Archive for 2016

Tainan: A City of Gastronomy (Rice Pudding)

Published on 11:59 AM By rika.C.

Rice Pudding （碗粿）

Let’s talk about the most important ingredient, rice. Initially Taiwan, like all other south east Asia countries, cultivate “indica” and “javanica” rice, these are longer, non-sticky type of rice that are often found in India, Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Africa etc.

However, during the Japanese colonization, a time where war was frequent, the main goal of Taiwan was to become an agricultural hub to support mainland Japan. They wanted to grow “japonica” rice instead, also dubbed as “short rice”.

Therefore, they sent two agricultural experts Iso Eikichi and Suenaga Megumu to:
1) Adapt the japonica rice to grow in Taiwan’s climate
2) Cross pollinate indica and japonica rice

For the rice puddings, it is important to use aged “indica” rice (been left for at least a year to dry up). Then it must be soaked and churned. The amount of water used to produce a certain consistency is crucial in making the rice potage evenly soft across all areas.

鎮傳四神湯

Braised pork, dried prawns and dried radishes are placed at the base of the bowl, with the potage poured over it to be steamed.

This is then drizzled with some sesame sauce and garlic or chili sauce. Decadent when it is eaten with Four herb soup (四神湯).

0 comments:

Tainan: A City of Gastronomy (Beef Soup)

ASIA

Published on 11:50 AM By rika.C.

0 comments

Tainan is not a city of Michelin stars, but it is by definition, a city that is worth a special visit.

I’ve been to too many famous cafes that leverage on its previous glories (a writer, a politician, an artist who frequents there), and you get served with rolled-eye waiters and lifeless food.

“Sorry but we have a minimum order.”

“Meme, I don’t have all day for you.”

In Tainan, you will only experience a rustic sincerity, honesty and a love for fresh ingredients.
Paul Bocuse championed farm to table concept? Please, Tainan has been doing that at least for four hundred years!

If you come to Tainan, then here are some of the dishes that you must try.

Beef Soup

When we arrived this late afternoon, the storeowner, a chubby chef greeted us with a big smile under his black framed glasses. He could have been mistaken as a student I would say. “We have the freshest beef today, I’d like to give you guys a big bowl!” He said.

“Thank you for your kindness! I am afraid this is our 8th street food store we’ve been to, and we couldn’t possibly eat more”.

Most Tainan locals drink beef soup for breakfast, something warm to awaken the tummy for a full day work.

盛牛肉湯

The interesting thing is that since Taiwan was largely an agricultural island, farmers saw cattle as their partner and family and hence do not eat them. It was during the Meiji Restoration, when the Japanese started selling high-end beef in West market（西市場） in 1920-30s, did the Taiwanese start to consider beef as an option.

Every morning the butchery will get a taxi to deliver the freshest beef to individual stores, so the meat is often always slaughtered within 24 hours, if not just in a few hours. Each store has their own soup recipe that varies from boiling T-bones, old chicken, carrots, pineapple, bitter melon to yam leaves for at least 8 hours. Some stores would even add soya bean remains to the soup to absorb the oil and impurities. This reminds me of how , Oldřich Sahajdák a 2 star Michelin chef told me how they cook their soup. They would add vegetables as well as yeast to prepare perfectly clear broth.

The beef chuck would be thinly sliced, about 20-30mm thick like sashimi, and boiling hot soup will be poured over it. It is usually medium rare when served.

Next: Rice Pudding

0 comments:

愜意的台北慢遊：五間咖啡控必去Cafe

ASIA

Published on 6:28 PM By rika.C.

0 comments

下雨天的午後，更適合離開自己的舒適圈，發覺巷弄間的驚喜。有時候也許不能說走就走的去旅行，卻可以帶上一本好書，隨心所欲的走入巷弄中，尋找另一種的美好。

1. Stoppage Time
我最喜歡的店之一，一直默默希望他不要變得這麼有名（以前去的時候都沒人，讓我獨佔這個美好的空間！笑）除了有好喝的咖啡之外，最愛的是他們的檸檬塔！好喝的咖啡，還是要有優等的甜點陪襯啊～
喜歡電影的人，他們的牆上都會投放一些藝文片，很適合一個人工作的時候，一邊欣賞電影。

2. Rufous Coffee
不去酒吧就來Rufous 吧! 有各式各樣的冰滴咖啡與拿鐵，推薦他們的Irish Coffee （含酒精），非常適合寒冷的冬天，整個身體都會暖呼呼的！

3. Hoto Cafe
中山區巷弄內的慵懶小店，很適合跟姐妹一起談心的好地方，除了咖啡也可以試試他們的奶茶，有很細膩的奶香味。空間大約只有6人座、請務必先訂位以免撲了空。旁邊還有間小小的乾燥花店可以好好探索一下。

4. KIOSK
有大片採光窗的咖啡店，座位很舒適但建議平日來比較不會太吵。

5. ANEMOS CAFE 旬印
常常會辦一些藝文與攝影講座的咖啡廳「旬印」代表的意義是時間的駐記；老闆因為愛旅遊，所以希望呈現一個能讓人放下腳步的駐點。以義式咖啡為主，不喝咖啡的推薦他們的接骨木花氣泡飲。

0 comments:

Auschwitz and the Nazi Babies

Auschwitz

Published on 1:40 PM By rika.C.

0 comments

Then God commanded - "Let there be light" - and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated light from darkness to make Day and Night". Genesis 1:3

Light attracts Darkness, just as Darkness attracts Light.

Does evil only exists so that we can understand the beauty of kindness?

The Auschwitz concentration camp was one of the largest camp during the Nazi occupation, where at least 1.5m Jewish were killed, among others including prisoners of war from Soviet Union, Gypsies and other "politically unfit" citizens.

The Nazi championed "Arbeit Macht Frei" also meaning, "Labor Creates Freedom", and yet many did not live over a year. Many believed they were merely going to a work camp. The camp was strategically located at the center of Europe, making it easy for the Nazis to transport refugees to the camp. Only a few thousands managed to escape. For those who have escaped, their immediate families were captured and questioned until the escapee has been found.

The Nazis had three different projects, a systematic product line of creating birth and death. They were trying to be god.

- The Nazi Babies: Reproducing pure Aryan babies

- The Death Factory (Auschwitz)

- The Human Experimental Lab

The Nazi Babies (Lebensborn)

Apart from getting rid of the unwanted Jews, Hitler had a higher level plan of creating the "perfect babies" with pure Aryan race. Women were screened for their ancestry and given incentives to have babies with his SS soldiers. Since resources were scarce then, many women did not think that this was an improper thing to do (and they did not have to go through the social stigma as many could leave their children in the special orphanage if they wish not to take their child). About 60% of the women participated in the program were unmarried.

The Death Factory

When women and men arrived on the train to the Auschwitz concentration camp, they undergo a medical inspection to separate those who were fit and unfit for working. Women and children were usually sent immediately to the gas chamber. They were told they were going to have a "bath", where their clothings were taken off (these were then resold or reused in other ways). The Nazis had a systematic approach, where they leveraged as much of the dead bodies as possible - removing any gold tooth, jewelry. They used the deceased hair for textile, or human fat for making soap before the actual cremation.

The museum had a shocking display of hair brushes, luggages and glasses, which were kept to remind us that this is only a portion of what remained. They found at least 800 cans of unused Zyklon B (each can is about 5kg, enough to gas 2000 people).

The Human Experimental Lab

At camp 1, there was medical building where doctors went through inhuman operations to test the limits of a human body. Prisoners were operated alive without anasthetics. Many were injected with various viruses to understand the changes of a human body. After WWII, the lab was disintegrated into 6 medical companies, and one of the most well known one that still exists is Bayer.

In addition, these medical experimentation results were shared with the Japanese, where the Japanese also established a similar lab (Unit 731) in China. The doctors may try to persuade themselves that they were doing it for the love of science, yet essentially they've become a culprit to this system of cruelty.

Hitler was a painter, he had an eye for beautiful things, for perfection. Yet no one stopped him from seeing through a different lens, that perhaps his notion of perfection lacked compassion and understanding of accommodating the differences.

Looking forward, with the refugees from Syria roaming into Europe, cultural clash is unavoidable. Cultural indifference inspires fear and pompous attitudes. Discrimination instigates revolt and turbulence. Just like using a rangefinder camera, we must learn to understand the different view points, to put down our prejudice and racial pride, before we can seek social harmony.

History repeats, but it can be prevented.

0 comments:

[Florence, ITALY] Day 2: Piazza Republicca, Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria, Marco Ottaviano Gelato, Caffe Giubbe Rosse, PiazzaSignoria,Palazzo Vecchio (Secret Passage!)

Dan Brown

Published on 9:00 PM By rika.C.

0 comments

From Italy to Croatia, I've found the footsteps of the Roman Empire.

The Romans had a very systematic approach to city planning and it was unsurprising that the forum (or also known as the main intersection and heart of the city) was situated at the exact spot of Piazza Republicca. Usually you would find a thermae (public bath complex) and or temples of the Roman gods close by.

We can no longer see the remnants of the thermae, which was situated on the south side, or the temple of Mars (swept away in a flood in 1333), but you can get insights about the remains beneath the space based on the road names i.e. Via delle Terme.

There you would find the Column of Abundance, the witness of the demolished Piazza del Mercato Vecchio (currently known as the Piazza Republicca).

Piazza della Repubblica

We got tired of being disappointed by highly reviewed restaurants, and decided to try our luck at ones that we thought would be good instead. This trattoria only had 2 reviews on google map, but was one of the best ones that we've had during this trip.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria is one of those restaurants you would want to go to for family gatherings and celebrations. It was an indulgence to eat here! I would have wanted more if only my stomach could have accommodated it.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria

Proscuitto with Mozzarella cheese

Truffle with sliced steak and arugula

Florence is more of a meat city I would say, so indulge in the Florentines steak and beef stews if you ever get bored of the pastas here.

In the afternoon, we got coffee at Caffe Giubbe Rosse (famous for Futurist gatherings). It's a place where you go for the atmosphere and just chill to enjoy the children's laughter riding the merry-go-around. When my boyfriend first arrived Florence, he was shocked that there was NO starbucks at all. Being a starbuck's fanatic he was so ready to leave Florence just because of this. However, he gradually understood why.

No matter where we went, the coffee was perfect. The Muslims and Turks introduced coffee to the Venetians in the 14th century, and the first coffee house was opened in Venice in 1645. So Italians have had a long history of knowing how to brew the best coffee.

Piazza Signoria

At night, we signed up for the secret passage tour at Palazzo Vecchio, which covered the key history about the Medici family and the hidden study room of Francesco Medici. He was a great alchemist, and his love for art, literature and alchemy shows through these walls of painting.

Palazzo Vecchio Francesco Study Room

Each painting is a cabinet, where the painting infers from a Roman myth, or some symbols that are related to the treasure that he has inside the cabinet. For example, they believed Francesco kept potions, medicines behind this cabinet.

Can you guess what's behind this painting?

Secret passage!

The Hall of 500

The tour is about 30mins, and you get to visit the museum too afterwards. For the Dan Brown Inferno fans, you will get to see most of the secret passages that were shown in the movie!

0 comments:

The Gate to Paradise: Meo Modo

EUROPE

Published on 3:33 PM By rika.C.

0 comments

I guess the best way to understand if someone is destined to be with you is through traveling. Too many things can go wrong and one conflict can easily lead to another. It was raining, my luggage was lost during a flight transfer, and everything that seemed could have gone wrong has.

It was raining the day on the day, and although the Val D'Orcia was as picturesque as it could be, I was in no mood for it. The rain stopped as we reached this monumental gate and there was a huge rainbow hanging across the sky.

Suddenly, it seemed as everything was ok, and that no matter what happens next, I should at least enjoy this dinner. We were greeted by staff with umbrella and a lavender towel. There is a farm on spot, where all the fresh produces were used for the restaurant.

It felt visiting a distant uncle's villa, rows of bookshelves, a warm fireplace, a living room with a grand piano... Finally we were seated at a table under the arcade, overlooking a beautiful garden of greens.

The restaurant, Meo Modo, recently received a Michelin star and is part of the boutique hotel Relais Borgo Santo Pietro. (I would love to come back here again for my honeymoon or something!). Chef Andrea Mattei is most known for creating seasonal dishes straight from their own organic farm.

[----- Our Menu -----]

Absolutely Borgo 150 Euro

Seasonal Vegetables with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and beet root sauce
Mushroom Sponge, Cherry tomatoes and goat cheese with fermented millet and olive oil
Sunflower seed, cream and coffee risotto
Sucking Pig with wild berry sauce and spinach cream (with Lavender infusion)
Dried tomato with lemon, zucchini with elder flower
Flower and Leaves, Mascarpone cream and vanilla

Infused tomato, millet and olive oil capsules with goat cheese

seasonal vegetables with beetroot sauce

Mushroom sponge

Risotto with coffee, cream and sunflower seed

Suckling pig

Flower and leaves with mascarpone cheese and vanilla

You could tell from the menu that it isn't your ordinary, over the top, sous vide style of cooking. Everything is engineered from seasonal flavors and food at its rawest form.

The suckling pig actually reminded me somewhat of a peking duck with its smokey, powerful flavors, which when paired with wild berry sauce really feels like you are hunting through a forest. It was good at giving you an imagery.

I would say the thing that really surprised us both was the dried zucchinis, which was almost as thin as hair!

All in all, I would say this is a place for a romantic dinner, with impeccable service and most of all, having chef that does justice to home grown organic food!

Dried zucchini that was so thin that you could see light through it!

0 comments:

[SALZBURG, AUSTRIA] Festungs Fortress, Dom Quartier, Mozart's birth place, Residenz

AUSTRIA

Published on 12:10 PM By rika.C.

0 comments

The Festung Fortress had a fantastic view of the city of Salzburg. Much of it has remained as it was first built in 1077, though throughout the years the Archbishops have expanded the castle to prevent the Turkish invasion. Luckily, Salzburg also remained its neutral position during the 30 year's war, that largely helped to protect the baroque architecture to remain as it is today.

View from the fortress

This somehow reminded me of the town from Beauty and the Beast

the night view of Salzburg is just as dazzling!

The Bräustübl Tavern

We came across this gem when we found we were still a little early for our Michelin star dinner Esszimmer. The Bräustübl Tavern is a 1000 seat monk brewery since 1621. There were no clear signs and I believe we couldn't get any more local than this.

We felt the air froze when we entered, since we were the only Asian (and possibly tourist) there, but they soon resumed to their normal day to day conversations.