delirium noel!

an appropriate bottle to toast the holidays!

really good omakase

Our friends Lilian and Bruce treated us to an omakase at one of their favorite restaurants. Don't have the name of it anymore (will have to update this post), but it was really good, especially the uni.

sushi 20101217

行天宮 (XinTien Temple)

One of the more popular spot to pray to the gods.  Obviously they also make a lot of money from the donations, as there are nuns standing around handing out incense to the worshippers.

xintien temple

my attempt at beef noodles

one of my favorite places for beef noodles uses chinese herbs to braise the beef shanks. here's my attempt to imitate them.

From my cooking

pickled clams

one of my favorite taiwanese dishes is clams pickled in garlic, chili peppers, and soy sauce. here's my attempt

From my cooking

winter in taiwan

this will be my first winter in taiwan in 26 years.  the weather dropped today below 50F, with rain and wind.  it was cold.

whiple house

I followed hungryintaipei's post to Whiple House, a fusion restaurant on the second floor of a retail store that sells furniture and clothes. The environment really made it feel like being in someone's house. The food was awesome, especially their interpretation of pasta carbonara, using uni to substitute for raw egg, and crab instead of bacon. we also got their seafood risotto, and fresh baked bread which came with some really good jam.

20101211 whiple house

steak au champignon

cooked again, this time, steak with mushroom sauce.

From my cooking

encore red medley

a nice bottle i found at the wine store down the street

thanksgiving dinner

i decided to cook a thanksgiving dinner this year.

menu:

- clam chowder
- steamed medley of vegetables (broccoli, carrots, baby cabbage)
- bacon infused mash potatoes with duck au jus gravy
- candied taro root
- creamed corn
- seared duck breast, glazed with chili candied ginger & onions
- pumpkin pie (this was brought by someone else-- i had no access to an oven)

20101126 thanksgiving dinner

first meal in new apt

moved into a new apt. the old one was getting stuffy, plus there was a crazy tenant who was agoraphobic, locked himself in, had to have the fire dept break down the door, and apparently relieved himself all over, so the entire building smells like urine.

this new place is so much nice, and it has a kitchen! so of course i had to cook. my first meal

From my cooking

From my cooking

From my cooking

肥牛 (fat cow) 炭火 (charcoal) 燒肉 (grill)

is a loose franchise of yakiniku.  previously i had gone to san-lian, so this time, thought i'd try out their store near taipei main station.  boy was that a mistake.  while the meats were the same, the service was horrible, and we did not enjoy the meal at all.  next time, we will go to san-lian instead.

a homecooked meal (by me!)

living in Taiwan, with food so cheap, means that you eat out every night.  most people do not even have a real kitchen in their homes.  the studio apartment i'm renting does not.  so when i got invited over to cook a meal in my friends' bruce&lilian's kitchen, i was elated.  after the meal, we played mahjong.  by 7am, i was the only person who was up in the chip count  :)

the pictures below are of the evening.  over the course of the evening, we had

• pig candy
• cream of brocolli
• bacon wrapped fish (i wish i knew the english name for it), with taro chips and a cabbabe/onion/apple sautee
• honey baked pears with a mixed assortment of nuts
• passion fruit sorbet
• fish broth & taro congee

we had 2 bottles of white wine and a bottle of red.  i don't know about the other bottles, but the one i brought was a bottle of Burgundy Chardonnay, a 2007 Rodet from the Mercurey appellation.  I really enjoyed it, and I don't usually enjoy Chardonnay!


my camera died half way through the night, so i still have to collect the rest of the pics from lilian.

dinner.20101023

Juan Williams fired from NPR

I enjoying listening to NPR from time to time. But I disagree with its existence as a government funded entity. I also disagree with its decision to fire Juan Williams for making honest, albeit politically incorrect comments. As a government funded entity, it should protect the freedom of speech, not quash it. Juan Williams should sue the government entities still funding NPR.

1995 mercurey

Since the 1994 mercurey was so good, I decided to try the 1995.  The bottle cost a bit more-- NT$1250.  It was a bit more tannic, and I think would be better in about 5 years.  Nevertheless, still worth the price.  If only I had a wine fridge to store it for the next 5 years....

oversized sushi @ 三味食堂日式料理

三味食堂日式料理 (San-wei, three flavors) is an old Japanese restaurant in one of the oldest Taipei districts.  The line for this place is about 45 minutes long, even at 8:30pm.  Which is amazing when you consider that this is a city where most people dine at 6pm.  And there's a reason for the line.  The value you get for the low prices are incredible.  What you don't get is presentation.  The plate of sashimi below is only NT$200 (~US$6), whereas it would cost 3 times that for 1/2 the amount, anywhere else in the city.

typical taiwanese midnight snack

i love going for midnight snacks.  after the milonga/birthday party on sunday, we decided to go for some food.  the place, whose name translates to "anonymous", serves all types of taiwanese cuisine, and is open all night.  you pick a bunch of plates (they're very tapas-like), and everyone shares them.   the base fee is NT$25 (less than US$1) for all you can eat yam porridge and the total came out to NT$150 (US$5) per person

アカヤガラ (aka-yagara/red-arrow) fish

In the states, you get very generic fish-- tuna, salmon, yellowtail, red snapper.  well, not generic, but.. common.  in a place like taiwan, the varieties of fish are amazing.  so sometimes you go to a restaurant and they tell you that they have some fresh fish, and they can make it 2 (or 3) ways-- sashimi, grilled, and soup, you go for it.  at the end of august, we tried a white fish that turned out to be quite tasty.  so we didn't hesitate this time around when the yakitoriya suggested the yakara (chinese: ma-bien) fish (despite never having heard of it).  the fish is quite unique, with an elongated beak, and a small mouth at the end.  the body is thin and long.  and it can only be line-caught, because it can break through nets.  the sashimi came from the mid-section.  while fresh, the meat was a bit coarse and rough.  the grilled portion came from the tail.  its texture became like that of swordfish.  perfect when drizzled with lemon, salt, pepper.  the soup can from the head.  they chopped the beak into small pieces and cooked it in a ginger seaweed soup.  trying to eat the meat off of the pieces of beak was very similar to eating snake meat.  would i order this fish again?  probably not, as it's not suited for either soup or sashimi.  but it was a great experience (and not a bad deal either, at NT780 (~US$26)).




update: The fish is a fistularia, or cornetfish.  (wikipedia, youtube)

Sashimi presentation (with both head and tail)

Closeup of head

Grilled tail

Soup (with chopped pieces of beak)

cru bourgeois

i've never had a bottle of wine classified as a cru bourgeois.  apparently, its existence (officially) was only from 2003-2007, and now again in 2010.  (wikipedia)  2005 was supposedly a good year for bordeaux, so i bought a bottle of chateau de gironville, from the haut-medoc region.  it was a mix of 3 grapes-- cab (~47%), merlot (~43%), and petit syrah (~10%).  aged 14 months in the cask.  percentages are from my memory, and may be incorrect.  very bordeaux profile.  a bit tannic, could definitely wait for a few more months.  for my money, i prefer last week's mercurey.

yummy yakiniku

It's hard finding a good yakiniku.  In LA, there's pretty much just Gyukaku.  Which is overpriced.  Not surprisingly, they also have a branch in Taipei.  For BBQ, Korean is much more popular.  But the Japanese style yakiniku, which is done over charcoal, if done correctly, is flavorful and doesn't leave you with your tastebuds desensitized.  This past Saturday we went to San-Lian (which loosely translates to 3 ounces, or 3 pairs).  For NT$399 (<US$13), you get an all you can eat selection fit for a carnivore. :) the meats were of high quality, and the service was wonderful.

1994 Mercurey

I've been treating the local Friday night milonga as my local hangout.  That is, I bring a bottle of wine, chat with friends, and if the inspiration arrives, dance a bit.  But the focus is on the wine and conversation, not on the dancing.  This past Friday I brought a bottle of the 1994 Mercurey Premier Cru Clos du Roi, purchased at Beacon3F for NT$1130.   I then proceeded to share it with a few others, including a Frenchman.  He loved the wine, and it turns out, his godmother is from the exact village (of only 300 people!) where the wine is made.

Din Tai Feng

Had the chance to go to the original Din Tai Feng in Taipei.  The food (esp steamed dumpling) there is definitely much better than I've had at the other branches.  And believe it or not, even more expensive.  What amazes me most is that this location has 4 floors, with many servers and a dumb waiter on each floor.   They've optimized the seating, ordering, payment process.  yet at peak meal hour, the wait is still over an hour long.

a good bottle of wine tides things over

As mentioned earlier, I was not very happy with the Taipei Tango festival.  Especially at the Grand Milonga, which is the largest event of the festival.  Good thing I brought a bottle of the 1994 Sarget du Chateau Gruaud Larose (purchased at Beacon3F for NT$1200)    :)

down home taiwanese cuisine

it's been a while that i've gone out for good authentic taiwanese meal, but i did so yesterday.  yum!  the best part, the entire meal costs only NT$295 (~US$9.50).

the menu:

• taiwanese noodles
• big sausage (it's actually a sausage that's stuffed using glutinous rice instead of meat)
• rice blood (rice + pigs blood).  id like to think that it's like rice krispies, but made with blood instead of fat, so much healthier  :)
• sauteed yam leaf
• pig liver seams w/ garlic soy sauce
• pig liver soup

taipei tango festival 2010

this past weekend was the tango festival in taipei.  lots of dancing, and the two after parties went till 6am.  very fun.   there were also some things that quite enraged me, which i may elaborate at some point.

typhoon!

i was in tainan when the typhoon hit.  the city got about 40cm of rain in a span of 12 hours.  which is not as bad as the 2 main cities further south, which got completely flooded.  both train systems closed.  so i tried getting a bus ticket.  at the bus counter, there was a taxi driver on his way back north who offered me a seat at a very good price, so i took it.  not only was it faster, but more comfortable, and i ended up closer to my aunt's place than by taking the bus.  not bad

wasabi & meat balls

a trip to southern tainan just before the sole typhoon of the season (so far) took me to a place that sells taiwanese meatballs.  it has a rice cake, glutinous skin, and is filled with pork inside.    a bowl costs just NT$50 (~US$1.60), has 3 of them, and comes with wasabi as the spicy kick.  unlike other meatballs, these are steamed, and not fried, so very good for you!

346, taiwan brewery

the main brewery in taiwan is simply named the taiwan brewery.  at their taipei location, they host a german style biergarden in one of their warehouses.  you get to fill up your mugs from 3 gallon coolers and eat typical taiwanese cuisine.  they also have a band that sings cover songs spanning from the 70s (disco) to today.

a 115 year old noodle shop

度小月 (Tu Hsiao Yueh)  is a noodle shop from tainan that's been open since 1895.  crazy huh?  they now have shops all over taiwan.  went there for dinner.  i have to say it was bittersweet.  the prices are higher than other noodle shops (but only slightly).  they've modernized their establishment into an actual restaurant.  so its comfortable, but the environment isnt "authentic".  the food however, is good as ever.

the menu

their famous noodles

their famous meatball soup

a plate of on-choy

1991 duca sanfelice

another bottle from the wine shop.  NT$1050 (US$33).  this one was near the end of its life, but still very good.  glad to have had the chance to try it.

a second cordier

this week, it's the pauillac version of the cordier privee collection.  NT$700 (US$22).  not as good as the margaux version, but i've always enjoyed a pauillac nonetheless  :)

a wine shop

i found this great wine shop the other day.  they have a lot of aged wines that haven't been repriced in a while.  i'll be going there over the next couple of months just to try out a bunch of them.  the first, pictured below, is a 1997 cordier, privee collection, margaux, for NT$840 (~$US26).  tasty!

mango ice

i love mangoes.  especially in taiwan.  unlike california (or the rest of the states), there are so many varieties of mango in taiwan.  one reason is that in the states, people want sturdy mangoes that don't rot after just a couple of days.  so the only variety you get is some mexican variety (no, its not a racist comment) that's not very fragrant.  the mangoes in taiwan are so fragrant, that you can smell them from a block away.

mangoes are in season during the summer.  and what better way to eat mangoes than cold, on a pile of ice?  there are 2 very good mango places i've been.  the first, called ice house, is depicted below, which is located at yung-kang street,  where all the beef noodle places are.

the other is called mango cha-cha, located next to the sun yat-sen memorial.  the proprietor is hilarious, and the mango ice is yummy.

burgers @ forkers

forkers is a burger joint opened by americans.  they've got all types of burgers-- cheese, blt, kimchee, pizza, you name it.  you can also customize it, like you would do at the counter in santa monica. i ordered mine with a fried egg on top  :)   and it's pretty good!

signed a 3 month lease

I just signed a 3 month lease for a small studio in Taipei.  It's not big, but the cost is only 1/3 of the rent of my apt in LA.  It's across the street from the Ambassador Hotel & other fancy places like the LV store, close to public transit (both buses and MRT), and the local night market has awesome food.  It's also right next to the Mr.Brown's Coffee (Taiwanese Starbuck's), which offers free Wifi and plugs.   A great view of the Ambassador hotel.  Air conditioning.   And the 3rd floor is empty most of the time.   A perfect office  :)

23 course omakase at oya

Oya was selected by Frank Bruni at the NYTimes, in 2008, as the best restaurant in the US.  Being the ultimate foodie, John has no problem having a 23 course omakase (+2 desserts and 2 bottles of sake) there on a Tuesday night.  It was simply the most extravagant and amazing meal I've ever had.  I took a picture of every course.

oya.20100803

an afternoon on chauncey creek

One of the best things about spending time with my brother John is that he is a foodie, and more than willing to drive very far to get great food.  Saturday we drove 3 hours (it was only supposed to be an hour, but it was also the best weather the NE has had all summer) to Kittery Point, ME.  There we spent the rest of the afternoon feasting on clams and lobster.

We got home around 8pm and were still too full for dinner.  We ended up going to Peach Farm for a midnight snack, which is really good Chinese food.  But I don't have pictures  :(

pappalecco

i loved this bresaola panino from pappalecco so much that i went there 2 days in a row. i love san diego's little italy.

Cucina Urbana

Cucina Urbana is a bistro in Banker's Hill district in San Diego.  we went for dinner there last night.  passed by a french restaurant that was quite crowded and happening (as it was Bastille Day).

They have a wine market, so you can buy any wine from there, either to go or to have with your meal, only $7 corkage.  We got a young italian for only $19, plus the corkage.  For appetizer, I ordered the fritto misto, which came with soft shelled crab, calamari, jumbo shrimp, and lots of vegetables.  definitely worth it.  for main course, i ordered the pork.  not as good as the one that Literati2 used to serve (mainly because I asked for rare, and got medium-well), but I think the kitchen was just overwhelmed, as it was packed (at 10pm!), since even the waiter suggested that I order it medium rare.

Again, sadly, no pictures, but here's a link to their website
http://www.cucinaurbana.com/

Bencotto

Bencotto is a neighborhood modern-ish italian bistro in Little Italy.  we went there for dinner, and I had a seafood tagliatelle, with their house sause, which is a pink-ish (slightly spicy) sauce.  good.  sadly, no pictures  :(

Neighborhood

i am in san diego for the week, working on my company's latest product with zai.  for dinner, zai took me to this place called "neighborhood"  its the most generic term, so try searching for it on google  :)

here's the yelp page.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/neighborhood-san-diego

here's their webpage

http://www.neighborhoodsd.com

the decor is father's office (original, in sm) meets the otheroom (venice).

they have a very extensive beer selection, which is good.

their menu is a bit wierd.  i order the steak frites, and it came as chili fries.  i guess instead of chili, they have steak cubes.  and on top of that, a lot of cheese.  i sent it back.  i'll have to not assume that steak frites is the traditional steak & fries in the future.

the i ordered "the animal".  which is a sausage in a hoagie, topped with braised pork shank and arugula.  really good.

zai ordered the mussels.    it's the only picture i took, but they were really good.

each of the items were only about $10.  i like how affordable everything in san diego is  :)