Duck Breast with Fig Sauce over Grilled Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

I made this recipe a week or two ago and I thought I’d post about it….

Sauce:
Red Wine
Shallots
Figs
Balsamic Vinegar
Maple Syrup (only if figs are not sweet enough for you)
Black Pepper
Rosemary

Reduce.

[ps. if you haven’t noticed, I tend to cook by taste, feeling and not by measurements – unless I cake, so sorry… I also do not add salt to my food because I tend to have a bad reaction to too much salt, so I only eat it when it’s unavoidable outside of my house/cooking, but I promise you the flavor is there… that’s why I always use a lot of spices and herbs.]

Duck:
Take the duck breast and score diagonally and sprinkle with Black Pepper
Cook with extra duck fat (always start skin side down on a cold pan)
When you flip it (after skin is crispy) add xxx and xxx in pan (can’t give away all my secrets right?)
Add rosemary, [or thyme] cook to liking.

Veggies:
Use duck fat to coat asparagus and my beautiful multicolored cherry tomatoes.  Cook until asparagus is still firm, not limp with a bit of char.  The tomatoes should have a bit of char as well and will burst by themselves. Pop!

Garnish with a freshly sliced fig! Oh I so fancy yo. LOL.

End result: Yumzers! ENJOY!

Indulging at uzna omom; harajuku pancake

Recently I discovered a new place in Taipei…and the smells and the menu looked quite alluring….

The wait is quite long, it is indeed a new place, but I was ready to wait.  I was dying of hunger, but I needed to try this place.

The decor was adorable!!!

Aren’t the ceiling fans freaking adorable? I love this place, it was just so warm and cozy [minus the fact that the AC was turned up super high – haha – on the inside I was warm and cozy]

I ordered a sparkling white grape juice with no sugar – which is sad cuz they added so much lemon in it, I could barely taste grape, it was basically lemonade.

I ordered a cooked spinach salad with smoked duck.. it came with a delicious creamy corn soup and two pancakes [they are famous for their pancakes]  All was delicious!!! Although the spinach was barely cooked so it was basically raw.. but they did add a few mushrooms slices, which was nice… and the duck was delicious, just wish there were more.

For tea time places, I wish there was always choses when it came to soup – I’m not a creamy soup person – I’m lactose intolerant – but I did enjoy this soup.  And pancakes were delish!

Also ordered a side dish of broccoli with shrimp and some mushrooms… and some bacon.  It was overly salty, I think they accidentally salted it twice or thrice, cuz it was painfully salty.

The next concoction was this coffee with shaved ice and condensed milk. Gorgeous and delish!!!

For dessert i had the Honolulu Soufflé pancake and it was smothered in a delicious cream and caramel-y sauce, and crushed macadamia nuts. OMG it was SO GOOD, but extremely filling.  Half of this filled me up like no other. SO RECOMMEND THIS!!!!

I’d say come here for the desserts/pancakes and amazing matcha tea lattes and stuff but don’t expect a lot from the savory.  The desserts are delicious!!!!

BTW like my new cell phone case?  She wanted a selfie!

Best day ever…… Red Sox win and giant Lobsters

i love my fam……. Red Sox 5-4 against Houston Atsros….. and then legal seafoods

Happy times <3

Duck Breast “Confit” Dinner with delicious sides….. and hilarious Taylor Swift “music video” dance by Miss Tiffie at the end

鹅肉郎海鲜 for Goose and Seafood

After the amazing day and night at the spa… and a super fun day visiting the cultural center and island for biking and coffee… we finally id what we wanted to do.

Eat. Goose.

So off to 鹅肉郎海鲜… one of my uncle’s favorite places in Yilan.

GOOSE…. we ended up ordering two geese of this and another whole goose to go.

Yummy Greens

DELIIIIICOUS noodles <3 Tender, with chew and just perfection.

Spicy Clams with Basil

Fish Soup

Fried Fish <3

Squid with Ginger

I was so full I was up at 2, 3 in the morning and still FULL and bloated. SOOOOO freaking good.. if you’re ever in the area  YOU BEST GO. YEAH BOIIIII….  Uncle even got me beers to go with the food haha…. he knows me too well….

吉凡尼的花園 Le Jardin de Giverny in the 美術館 area

Woke up super hungry…… time for some delicious eats at 吉凡尼的花園 Le Jardin de Giverny – I’ve been here before, years ago and it was pretty bad but they changed owners and have definitely improved 10 fold.

I so hangry

We ordered two add on lunch meal sets and two a la cartes to share.

Delicious Fresh Foccacia Breads

[You can actually buy breads and pastries in the front of the house]

You can also buy different vinegar, oils and balsamics in the front as well… yay for dipping yummy warm bread…

Fresh Veggie/Fruit Juice

My clear vegetable soup… which tasted a bit buttery to me so I wasn’t that into it. The flavors were great though.

And of course for my “drink” that came with my meal I got a nice glass of white wine.

Fresh salad with walnuts and starfruit.

Appetizer: Ratatouille

It was absolutely delicious and one of the few times I’ve ever had it.  I’m so glad I ordered this.. it was between this and escargot.

My aunt’s appetizer: A Crab “Tart” which is so not a tart, but it was good and fresh none-the-less

And for her main dish she got the seafood risotto.  YUM.  I had a bite and you could taste yummy saffron…. reminded me of a paella but creamier…

Mama, of course, got the pan-fried duck breast, but which was cooked really well and just fatty enough. So so tender.

My other aunt got the pan-fried sea bass, which was one of my choices….

But I ended up getting, DUH, the spicy seafood stirfry :]

And then we went straight into dessert….

A mini Creme Brulee… which I gave to my aunt since she rarely gets to eat these things….

But I enjoyed my delicious iced coffee…. MMM froth

地址：台中市五權七街58號 (台中綠園道)
電話：886-4- 2376-9755

I ended up staying for tea time as well but while my aunts chatted I explored the area a bit…..

春水堂 Chun Shui Tang

After our snack at Wu Fu Wontons we took the HSR to Taichung… took less than an hour….. we spent the day shopping and etc… and ended up at one of my favorite place… [I love tea houses]

春水堂 Chun Shui Tang

Chicken Feet 鳳爪 <3 My favorite

Dried Squid Shreds and Chinese Sausage

Sort of a fish paste 魚漿 with some veg in it and then pan-fried.

Blood Cakes… Chicken Wings… etc etc… we even got two bowls of noodles… us ladies can EAT.

Butter Toast

Delicious Free Desserts

And then dancing in the streets of Taichung to burn off all the calories…

高雄五福扁食專賣店 Wu Fu Wontons

Mama and I were headed to Taichung to play and eat with my aunts and cousin but beforehand I was soooo hungry, even after breakfast – even though we were going there to eat lunch/afternoon tea and to help my aunt pick out a dress for her daughter’s wedding, we stopped by a famous small stall for some delicious small eats.

Spicy Seaweed Cold Dish

Braised Tofu [they usually give me this for free when I buy late night – in fact I think they gave it to me for free again even though I ate there :] Such sweethearts ]

Spicy Wontons, 红油抄手 [my favorite go to dish from this place]

We also got some greens….. yum to Asian veggies.. always more tender than the stuff you get in the States. Sigh.  I usually just get late night eats from here and eat it back at my room but it was nice to sit down and just experience the cute little store in person.  Cheap, quick and delicious – they offer TONS of small eats and offal.. I’m also a huge fan of their wonton soup.

Craigie on Main – 8 Course Tasting Menu

The one and only Woo Bear, my favorite NYPD PoPo/Detective/Bodyguard/Bestie came to visit me in Boston and being so busy with work lately we FINALLY got a chance to meet up, rant, chat, laugh and just have a jolly awesome time.  I picked him up from his hotel and even though we got there early they had a table for us already set for us.

Woo Bear & Peep Peep unite!!!!!

AKA

He’s the Gru to my Agnes

I told him we had to go to Craigie on Main.. it’s farm to table and seasonal and just one of my favorite places MUST GO TO EAT AT places in Boston… well it’s in Cambridge but same difference. I adore their open kitchen. And everyone there is SO friendly and awesome. PLUS every time you get the tasting menu you get different and new things it’s NEVER the same.

After careful, not so careful thinking we decided to order the everything 8 course tasting menu.  We started off with a champagne for me and a “manly” scotch drink for him. I think the waitress said it was a scotch rimmed with absinthe?!… I thought it was delicious!!!!

We also ordered a bomb ass bottle of French Burgundy Pinot Noir – mad $$ but soooo worth it

I asked for them to write out the menu for us so I could have it when I went home… obviously so I could blog!!!

And then it began….. as we sipped our yummy drinks, the food started flowing….

Trio of Amuse Bouche

Citrus Cured Striped Bass, Avocado, Red Onion, Pickled Pine Nuts

This was Woo Bear’s favorite… mainly cuz of the avocado he said.  It was good and reminded me of tuna tartare, I think mainly cuz of the color, would’ve never thought it was striped bass – but I guess it was cuz of the citrus cure.  You couldn’t really taste the citrus but it was a good bite.

Razor Clams, Uni Vinaigrette

Texturally wise, this was my favorite of the three. It was obviously clams… and I LOOOOOVE razor clams.. I’ve never had it sliced before and it was amazing.  Need to start taking my razor clams not whole on a shell… hehe…

Smoked Bluefish Rillettes, Hackleback Roe

Taste-wise this was y favorite. It was a beautifully soaked fish… and with the caviar and everything it was pretty divine.

The waitress loved that I had a champagne glass tattooed on me haha..

Sea Trout Pastrami
Winter Chicories, Blood Orange, Pistachio Vinaigrette

I actually expected a smokier tasting salmon, from the looks of it, but the taste was impeccable.  The texture of the salmon was of smoked salmon but it definitely had that “pastrami” kick to it.  With the added crunch of the chicory and pistachio it was heaven in each bite.  It actually would’ve been an amazing salad with more chicory and pistachios but deeeeeelish!!!!!!!

Roasted Sturgeon à la Poêle
Camargue Red Rice, Red Onion Soubise, Beurre Rouge

When the last dish came out we finally finished our first drinks and got to get into the the wine, which paired PERFECTLY, as waitress said it would, with the food… It was salty was soooooo gooooood.  Not sure what the greens were but the rice was just barely el dente and chewy and amazing, I almost thought it was wheat berries…the surgeon [this was the first time Woo Bear ever had it, but I have] was soooo buttery and beautifully cooked.  Like I said, it was salty but it still tasted awesome….

Delicious wine with an amazing friend!!!

Spice-Crusted Striped Bass Kama

Wait. What? KAMA? UM, I LOVE YOU CRAIGIE.   I love Fish Collar Bone [aka Kama]

Even the waitress told me to make sure to take a pic – I think she saw me taking pictures before… and probably assumed since I was asian HAHA

It’s all about this:
the Tuscan Olive Oil, Citrus Vinaigrette

And cuz we were “her friends” she poured it on for us. AWWWWW I felt so loved….!!!! She even said “Of course Tiff, you’re my friend” hahahaha… maybe she remembers me from my past eatings there…. LOLOLOL… I always eat SO much here

This was my piece… Woo Bear and me both picked our pieces CLEAN!!!!!… We ASIAN YO.  We waste NOTHING!!!

House-Made Red Beet Conchiglie Pasta
Boudin Noir Ragoût, Fava Leaves

This was beautiful. Fucking beautiful. BEET PASTA? It’s like taking a veggie I love with a pasta I love and combining the two.  When I first looked at it, I was like UHHH.. meat? blah? WHAT? But it was delicious.   The sauce didn’t overwhelm the beet taste in the pasta and the lava leaves added a nice green freshness to it.   Will definitely try to make a beet pasta in the future… altho I’ll probably make pappardelle or gnocchi.

Slow-Roasted Veal Sweetbreads
Wild Mushrooms, Farm-Fresh Egg, Chorizo Sauce

This may have been my favorite dish of the night, minus the bone marrow later, but I can never not LOVEEEEEEEEEE and orgasm with bone marrow.  But the poached egg was SOOOO beautiful.  The sauce, the mushrooms and of course SWEETBREADS.  I really need to find a place that sells sweetbreads so I can start cooking them.  They’re one of my favorite delicacies.. even more than bone marrow and foie gras cuz I can never find them to cook them myself… and because of that, I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to order sweetbreads when it’s on the menu.. well I guess the same with the other two but still….

And then when we thought it was all over….

Axis Venison Two Ways: Spice-Crusted Leg, Crepinette
Mustard Spaetzle, Hakurei Turnips, Red Cabbage Purée

And obviously we got it with the BONE MARROW!!!!

Can you believe they asked us if we would rather have duck fat roasted carrots OR bone marrow? UMMM… we didn’t even look at each other and Woo Bear and I both screamed BONE MARROW!!!

It was all so freaking delicious….  the crepinette was SOOOOOOOO delicious. It was a yummy venison meatball!!!… and the venison leg, sliced and cooked rare was just SOOO tender and delicious.  I ended up eating the marrow on toast and then the rest of the marrow all over my veal dish and licking it up. The spaetzle was crunchy and divine and while it was from “mustard” it had almost a delicate “cheese” taste to it.  Definitely some of the yummiest spaetzle I’ve had.  The turnips were great.. I thought it was daikon – which I guess is basically a turnip/carrot – and just all of the items combined was ORGASMIC. We had SOOOOOO much bone marrow it could feed a family of 10.

Palate Cleanser
House-made Lime Frozen Yogurt
Basil Seeds

Delicious. Refreshing. YUM.

We got this amazing Bourbon:
Michter’s 20yr Cask Strength Single Barrel 114.2°

At 67$ a glass it better be fucking amazing and it was… smelled like caramel and was soooooo tasty. Yeah disgustingly expensive but also disgustingly delicious.

Dessssert time.. so it was definitely more than just 8 courses….

Moroccan ‘Upside Down’ Carrot Cake
Goat Cheese Sorbet, Dates, Caramelized Almonds

I told them no goat cheese but they gave me some anyways.  I ate it anyways.  But the cake was super dry, even though I loved the look/concept of the cake.  Next time I make carrot cake I’ll have a beautiful slice of carrot on top.  It didn’t go with the goat cheese even tho I tried it together to make it “wetter” and neither did the sauce.  It was kinda sad to see such a fantastic meal end so badly.

Chocolate-Fernet Branca Crémeux
Roasted Lemon Puree, Tarragon Ice Cream

I don’t really think that was what we got… it tasted like mint ice cream on chocolate mousse and crunchy sticks hahahaha…. it was good but didn’t feel like a FULL dessert, like a side to a dessert…

BUT AT LEAST THIS SAVED THE NIGHT

We had a special complimentary Hot Cocoa to warm us up… there was definitely some chilies and cardamum in it <3

Everything was talked about, we definitely spent a good few hours there… and in the end we realized:

Love you Woo Bear. Can’t wait to play again soon!!!!! Miss you dearly already!!!!

Best Vegas Trip Ever… the end [Last Day]

Kelly and I woke up to a mess of food, booze, clothes and even ourselves, sprawled around the room – EVERYWHERE.  We ate yesterday’s leftover lunch and drank what we had left…. half a bottle of Johnny Walker Black and mixed it with pepsi.  Breakfast of champions!

I’m sorry mom.

+

=

Drunk 1 & Drunk 2 <3

Part of our messy booze and food filled room…

Somehow Kelly got to eat most of her leftovers.. I, on the otherhand, was weaksauce and just kept ordering more food and booze…. so she basically injected me with the leftover whiskey…

Sorry mom again…

This is probably the most clothes I have EVER worn in Vegas… or even around Kelly hahahaha

And sorry for that clothing comment too hahahahaha, my mom hates me now.

After cleaning up and packing we decided to do stupid stuff like… you know… drinking in the closet that fits both of us… we look so Asian here…

Gambling!!!! I lost money on the slots but ended up buying us drinks and winning it all back and 40$ playing Black Jack for a few minutes. SCORE!!!!!! I should just ALWAYS stick with Black Jack & Craps!!!!

Jack + Coke for her

A beer for me….

[ Sorry again mom for that snapchat AHAHAHAHAHAHA ]

After Kelly left… I grabbed a glass of champagne in the Heart Bar as I waited for J to come get me for a fun day outside of the “normal Vegas”

We went to the mall for a bit and I got spoiled… ring, tiara/crown and other gifts :] TEE HEE.. and then he took me to get some YUMMMMMMS..

It was between this place and a place called “Big Wong’s” hahahah.. I’m like YO you gonna take a Chinese chick to a Chinese place? Beware…. hahahahaha…. besides I wanted seaaaafoooooooood….. NOM NOM NOM

Hot N Juicy Crawfish!!!

And I even got the bib. YAY!!!!!!

“Is it your birthday?”
“Every day is my birthday!”
“Well Happy Birthday!”

 I trusted J with the order I just sat and enjoyed myself. THE SAUCE IS SOOOOO AMAZING.

Suck the head out… the yummy brains…. and de-shell and dip in sauce. SOOOO FREAKING GOOD.

We also got mussels…. SO MUCH FOOD, lickity lickity licked my fingers and lips and arms clean…..  I didn’t realize how full I was until part way thru dessert.. yep he also took me to dessert…

Snowflake Shavery!!! He was super excited to take me here, he said best ice cream ever.. and it WAS…. SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD

His —- I think it was coconut Ice Cream with Bananas, Pineapple and Condensed milk; We also go to try the new Banana flavor which is pretty amazeballs!

MINE!!!!!! The Black Seasame Creation with Black Sesame Ice Cream with mochhi, condensed milk and added rainbow sprinkles <3 DURRRR cuz I’m all aobut the rainbow sprinkles!!!

Thanks babe for a great day!!! I totally felt like a princess :D

SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEE

Peace Out Vegas — until next time…. which will be really soon, I promise.

With a full belly of ice cream and burping up that Hot N Juicy sauce the entire night… I’m off back to the land of the cold cold Boston. Oh how I’ve missed you so *rolls eyes* Snow storm after snow storm.. I need the sun and the heat.  Anyone wanna go to Hawaii, Miami, Mexico a Caribbean Island or on a cruise soon?! Cuz I am SO there!