Kenting!

Over the past weekend I had the privilege of a three day weekend, so I took full advantage of it and headed out of town to Kenting. If your an ex-pat living in Taiwan and you don't already know of Kenting...where have you been? For those planing on living in Taiwan..put Kenting on your to do list. As a fellow Californian, it's a taste of home.

I'm talking about beaches, clubs, night markets, BBQ, water sports, awesome food and tons of other activities. Before going into detail about this list, let talk about getting to Kenting. Transportation unfortunately isn't as convenient, but still as convenient as Taiwan could make it. From any major city in Taiwan, you can take the High Speed Railway to Zuoying station aka Kaohsiung. From the Zuoying station, there is a express shuttle bus that departs every 30 minutes to Kenting. If I remember correctly, ticket prices were around $350 NT one-way and $650 round trip. It's an open ticket, so there's no assigned time. It's a 2.5 hour ride into Kenting. OK so now lets go down that list. Beaches. There's only a handful but they vary in size and quality and popularity. My favorites were Baishawan (白沙灣), xiaowan (小灣), dawan (大灣) and Jialeshui (佳樂水) which I didn't get a chance to visit. I heard Jialeshui is the one to go to for surfing. Xiaowan and Dawan however are easy ones to visit on since they are just off the Kenting road main strip. Baishawan is a higher quality whiter sand beach that is less crowded however is further west near Maopi and requires figuring out your own mode of transportation. If your looking for a hotel on the beach, the only one is The Chateau. It's right on Dawan, which is one of the longest beaches. However the sand is  a little dirty and the waters are littered with churned up seaweed bits. Adidtionally, If you want to travel a few kilometers north, there's Nanwan (南灣) which is an awesome but crowded beach. They have many water sport businesses that sell rides on a jet-ski or water tubes (of varying size and shape). When I was there I picked a set package of three (三合一) for $700 NT. Also, there's plenty of small restaurants, cafes and board rentals along the street across from the boardwalk. Clubs. You can't miss them along the Kenting main strip. The night market and the clubs start getting wild as soon as the sun starts to set. There's even a large and quite famous transvestite club. I haven't felt adventurous enough to go in, but perhaps some else would be willing to report back. As for food, the popular dish around the Kenting area seems to be Thai food, seafood and light meals like sandwiches and pasta. But all if not most restaurants have a nice surf shack feel to them, that really lends itself to the laid back atmosphere of Kenting. It's like no other place on the Taiwan island.

If you want a outdoor tiki torch BBQ with a pit roasted pig, then steer your nose to the Ceasar Hotel before sunset and grab a table by the street. Prices are about $1000/person, all you can eat and beer is extra. There are plenty of things to do outside of Kenting too. Unfortunately, they are some distance away. It's better to charter a taxi for 8 hours at $3000 NT or rent a scooter for $1000 NT a day (International driver's license required). You can watch the sun set from Eluanbi lighthouse, visit the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, soak in the Sichongxi hot springs (四重溪溫泉), hike in the Kenting Forest National Park or the Sheding Natural Area, go snorkeling, scuba diving or go-karting. There's so much more to write about, but i'll stop for now. I'll definitely be making a return visit and exploring some more.

Getting a cellphone is now easier

The requirements for getting a cellphone plan in Taiwan have changed since I came here. You can either sign up for a 2-year plan or sign up for a 7-11 pay-as-you-go sim card. Both should be no problem for foreigners to get while here. It requires your passport, an international driver's license, an address for the application and a $3000 NTD (approximate) deposit. Depending on what carrier you choose, some additional requirements may be required. For example, a health report, an alien residency card or a work permit. Gone is the requirement for a citizen’s endorsement! You can sign up for a 2-year contract at any local cellphone company and they'll provide discounted cellphones. The biggest being Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大）and FarEastone. Or you can sign up for a pay-as-you-go sim card at 7-11 and use your own unlocked cellphone.

Where are we? 船仔頭

On the weekend of October the 13^th I had a chance to join my fellow Shida classmates on a trip to a small village called船仔頭 (chuan zi tou). It was a unique experience to say the least. Together with the comradery, the new friends I met, the dragon boat rowing and the midnight oyster grilling, it was an experience I will not soon forget.

            From the video showed to us at the very beginning of the trip, we learned that 船仔頭 had a population of 300. It was a long forgotten and run down village until a recent renewal of the village brought in tourists and business. It still remains a village of traditional three-section courtyard houses with the three houses enclosing the courtyard. Many of the other houses still haven’t been renovated and still have the feel of a sleepy old ghost town. It’s a stark contrast to city life in Taipei. I found it relaxing and easy going as if life slowed down for those two days.

The accommodations were very acceptable for a tiny village in the middle nowhere Taiwan too. I’m a bit of a stickler for well-kept and clean living quarters and I’d have to say they held up their end.  The bathrooms were new and clean. The sleeping quarters were traditional style (Japanese style?). We sleep on a mattress that is on top of a platform (like a stage), so it still feels like sleeping on the floor without being on the floor. I slept so well that night. Better than I’ve slept in a while. And since it was a bed and breakfast place, we woke up to a typical Taiwanese breakfast in the dining hall. Toast, rice porridge and soymilk!

Our Shida coordinator, Lisa, was kind enough to arrange many wonderful activities for us to participate in. These included two days of dragon boating and kayaking down the Puzi river, making red turtle cakes, Chinese embroidery, bicycling and a night of oyster grilling. The last one is my favorite. I can’t deny the beer, oysters, good food and great friends. The staff at the village was kind, friendly and courteous. They helped us setup a grill, a table and chairs. In addition, they also brought a giant basket of oysters and several large bottles of beer. We all ate, drank and laughed into the hours of the night until everyone passed out. Might I add, the weather was perfect. Slightly warm during the daytime and cooling during the evening. You could have asked for better weather. Oh I almost forgot to include the awesome picnic lunch we had outside under the whispering trees. 米粉, shrimp, earthen jar oven roasted chicken, deep fried king oyster mushrooms and earthen jar cooked sweet potatoes. There’s still the surprising large 朴子市觀光夜市 night market that went to, Garlic’s Sugar Factory (Garlic is the town name) and a tour through the town and it’s traditional farming techniques. Thinking back on it, we experienced a lot of activities on such a short and slow paced trip.

In the end, it is a memorable departure from your usual touristy spots in Taiwan and I appreciate it. My thanks goes out to Lisa for organizing this for us and to the friendly townsfolk of船仔頭 for the wonderful time I had.

My apologies for a lack of entries

I'd like to apologies for my recent lack of entries. I found a job two months ago as well as joined a competitive sports team with a demanding schedule. Hopefully things will calm down soon and I can get back to entertaining my readers with my adventures in Taiwan.

Cafe Astoria Confectionary

Crispy Pig Knuckle

My aunt wanted to introduce this place to me. As soon as she mentioned a Russian restaurant I knew where she was talking about. Taipei as far as I know only has two russian restaurants. Salt & Bread which seems to have some negative reviews accusing it of being too compromised by the Taiwanese preference. Fortunately that's not the one my aunt was talking about. It was Astoria near the Taipei Main station. It has an awesome history dating back to the 50's. Here's Wikipedia's excerpt on it's history. Yeah, this place even has it's own wiki page! "In October 1949, 18 year old Archiybold Chien became business partners with six Russian immigrants who fled Shanghai to Taiwan. Together they opened Taipei's first western style pastry shop on Wuchang Street in downtown Taipei. They offered pasteries on the first floor and a cafe on the second floor. One month after the Astoria opened for business, Chiang Kai-shek resumed presidency of the Republic of China and relocated his government to Taiwan. After the Korean War broke out in 1950, the United States maintained a significant troop presence on Taiwan. During this time, the Astoria hosted many important guests from abroad, including Jane Fonda. The cafe was also a frequently visited by Chiang Ching-Kuo, who had studied in Moscow for many years and his Belarussian wife Chiang Fang-liang. In 1950, Astoria hosted a Russian New Year Celebration which was attended by Chiang Ching-Kuo and his family. Chiang Kai-shek's last birthday cake was also prepared by chef's from the Astoria. After World War II, the Cafe Astoria became a popular spot for many socialites and government officials. It was also a spot where many struggling writers and intellectuals met and composed their works."

Borscht

Their specialty is the borscht. It's a beetroot soup with a deep red color to it. I was expecting  something a little more hearty. But since I have no previous experience, I'll just say it was awesome. It'll be my benchmark until another russian (or eastern european) tells me otherwise. ha! However that was what my aunt had. I chose a pig knuckle plate. Fall off the bone pork with a crispy fried skin! The meal comes with some brown bread (also soft and very delicious) and a bowl of mushroom soup (i think) and a cup of Ronnefeldt tea. Expect your bill to be around $500+ a person. But they also have some afternoon tea for a cheaper price. The decor was very much matched with the eastern european or russian theme. The windows let a lot of light in and I saw several people there reading books and just relaxing over some tea and cookies. The restaurant doesn't mind. Or if your in the mood for something quick or sweet, head downstairs to street level and visit the confectionary. One of it's specialities include a soft Russian marshmallow candy called Mazurka walnut cakes. It was once only available to the Russian royal family, but can now be bought on the go. I highly recommend going to this cafe and confectionary as it's one of the rare, if not only Russian restaurant in Taipei. Let along a long illustrious six decade history that dates back to CKS.


Astoria 明星
台北市武昌街一段5號2樓
http://www.astoria.com.tw/
02-2381-5589

Wendel's bakery

Yuki and I attended a free cooking class near SYS memorial. It took about 2 hours and they fed us some of the food that was cooked. Cheese and black sesame mochi balls and Taiwanese sticky rice. But we were still a bit hungry, so we headed around the corner to Wendel's German bakery and bistro. I forget if I've mentioned this place before, but it's a great little western bakery. Sounds german, but I'm not knowledgable enough in German breads to judge. The interior looks very comforting. It really has a clean luxurious european bakery look to it. Perhaps normal in other parts of the world, but in Taipei it's pretty swanky. They have large glass display cases of breads, chocolates, brittles, danishes, cakes and cookies. But don't forget the pretzel tower on the counter. MMmmmm.

I totally miss a hot giant pretzel sprinkled with those large salt kernels. Kind of like the ones you get at the county fair. Alas it was for another day. I eyed the chocolate raspberry crumble cake before the pretzel. Too many deliciousness to try for one evening. I settled down in the cozy patio out front with my chocolate raspberry crumble and hot cocoa. Prices are around $350 for a cake and drink. From what I hear, a cake and drink is the minimum order for dine-in. I will be back possible for a nice afternoon tea or just desserts. I took the liberty of listed all their locations in chinese for easier google maps look up, but please visit their website for more information and awesome photos at http://www.wendels-bakery.com.

Wendel's German Bakery and Bistro
No. 28, Lane 260, GuangFu S. Rd.
台北市大安區光復南路260巷28號

台北市士林區德行西路5號

台北市內湖區瑞光路513巷22弄11號

台北市士林區忠誠路二段55號 大葉高島屋B1

台北市大同區承德路一段1號

Home cookin': Pancakes on a lazy sunday

Lazy Sunday pancakes. I woke this morning not wanting to do anything except feed my hungry stomach. And it was asking for only one thing, pancakes! After some research on places in Taipei that offered pancakes, I gave up. It was either too far or too expensive. So I called up brother from another mother aka Kiwi, which happens the live in the neighborhood. I remembered last time he had some left over Costco pancake mix and golden syrup. So my girlfriend and I strolled on over to the Yonghe traditional markets for some fruits and toppings. After fighting our way through some thick crowds, we ended up with some strawberries and bananas. Thinking back I saw a vender that sold nuts. Some crushed pecans or walnuts would have added some stellar crunch texture. Next time. So we zipped on over right in time as Kiwi was just starting to fry up the first batch. We tried some plain and some with banana slices mixed in. Some chopped fruits and golden syrup, viola! Enjoy!

Killer pizza!

They serve the most killer pizza at Chicago Pizza Factory. Walking in, the decor really gave off a down home feel. It felt like I walked into someone's spare room filled with memorabilia clutter. After closer inspection, it all Chicago memorabilia. This really hits home for me. Looking around at some of the toys, signage, pictures, Cubs and Bears items, an old midway airport status board (i think)...really brings back the memories. However this only leaves room for about 4 tables. Once the owner discovered I was from the states, he opened up and started to speak in fluent English. He also spoke to my girlfriend in Japanese too, so he's at least trilingual. I learned Chicago Pizza Factory is actually a Japanese pizza brand, not a local restaurant started by a long time Chicago resident that moved to Taiwan as I would have assumed. Taiwan originally had 14 locations, if my memory serves me right. But the owner found it way too hard and stressful to manage 14 branches. He would teach the chef's how to properly make the dough and pizza, but after a month, they would cut corners and the quality would suffer. So he closed all but one location. Now he can get off of work at a reasonable hour and see his family and also personally manage the pizza quality. This means a lot. We ordered two pizzas because there was a special going on. Looking through the menu, they had some localized versions with very odd ingredients and some traditional versions with american toppings as well. He recommended that I order it with extra thick crust and extra sauce option. That way it'll be closer to what I was used to in the states. The sauce really makes or breaks the flavor of a pie, so extra is a must. I don't understand how Taiwanese can call their bland sauceless pizzas, pizzas. I dreamed of a stuffed crust or a properly Chicago-style thick crust, but in the end the crust was about normal. Thick for a Taiwanese that's used to cracker crusts, but not thick enough for a die hard Chicago pizza fan. But don't get me wrong, it's still an exceptional crust. Crunchy, buttery and golden delicious! The owner said he only uses the freshest and most natural ingredients, so the crust will stay moist even eaten as leftovers. It won't get hard and dense like cheap crusts. But why not a super thick true Chicago-style thick crust? Because he used to do that on special order, but it would take up to an hour to cook. He discovered many customers were too impatient and complained of the wait time. So he trimmed the thickness and cook time down. They do make deliveries, but dine-in or pick-up will net you a better deal. Pies run about $300-400 for a 9" and $480-580 for a 14".

Chicago Pizza Factory
No.1, Ln.11, Sec.2, Jianguo South Road, Daan District, Taipei
台北市大安區建國南路2段11巷1號
0227-072-121
http://www.chicago-pizza.com

Danshui Fisherman's Wharf

Despite the dreary, rainy and grey day it was, my Aunt was intent on showing me the Danshui Fisherman's Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭). So far I've only been to the Danshui old streets and haven't ventured out to the Fisherman's Wharf. Probably due to laziness as usual. So I have to thank her for dragging me over. I appreciate it. You can get there via MRT+Bus. After taking the MRT all the way to the most northern station of Danshui (now called Tamsui), we exited and waited around for my Aunt's friend to show up. During our wait I discovered a small food stall selling Taiyaki. I go all crazy over Taiyaki. Not only are they small fish shaped cakes but it's filled with delicious custard or red bean. I've found them filled with other fillings before, but this place only offers the two. It reminds me of my favorite Taiyaki shop back in California called Sweet Breams. I miss the weekly off-the-wall flavor specials. The Danshui station shop does have a particularly unique fish mold. The fish come out even smaller, in these perfect bite-sized and slightly pudgy fishies. Cute enough I almost couldn't eat them...almost. It costs $100 for a school of 10. Afterwards we headed on the bus to the Fisherman's Wharf. Bus R23, R26, 836 all take you there. Upon arrival we went straight to the dim sum restaurant on the first floor of a large luxury hotel that when viewed upon from afar, looks like a cruise ship. Unfortunately we arrived a bit too late in the afternoon and they were closing up. It's one of my aunt's favorite dim sum places in Taipei. So moving on, we walked down to the boardwalk scenery area along the shore. The boardwalk which sits right above all the restaurants offer some great views. The boardwalk will take you to the end of the pier and to the famous Lover's bridge. In addition, the restaurants/cafes below offer the same great view but under shelter on a inhospitable weathered day like today. Most of them have a panoramic window on the back wall facing the water. During the evenings, they have live bands and much more of a festive atmosphere for young couples. NOt so much of that activity during a dreary weekday afternoon though. My Aunt recommend coming on a weekend day before sunset between 4-5pm, so you can watch the sunset and the lights of Bali (neighboring seaside town) light up across Tamsui river.

OMG BBQ in Taipei!

I've been craving and searching for a good american BBQ restaurant for a while. Maybe I wasn't searching that hard, as I didn't have high hopes for something like that. But fortunately through my cross-fit trainer, he introduced me to a BBQ joint opened by a foreigner in the jhongshan district 中山區. It's called Ed's Diner. Looking at their Facebook page, I see they ordered and imported a rather large oven. And judging by the stacks of wood, it's a wood burning oven. So I was salivating with anticipation of a properly slow cooked wood smoked BBQ pork/beef/chicken. I had to pick up my girlfriend from the Songshan airport today, right about the time for lunch. Coincidental timing. So we took a quick MRT ride over to Jianan Rd. MRT station (the same one next to Miramar mall). The walk over to the restaurant which didn't take long, about 10 minutes. When we arrived, it was empty because it was a bit early for lunch (a little past 11). But I wanted me some BBQ! The interior has a very simple American design of wood and brick. They only have about 12 tables, but I think I remember a few outside too. Walking through the saloon doors in the back, is the bathroom. The bathroom has a hawaiian theme to it. Odd. I don't see how that ties into the BBQ, unless they served some Kalua or Lau Lau, which they don't. But that's ok, perhaps Ed has a love for Hawaii too. On a tangent, this bring sup another good quest...Is there a good Hawaiian BBQ restaurant in Taipei? Now back to the BBQ, I ordered a pulled pork hamburger plate and my significant other, some BBQ chicken. The pulled pork turned out pretty delicious. Tender and juicy with that good porky flavor. The sauce was tangy but not too strong that it overpowered the flavor of the pulled pork. I was a tad disappointed with the smoke flavor though. It didn't have much. Perhaps it's because he's using 龍眼木 (roughly translated Dragon's Eye wood). I'm not familiar with that wood, but from my knowledge, cedar/hickory/mesquite would be the wood of choice. However I guess that type of wood may be hard to come by. In addition, it was raining that day. Perhaps the moisture got to the wood and the smoke wasn't able to penetrate to the meat properly. Furthermore, I felt the hamburger was a tad on the small side. My girl's BBQ chicken on the other hand was much better. Our meals came with a soup, salad (or fries) and baked beans (other sides available). The baked beans were good in my opinion. Soft, sweet and smokey in flavor. However my cross-fit trainer brings up a good point. Ed's Diner used black eyed peas instead of haricot beans. It's been so long since I had quality BBQ I totally overlooked that. Either way, it was still tasty and had a great smoky and sweet molasses flavor. I WANT to visit this place again. Perhaps with some of my foreign friends that miss good ol' down south BBQ. I was eyeing the brisket sandwich on the menu, so I'll be having you next time! Prices range from $150 to $350, with a wallet smashing $750 NT 14oz Angus beef prime rib steak. Browse their menu on their Facebook page.

Ed's Diner
1/F, 216 Le Qun 2nd Rd, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市中山區樂群二路216號1樓
http://zh-tw.facebook.com/EdsDinerTaipei
02-8502-6969