Places I visited: JiuFen, Kaohsiung, Xi Men Ding

A view of the buildings in Jiu Fen up in the mountainous area. You can see a thick fog covering the part of the area, a few minutes later most of the buildings were covered by the fog.

Ocarinas for sale in the markets of Jiu Fen.

Soft chewy colourful candy

I love the colours of the candy.

The streets of Jiu Fen.

My Ice cream girl necklace

Food in KaohSiung

In Kaoh Siung, we went to a restaurant that had old school items as decorations, such as the old telephones, mail boxes, sewing machine and cinema projector. The food was delicious, fresh and cheap! Love it!

Xi Men Ding

Back in Xi Men Ding, the place is bustling with pedestrians and full of shopping and side markets. We had steam boat in one of the restaurants in Xi Men Ding, can't remember the name of it but it was so nice we went to eat there twice!

Steam Boat

You can choose the flavour of your steamboat and even split it into two flavours. We had; tomato flavoured soup and hot&spicy (Ma La Soup).

I love these Ma Chi balls! They taste so good, soft glutinous rice balls with sesame paste fillings.

Ma Chi Balls

Just on a random note, stayed in Singapore for 2 days and this is a picture of the gorgeous food court in Ion Orchard. The food there is delicious and the place looks fantastic!

My visit to Taipei 101

Taipei 101

The last few entries are mainly photos to remind me of my trip to Taiwan, hopefully it won't bore you to death. Now....Taipei 101 for those of you that aren't aware, is a landmark skyscraper of Taiwan comprised of 101 floors. It used to be the tallest building in the world in 2004 until January this year, when the skyscraper in Dubai claimed its title.

Taipei 101 Mall

We ate at a Shanghai restaurant (the name is in Chinese). The food was delicious, we ordered; tofu, pork ribs, duck and crab!

tofu dish

pork ribs

duck

crab dish

I love my new Agatha Paris charm from Taipei 101. It's a tiny little watch, the detail of the watch is exquisite.

My watch charm compared to my finger

Charm view 1

Charm view 2

Charm view 3

Yummy mochi balls

Not sure what the real name of these little balls from Taiwan are but they taste yummy. Each colour is a different flavour. I like the pink strawberry flavoured ones.

Lovin' the markets of Taiwan

First night in Taipei, went to the Shilin Night markets, it's so big! Lots of food and markets selling all sorts of things.. Second day went to JiuFen which is an hours bus ride from Taipei which has many markets with mountainous and coastal scenaries shrouded by thick fog. Fairly nice place to visit and attracts many tourists. Also shopped around the Ximen area which is near where we are staying.

My new top

The mouth opens!

In transit

Currenty in Singapore. Heading to Taiwan tomorrow!Can't wait....here's a few pics so far....

Yummy kway and cake!
My gorgeous niece
New flats
Lion City Hotel

Dining at The Bonsai

Finally get to try out the food at The Bonsai place, authentic japanese food with a modern twist. The food is very different from your typical Japanese restaurant and quite delicious. Located on Roe St in Northbridge, a warehouse transformed into a lounge as well as a dining area.

From left to right:

Pan-Seared Scallops with Karashi-Su-Miso

Lightly pan seared scallops on a bed of salad leaf dressed with karashi-su-miso and a sprinkle of chive and sesame, finished with a touch of vinaigrettes

Pan-Fried Mushrooms with Karashi-Su-Miso

Pan fried Portobello mushrooms on a bed of salad leaf dressed with karashi-su-miso and lemon shallot vinaigrette finished with a sprinkle of shichimi

Beef Asparagus

Thinly sliced scotch fillet beef, wrapped around asparagus and pan fried. Served with caramel soy and seeded-mustard & tomato relish

Smiley face Hot chocolate
served with three marshmellows - impressed

Chilli Crab Claws

Golden deep-fried crab dumpling, served with hot chilli mayo

Takoyaki

Seasoned octopus pancake balls, dressed with mayo and Worcestershire sauce, and finally garnished with shredded nori and chives

Went there for lunch, one of the downfalls - the dinner menu is much larger. Tried calling a few items displaying on their LCD screen however they weren't available for lunch otherwise, very tasty food. Didn't have the dessert this time round, however I heard it's nothing special? I haven't tried it myself. I enjoyed all the dishes we had except for maybe the scallops only because I'm not too big a fan of scallops especially if it's slightly undercooked.

The best of Chat Roulette

Last night, at a dinner party, a very interesting experience was encountered by my girl friends and I during a session of ChatRoulette. However, I will not explain as it is not deemed appropriate. For those of you that are unaware, Chatroulette is a site that matches you up with random strangers around the world via webcam. Either user can leave the chat at anytime by clicking next which pairs you up with another user. Please enjoy these youtube videos that made me smile.



Merton the piano man that free styles for his viewers on ChatRoulette.

Xray Handbag

This handbag was made from xray films by a work colleague for Melbourne Cup Day. I thought it was pretty rad!

Yummy Stir fried Pumpkin Dish

I love this pumpkin dish! I'm not sure where it originated from but it's one of my Mum's recipes.

Ingredients
Small piece of Pumpkin diced
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
handful of dried shrimp finely chopped
dash of soy sauce
1 cup of water

Method
Fry garlic and shrimp in oil until garlic is brown
Add pumpkin and fill with water
Simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender
(if water is reduced and pumpkin is not tender, add more water)
It should be a little bit mushy when done
Dash of soy sauce to taste

Serve with rice