Cabbage for PR

Well, as I roll through my photos from Taiwan I came across one I took for PR.
I know you love cabbage. So, here you go. A cabbage farm I saw in Xin She. Just for you, my friend.

Cold weather??? Hot Buttered Rum!!!

Well, this is my second attempt at this post. I lost the first one to my switch to the NEW blogger.
So, let's see if I can recapture the emotion.
If you are not in So. California , let me fill you in.
It's windy here. Really windy. I thought I would go down to the closest bevmo.com location and check the beer selection. I saw some Boddington's and smiled. "Hey there old friend, long time no sip", I said. But, then I saw Boddington's neighbor, Bass Pub Ale and my eye wandered. "You, doing anything tonight. I am not really with Boddington tonight", I wispered. I put Bass into my cart and headed toward the door. But, just then, I saw my old mistress from the Orient, Harbin. Yes, after more than a decade, out of nowhere, she just appeared. Harbin had not touched my lips since 1994 in China. My friend PR and I were travelling in China. It was at a now forgoten eatery on a small row in a working area of an industrial town.
Here she was. She whispered to me: 嘿， 先生， 你看起来很面熟。 你想跟我喝一杯 吗 ？
Oh... That old temptress.
Well, that was all it took.. I decided right there that I was dumping Bass and taking Hharbin for a ride.
Nothing is a sure thing. And opportunities come when you least expect it.
Suddenly, I saw a fling I had in Oregon. HOT BUTTERED RUM!!! Nothing is like Hot Buttered Rum. Oh... When it is cold and you want to feel warm inside.. Nothing is like HOT BUTTERED RUM. I dumped Harbin faster than you can say " 对不起 ". I was already hopping into that tub of HBR mix in my mind. I got home and heated a fine mug. Added 2 spoons of HBR mix and some piping hot water and an ounce or so of rum. Oooohhhh... That wafting aroma hit my nose like cheap perfume mixed with the sweat of a young woman in a dance club when she sits down to talk after a long set. This was going to be good. And when she hit my lips, I was not disappointed. She warmed me to the core.
Cold weather??? No problem. I am spending the night with Hot Buttered Rum.

Cooking for family... OR... something different for everyone.

Well.. My sister Judy and her husband came over for dinner tonight. I like hanging out with Judy a lot. I felt like cooking dinner for everyone. The problem was that no one could agree on anything. I did not want to eat any meat as I had fish and pultry 2 days in a row. That's a lot for me now.. Judy was on board with veggies but likes her food very plain. Her husband Brian won't eat vegetarian unless he is tied up or you trick him. My Dad was in the mood for fish... So... I was off to Trader Joe's.
Here's what I made (sorry, forgot to take photos).
Judy and I got steamed brown rice, sauteed carrots and yellow squash in olive oil with a little salt. Stir fried Kale and other greens （青炒) and yellow cord (I tried roasting one piece in my little toaster oven for fun.. It was pretty good.
Also, I made myself a curry bean stew.
For Dad, fish and chips. But, I supstituted hash browns for the chips.
Brian got chicken taqitos with cheese, guacamole and salsa.
How's that for a family dinner? My mom was too sick to eat or I may have
tried to recreate the wonderful sesame tuna steaks I made a couple days ago. I used a sauce I brought back from Taiwan called 生菜涼麵醬 made by 綠主張 brand. I added some soy sauce, garlic and a little wine. Then broiled them to perfection (well, I over cooked them just a tad). I am also enjoying the 麻油辣椒醬 my auntie gave me to bring home. MMMmmmmmmm.....

Taiwan Food: Deep Fried Egg Tofu 炸蛋豆腐

興利小吃
無骨雞 。 炸蛋豆腐
台中縣新社鄉中興村中興嶺71-1號

Well, I was here once before and loved this place. So, Mom decided to take me on the day I left. Xin She is right in the heart of mushroom country.
Of course, we had the fried egg tofu and it was great. The tofu is one of the best I have had. It was well worth the drive. It's crispy on the outside and oooohhhh so tender on the inside. While they give you a dipping sauce, I would suggest trying the tofu without the sauce first. Trust me, the flavor is delicate and ... well, it's hard to describe. 


We also had fried local grown mushrooms, a stirfried veggie I have to get the name of from Zoe and mushroom soup. Did I mention this is mushroom country? 

So we had a great meal then headed to a relatives house nearby.


On the way there we stopped at a local temple and Mom made some offerings.
They live in a farming area and neighbors grow fruit and raise chickens.
We had a ton of fruit and some pineapple cake 鳳梨酥.

 

My
relatives wanted us to try a local favorite. BBQ giant mushrooms 杏鮑菇。 
The mushrooms are done like Taiwanese BBQ corn, kind of.. And they are almost as big as corn. I was not sure of how to eat these things. So my aunt, who is only 5 years older than me, demonstrated for us.
It was a great time. I was nervous that I might miss my flight when we hit traffic on the way back. But that was just me being paranoid. We were fine. And I saw many spots on the ride home I want to visit next time.
I will skip back in time and review another restaraunt we visited earlier this coming week.
Search for this place on Google in chinese and you will find other posts.
Cheers,
Ahdoga

Taiwan Food: Ma La Ren Jia 麻辣人家

I met my friend Witty one night after he got off work for food and libations.
It was late and most of the stir fry places were closed but we saw the sign for this hot pot place and decided to try it. I know PR and Spicy Girl will weigh in on this one....

Now, I went to Chong Ching on vacation once and had the real deal.
Thankfully, this was not it. It was Taiwanese style but I say that in a good way. Usually, I don't like Taiwanese style Ma La hot pot that much (Si Chuan style spicy hot pot). But, this place was very nice.

It was not outragousely expensive either. More than you want to spend for the average meal. But not bad. With beer for Witty and soda for me and plenty of food for 2 - 3 it was about NT$600.
They had a good variety of dipping sauces, veggies, meats and tofu.
It made a great meal and a great memory. Cheers David. Next time I am out there, lets find another new diner to try.

Taiwan trip part II: Dinner with PR and gang.

I saw PR's post on this little tepanyaki joint and thought I would weigh in.


I had a great time seeing Eric, PR and Spicy Girl. Too bad my trip was not more flexible allowing me to spend more time with them.




The Chef PR and Spicy Girl chose was good. But I felt bad for the poor kid that was asked to leave the station when they requested their favorite chef. Bet he was not happy. Anyway, I thought it was a good yet common tepanyaki place. The Tofu was very good and the cabbage was good. But, it was the company that made it special for me.

I even got to meet the famous Poa Gao. My wife loves that knickname, by the way.
Anyway... I have more to report.. I will be posting on all the places I enjoyed on this trip. So stay tuned for more.

Trip to Taiwan, Part 1: The dentist.

OK.. I had to justify my trip to Taiwan in a financial way to make myself happy. So, I figured I could get my teeth fixed. They were hurting and I needed them fixed. I know the dentistry in Taiwan is good and a lot cheaper than in the states... So...

I had two root canals, 4 crowns and a cavity filled in two weeks. 5 appointments in all and 3 of them were 3 hours long. Damn is the only word I can think of to describe it. I managed to stay away from pain meds, mostly. I have to say that Dr. Liu did an outstanding job. I can now eat without pain.

We got some better photos of the work being done, but they are on Zoe's camera.