Quiet Places in a Bustling City...

Whilst my love affair with the city of Taipei is as steady as ever, there are select moments when the hustle and bustle of the city gets to me.  In those moments, perhaps on a rainy day, or a cool night I take a step back from the crowded streets to go to quieter places.

There is a magic few hours every day that have been dubbed "Afternoon Tea Time."  As the title describes from about 2pm to 5pm is my favorite 休息 (rest) wherein I can grab a bite to eat (usually cake) and a tea or coffee and enjoy a slow few hours people watching or studying.  Generally, tea and coffee shops offer a deal for a few U.S. dollars to get a drink and dessert.

In the nighttime, if the nightmarket scene is unappealing I take the MRT (subway) one stop over to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.  A megalith of a building, C.K.S. has a perfect serenity and view at night.  Solo, or with good friends you can climb the three flights of massive marble stairs to sit and gaze upon the city.  Beers recommended.

Food I have made in Taiwan

Taiwan is an excellent destination for foodies.  Often dubbed a "fruit-lover's paradise" there is a wide variety of fruits, treats and traditional meals to experience.  I have been lucky enough to get to make three traditional Taiwanese foods.

The first is Pineapple cakes in Chinese: 鳳梨酥.  We were invited to a local bakery, called Kuo Yuan Ye that has been around since 1867, to make these delicious snacks.  Kuo Yuan Ye is famous for it's pastries and is generally the "go to" gift at traditional Chinese weddings in Taipei.

Here is the pineapple filling... SO GOOD

Da molds.

Da DOUGH

Here is a picture of Heather, I and Brenda making these delicious cakes.  

Here is the final product!! They were extremely good!  We got a box of 9, and I am sad to say they were gone in a week!

The next food we made is traditional Hakka Tea.  The Hakka are a select ethnic group whose name literally means "Guest People" which is indicative of their past, migrating around China.  The population of Hakka in Taiwan is quite large making them a significant amount of the population.  Apart from the language difference (they speak Hakka Chinese)  they have a unique style of cuisine that is very popular.  Hakka tea is a culmination of a few ingredients.  Unlike tea as we know it today (dried tea leaves, then steeped in hot water)  Hakka tea is more in likeness of porridge or breakfast cereal.  It combines oolong tea leaves, puffed rice, peanuts and sesame seeds that are all ground and then hot water is added to it. 

Here are some of the ingredient used for Hakka tea.  Along side with a porridge and peanut covered mochi.  

The most arduous process is the grinding of the tea leaves, which takes about 10 minutes with a mortar and pestle.    Then the nuts and seeds are added, which are to be ground until the natural oils surface.  Last, is the puffed rice.

Here is the final product!!! Delicious!






One of the other things we have made is puffed rice squares.  These are what we can only dub as "Chinese rice crispy treats"  They are delicious and involve puffed rice (which makes a gunshot noise when puffed), a mixture of maltose syrup and pressure with a rolling pin.  

Hey there puffed rice goddess. 

Mixin' in the maltose.

Add pressure and you have delicious (and low-calorie, I am told) rice treats!

Are you hungry yet?