegetarian Dinner

Day two of the bangs and I’m not quite sure if I’m super used to it yet.  I slipped on some new shorts and my new Moussy top – yep it’s like 81 degrees here – I curled my hair, brushed my bangs and decided to head out for some solo shopping and coffee before dinner with my mom and her sisters…

Dinner was my choice since I had barely eaten all day… so obviously I chose AoBa at the Breeze Center since I already hit up Din Tai Fung the night before ;D

The Breeze Center is only a few blocks away from where I’m staying in Taipei and I ADORE their pig’s feet dish…. light, not greasy and just amazing… but onwards we go…

Their famous Sweet Potato Congee

CHUNKS of tender super sweet, sweet potato in a bath of steaming hot delicious fresh congee :]  Super simple but amazingly awesome.  Congee is always a great comfort food, so comfort away belly :]

A-Cai

Delicious! And it’s super good for you – can’t find good A-Cai in the states, it’s not as tender and delicate as in asia…. so I eat a TONNNN of this while I’m here. If it’s on the menu/available, I order it!

醃蚋仔 - Baby Clams in Soy Sauce, Basil and Hot Chili Peppers

So good!!! I usually get it with loofah, the veggie not the shower sponge aka 勝瓜, [basically a chinese okra], but my aunt said it’s not in season and is too watery, so we ordered it in the classic style – basil, chili and a light soy sauce! SOOOO GOOOOD!  The clams were cooked to perfection, super tender and succulent. Oh yes, SUCCCCCCK-YOU-LENT ;]  The sauce was light, not too salty, and just a slight touch of heat and basil added to the flavor of the clams without overpowering.

嚕筍絲 - Braised Bamboo

What I miss the most about living in the states is super fresh, bamboo from the garden next door – literally – EVERYWHERE. I eat this stuff like crazy.  These were braised down to supreme tenderness :]

乾煎馬加魚 - Pan Fried “Chinese Perch” of some sort

Super tender, and according to my aunt it’s most delicious when pan fried not steamed or broiled. it’s tiny but expensive and OH-SO good.  Tender flakey flesh with a crisp skin… I ate practically the whole tail!

Sweet Potato Greens

It’s also hard to find good quality sweet potato greens in the states, so it’s a super delicacy to me to have it so fresh and tender here.

菜脯蛋 - Pickled Radish Omelette

When you buy the pickled/dry radish in the states, it’s always not that fresh and oversalted because so.. this made me not really like this.  Here they add a hint of sugar to the egg, the pickled radish is not too salty and they made the eggs so fluffy and  light…… oh sigh* I’m in love.

And of course, last but not least my favorite dish from AoBa:

花生豬腳 - Pig’s Feet with Peanuts

Delicious boiled peanuts in a super light sauce.  The pig’s feet are NOT greasy, not oily and doesn’t taste fatty at all.  The collagen in the skin of the feet are super good for your skin [keeps you looking young] so eat away.  Every had a piece and gave me the rest :] YUM! My fav!

And while they had a pretty decent dessert menu, I was looking forward to their complimentary dessert…

Freshly made Warm Peanut Mochis

<3 So happy.

Me and the aunties :] OH family <3 The night was full of laughter and giggles.. and new sandals [I told you, 81 degrees during the day... end of November, I brought ALL winter wear and boots and uggs... NOT cool when you have sweaty puffy red feet from overheating]

I haven’t been back to Liu Family Small Eats aka 劉家小馆 in like two years…. I remember them having delicious small dishes and the best dumplings ever!!!… yes, EVER!

Dressed and ready to eat!

Still getting used to the bangs…

After hobbling around in my new heeled sandals and getting nice new fresh cuts on my feet.. we got to the place.. also near where I’m staying but we all forgot the exact location – it’s super local and run by a small family so only the people IN the know KNOW about it :]  Here’s where you can pick out what you want for your small dishes!! I’m sure they change to some degree every once in awhile.

We sat there.

Ready to munch

Some small dishes I helped pick out from the front stand

Little anchovies with hot chili peppers and fried tofu strips

Sweetened Bitter White Melon <3

Stewed Pig’s Feet

Vegetarian Dish – Basically Seitan with Mushrooms

Garlicky 豆苗 – Pea Shoots

Garlicky Cabbage

The best dumplings in the world

薺菜水餃 – Jiaozi stuffed with Sheperd’s Purse aka Capsella Bursa=Pastoris

These have wonderful thin skin, tender delicious JUICY JUICY filling – and the taste of the Sheperd’s Purse is sooooo different from any other… It’s hard to find it, I swear, so it’s SUCH a joy when I can find it in a dish – while common in dumplings in asia… it’s still a delicacy for me! I come here, literally FOR these dumplings!

Aren’t they such a cute little weed? And so yummy!!!

“…known by its common name shepherd’s-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small (up to 0.5m) annual and ruderal species, and a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor^[1] but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates,^[2] including Britain, where it is regarded as an archaeophyte,^[3][4] North America^[5][6] and China^[7] but also in the Mediterraneanand North Africa.^[1]

…C. bursa-pastoris is gathered from the wild^[10] or grown^[11] for food^[11][7] to supplement animal feed,^[10]for cosmetics,^[10] and for medicinal purposes.^[7][10] It is commonly used as food in Shanghai and the surrounding Jiangnan region as food, where they are stir-fried with rice cakes and other ingredients or as part of the filling in wontons.^{[citation needed]} It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. In Korea it is known as naengi and its roots are one of the ingredients of the characteristic Korean dish, namul (fresh greens and wild vegetables).^[12]“ [Source]

Thinly Sliced Pork Belly with Scallions

This was “light heat” so it was lightly spicy.  I usually like my pork belly nice and thick so this didn’t have the nice chew to it that I usually enjoy BUT it was really really good.  My mom loved it nice and thin but me and one of my aunts like it nice fatty and chewy :] The fattier the better <3

Garlicky  Chinese Water Spinach 空心菜 [kong xin cai]

Fish of the Day: 黄鱼 – literally “Yellow Fish” which is apparently a kind of Croaker Fish…

Simply made with scallions and ginger :] It was DELICIOUS!!!!!! You could tell it was super fresh since it was SO tender and not fishy at ALL!

And in true #fatties fashion we headed straight to Tea Time after lunch :]

Amadeus Cafe at the top of Sogo

My Hot Coffee

I got the Kardinal… it’s light lady fingers over this creamy coffee mousse with chocolate chips… AMAZING!!!

All the desserts, including mine, came with an ice cream bon bon – flavors varied, a brownie, chocolate and of course our choice of pastry/dessert!

Cheesecake

I think there was dried fruits/nuts on the bottom of it :]

Pistachio Mousse Cake

Very pistachio-y, delicious, but a bit sweet – the only one that came with white chocolate and a white chocolate bon bon :D

Cherry Cheesecake

Ice Cream Sundae… Chocolate, Nut Nougat & Red Wine with fruits and chocolate syrup

Afterwards we walked all the way to the bookstore to shop, read/buy books and to eat at one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in the food court – it’s sort of like a buffet and you pay by the weight of your plate – per usual I piled high and ate the most :]

Vegetarian Dinner at the Bookstore

Oops! I did it again.. I ate all that food….

AoBa: Creative Taiwan Cuisine

Spent the afternoon with my Aunt at a new tea house cafe in the old Sogo. We got a set for two people which came with tea, coffee, sandwiches, scones, little cookies/cakes and fruits :]

I’m such a sucker for tea parties…  aren’t these tea sets cute??? I saw so many cut tea sets in Taiwan that I wanted to buy *sigh* but so hard to bring back…

Macaron <3

Fruit Tart <3

We talked and talked about everything and anything… Aunt gave me advice on boys and life and health and happiness…  Mom was out with a girlfriend having tea time elsewhere catching up so we planned to meet up before dinner and walking over to the Breeze Center to one of my favorite restaurants there.

Along the way [even tho it's just a few minutes ago] our mouths got hungry…

I got a black sesame one… I would’ve liked it better if they didn’t fill it with Mochi as well [they call it crystal rice] I wanted more black sesame texture….

AoBa [青葉] One of my fav places in Taiwan.. nom nom nom!!!

They call this branch “creative” Taiwan cuisine and they have a ton of classic and special variations of Taiwan dishes… sooo good..

AoBa是擁有四十年歷史的台灣料理名店「青葉」，為了把台灣飲食文化更精緻化所開設的食尚餐廳。道地的台灣美食，多樣的酒類選擇，一定能讓你對台灣料理有全新的認識。

AoBa, a nouveau version of “Chin yeh”. The renowned Taiwanese restaurant presenting local favor test for 40 years. AoBa has now redefined traditional Taiwanese cuisine set with a flare of modern, trendy Chinese art décor not losing it’s taste of authenticity. Not to be missed are the wide selection of Japanese rice wine completing a spectacular brand new dining experience.

AoBaは、四十年の歴史を誇る本格的な台湾料理レストラン青葉がプロデュースした台湾創作料理レストランです。 新しい台湾料理の美味しさを、ぜひ「AoBa」でお試しください。

 

First up is a big steaming pot of their famous Sweet Potato Congeeeeee [粥] <3 It’s all you can eat so trust me I ate all I could eat, two giant pots of this for the three of us.. namely ME.
Delicious. Simple. Perfect. *loves*

嚕筍絲

しなちく / braised bamboo shoot julienne

Delicious. A little bit on the saucey side but I adore bamboo and in Taiwan you can get SO much fresh bamboo EVERYWHERE!!!!! So I eat it as much as I can :]

花生豬腳

豚足とピーナツの醤油煮込み / Stewed pork feet with peanuts

They have, by far, my favorite piggie feets I’ve ever eaten [aside from my mom] it is the LIGHTEST dish of trotters not too saucey or sweet or salty like most places… they cut up the feet into small pieces [altho I do like gnawing on the whole thing] and it just melts in your mouth. Even tho pig’s feet are a rich dish [it's all about fat/collagen and skin] you don’t feel heavy after eating this.. in fact you want another plate of it :]

蛤蠣絲瓜

はまぐりとへちまの炒め煮 / Stir-fried clam with loofah

Clams and this green veg [kinda like a fuzzy squash'' so freaking good... I always love this combo!!! It's also really good as a soup :] Just add a little white wine, ginger, NOM!

生蒸魚

活き魚(ハタ)の姿蒸し / Steamed fresh fish

Delicious fresh steamed fish with tons of scallions and some ginger. Absolutely one of my favorite ways to take my fish. And, IMO, one of the best ways…. I think seafood is bestest simple and fresh.  So aside from seared or raw… steamed is the next best thing…. This was delicious and I ended up sucking and picking the bones and head clean…. CLEAN FISH CARCASS #imsoasians

I was still starved right before the fish came out so we ordered another dish…. they recommended their 3 Cup chicken…. it was good but a little too saucey and salty for me :T The rest of their food was amazing. Perfectly seasoned and spiced so this seemed really heavy, compared. Still great flavors tho…

三杯雞

鶏肉の醤油煮込み / Stewed chicken with soy sauce in casserole

Good and flavorful but too salty…. I’m not a 3 cup chicken fan to begin with but they recommended it, I was about to just order more pig’s feet ;D

and of course a couple more bowls of…. which really helped with de-salting the chicken…

NOM! I ended up wobbling back to my hotel [and almost got hit by a damn taxi MOFO] and passing out after a nice hot shower :] HAHA Food Coma FTW!

agnes b. cafe

After shopping around Breeze Center [I got a gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana Belt and a gorgeous blue dress] we went upstairs to check out Chloe & Moussy..but BOTH STORES WERE GONE…. :[ Well Chloe moved downstairs but Moussy had flittered away *sob* BUT I noticed there was a new cafe upstairs... right next to their store. agnes b.

Mommy and I got a nice table in the corner booth in the back and picked out what we wanted....

Coffees and cakes please :]

I went to the chocolate counter [seperate from coffee/cakes counter] and bought some chocolates… they were SO pretty and came in SO many flavors…I got things such as different teas…flowers [rose, jasmine, lavendar, etc...] and different boozes [bourbon, whiskey, red wine, etc..]

Also got some DELICIOUS melt in your mouth truffles :] They were SO good, not sweet at all [in a good way] and delish. One piece was SO satisfying…plus I bought so many the lady GAVE me one…which was AWESOME cuz they were kinda $$$…

My Green Tea Ginger Cake

Mommy’s Chocolate Cake

Americano

The perfect Tea Time Snack

Isn’t it pretty??? So picture-perfect-esque <3

And for kicks I decided to share what I had for dinner… any small eats in Taiwan is amazing and one of my favorite little eats in the Fuxing Sogo is the Goose place… but I didn’t get goose… I got my fav meal there… the chicken+rice, bitter melon chicken soup and veggies….

Red Bean Soup with Black Sesame Balls…

And then times two ;D

Also got peanut balls and more black sesame ones :] NOM!

Hello Kitty SWEETS is taking over Taipei… saw booths for them EVERYWHERE in all the sogos and stuff… too bad they’re cute but untasty :T