Welcome to Taiwan! 歡迎台灣!

Hi All! 

Continuing my Asia adventures, my second stop was Taiwan! This was my first time in Taiwan, and it was everything I expected! 

My first destination was Taipei and we stayed right in the middle of XiMenDing (西門町). Perfect location for food and shopping! As soon as we stepped downstairs, we were greeted by countless number of stalls and food carts. 

There's a number of things to do in Taiwan, but what I enjoyed the most was visiting the PingXi Railway Line. The Ping Xi railway line is most famous for their historical look and feel and the PingXi lantern festival. I have a deep appreciation for Asian history and was really excited to come here. Many movies are filmed here because of the scenery. However, if you decide to drop by, come early! Shops usually close by dinner time (however I'd wait till night time to set off lanterns - it looks better at night !)

Next on my favourite things to do in Taipei was hiking. There are a set of mountains called the Four Beasts Mountains (四獸山), Elephant, Tiger, Leopard and Lion. However, don't be alarmed! None of those animals actually live on these mountains, the shape of the mountains just resemble these four animals. We only had time to climb the Elephant and Tiger mountain (we did both of them in a day, started around noon and ended around 8). The mountains were well paved, and there were many locals and tourists climbing the mountains with us! It was a relatively easy hike with nice scenary along the way. We saw temples, outdoor gyms, decorated rest areas and since we stayed for sunset, we caught a glimpse of Taipei at night. It was nice exercise since we'd been eating so much night market foods! 

My third favourite adventure in Taiwan was to the BeiTou (北投) Hot Springs! The Bei Tou area was developed into hot springs while Taiwan was under Japanese rule. As a result, the area has a very Japanese feel to it and very scenic. It was really hot while we were at Bei Tou (35°), so we opted to try the hot springs in the evening. As the saying goes "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", we opted to try the public hot springs which was frequented by many locals. They had several different pools each with different temperatures (kind of reminded of Scandinavia Spas here), and it was truly relaxing.

And these were the highlights of my stay in Taipei...next stop, KhaoSiung! 

- Alice

P.S. For more Taipei pictures...

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Hello Hong Kong! (你好香港)

Hi!

I haven't posted in a while, but I recently came back from Asia so I'll have a lot of stuff in store for this blog. First off, I went to visit my relatives in Hong Kong. I haven't been back in a couple of years and the first thing I noticed when I got to Hong Kong was the increased population; HK has definitely expanded in all aspects of tourism, business and immigration!

While I was in HK, I obviously ate a lot and was turned into a true piggy. There were the typical things to be had... Tsui Wah (翠華集團) Milk Tea, Pineapple bun with butter (菠蘿油 - Bo lo Yao) and of course a quick afternoon tea at Fairwoods (大快活).
     

Sizzling Steak in Causeway Bay (not sure of the name, but it's in the Chee On building beside Sogo in Causeway Bay). I NEVER order steak in Hong Kong...unless it's sizzling steak. I've had sizzling steak in Canada and in Taiwan, but nothing compares to the sizzling steak in Hong Kong. There are a number of good places, but I'd ask one of the locals for their favourite sizzling steak spot.


  The BEST Noodles I had in Hong Kong...for 45 HKD.
Honestly, the best foods you can find are probably in the Food stalls (大牌檔- dai pai dong) on top of food markets. Everything is cheap, fast and GOOD. If you don't mind sharing a table or hasty service... food stalls are your best bet for good cheap Hong Kong styled food. And what's wrong with meeting some new people? It's all part of the experience!
Side Note: Traditional food stalls (ones that are out in the open on the streets) are rare in HK nowadays, but they can still be found on top of food markets and on the islands.  

And how can I leave HK without going to at least one...two...or maybe three places for High Tea! In contrast with the high tea I've had in Canada, the high tea in HK is superb; for the same price you get a spectacular view and outstanding food!

(From left to right: St.Bettys, Cafe Grey Deluxe, W Bar)

I could dedicate a whole blog to food in Hong Kong just because there are so many food choices in HK. There are so many high class restaurants with amazing food, an amazing food and amazing prices. You can walk outside your doorstep in Hong Kong and walk into any random restaurant, and chances are...the food won't be bad. But that's the problem, Hong Kong is such a busy city, not many people have time to cook anymore, many families choose not to cook and instead go out for meals.I enjoyed going out to eat sometimes...but the best food I had in Hong Kong was at home (My aunt and grandma are the best cooks ever!). Restaurants are not where the best food in Hong Kong is found....the best food in Hong Kong is found at home.

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Fin Izakaya

So for my birthday, my friend brought me to Fin Izakaya as a surprise..

First Impression

Very much like Guu, smaller than Guu - yes, when I read the word izakaya, the first thing I thought of was Guu. And when we first entered, they greeted us as how Guu would greet us -lively and happily.

Decor

Decor was simple, and elegant - the place was small, but there was just enough room.

They lightly partitioned off some parts of the restaurant, so there was some privacy, for those that didn't want to be disturbed.

Service

We were there on a Friday night, so it was quite busy, and we weren't able to get the more private tables, and we didn't want to wait, so we sat at the bar, right in front of where they made our food! The people are super duper friendly! And the chef was amazingly friendly, and he knew the regulars by name and they talked like old friends :)

Food

Ahh we ordered a lot here, the ones with stars are notable mentions! (although all of it was good!)

* Beef Rice Bomb - teriyaki rice ball wrapped inside beef strips, topped with special mayo

It was an interesting dish! it sort of looks like those beef balls you have during dim sum. I think the teriyaki rice inside the beef is a perfect pairing - a simple but excellent dish. The mayo tasted surprisingly VERY good with it - made the dish even better!

Giant Sushi Roll (8 piece) - weekend only: 8+ ingredients in each roll

This roll was HUGE! like maybe.. 3-4x a normal roll? Our roll had sweet tomago, eel, cucumber, avocado, crab meat, gobo -burdock root, fish roe, and radish, i believe. Hard to eat, but an interesting eat.

Our Roll Being Made :)

*Amaebi Sashimi - Raw Shrimp Sashimi

I've had better in Thailand, but I don't see it in Sushi places in Toronto often, so it's worth trying.

Snow Man Parfait - Vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin crepe-like white pancake, with fruits (looked like a snowman)

Ahi tuna wahu carpaccio - Ahi Tuna Sashimi with chef "special sauce"

Duck Shichimi Yaki - thinly sliced duck on sizzling plate

Crispy Rock Salt Wings - Name says all :P

interestingly, these wings only had one bone in them, and although tiny... they actually had a fair amount of meat on them

Cheese Cake

*the rest of the pictures can be seen in my photobucket album

Drinks

Island Drink - sake, lychee liquor, blue curacao, pineapple + guava juice

Very fruity ! Classic drink if you like sweet and fruity

Big Buddha - cassis, rum and black sesame ice cream

Awesome drink! probably cause I like black sesame ice cream. The initial taste of rum, and black sesame ice cream aftertaste = AWESOME! Like an alcoholic milkshake.

So elegant!

Overall..

Decor 3.5/5 - simple, nothing special; i liked how the place had partitioned off places that gave you privacy.

Service 4/5 - service was nice! Everyone was super happy and talkative

Food 3/5 - food was good, but nothing too special

*Make Reservations!

Comparison to Guu?

This is a quieted down place, and there's a lot more personal interaction with the waiters/waitresses/chefs since it's not AS busy (since it's a smaller place). There's a larger variety of food, but at the same time their dishes aren't as spectacular. They essentially have different things to offer versus Guu, so it's a good visit.

Fin Izakaya

55 Eglington Ave E

Toronto, ON

(get off @ Eglington Station)

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Little Bangkok Thai Cuisine

Hello All!

Long time no blog. Been busy with exams and school and such ! But finally free :D

Anyways, went out with family today to eat (: And I wanted to eat Thai food! So I suggested we go to Little Bangkok Thai Cuisine, since I heard it was good (and it was close by)

Here's my take on this place! Rated #1 in Markham!

First Impression: Upon arriving at the small plaza, we didn't notice the restaurant at first, but upon closer inspection, we see the small space near the back - the front windows was overtaken by bright neon words of "Dine in, Catering, Take-out" and also posters.

Decor: It looked pretty fancy, with nicely folded napkins, bleached white tablecloths, pretty flowers on each table, and wine glasses sitting upon ever two-seater table. On one wall, it was replaced with a mirror, the other wall was painted a nice sandy colour and decorated with a painting of a flower, and the back wall had pictures of a couple in traditional Thai clothing. The place was also quite small, and all the decorations (although nice) made the restaurant seem very 'busy' and clustered.

Service: I saw 2 servers, and the manager/owner. They were all super nice! Even though the 2 servers did most of the work, they were quick on it, and got whatever we needed in a jiffy, all with a super nice smile (:

Food (Menu): We ordered several things. But I'll just name the notable mentions;

Deep Fried Tofu and Taro w/ peanut sauce and sweet and sour peanut sauce. - Both the deep fried tofu and the deep fried taro were both pretty average, but the peanut sauce and sweet and sour peanut sauce were awesome! I think it was the first dish we cleared even though it came mid-way during our meal

Pineapple Chicken Curry - This was interesting, and I don't usually see this dish at other Thai restaurants, so I wanted to try it. The pineapple gave the curry a nice sweet hint, but I actually found it a bit too sweet, and would have preferred it if it were a bit spicier.

Tamarind Beef Curry- MY FAVOURITE! It was just the right spiciness + sweetness combined! It was the last dish that came, so by then.. my family was already pretty full.. So i ate almost the whole thing :P I don't know what Tamarind tastes like... but I sure liked this dish! That's all I can say though! Just really good, so I highly suggest it.

Sticky Rice and Banana - We ordered 2 desserts, Deep Fried Ice cream and this. Although, I liked the deep fried ice cream more, the Sticky Rice and Banana stood out more to me. We wanted to order Sticky Rice and Mango, but it wasn't available, so we just ordered Sticky Rice and Banana. What we got looked like this:

I didn't expect this at all! I actually expected Banana, and then sticky rice on the side. At first, we thought we were jipped, and they only used banana leaves to steam the rice.. but upon closer inspection, we found this!

The banana was actually steamed inside the rice! Interesting hmmm! The dessert tasted somewhat bland.. but sweet as well. It was sort of like eating sweet porridge, but.. in sticky rice form?

We also had Lemon Prawn Soup (Tom Yum Gong), Coconut Chicken Soup, Plain Rice Noodle (for the curry), Pineapple Fried Rice, Baby Coconut Juice, Lemon Shrimp, and Deep Fried Ice Cream.

Out of all of these, they were all okay.. - the Pineapple Fried Rice was a bit bland though - no Pineapple flavour at all. The Lemon Prawn Soup was too sour, not spicy enough. The Coconut Chicken Shrimp was wayyy too sweet, but everything else was good!

Verdict!

Decor:3/5 (It was.. interesting, had a nice Thai-feel to it, but the decorations all just seemed so busy and somewhat unnecessary, and it was a smaller place, so it felt sorta cramped)

Service: 4.5/5 (only 2 servers, and they seemed pretty busy, but still excellent service and awesome smiles!)

Food: 3.5 (good food, portions were small, some foods were not good enough- but + .5 for the great Tamarind Beef Curry!)

Till Next Time!

- chee

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