Real Bread

"Real" bread is hard to come by in Taipei. Sure, there is the overly sweet, oily bakery breads on every corner. And there is the delicious steamed bread in the form of mantous and baozi. But when you are craving a nice crusty French baguette, they are nowhere to be found. You might think you see them, as there are similarly shaped productions in some bakeries. But when you bite into it, you realize it's been buttered, sweetened or in some other way tampered with to be nothing close to what you were expecting.

So tonight I made my own...

Bread Machine Baguettes
The original recipe called for splitting the dough into 2 pieces. However, the mini oven I'm using doesn't have that much room, so I split it into thirds, making 2 baguettes tonight and saving one piece in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch. This bread is best eaten fresh, as there aren't any preservatives and you want a crisp crust and a chewy inside.

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups warm water

1. Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturers directions. Start dough cycle.
2. Remove dough with floured hands and cut in thirds on floured surface.
3. Take each piece of dough and roll to make a loaf about 12 inches long in the shape of a baguette. Taper ends.
   
4. Place on greased baking sheet and cover with a towel.
5. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C. Place pan of water on bottom rack (This ensures a nice crust).
   
7. Make diagonal slashes about 2 inches apart down each baguette.
   
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cool. Eat immediately - plain or filled!

Holiday Season

Unlike last year when I nearly forgot about the holidays, this year it was much clearer that xmas was approaching. Around town I saw a few lights, decorated trees and store workers wearing Santa hats. As ever, the holidays do not hold a religious meaning for me but is an excuse to spend time with friends and eat lots of food. So today's entry is dedicated to more recipes!

Lasagna
Finding lasagna ingredients in Taipei is nearly impossible. You can buy the lasagna sheets in the basement supermarket of Shin Kong by the Taipei City Hall MRT. You can find zucchini there also (and much more expensive ones in Jason's, in the 101 basement). You can get Ricotta at City Super in the SOGO on ZhongXiao Fuxing. Mozzarella is more easily available in regular stores, as are eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. I could not find spinach anywhere, either fresh or frozen. So I substituted some Chinese greens that looked a similar leafy green for my usual recipe. Everything here is to taste - if you like a lot of cheese, load it on. If you hate mushrooms, leave them out.

• 9 lasagna sheets (boiled or use the no-precook kind)
• meat sauce (choice of meat: turkey, beef, pork, chicken; seasoned with garlic, onions, italian seasoning, crushed red peppers or tabasco)

• ricotta
• 1 egg
• leafy greens, chopped (I prefer spinach, but anything will do)
• mushrooms, sliced
• zucchini, sliced
• parmesan
• mozzarella

1. Prepare meat sauce.
   
2. Mix ricotta, egg, parmesan and leafy greens.
   
3. Layer meat on bottom of 9x13 baking dish.
4. Layer 3 noodles. Top with ricotta mixture. Add sliced vegetables. Sprinkle mozzarella.
   
5. Repeat layers: meat, noodles, cheese, veggies, more cheese.
6. Top with last 3 noodles and top with remaining ingredients.
   
7. Top with lots of mozzarella and a sprinkling of parmesan.
8. Bake according to package instructions. Usually once the mozzarella is melted and slightly browned it is ready. If there is a lot of liquid, it should be visibly bubbling. If preparing ahead of time, you can refrigerate after the previous step. Baking time will increase.
   

Oreo Cheesecake
I usually make a pumpkin cheesecake, but it's impossible to find graham crackers in Taipei. So I used oreo cookies to make a crust and decided to try my hand at an oreo cheesecake instead. One large box of oreos from Wellcome suffices for this recipe (it has 2 rows of cookies), though for a thicker crust you could go for another small package.

14-20 oreo cookies (without the creme filling)
1 T butter
4 packages of cream cheese (nearly 1 kg), softened
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
4 eggs
12-15 oreos, broken into quarter pieces

1. Crush oreos (in a plastic bag with your hand or a jar) and then pulverize (in a blender or food processor). Add butter and beat thoroughly.
2. Press into bottom of springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 165C.
3. Cool in freezer.
4. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed.
5. Add vanilla. Beat eggs in one at a time at low speed.
6. Stir in broken oreos.
7. Spread evenly in pan.
8. Bake 1 hour at 165C.
9. Cool in refrigerator over night (at least 4 hours). Garnish with additional oreos.
   

Optional: For a layered version, after beating in eggs, mix a portion of the mixture with pulverized oreos. Put this dark layer at the base, and then top with the light layer.

Healthy Pumpkin Bread
Since I still had that can of pumpkin to use, I decided to make a loaf of bread. I started making pumpkin bread in college. My original recipe had a lot of sugar and oil. After a few years I decided to cut back and found this recipe. It also uses whole wheat flour for some extra nutrition. If you don't have any, you can just use all white. It turns out moist and flavorful. But most recipes do, as pumpkin is just an excuse to combine cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 t soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar, lightly scooped
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 t lemon juice
1 egg
2 T butter, softened
1/2 cup raisins

Mix dry ingredients (up to ginger) in a large bowl. Mix remaining (wet) ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix wet into dry, stirring just until flour is moistened. Pour into 8x4 greased bread pan. Bake at 350 F/175 C for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done.

Pumpkin Raisin Cake
I had some leftover pumpkin from the bread so used this muffin recipe to make a cake. It was my first time using this particular recipe. It came out ok - next time I would add more spices, and maybe a little more pumpkin.

1 c sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 c milk
1/2 c pumpkin
2/3 c raisins
1/3 c walnuts
1 1/2 c flour
2 t baking powder

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in greased muffin tins at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or 8x8 glass dish for 35 minutes. Easy, moist, freezes well. Makes one dozen muffins or one cake.

Fresh Mozzarella Dish
I love fresh mozzarella. My sister got me hooked on it when I visited her 6 years ago in Paris. Along with tomatoes and basil and seasoning, you just can't go wrong no matter how you eat it - plain or on a cracker.

Fresh Mozzarella
Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt
Olive oil

Dogsitting

As I've mentioned, I spent last week dog sitting. I met this dog when I first got to Taiwan and then he ran away (well, the longer story puts the owner as being slightly negligent due to...well, let's say the influence of some friends...but let's just say the dog ran away). I didn't think he'd come back but nearly 2 months later and an animal shelter called my friend to let him know he'd been found - traceable thanks to the chip inside of him.

So Bargearse came back. He's named after a character by the same name in a TV show that was dubbed by a comedy group. My friend Becca calls him Badgers and I've taken to calling him Bodgy. His owner has an Australian accent and it sounds like "Bar Jazz" when he says it.

He's sometimes a trouble maker, like when in sight of other dogs or plastic bags moving in the wind. But overall, he's pretty well behaved, and his floppy ears and endearing way of being cute when expecting food or a walk make up for any wrong doing. He also spends time chasing his tail. It's one of the cutest things ever. He can do it for quite some time. Today he was going in such fast circles, I thought he was going to take flight! I haven't caught it on video though as his ears perk up when I or the camera make a sound.

Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies

Oh ya, last night I also baked cookies. Where I'm dogsitting has an oven so I'm taking advantage (they're very rare in Taiwan - it's only a very small sized one). It's the second time I've made them here and this time I took a picture of the results.




Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have been making this version of cookies since high school. It provides a thick and soft cookie, just the way I like them. I usually put crushed walnuts in but this time used plumped craisins. I also use a recipe with reduced sugar and butter. The *ed items have been reduced from the original.

• 1/2-3/4 cup packed brown sugar*
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar*
• 1 cup butter, softened (not melted)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• a dash of cinnamon (optional)
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or 1/2 cup craisins

1. Beat sugars and butter in large bowl on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 min. Beat in vanilla and eggs; beat in flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon on low speed. Stir in chocolate and nuts/craisins.
2. Drop dough by large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Flatten slightly if you want a final smooth look.
3. Bake at 375F/190C until edges are light brown, 11-14 minutes. Cool on grocery bags or paper towels (to soak up excess grease).
4. Makes 20-40 cookies, depending on size.

Ketchup

Yesterday I took part in a sort of study. I saw an ad on the bulletin board at school. It was advertised as some local students wanting to talk to a small group of ShiDa students. I thought it would be interesting so I signed up. The organizer emailed with some questions about why I want to learn Chinese and what the hardest thing about it was. That seemed fair enough and I was expecting a small room to talk with some other people.

However, when the 7 of us entered the room, we were surprised to see a big presentation screen in front with 2 long tables for us to sit at - with name cards and small plates of food for each of us. In the back of the room was a video camera, the front a podium with a man with a portable microphone, and the class was filled with students. I was taken aback, as was everyone else. Had I known there would be public speaking involved, I probably would have backed out. And had I know that I would have to speak Chinese on camera - whew -- well I would have waited until I had more than 3 months of Chinese on my back. Everyone else there had studied for much longer and didn't seem to have as much trouble understanding the emcee as I did. Oy.

I did as I usually do in a time of stress in public - blumbered my way through it. It's akin to blacking out while seemingly fully functional. I can't even control what comes out of my mouth, smile too much and become repetitive. I also focus all eye contact on one person. What a disaster! I really should learn to handle myself better - but it's still not something I jump to do. The last time I had to present something was to complete my major in college. When speaking my native language I have the added habit of speeding up everything I say - so if I prepare a 30 minute presentation, I somehow finish it in 15 minutes from sheer nervousness.

Luckily, afterwards, we paired up with another waiguoren and went to talk to smaller groups more intimately. This part was the fun part. I had an easier time understanding the Chinese and could speak to their questions. Some of them were about what methods my teachers use are best, what Chinese holidays I know about, what I think a good use of video is for language learning.

I am supposed to go back two more times - hopefully we'll skip right to the small groups and not have to do microphone speaking. Or maybe by then my Chinese will have improved enough so I don't have to feel so embarrassed about being in the dark. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed about my language skill - I am after all just a beginner. I guess I feel bad that they ended up with me instead of someone else. I think my old classmates Li Juan and Ke Rei would have done a lot better since they can listen and speak better than I can. Oh well, at least they are getting a spectrum.

I did the study right before class - it was my first full day with the new teacher. She's growing on me - I think she still hasn't realized it's HER class and she needs to take control, but hopefully by next week she'll have it down, instead of wanting to rely on the previous teacher's materials. We also agreed that we would take Feb 4 off so that we could have 10 straight days off for the Chinese New Year break. To make up for it we'll be adding a half hour to each class for a week. Unfortunately, one of those days is one I already plan on missing to go to Bangkok. I also found out one of my classmates travels internationally for tournaments, too. He plays pool! I was impressed and glad to hear it - as last semester I felt a little out of place always talking about my international tournament travel. I think at least the other guy can understand.

Today I have a break from dogsitting. Bodgy is a great dog most of the time and other times drives me up the wall. For example, I took him on a big walk last night around Daan park for over an hour. He got off leash twice, was running around in the street, and eating disgusting food off the ground. I don't think he's getting enough exercise but I just don't have the time to give him a proper run during the week. Hopefully going to disc tomorrow will use up all his energy. This new teacher doesn't assign as much homework, so I think I will stick with intensive. I was worried before about being able to manage my time and not burn out. Hopefully I can stay with it - and hopefully it's not a problem that I haven't paid for it yet!

Sleepful

Because of my late night study habits and a dog that loves to bark in the morning, I am still as tired as ever. I even fell asleep while taking the Chapter 12 test today.

I've had a couple unexpected turn of events today. The teacher I've been raving about to everyone...the one who said she was going on a 3 week vacation at the end of this week, announced today that she won't be our teacher anymore starting tomorrow for the rest of the quarter! This is such an amazing let down to everyone in the class. We all feel uneasy about it. It's nearly the end of change period and we have no guarantees about the quality of our new teacher. I can only hope for someone half as good as Deng Lao Shi. Unfortunately, I've already heard more negative things about the new teacher than good.

And I won't even be able to tell tomorrow, as I am going to miss class for a family event. I talked to my grandma today and she seems in high spirits, so at least all is not lost. And I should finally be able to have a chance to chat with my cousin. Oh and sleep in a dog-barking free environment (I've found someone else to take over dogsitting for tonight and tomorrow morning).

Sleepless

Sleep deprived is more like it. I've been over the top busy this past week and as a result catch cat naps right before class every day.

I like the beginning of a new quarter because during class change period you get to meet a lot of other students. My class has whittled down to 6 students. The friendly Japanese woman moved to the morning class. One of the Japanese men disappeared as well. At one point an Australian and another Japanese woman tested out the class, but they didn't come back. We got another young woman from Hong Kong, so that leaves the men from Japan, Turkey, Guatemala, America and the women from Hong Kong and America (me). Today another guy from France tried to get in, but the teacher didn't let him.

I really like my teacher, Deng Lao Shi - unfortunately, she is taking a 3 week vacation in Germany starting Friday. Last quarter's teacher took a 3 week vacation to Turkey, Greece and Egypt. Our substitute that time was great. It was nice to have an alternate approach to learning the material and it helped when the first teacher came back. However, I really like Deng Lao Shi and have trouble imagining anyone else being as organized as she is. Oh well - at least she is coming back.

This past Saturday I took the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Kaohsiung. About $1200 NT one way taking 1.5 hours. I went to watch the Asian Oceanic Ultimate Championships (AOUC) during the day. Six countries were there: Japan, Australia, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. My Ringers of Fire teammate, Kwong, was representing Oz. Quite a few of my teammates from Singapore Open were on the Hong Kong team (Tim, Nic, Bay, Wilkie, Erica, Elaine, Rob, etc). And of course Taiwan had some of the local players from Taipei (Fei fei, Xiao Xiao, Chi Chi, etc). The Taiwan team had a wai guo ren (外國人) coach - he only spoke English and called Xiao Xiao "Smile". It was funny to hear. I don't know if he calls Chi Chi "Seven" or just Chi-Chi. The weather was gorgeous -- further south is really much warmer than Taipei. The games were fun to watch (Hong Kong had a brilliant run at the end of their game against the Philippines) and I had a nice time seeing some of the Kaohsiung Black Lung players again (Shane and John mostly, with a short chat with Holly and Julie). Our teams struggle with some of the same problems. It's hard to get such a mixture of people to be committed to Ultimate and develop successfully.

The highlight of the trip was seeing my uncle and aunt again. They picked me up at the fields and we stopped to watch some of the Frisbee Dog action. Then we enjoyed a nice dinner together where I spoke most of the time in Chinese - a first for us. My aunt was highly encouraging in boosting my confidence - saying my Chinese was coming along really well - but I do believe she has a forgiving ear. Afterwards we stopped at a famous bao-zi place to pick some food up for PoPo. This place was amazing. Granted, everything is more spaced out in KH than in TP, but this place was like a bao-zi warehouse. A huge open store with racks and racks of baozi in the making. It was as close to bao-zi heaven as I could imagine.

I got back to celebrate Mitch's birthday. Jocelyn chose a restaurant just around the corner from where I live. I was late so didn't have any food but everyone raved about it, so I am planning on going there again to try it for the food. It's called Jolly's:

29 Qing Cheng St (台北市松山區慶城街29號B室)
It's just behind the Nanjing E Rd MRT (behind Brother Hotel - just walk straight out of the MRT station, down the road on the left). It's next to Mo Mo Paradise, which is a Japanese Sukiyaki place that I've also heard good things about. Jolly's serves Thai food and has a big bar with a good deal on half-yards. Jocelyn says you have to have a reservation if you want to eat dinner there.

Speaking of food, I've tried another Niu Rou Mian place. It's near the Taipei Main Station MRT. It's won in several categories in the Festival the past couple years.

牛三寶麵
Niu2 San1 Bao3 Mian4
台北市開封街一段29號
29 KaiFeng St, Sec 1, Taipei City
11:00 - 22:00
2388-6840

I tried their current special, which has a tasty soup and different kinds of meat. I also tried their regular. Today I had the dry mian, which was really good - it reminded me of a dish I used to make at home when I wanted something tasty but was feeling lazy. I combined ramen with a can of Chinese stuff and ground beef. The blue can had tofu, peanuts, bamboo, and other yummy bits in it - I forget what it's called now. I also tried some of their jiu cai shui jiao (chive dumplings). They were ok. Maybe would have been better if I hadn't let them go cold on me. Dan says the bao zi aren't bad, but they had already run out by the time we got there. They also have a meal set - you get a xiao cai (small side dish of your choosing), their standard niu rou mian, and a drink - either tea or this other stuff I forget the name of (this is what sleep deprivation does to me - kills my memory - as if it wasn't bad enough as is - but I'm sure Dan will remind me what it's called). Anyways, they press the juice themselves, so it seems quite special.

We had actually tried going to a different place on Zhongxiao W Rd tonight, but they had closed by the time we got there. It turned out to be a good thing because a minute after I sat down I heard someone behind me say "Ultimate Frisbee". It's pretty rare to hear English, and it's even more surprising to hear someone talking about something I love. I shot my head around to see a table of three players from the Hong Kong team. What a pleasant surprise! We introduced ourselves - they had recognized me from the weekend since I had been talking with some of their (aforementioned) teammates. Dan helped give them good directions to Xinbeitou for the hot springs as an activity on their last day here.

I've been dogwalking a friend's dog for a few days now and will be dogsitting the rest of the week. Besides studying, going to class, walking the dog and eating, I don't see time for much else. I haven't been bringing my camera around, so no new pictures (I wish I had taken it to KH). That's about all the news I can muster for now.

oh wait, since random people end up here after googling ultimate related things, this is the best info I have for the rest of AOUC. My teammate Michael went down to watch Sunday's action:

It was awesome. Japan beats Australia in the final.
the score is 15:12 or 15:13. Honda totally used it's
speed and Auzies took advantage of the height by
throwing hammers down field. there are at least 5
hammer scores. I have some movie clips in my recorder.
I will see if I can put it online or burn a DVD for
anyone who is interested.

Second Quarter at ShiDa

I've started my second quarter at ShiDa. This time I opted for an intensive class, which meets 3 hours a day instead of 2. What I wasn't quite prepared for was twice the amount of homework. I've only had two days of class and have spent nearly all my outside time doing homework or studying, and I don't see an end to it with the aggressive schedule that we have. However, if I can stick with it, my Chinese should improve a lot faster than before.

My class currently has 7 students. Three are Japanese, one from Turkey, one from Guatemala and one other American. My previous class was mostly women, with only 2 men. This time it's mostly men, with only 2 women. The other woman is married and only in Taiwan for 6 months (because her husband is here to learn Chinese for work). The American is also married - he's got Korean parents and a Taiwanese wife and also only here for this quarter. I haven't learned too much else about the other students - most of them are from small families (4-5 people each). At least two of the students are new to ShiDa this quarter. The teacher is energetic and very organized - so far I like her style a lot.

I've been really jetlagged since my return, coupled with all the recent life changes, I don't find a lot of time to blog or take pictures. Some other quick notes on recent activities:

• made homemade applesauce as filling for dessert crepes and chocolate chip craisin cookies to celebrate John's birthday - Becca put on a great surprise party at Carnegies 2
• checked out the almond jello place near Dan's - along with the peanut soup - both delicious, I'll have to go back soon to get my fill - it's very similar to the snack I made with my mom growing up
  
• saw the Puppet Museum - surprisingly interesting (tell them you're a student to get a discount)
• got another sunset induced headache at Sunday ultimate - that makes it the 3rd time this year I've had a migraine trigger while playing ultimate - grrr (mom, tao: don't worry)
• had a goodbye dinner for Stanley with Christina - he is going to start his mandatory military service next week for a year! I'm sad to see him go.

I also am excited to have my knitting needles from Seattle - I need to check out the stores that Catherine mentioned in her blog and then organize a knitting night. I only know of two other knitters so far - so if you're interested in joining, drop me a line. Note that knitting night is open to all genders and you don't even have to knit. It's just an excuse to have a get together with good company and some food and drink.

Home

I got to spend 36 hours at home. Lucky me. It wasn't enough time to do everything I wanted. But I did get to see a few friends (and a few babies) outside of running a dozen errands.

I miss everyone at home - perhaps because I know I'll be a long time gone this time.

I also miss some of the food. I had my fill of some things you just can't get in Taipei. Geoff and I overdid it on the bagels in Toronto - I think I had 7 bagels within a 24 hour period. I'm bagelled out now. We also went to Whole Foods in Greenlake for the Build Your Own Sandwiches.
Whole Foods Market
Roosevelt Square
1026 NE 64th St
Seattle, WA USA

This is Geoff's choosing: eggplant, basil, grilled peppers, tomato, red onions, grilled chicken, smoked mozzarella on sourdough with a sun dried tomato spread. Almost as good as my focaccia with hummus, tomatoes, mixed greens, grilled onions, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes.




We also went to Northlake Tavern, where the pizzas are loaded with so many toppings that a Large can weigh 6 pounds! Geoff wanted a good beer and I decided it was time to be gluttonous - American style! We stuffed ourselves silly with 4 kinds of pizzas.
Northlake Tavern
660 NE Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 633-5317



I also had time to go to Chocolati's to pick up some of my favorite chocolates - I like going to the warehouse store on Aurora because the woman that works there is always nice to chat with. But you can also go to the Main Library downtown, the newer location in Wallingford (near the QFC) and the old location just north of Green Lake. Thanks to Amy and Matt for introducing these chocolates to me many birthdays ago. My favorite flavors are the Cinnamon Aztec and the Mint Espresso Dome.

Chocolati
7708 Aurora Ave N
Seattle, Washington 98103
(206) 784-5212
Note: The storefront is easy to miss - it's just south of Than Brothers Pho, which has excellent Pho and free cream puffs.

I also had a good Indian lunch at Mayuri. They have a nice spread for a buffet lunch - though I prefer the dinners where you can get both North Indian and South Indian dishes.

Mayuri
15400 NE 20th St. #6
Bellevue, WA 98007
425.641.4442
Note: Next door to a Trader Joe's. Don't confuse this Mayuri with the other Mayuri locations that are a grocery store and a video store in another part of the Eastside.

Karla with Atticus who is looking much more like Peter these days. Missing: picture of Natalie with Sonja and Mike - thank you Kellens for storing my stuff! And to Emery for also taking care of some of my things.

Thanks Mia for driving down from Canada!

Angie next to Nikolas, who fell asleep in my arms

Tucker and Angie - Thank you Angie for storing my stuff and driving it all the way down to Seattle




And Thanks to all the Trouts who made it out on such short notice - it was great to see all of you.



And big THANKS to Amanda and Frenchy for housing us, lending me their car, and playing foosball and DDR with me. I hope you both make it to Taiwan!

Meandering

I'm in Toronto now. Long story, but got a free flight and took advantage of it. I spent the day yesterday meandering around the city, seeing Kensington Market, walking up and down Spadina Ave through Chinatown, seeing Queen Street W (a lot like Robson in Vancouver), and then up Yonge. Some of the sidewalks are still covered with ice from last week's snowfall. It is bitterly cold and I wish I had a decent hat. However, it is nice to feel crisp air and see snow covered ground again. It's been a long time.



With such short notice, I've been trying to think of all the things I need to cram into this short North American trip. One thing is food - fresh vegetables, yogurt, real bread. But when it came down to it, I spotted a dumpling house in Chinatown and made a beeline for it for lunch. I guess I really am meant to be in Taiwan. I also bought some chestnuts and cooked them last night. My dad always cooked them growing up so I didn't really know what I was doing. I boiled them for 5 minutes and had a taste - definitely not done yet. I left them on for about an hour and then they seemed closer to how my dad prepares them. Delicious along with good memories of home.

Today, Geoff flew in and we spent some time with a good friend of his, Kim. Talking to her was like looking three years into my future. She spent several years in Taiwan, moving there to play (like me), teaching English, before deciding to pursue an Education degree and teach back home. She talked about the challenges of moving back after so many years abroad and her career change decision. Listening, it felt like I could be in the same boat a few years from now. Not to say that I will for sure, but it's one of those paths that is still wide open.

I've been staying at Noah's place - which is a pretty sweet pad with a view of a park across the street. One of his good friend's picked me up at the airport, along with his wife and their dog. He mentioned thinking NA was all the same - but I find it very different from Seattle. Everything is much more spaced out here - streets, sidewalks, buildings. I like the cozy feeling of Seattle - a more residential feel.

Today, another one of his close friends, Cathy, picked us up at a station to drive over to Riverdale Park to play some ultimate. I had fun picking up with the team. However, I was expecting indoor ultimate in the 0 degree weather. Instead it was outdoor! Luckily, Cathy came prepared and brought me all sorts of warm clothes AND cleats. It was all going well until the sun started to set. Then it was right in my eyes and I started to get a migraine. I'd already gotten one earlier this year at CalStates, playing with Gretchen. It wasn't as bad - I couldn't tell if it was just normal sun glare making my vision go or something more serious. I played it safe and rested in Cathy's car the rest of the game (it was 10-4 when I left, and 14-5 when she came back).

Anywho, I slept off the migraine (which didn't go full blown) and so after that 5 hour nap find myself wide awake at 2 am.

Thanks

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I got two last minute invites for dinners. I accepted the first one from John and Becca. They had some roast chickens, mashed potatoes, homemade guacamole (a real treat in Taiwan - avocadoes are expensive), homemade hummus, veggies, cranberry bread, and the final over the top treat was the homemade flourless chocolate cake. Sinful! I am truly thankful for having such good friends (with like-minded appetites).



Friday was another day of thanks - officially Teacher and Student Farewell Day - the last day of class at Shida for the quarter. My class decided to meet for lunch at one of my classmate's restaurants, Brass Monkey. Li Juan couldn't make it because of other plans and the He siblings were a no show. But it turned out quite nice to have an intimate lunch with Zhang Lao Shi and Ke Re (and then Li Shan who showed up an hour late - funny because she fell asleep on the MRT).

Ke Re's dad privately published a biography of his family. I got to glance through it - quite intriguing. I wouldn't mind owning something similar for my own family. The task of writing such a volume seems daunting, since the history goes so far back and there are so many people to track down - let alone the language barriers.

I Anger You

我故意氣你
wo3 gu4 yi4 qi4 ni3
I purposely madden you

My teacher often says ridiculous things that she knows either aren't true or will rile us up or both. It's her way of keeping us awake, amused and involved. However, this week she really seemed to go over the top with her topics and aggressive suggestions.

One thing that comes up over and over is the topic of boyfriends and husbands. She often brings up the topic of cheating husbands and how natural that is in Taiwan. Friends know, but the wife turns a blind eye and pretends to not know (and in some cases may really not know). It disgusts us, most of whom are in our 20's. But this week we discussed boyfriends and it was clear that Lao Shi expected a woman to marry her boyfriend. It wasn't 'right' to have multiple boyfriends. You find the one and stick to him. If he isn't the one, you shouldn't have started dating him in the first place. There was a clear cultural/generational difference. We discussed situations where breaking up with a boyfriend would be appropriate. She agreed that if he cheated, it would be ok to dump him. On the other hand, if you're married, she didn't believe a wife should leave him. What a double standard - and such a strange one. It's no wonder that this society condones so much cheating. Li Shan said if her father ever cheated on her mother, she wouldn't speak to him again. Zhang Lao Shi said that wasn't right - they were her parents and she would always have to treat them with respect, no matter what they did.

The other double standard is that she says it's ok for men to cheat and have multiple girlfriends. But if the genders are reversed - hell no. Women are not alowed to be unfaithful. Her disdain on that topic is so high especially in comparison to her total acceptance of men doing the same, I find myself flustered and shocked to think about it. Such different ways of thinking - it's interesting most of the time, but times like this, I find disturbing.

Manila Spirits

I flew to the Philippines for the weekend to play in an ultimate tournament with my Taiwan team. Instead of bussing it, John gave us a ride to the airport. A few of us met outside his office and I couldn't stop staring at Dan's face for the next 24 hours. The team had decided to grow facial hair and then cut it in funny ways. This was Dan's decision. Now that I've spent a weekend with it, it doesn't look so funny anymore.

We got stuck in super amounts of traffic and our cabbie got lost on the way to our hotel (Asian Residences, next to the Asian Hospital, in Alabang). We were starved for dinner, so we walked over to Festival Mall. Dan and I explored the food court in the hopes of getting some authentic local food. Instead, we had crappy mall food, Filipino style. The highlight was us walking around to throw out our trash. Everyone turned to look at us - and we realized that no one throws their own tray out. So I put it back on a table. But people continued to stare, especially two young women near us. They were clearly surprised and amused, laughing at us with big eyes and heads turned to us wherever we walked. We got another dish and they continued to turn around and look at us. I waved them over and one of them came, but the other was too shy. We had a nice conversation - she kept trying to speak to me in Tagalog (reminding me of my time in Vietnam with Tuyet's great uncle insisting that I understand Vietnamese). I asked her if she thought we looked strange and she said no. I then asked if she thought Dan looked strange and she said yes! haha. But when asked why, she didn't even mention the funny growth on his chin - she pointed out his nose first saying it was so big. And then she said his eyes were really strange. She could not stop staring. I finally asked about the beard and she just said it made him look like a wrestler.


We walked around some more - and found this little treat. Bibingka! Theresa got me hooked on the stuff and I was excited to try some. There was another treat above it that we tried since it was Buy 1 Take 1 - but I don't know what it's called and the woman didn't speak much English to be able to tell us what it was. Something rice based I think. We also passed a shake stand but I couldn't get a mango shake because she had run out of ice. I tried to get her to sell me just the mangoes for cheaper but she didn't like the idea.


Over 20 of us crowded into the back of this Jeepney to get to the fields on Saturday morning. It was a short trip to the Alabang Country Club but I gladly took the offer of a car ride on the way home to avoid being squished for so long.

Taiwan Renegade Province put together a team for this tourney. We had to pick up women from all over, including Joann from Taichung, 3 women from Kaohsiung and 2 women from Manila. All the men were Renegade or former Renegade. We were seeded 7th so we had to play games against the #1 seed (Zhong Tui = Shanghai+), #3 (PULA 1), and #5 (Boracay). We lost all our games but had a close one against Boracay. For our crossover game we played a youth team (no one above the age of 24) and won it easily.


The schedule was game, bye, game, bye, game, bye, game, so there was plenty of time for napping.


Saturday night's party theme was Glam Rock, but our team sort of just went with our own individual themes. A lot of wife beaters (either real or drawn on), some eye make up, crazy hair, and we called it done. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the man in the French Maid's outfit.


At the party, they called for a male representative from each team. The French Maid was the clear choice. But when it came down to it, it was Kevin Cho vs Manoah (Shanghai vs Ringers). Manoah made an excellent showing and won twice. Go Ringers!

Then they called for a female representative and I got pushed on stage for Taiwan. The Singapore rep was insane and downed a beer in about 3 seconds. I came in second place and the woman next to me couldn't even finish hers. The rest of the night was fun dancing and singing to a band, lots of free drinks and general merriment. Our team had an incredible time and out partied every other team. I knew if we couldn't win the tourney we would at least be able to win the party. And that we did - we were awarded 2 bottles of Brandy during the final ceremonies on Sunday. Go Renegade!


Our first game the next day was against the last team I played with: Ringers of Fire. It was a rough game with us only scoring 1 point - despite being in our endzone several times. However it was fun to see old teammates again and everyone was in good spirits. They even cheered us at the end - I think the only team to do it.

We had a great game against VooDawgz - the combo Vietnam-Bangkok teams (Voodoo and Soidawgz). They were the only team to beat Ringers the previous day. It was a close game and we ended up on top. For our last game we faced Boracay again to fight for 5th place. This time we lost in Universe point, which was disappointing having been up 6-3 at some point (or something like that).

We watched the end of semis with Ringers vs PULA - they ended up in Universe point with turnover after turnover. Ringers finally won the game. However, they were no match for Shanghai who won pretty handily. During halftime, Renegade put on a pie game which was a crowd pleaser. Pie is a weird throw - you hold it vertically and facing out and toss it hard and it flutters in an upright position and curves and then ends up hitting someone on their body flat. You probably have to watch the video to understand - I haven't uploaded those yet.


Gerrit, Curtis, Michael, Noah (Slim), Craig, Dan, Morris, John, Eric, Geoff, Karen, Noah (Phatso), Joann, Jennifer, Holly, Julie, Joei, Lin

I had asked my friends Theresa and Mia for travel advice but I only got to read it on my return. Next time I'll have to do the following (Thanks T+M!)

Besides lumpia and pancit, try hopia (red or yellow bean in pastry), adobo (usually chicken or pork in soy/vinegar sauce), babinka (that coconut/rice cake that my mom makes), suman (sweet rice wrapped in banana leaves), leche flan (tasty flan dessert), and halo halo (a tasty dessert drink, similar to bubble tea minus the bubbles). Unless you feel adventurous, stay away from purple eggs (preserved chick embryo *shiver*) and dinuguon (aka chocolate meat - it's not chocolate). The dinuguon doesn't taste bad, but I just don't like it.

Be careful when riding in the jipneys - hold on tight! There are usually no seatbelts.

Lost in Time

Whenever I get to far behind in blogging I like to do a quick photo entry...as I forget what's actually happened in the last 2 weeks, so I use snaps to trigger my memory. Here we go again...


The ultimate team is brewing their own beer and I took part in the bottling process. It was actually quite a lot of fun (side note: Chinese people love to say the word 'actually' - am I picking up this habit already?).


I also went to Taoranting after reading about it on Emily's food blog. Four of us enjoyed a Beijing Kao Ya (Peking Duck) with bean sprout side dish and the soup.
Taoranting (陶然停)
2F, 86 Fuxing North Road
(02) 2718-1975
From the Nanjing E Rd MRT, cross to the opposite corner (SW corner) and walk south on Fuxing. Past the 7-11 on the right.


This is one of the best known places in Taipei for one of my favorite dishes. However, I thought the duck came out a bit oily. On our way out, another customer told us about another place - where the chef was trained by the same guy as this chef. I'll have to try that one next time (For anyone in CT hankering for some duck, refer to my older post about the best place to go: CT Duck).

I stopped at home to drop the duck soup off (it was much too much for just 4 people). While there, the lights were having more problems than usual and the power ended up going out. The guys figured out the problem with my cousin. We have since had somebody check it out and power is now a lot more consistent. I used to have to wait 10 seconds before the bathroom light would turn on. Now it goes on in just 2 or 3 seconds.

I also enjoyed my first KTV experience in Taipei. Karaoke in a private room with unlimited low quality food. At first we had mostly expats in the room and belted out some English songs. Then more and more Chinese people came in - there's definitely a difference in taste. I think the Chinese people with us really liked the slow cheesy songs. Luckily there is a big red kill button on the machine so you can end a song immediately if it's terrible.


After a Sunday practice I went to Banciao to see Vita's father play in a jazz festival. The MCs spoke Mandarin and Taiwanese and they would joke about how there were 5000 people in the crowd (the more people, the more money they get it - the whole thing was free for us - government sponsored).


On Thursday, Hanna was in town, so I met up with her and Tina. We went back to Jame's Kitchen, but this time the big one. The food was delicious.



Afterwards, I went to City Jungle near the Jiantan MRT (Shilin Night Market) to meet the rest of my ultimate team for some bowling. I had an amazing night - on the score board you can see that Craig scored 152. What you can't see is that later on I finished the game with a 161. I won all 3 rounds that I played - the next two beating out the next runner up by one point! It was a good night. Afterwards we went upstairs to ride the mechanical bull. This time, the bull won. I was flung off like a rag doll every 5 seconds. It was really different from the manual bull we used to ride in college on Severance Green. Afterwards the bull runner gave us a demo and gave us tips on technique. Apparently, you are supposed to do exactly the opposite of everything that I did. Instead of keeping a stiff arm and tight grip, keep it loose, relaxed and straight. Instead of leaning forward trying to hang on for dear life, keep your back slightly curved back. And instead of letting the bull swivel your head around any which way it wants, try to keep it steady and rotate your torso in short movements to minimize your dizziness. Next time.

Shi Yi Yue

I need to get a blender so I can have more shakes like this one. It's kiwi and dragonfruit. I've hated kiwi all my life until last week. The other dragonfruits I've had here have all been white - it was a surprise to find a burning neon pink flesh inside of this one. I also got one for my grandmother, who loved it. She said she hadn't had it until one time, long ago, my father brought her one. 火龍果 = Huo3 Long2 Guo3 = Dragonfruit



A bunch of us piled into Rob's car and he took us to Yilan County to get to some hot springs in FanFan. I used the time to catch up on some sleep. I was awake enough in the beginning to see some of the beautiful trees and misty fog on hillsides that's typical of Taiwan scenery once you get out of the city. After that, it's all a blur. I remember arriving, people getting out of the car, and falling in and out of sleep - dreaming that people were still next to me. It turns out that Typhoon Krosa damaged the hot springs so they're closed. Bummer. We turned around and debated what else to do. We wondered where else we could get a 3-combo: hiking, camping, and hot springs - but with the constant rain, we were more concerned about staying dry and cooking the trunk-load of food we had brought along.


We ended up in DaXi again, the surf spot, where we could camp under cover. We immediately set up a fire (which was a lot faster than last time) and cooked up some pasta. That was just the appetizer before the grilled mushrooms, onions, steaks, chicken, tofu with cheese, sweet potatoes, and whatever else Geoff, the dinner master, brought...surprisingly a lot for not having done any hiking. Oh well.


Dessert isn't pictured, but it was roasted marshmallows (provided by Lucas) on top of Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies with an extra slab of chocolate. I got the cookies because I couldn't find graham crackers in the Wellcome - but the cookies turned out even better than GC's - who knew?


John was in charge of breakfast: bacon, onions, more mushrooms and his fresh made sticky buns. I forgot to mention the brownies he had baked that we devoured the previous day in the car.

We got back Sunday in time for Ultimate practice at Yong He - the fields are much softer from the Typhoon, but a bit too muddy to get any grip. We prepped a bit for Manila and then afterwards I rallied some of the troops to get to the "New Row Mian" Festival. Luckily, Dan had gone on Saturday and gave us the address to give to the cabbie. We got there in time to gorge ourselves on most everything - there was only one shop, which had the longest line, that was going to run out before we could get any. But just as well, as I had my fill tasting half the other places. I found my favorite place, with 2 kinds of niu rou mian. I just have to figure out where the real restaurant is now.


This place was by far the best - great noodle consistency, good beef, and a tasty soup - that was neither too oily, too salty, nor too bland.


This was the light version - my Chinese isn't good enough to have understood the sign or what the seller was telling me it was. Anyone? The other one was a more traditional one and just as good.


We split up and everyone bought some from different stores - I had way too much, but it was a good way to do side-by-side comparisons. They came spicy, oily, bland, chewy, overcooked, etc.


My partners in niu rou mian feasting. Noah, Geoff, Rich.


This is a delicious side dish - larger than normal, for a group of 7 of us that went to the dumpling place by Lin Sen S Rd and Renai (just north of the climbing gym at the intersection, Lane 61). They are famous for their dumplings - many think they're the best in Taipei. They also have niu rou mian. This dish was a combo of a couple types of tofu and some brown eggs - just like my mom makes.


Afterwards, Becca, Dan and I tried hunting down a nearby Starbucks - impossible to find when you need one. We ended up looping back around to Chiang Kai Shek and going to a Tea House that's open til 11 pm and ordering some lattes and tea. I finally got a good chunk of Chinese review in. I also got a good laugh at Dan's "new" cleats - and by new, I mean from the 1980's. If the picture isn't big enough, that sticker says: CAUTION make sure nuts and cleats are tight before wearing which doesn't seem as funny now as when I first read it.

Today I went back to:
Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian
林東芳牛肉麵
274 Bade Road, Sec 2
八德路二段274號（中央日報旁）
02 2752 2556
Excellent beef and tasty soup and noodles. They didn't have my favorite soft tofu with preserved egg dish, so I got a small plate of something that looked like mini asparagus. Yummy! This place is incredibly small, so I wouldn't take a big group there. But it makes my top 3 list for niu rou mian places in Taipei (so far).