19 posts tagged “台灣”
Known also as 菠蘿包 (pronounced: bwoh lwoh bao) in Taiwan and other Asian countries, this bread actually does not contain any pineapple. Instead, it derives its name from the criss-cross design on its cookie dough exterior that causes it to look somewhat like the pineapple fruit. In Japan, these breads are known as melon pan (with pan being the Japanese word for bread). For that, I have no explanation.
I got this recipe from Angie’s Recipes, and I used her recipe for Japanese Melon Pan. However, I substituted the chocolate she used as a filling with red azuki beans instead. I love love LOVE azuki. Love. I made a few other modifications to the recipe as well in order to convert it properly to the English system of measurement instead of SI units. So I have posted the recipe at the bottom with my version.
(I won’t rant –too much– about this now, but I would just like to say that Americans are stupid and should have converted to using the metric system of measuring things YEARS ago and making everything easier and more universal rather than having to deal with annoying pounds and ounces and figuring out conversions between grams, weight, etc. Bah HUMBUG! End rant.)
Now, I tried this recipe twice. I thought the first batch was too small with only four pieces, so I doubled the recipe to make eight.
But the first time, as you shall see, was… well…
Not so good.
Out of the four of them, the best one looked like this:
Not that it didn’t taste fabulous. Inside, the bread and red bean were sweet and fluffy. My parents just scraped off the burnt portions (like any normal, self-respecting parents who often are forced to eat their daughter’s creations), and these four little buns were gone pretty quickly:
You see, I was in a rush that day and just left the buns in the oven and told my mom to take them out when they were done. Not a good idea. Apparently one second they were fine, and the next second… a burnt mess.
So I tried again!
TRIAL TWO.
This time I made sure I had time to be there the entire time.
Lined up, the pineapple bread buns were very cute! I had a difficult time getting the red beans inside the dough, but I think that’s just a matter of practice. And the outer cookie dough was a bit sticky to handle, but an extra layer of sugar on top helped create a barrier between my knife and the sticky dough.
Almost good enough to eat…
And… success!! It looked “normal” this time! The chronic problem of not quite-finished dough inside was there (I’m going to have to bake a bit longer next time and allow the dough to bake a little longer), but it came out beautifully.
Voila! Pineapple Bread!
The recipe is at PineappleBread.
I'm already posting about my last few days in Taiwan? Well, it HAS been a month since I left... I guess it's only right that I get the pictures out now.
One other thing-- I'm not going to post any more pictures after this post for at least a week. I need to focus all my energies on doing well on my upcoming LSAT (Sept 29). Wish me luck, everyone! I know I've been slacking on updating Vox, but it's because I've literally spent almost every single day in our local libraries. Try 10am to 6pm EVERY DAY, give or take a day or two because I need to run errands to get ready for my upcoming job. Fun? Maybe not so much. I haven't really even had time to make much food. Depressing, ya?
Anyway, here are my last few images of Taiwan before my brother and I fled to Japan for a few days before heading home.
After our presentations on the last day, my boss took me out to eat "dinner." Meaning whatever little bits of Taiwan I had not tasted yet that were famous. Since it was typhooning out, we decided to just get lots of snack food. For example, I don't even really remember where or what stand this was, but it was a Mango 刨冰 that was especially sweet and delicious.
And anyone who's been to 台北 has definitely heard of 鼎泰豐, right? It's a place that has "legendary" dumplings and 小籠包. Well, we stopped by to take a look:
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AND, at the request of someone, I have also taken a bunch of pictures one particular place that everyone in Taiwan holds dear to their heart. A place that is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and allows young people to buy alcohol as well as buy items to recover from said alcohol (ie, foodstuffs). It also is a refuge for those hiding from typhoons and there literally is one on every corner, if not two or three... And if you still have no idea what I'm talking about, you've never been to Taiwan before. No, it's not Starbucks-- it's SEVEN.
Called Seven-Eleven here stateside, the green and orange logo is much more prevalent in Taiwan, and it's referred to as just "Seven." It really has almost everything you need (except deodorant, but since most Asian people aren't that stinky.... I guess it's O-K-a-y....O_o), from alcohol, drinks and snacks to movies (Indiana Jones the set for ~NT$600, which is like US$20 O____O), umbrellas, and instant meals. There are also games played in all the convenience stores where you get stamps for every certain amount of money you spend. Once you accumulate enough stamps, you can redeem it for a cute prize (it was Hello Kitty when we arrived-- my boss went crazy as you can imagine).
Le end for now, dearies. Leave a comment, please~~~ <3
Well, buy instant ramen, basically. Lots of it.
In the US, I usually hate instant noodles. I find them way too salty and greasy and altogether too artificial. Sure they might be handy, but the noodles are usually too stiff and the liquid too unsavory for me to truly enjoy. But when nature throws things your way that keep you from going out to enjoy the yummy-ness that is Taiwan, such as this:
So when the typhoon hit and I was left with no other choice but to eat the instant ramen noodles my old roommate had left for me, I was a little bit depressed. Instant ramen? Gross.
But that wasn't the least of it, when I opened the large styrofoam bowl she had bought from Nikomart (aka, 福客多), I was thoroughly confused. In America, all you have to do is add hot water up to the line, let it sit for two or three minutes, and then chow down. The Taiwanese have gotten Instant ramen down to an ART form. There are several steps, and after asking every other person in my dorm to read the Chinese for me so I wouldn't mess it up, this is what I figured out:
Step One: remove all packets (in this case, four of them) from the bowl. There are two packets for flavoring (fatty substances, MSG, and the like), one for various veggies and herbs, and the largest one for actual meat bitlets. Curious.
Step Two: Squeeze out three of the packets-- the flavoring packets, the vegetable/herbs, and put on top of the ramen bowl.
Final Step: Open the meat packet and dump moist meat pieces in. Eat and Enjoy!
And to tell the truth, I really did enjoy it. Really. It was quite delicious.
And now I will NEVER be able to eat American Instant Noodles ever again. Never.
...in fact, I have merely gone to the other side of the globe we call home.
Anyway, I don't really have time (nor energy at this point) to do a full fledged post. Instead, dear readers, I will leave you with this little tidbit to keep you salivating (I hope!) for more!
During my penultimate week of work that my boss was taking the last Wednesday off of work. Since my last day was that Thursday, I jokingly told her that I might as well take the day off as well.
She didn't take it as a joke.
Quite the contrary. Since that day was supposed to be her and her boyfriend's one year anniversary (but unfortunately for them-- and fortunately for me?-- there was something that the office needed her boy to do so he was busy that day and therefore she petulantly decided to take the day off for herself and have fun), she instead decided that she would take that day and show me 淡水 (Danshui or Tamshui), the place where she went to college-- and a place that I've been itching to explore again since the last time Caroline and I made a mini trek through it.
What is 淡水? It's on the outskirts of Taipei County, by the ocean. It's a super touristy area, but it's known for its beautiful scenery and really good food. Really, REALLY good.
So that Wednesday, while everyone else was already at work (or, in Marcel's case, I'm sure, sleeping in bed... T__T), I tottered up and ate the breakfast I had bought the night before:
I also bought a 豆漿 (Soy milk) as I was running off to the MRT to meet with my boss at 古亭車站 (Guting Station). Why can't they make 豆漿 like that here in the US? Actually, my father recently informed me that my aunt gave us a 豆漿- machine a while back, so I think I'm going to have to try and make this drink for myself... and make sure that I don't poison myself in the process, since uncooked soy beans have cyanide in them... O_o
My boss and I first headed over to 故宮, the National Palace Museum, and wandered around there for the morning. By lunchtime, both of us were hungry and ready to continue on to 淡水!
Our first stop? 阿給! (and more, of course!)
Interesting.
Well, my boss took me to the Fisherman's Wharf, where we both sat down and rested and had midday snack (下午茶) at this place:
After we finished our dessert, we also had drinks.
Here's what my boss had to drink:
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[Edit: I have realized that if I try to write anything coherent when I'm tired... it's like I'm hallucinating, and I write accordingly .... Disgusting. -_-;;]
ANYWAY~ Despite the amount of food I had already stuffed down my throat into my ever expanding stomach, we stopped by this store on our way back down the hill:
Then, my boss decided that we needed to get dinner because we obviously had not eaten enough during the course of the day, so she suggested this place that she claimed was better than 鼎泰豐, a restaurant famous in Taipei for dumplings and 小籠包. So here we were, and they were really quite delicious. Thin skinned, juicy and savory, I really did enjoy them. Although I think I might have been able to enjoy them slightly more if I hadn't been so full on... all of the above.
Grapes in Taiwan are different from grapes in the United States. The taste is pretty similar, to be sure, but the texture and part of the tang of the grapes in Taiwan just makes them slightly different.
So one day at work-- oh so long ago-- my boss brought in grapes. And therefore, because I am underling numero uno, I was given a nice little glass of grapes to eat. The first one I just popped in my mouth without a second thought, thinking them the same as America's seedless, soft, and squishy, grapes.
Not the case. I made the correct assumption that there would be seeds, but I didn't realize how large they would be. For a pampered American, I wasn't really used to seeds. But I managed to spit the first couple seeds I encountered out mostly in one piece, although I did end up half masticating a seed or two. The pits have a nasty, dry, bitter taste that I don't particularly care for, which is why, when I was younger, I refused to eat grapes with seeds in them. But in Taiwan, I really had no other choice. It didn't matter too much. Seeds weren't the biggest difference I noticed, in any case.
What I noticed was the skin. Instead of a paper-thin layer of purple I was used to protecting the juiciness within,
Taiwan's grapes have a distinct, leathery texture about them. I took a bite, and it literally seemed to split in two. The skin also had a sour taste, as well, leaving a tangy aftertaste in my mouth.
So what I started doing was eating the grapes without the skin. Here in this above picture, you can see the mutilated remains of several grapes I ate. It looks like a flower, doesn't it?
The process by which I eat these grapes is as follows.
1. I pull out the stem
2. I "crack" the grape in half, revealing what you see in the above picture
3. I peel the skin off
4. I bite the translucent fruit of the grape in half and remove the seeds
5. I devour
^__^
Oops. I am immensely behind schedule in the posting of my pictures. Apologies. Apologies.
So let's begin. Story time!
One day, after a long day of skipping work because I wasn't feeling well (lack of sleep and so on... coughcough), when everyone came back from work, Ana and I decided to wander into 景美夜市 together to pick up dinner. So here we are, somewhere down the course of the night.
Unsure of what to order, we wandered the night market, wavering between smelly tofu and beef noodle soup when we came upon...
On the way back, we stopped in 福客多, also known as Nikomart, one of Taiwan's many convenience stores. And Ana saw...
...The end. ^__^
But I'm getting there, and THAT, my friends, is what counts! (PS-- some of you losers out there should start leaving comments... I'm feeling lonely here with my pictures of food... rawr!)
'Nuff said.
I wanted to photoedit this to make it prettier-looking (colors, lighting, all enhanced, etc.), but I am barely staving off sleep while typing this, much less trying to modifying it before it hits the stands, so to say...
But regardless of how unmodified these pictures are (most of mine are), they still make me happy. I enjoy eating, watching people eat, and seeing beautiful food. So this is my little contribution to that pool.
These few pictures are first of cakes in 85度C. I don't know if it's legal for us to take pictures, but I, being the stealthy foxy vixen that I am, managed to sneak a bunch. So here they are.
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Saturday (August 11)
Before heading off to my grandparents' place a week ago, since my brother had come up to 台北 for the weekend and because my boss had somehow obtained free tickets, my brother and I first went to visit the top of Taipei 101 (to the 91st floor balcony, no less!)
So at the top.... if you want to see pictures of us on the 89th floor looking at the Taipei surroundings, then I'll post them on my pictureblog PressedLife sometime soon. But we DID try some of the food up there, which includes the following:
Afterwards, we grabbed "lunch" at Dante's cafe.
Time for closeups:
There was also a dessert of 綠豆湯, which I literally inhaled. I have no pictures. It was gone that fast.
Sunday (August 12)
VISITING DR. WU (吳明道)
吳明道 is my father's old friend from when they were colleages in Texas almost 16-17 years ago. Yes, old in both senses of the word. So when my father realized that we were going to be relatively close in proximity to his old friend, he contacted Dr. Wu. Then he asked me to contact him as well so we could visit his lab at 長庚大學 (Chang Geng Uni) in 林口 (LinKo). Mind you, the only thing I remember of Dr. Wu is that he tried to buy my brother off of me when I was five and I refused to let my brother be taken away. Why was I so nice? Don't ask me... I wonder what my answer would be today, seeing as how I have two brothers to spare now...
... I kid, I kid! Ｉ would never give up my kid brothers!
At least not willingly.
In any case, after much difficulty I finally arranged a final meeting date of August 11 at 10am. Of course we had the great luck of meeting up with 颱風 (typhoon) weather, meaning massive rain. We arrived nearly 45 minutes late, and instead of going on the tour first, we went to lunch first instead.
He took us to a 吃到飽 place-- it was 火鍋 and 烤肉.
I don't have many pictures of the place-- it wasn't too bad, although I have decided that sausages take way too long to cook and don't taste that good either. *Shudders*
Well-- everyone had a ton of ice cream after our large dinner. I felt bloated.
Which made it perfect for when we went back to Taipei and...
HAD DINNER with [most of] Group Seven in 公館
Larry called REALLY late (AHEM, Lars... T__T真的是耶... 你為什麼哪麼晚才打電話給我們啊?) and said that we were all meeting for dinner at 公館 at 7pm. At exit 3.
When I showed up at 7:05pm, ready to apologize for being late, when I realized that there was NO ONE there. In addition, Larry, the guy who WORKS at 台大, which is across the street from the 公館 shopping district... chose to have us meet at Exit 3, which has nothing but bushes and trees and mosquitoes waiting. So when everyone finally showed up, we still had to make a long trek across the street and all around to get to the food.
Haha. Bum. Larry-- you need to have better planning.
We ultimately chose a Thai restaurant on one of the back streets. I don't have that many pictures of the food itself, but...
So I'm going to try and cram as MUCH of the past week into this entry as POSSIBLE. I know it's IMPOSSIBLE, but, heck, I am going to TRY anyway!
Starting with...
SATURDAY - VISITING the FOLKS
I always visit my grandparents and bring a bag of peaches with me--- nectarines, really. At first it was because my mother requested it. My grandmother had complained to my mother that whenever any of my cousins and aunts visited, they never brought any fruits or anything to show their love (I guess she's the type of person who needs gifts as signs of love), so the first time I visited, I brought this crappy bag of peaches I found in Welcome. I was pressed for time in that instance, and since then, I've managed to find the large, sweet peaches in the 菜市場 in the morning before visiting her. At this point, I'm not bringing the peaches because I was asked to-- I am bringing them because I want to. Besides... it's fun haggling. I haggled for the first time, food-wise!!! Woot! I am A LA AWESOME.
I managed to get the price down a teensy bit-- I don't know how good my price actually was, so to save face from having potentially gotten a bad deal, I won't put the price I got for these peaches. But I ate one later, and it was delicious-- so definitely worth it. Plus my grandmother called home later and told my mother that I was good at picking beautiful, delicious peaches, so YEAH. Greatness in haggling and picking peaches proven. Oh ho ho.
More pictures from the 菜市場--
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