Mövenpick Cafe at 明曜

I woke up with I NEED ICE CREAM FACE

OK I woke up late… I’ve been taking SUPER meds since I’ve got stupid ear infection and then I got a weird skin allergy that gave me super hives :[ I wanted ice cream.... but I needed some grub with it as well.... HRM... but I ended up wandering around til like 330ish before I finally sat down to eat something....

*I dream of Ice Cream*

OOOO LA LA... after getting insulted by a short stout girl saying I needed a size L corset for my wide waist and that I couldn't fit into her smaller size, I DID and it was LOOSE. BITCH! GRR. So, after getting the TINIEST size corset, telling them HA! I headed over to Mövenpick Cafe for ice cream :] I’ve ALWAYS had their ice creams all over Taiwan but just at restaurants, buffets and stands.. not their Cafe. And OH MY YUM have I been missing out!

Here are some things on my list of things to tryyyyy!!!

VOLCANO!

Strawberry Princess..

Alcoholic Dress Toast

Dutch Waffle Pastry :] MMM Layers

And their DELICIOUS Ice Cream Flavors.. gotta eat them all!

First I needed some real food, there was some Tea involved [with a chocolate muffin]

And a Seafood & Chicken Salad with Rosemary Bread

Cucumbers, Romaine, Tomato, Egg, Shrimp, Crab, Chicken, Olives & Corn… YUM!… with a creamy Caesar dressing on the side [sans anchovies haha]

Then after a quick gobble down I was ready for my DESSERT!!!! Come baby come!!!

Americano [x2]

Fantasy Ferris Wheel

Pistachio, Stracciatella, Maple Walnut, Chocolate, Black Currant, Vanilla, Strawberry

The Maple Walnut, Choc, Vanilla and Strawberry were the ones that came with the wheel and I got to choose 3 more.. BOO! I thought it was 7 of whatever I wanted and I made my whole list and submitted it until they told me LATEAR that I could only pick 3 :[ *pout* I hate rules!

But this plate was licked clean! Maple Walnut & Stracciatella are still my favorites. The vanilla was SOOO creamy tho and the chocolate had chocolate ribbons in it like the Stracciatella :] And each ball was on top of a slice of brownie. NOM!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Right after, I headed to SOGO to meet up with my cousin, his gf, their adorable baby girl Zoe, my aunt [cous' mom] and my mommy for dinner at Ding Tai Fung!!!!

She looks so much like when I was a baby :] My mini-me! She was posing with me all nite!!! TEEHEE* And we played peekaboo after dinner until she was ready to fall asleep and started getting a lil fussy hyper. LOL CUUUUTE!!!

I’m an Auntie ;]

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 aka “Booze Time” at Cafe Kitchen

I found a new place in the Fuxing Sogo for Tea Time :] Probably because it’s on the the men’s floor and I’m always single when I come to Taiwan

[hahahaha... like i've said before the day that I actually bring a man with me to Taiwan I'll probably end up marrying him.. aside from my first boyfriend who vacationed with me in Taiwan the same time I did and we had some fun together back in college, every time I plan to bring a boyfriend with me to Taiwan I break up with him right before... SPEAKING of which... you know how people always break up before summer and get a guy for Xmas and New Years?!?! I'm the opposite.. HAHAHAHA okay, back to the food]

It’s super swanky, super cute seating and interior and pretty “private”

But.. Parmesan Cheesecake?! Seriously?! As much as I was curious I also didn’t really wanna try it…

I ended up with this buttercream frozen cake… it was actually pretty tasty.. I thought it was ice cream but no.. alas I’m a fatass and it was 100% buttercream… OY VEY

Irish Coffee with Whip

Grapefruit Sake Espresso Drink…

100% Grapefruit Juice

Pour in the Espresso

Pour in the Sake

And if you want you can pour in the sugar syrup but I left it as is… pretty tasty.. but the espresso and grapefruit juice totally covered up the sake… I stole my tea time date’s whiskey infused coffee :D

Tomato Espresso Drink…

Tomato Slice with Candied Orange Peels

You stir the tomato juice up with the espresso

It’s actually pretty tasty.. plus tomatoes are GREAT for your skin :]

I got another Irish Coffee but this time without Whip… and extra Whiskey ;]

OKAY So this time I had more booze than cake which is better… right?! Maybe?!… Next time I should ask for the Irish Coffee hold the coffee and whip ;]

The menu looked delicious and there was lots of variety.. from pastas to risottos, seafood, beef, pork, etc…. YUM! And a huge waffle list and more desserts, juice bar and boozey coffee items I wanna try :] Will be back at least a few more times while I’m in town, that’s for sure :]

Valentines Day on a Farm

Guess what I was surprised with for Valentine’s Day?

Special heart shaped donuts from Doughnut Plant [Creme Brulee, Coconut Cream, Ginger *heart*, Rosepetal *heart* and a Passionfruit] and a 50th Anniversary edition of Hello Kitty :] Best ways to this girl’s heart… thru her stomach and her kitty ;D The Hello Kitty is squishy and comfy and the doughnuts were even tastier than they were pretty!!!! Favorite of the bunch were def the tres leches and the coconut cream. I. LOVED. FILLED. DONUTS.  Apparently he got me an Oatmeal Donut too [he knows my obsession with oatmeal] but they didn’t put it in the box. I bet he just ate it ;D JK.. maybe.

“Be my Valentine”

Okay, okay okay…. Ya’ll must know by now that Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday *sarcasm* and was ready to boycott it… but……….. :] Things change.

I was surprised with an hour long drive to a farm for a special 8-course dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns all the way out in Westchester, NY. Now THAT’S planning….

Car rented, and trying to get there by a 9:30pm reservation – off we went on an adventure….. we actually got there, FREEZING, at 9 and immediately got seated…

We’re on a farm….

Hmm.. kinda funner to say “We’re on a boat…”

Kinda creepy late at night and in the winter… cozy but creepy.. especially watching the Ghost Adventures marathon the other day on Travel Channel… hahaha [sorry I don't really like the show, the main guy Zak is kinda douchey.. but I'm excited for the Salem episode this week... AND... I love creepy things - the Vday epi was mad cheezey tho, couldn't stop watching... it was filmed in my hometown :D] Oh sorry, tangent, onwards…

The Walkabout Map…

Must be SO gorgeous in the summertime :] Gonna make him take me here again… hahaha hopefully they have animals to play with… MOO. Cluck cluck. BAAAAA *sheep poo*

We got seated at a gorgeous and spacious booth and were handed the set menus for the special Valentines Day meal…

Now USUALLY, the just give you a list of ingredients and you tell them what you can’t or won’t eat and they’ll make a set menu for you.. but tonite was special. :] Waiter comes over, I nod and drool over the menu…. all is well, no changes for meeeee [aka no lamb or goat cheese] so All of the Above plus Wine Pairings…. :]

I loved the ambience… the restaurant was quiet [for once.. my mom always complains about how American restaurants, no matter how fancy, are super noisy] and very cozy. With high ceilings and a very cottagey feel to it.

“If we were stuck in a natural disaster or end of the world I’d like to be stuck here” – Z
Hard to see, but there were GORGEOUS huge vases of flowers as centerpieces in the middle of the room. GORG!

By the way, date was ninja and stole me the tulip as my Valentine’s Day flower after the dinner ;D SO Ninja. Stealthy.. melikes.

Before we continue I have to apologize for the dark pictures. But trust me, the ones with flash are tacky and gross looking. You’ll have to go on blurry dark and mysterious ;D And my descriptions… which are fantasmic [of course]

Amouse-BoucheFarro Crisps and Add-ons…

Lardo, Sweet Potato/Onion Chutney, Pork Confit, Ricotta and Butter…

They were soooo good.. crisp… I loved it most with the sweet potato and onions… omg so good.. the pork tasted a bit gamey too me and super asian… :] The ricotta just tasted like butter to me… haha…

…and they came with juice shooters to cleanse the palate

Grapefruit and another fruit… sorry forgot.. citrusy and sweet :]

First pours of champagne…

Z has been telling me about Blue Hill’s poached eggs and bread and butter since last year…. so even though the waiter said the bread didn’t come til 3 or 4 courses in…. Z, being Z, asked for some bread anyways… and did it live up to the expectations?

OH BOY DID IT!!!.. and then some… they were warm, crusty on the outside and chewy/soft on the inside…

PLUS, it came with the butter… a cheesy butter.. tasted cheesy, maybe an aged butter? AMAZING

STONE BARNS PANTHEr SOYBEANS

tofu, oyster, american caviar
Paired with: Schramsberg Brut Rose Calistoga, California 2006

I was surprised that the tofu came out speckled and brown… I wish there was more caviar in it… or more incorporated/tasted in it… they were scattered on the bottom. There was a citrus gelee on top [which I thought was caviar at first haha] which was kind of on the sweet side. The tofu was super tender and the oyster was really really fresh. Adored the soybeans – so good.

FARM EGG
brioche, pancetta, spinach, leeks
Paired with: Vinatigo Gual Canary Islands, Spain 2007

How gorgeous is this? As soon as we got this dish, we realized we were sitting WAY too far apart, so he scooted on over to my side of the table :]

Simple yolky egg with a sprinkle of black pepper…

The pancetta was so fatty, salty and delicious….. the leeks were melted down and super fresh and leeky tasting… the spinach tasted just steamed and delicious. I liked my egg most with just black pepper sprinkled on top tho… the brioche was soooooo buttery and delicious tasting – I immediately lost interest in the other bread and wanted a loaf of this stuff. *sniffs it like crack*

“I’m getting full…” – Z

WHATTTTT?? My eyes bulged out… he also wasn’t super excited about the next dish.. that’s cuz he didn’t realize how amazing it would be… [btw he insisted he was just STARTING to get full... I blame the bread... but he ended up eating more bread anyways... and all of his food ;D]

GREENHOUSE GREENS
winter flavors and textures
Paired with: August Kessler Riesling Trocken’Rudesheimer Bischofsberg’ Rheingau, Germany 2001

Olives, Ham&Cheese, Pickled Radishes

The greens were super fresh and delicious.. so crisp and clean tasting… bursting of flavor. I actually enjoyed the salty black olive puree the best with my bites of the greens… the ham & cheese were an interesting and delicious touch as well. Z ate most of the radishes [hahahahaha butthead] and tasted a sort of lemongrassy-ness to it [even tho it didn't have it, there were other elements that kind of mimicked the flavors], I didn’t tho and was expecting KIMCHEEEEEE… cuz I’m Corean ;D Obviously.. hahahaha [btw, I'm NOT Korean]

Honestly I could’ve done with more greens!!! You know me, I love my veg.. esp fresh veg :D

And then out came more breaddddd!!!!!
We found bunnies in our bread!!! We buttered him up with the cheesy butter and ate him up… I got the head/ears :D CHEEEEEEZY BUTTER… omg I want a whole stick of it right now… and that piping out steamy crusty chewy soft bread…. nom nom nom.. I should get back into baking again…

And finally.. some protein….

TURBOT & MAINE SCALLOPS

curried cauliflower, grapes, almonds
Paired with: Dirler Muscat Grand Cru ‘Saering’ Alsace, France 2005

The turbot was a lot firmer than I imagined/remembered it to be… perhaps slightly overcooked? It was extremely oversalted…. I adored the curried cauliflower with the grapes and the almonds on the bottom, it was cooked perfectly… the scallops were sliced thinly atop the turbot and panseared.. I had a few perfect bites that weren’t over-salted.. but me and Z both concluded it was too salty.

[btw, Z had warned me that their veg dishes were better than their protein ones.. and that they had a tendency to oversalt... curious]

BOURBON RED TURKEY CREPINETTEjerusalem artichokes, romaine, portobello, truffle
Paired with: A&G Fantino Barolo ‘Vigna dei Dardi’ Piedmont, Italy 2003

I loved this presentation. I expected REAL crepes.. but they were little deilcious turkey meatballs wrapped in different “wraps” as a “crepe”… L-R was romaine, pear [altho now reading the menu, I feel like it's artichoke? Still tasted kinda like pear tho.. *confused*] and portobello.. the brown sauce in the front was truffle sauce. SO good….  I’m not huge on sauces but I did a tiny dip and went left to right. I adored the portobello the most, bursting with mushroom flavor.. loved the sweetness from the pear and the brunch of the romaine…. can I just have it all in one bite? I adored the meatballs, I’m such a meatball girl ;D

Good thing we told our waiter ahead of time we like our steaks rare.. extra rare….. these came out a little more cooked than expected… which leads me to think that they’d be TOO overcooked if we didn’t say anything at all [strange that they didn't ask us actually, how we would've liked it cooked]

GRASS FED BEEFchickpeas, hummus
Paired with: Señorio De Peciña Rioja Reserva, Spain 2001

Beauty isn’t it? I didn’t enjoy the beef tho… and actually only ate a piece and gave the rest to Z… I loved the chickenpeas… but something was off about the sauce and the beef to me :T I couldn’t figure out the herb in the green pesto sauce but it was totally throwing me off taste-wise and I could barely stomach that one slice… sadness… I love cow…

BLUE HILL FARM YOGURT SORBET granny smith apple and celery gelee, noble sour vinegar

This was amazing. The yogurt sorbet was sooooo creamy and amazing.. Z and I were craving Red Mango after but it was almost past midnite so we knew we missed last call for Red Mango back in the city *sad* I loved how it wasn’t overly sweet and the subtle apple and faint faint taste of celery in the glee. Amazing. Simple always goes a long long way….

CHOCOLATE BRIOCHE granola ice cream, milk jam
Paired with: Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon Loire Valley France 1996

It was like a molten lava cake with lots of texture.. it tasted like healthy lava cake hahaha… the ice cream actually tasted like granola.. mind blowing… granola with raisins.. but NONE of it were in it *mind-blowing* I would like a pint of that please… or a gallon ;D

My double espresso ;D So I wouldn’t fall asleep on the ride home… hehehe [which btw, it did it's job quite well!!!]

We also got more desserts at the end.. chocolates and mini milkshakes…

Shiesty lighting, my apologizes again, but these chocolates.. completely hidden into the marble slab…. were delicious. They were little sandwiched chocolates… with chocolate :] Dark and velvety smooth and creamy on the inside….with the crunch of a thin hard chocolate on the outside.

Nice candle tho huh?

Picture by the fireplace…

Thanks for such a delicious Valentines Day ;D

Out for Omelettes, came back filled with Italian

Last Sunday, we woke up super late after a long night watching UFC 111 at Prudencial Center in NYC….

More here…

INSANITY… we filled up on popcorn, fries, funnel cake and tons of good beer… but we awake the next morning with the biggest munchies ever… of course the fact that we didn’t eat til around 3 didn’t help either…. so yeah…… we were starved and craved goodness in us…. omelettes? brunch? french toast? pancakes… we quickly found a cute diner to go to for some eggy goodness… but ended up finding something even more…..

Cafe Formaggio was RIGHT next door…. and the pizza on their lunch menu drew me in….

Fresh breads… yum!!!!

Side Nibbles – Cheese, Hummus and Olives

Japanese & Tea Time at Taipei 101

Kisses from cousin & I  from Taipei 101

Hahaha.. we’re the tallest ppl in our family.. it’s too hilarious… we TOWER over our moms and aunts when we go out to eat and shop… :P We’re sooo alike :] AH, so so so LOVES her…. guys, get her while she’s still single… bet you can’t guess how old she is too ;] HOTNESS… ok ok, onwards to the food…