My gluttonous times in Taipei

Taiwan has a rich food culture. People don't really cook at home, and eat most meals at the countless food stalls, night markets, mom and pops or Western/International style restaurants. Since my studio doesn't have a kitchen, I've taken to eating out, and since its super cheap, I can try so many new places everyday.

Most of my meals are cooked in front of me at a food stall or mom/pop restaurant with the kitchen at the front entrance. Food and sanitation can get iffy too. Like today, to my shock, I saw a lady use her bare hands, grab raw meat and throw them in a flaming wok, then using same hand, package food and handle money. I didn't see her wash her hands. Despite this, I still ordered my food and just washed my hands when I took my to go bag from her, and gave her exact change. I love Taiwan because my meals range from $3-$5 USD. My vice, tapioca milk tea, costs less than $2 USD, even at a large size.

I love the numerous Japanese style convenience stores they have in Taiwan. My favorite one is Family Mart. When I have a craving for non-Asian food, I come here after work and get pasta or Hungarian beef stew with rice. The employees will offer to microwave your food and will place the food in a sort of carry sling. It's pretty cool. There are even seats to sit and enjoy your meal, so I drank some Taiwan beer with my pasta.

I can eat noodles, fried rice, fried onion pancakes, or change it up with hamburgers, Pizza Hut or Japanese curry rice. It surprises me the variety of food Taiwanese people have here! My favorite find so far has been Zajiang mien (seasoned ground meat and chili spice over noodles) and apple milk. Drooool! All I can say is I may not be keeping my trim figure for very long, uggg. In the meantime, YOLO!

 Beef noodles (national dish of Taiwan) and watermelon juice

 Guangying tea from tea house by Taipei Zoo

 Ice cream milk tea and passion fruit tea with tapioca

 Fresh tofu and red beans in sweetened ginger soup

 Zajiang mien

Apple milk and strawberry jam bread

Whirlwind

It's been a fun filled few weeks so far. I officially teach next week. I'm pretty pooped from all the class observations, but wanted to share some pictures from some adventures - Beitou hot springs, Maokong gondola ride, and lots of food and cute distractions.

First days in Taipei, Taiwan

Huangling guangling! That's what I hear all over the place. It means 'welcome' in Mandarin, and I definitely feel that way wherever I go. Despite my jet lag, I was able to check out a few Taipei landmarks such as the Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen Memorials.

The most important thing in Taiwan is the food! I've been indulging in my food fantasies, so unfortunately I have eaten my food before I remember to take a picture to share with you all. But, I love the artistic expression in Taiwan so far. This morning I was supposed to go on a group excursion, but missed the bus AND lost my roommate at once, so I decided to go to Danshui myself. The excursion was supposed to be there, but I did not bump into anyone. Oh well.. I was able to find some yummy fried chicken and 75 cent boba milk tea and a refreshing lemon jelly iced tea for lunch. At night, I have been drinking a lot of mango and pineapple beers. It's too bad the alcohol content is so low! Lol. Since it's dinner time now, I needa go hunting for some yummy grub. But wanted to post some pictures of what I've seen so far. Taiwan is really beautiful! Excited about the next steps to come...

2020 Olympics in Tokyo

Today I learned the IOC awarded the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo! This is so awesome. I know the last Summer Olympics in Japan was 1964, so it has been a looongggg time, too long. It's great because first timers to Japan will get to enjoy the perfect blend of old and new Japan, and their famous hospitality. I found old video clips from 1964 on Youtube, and it's interesting to see how much has and has not changed since then.

(Associated Press)

Some interesting facts from Tokyo 1964 Games according to Olympics.org:

- Due to the grueling schedule, the Captain of the Japanese volleyball team couldn't find a husband, so after hearing about it the Prime Minister of Japan hooked her up with her future husband.
http://www.olympic.org/news/japan-s-women-s-volleyball/193505
- First Olympics in Asia
-  The Tokyo Games was also the last occasion that hand timing by stopwatch was used for official timing.

My favorite photo from the 1964 Games:

(Olympics.org)

 

Quickies on Karate

I've always known karate originated in Japan, and I have vague memories of it as a kid from watching movies like Karate Kid. (Can you believe Ralph Macchio is over 50 now?!) So when I found the video below, I have a new found appreciation for the beauty and strength in karate moves.

Here are some interesting facts on karate pulled from Wikipedia; some of which are very surprising!

• Originated from Ryukyu, the southernmost islands in Japan. 
• Influenced by Chinese kung fu from cultural exchanges between China and Japan
• Karate is divided into 3 more basic parts - kihon (basics or fundamentals), kata (forms), and kumite (sparring)
• Karate was only made popular in the rest of Japanese during the early 1900s

Japanese Brazilian

The history between Japan and Brazil always interests me. It's an exotic hybrid of Asian, European and Afro influences combined into one. If you've never studied or read articles on the history of Japan and Brazil, it's pretty fascinating. For the purpose of this blog, I am focusing on Japanese in Brazil since there are not many well-known Japanese Brazilians in Japan.

Since I love following fashion, there are some well-known fashion models from Brazil with Japanese ancestors. In a previous post I wrote about Juliana Imai. There are also male models like Leandro Okabe, Hideo Muraoka, and Akihito Sato. Droooolllll

(Hideo Muraoka  homorazzi.com)

(Leandro Okabe  adonismale.com)

(Akihito Sato  philippinemodels.blogspot.com)

Then you have musicians and politicians and entertainers. I enjoy the chill, relaxing sounds of bossa nova and Lisa Ono is a well known artist in Brazil. 

Lisa Ono singing Girl From Ipanema

Then you have some hilarity from Sabrina Sato who was made famous in Brazil by their version of Big Brother. She is pretty ballsy and outrageous. Just watch some clips of her driving drunk, doing samba in a quiet neighborhood late at night and trying to speak very broken English to the one and only WOLVERINE!

(Youtube)

(Youtube)

(Youtube)

Finally you have samba in Tokyo! Pretty cool to see Japanese people channeling the rhythmic dances of samba...

(Youtube)

Controversial new Hayao Miyazaki Kaze Tachinu film

I read an article from Tokyotimes.com that Hayao Miyazaki is releasing a new animated film titled "“Kaze Tachinu” (“The Wind Has Risen”) about the lives of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of Japan’s World War II-era Zero fighter plane, and mid-20th century writer Tatsuo Hori. Though I am not big on historical films, I LOVEEEEE his animated ones.

Most people know him from his movie "Spirited Away". It's about a girl, Chihiro, who gets separated from her parents, and is lost in a fantasy world filled with ghosts, frog-like people, and a dragon-boy, who she cares deeply for. It's one of those movies that help you reclaim your childhood innocence. This movie is no bubble gum crap, and it certainly has some dark sides to it. The storyline and images that flow out of Miyazaki's mind is otherworldly. So much so that I even had a dream filled with one of his soap-shaped bugs with 8 legs crawling around.

Spirited Away has lessons in friendship, greed, and conquering your fears. After watching it the first time, you will probably hit replay, and enjoy it all over again as I did. Go buy or rent it!

UPDATE: Seems like people in Japan are pretty pissed at the anti-war stance of Miyazaki's new film "Kaze Tachinu". Even though people want animated films to be PC, I think Miyazaki has a right to express his opinion. War is a human abomination, and needless lives are lost due to ideologies.

(imdb.com)

(Studio Ghibli)

(Studio Ghibli)

Japanese desserts - Green tea flavored

My favorite desserts come from Japan. I love it all - donuts, cake, flan, chocolate pudding, boba, ICE CREAM. You name it. Most people's first introduction to Japanese desserts were probably at a sushi restaurant and served a scoop of green tea ice cream. On a flight to Tokyo as a little kid, I liked it so much that I would ask my Mom for just 'green tea'. My little dumb brain forgot to say ice cream, so I got a nice cuppa hot green tea. I don't remember being too happy.

The most popular green tea ice cream is probably made by Maeda-en, and lately I've been into Haagen Dazs' version. Maeda-en is mild and sweet with just the right amount of green tea goodness. Haagen Dazs is pretty good but too creamy (watch the fat/calorie count).

(shopwell.com)

Green tea is also nice because it can be made in soooo many different ways. Green tea Kit Kats, for instance. If you love blended chocolates such as orange, raspberry, white chocolate, and coffee then you will surely enjoy this magnificent (sometimes expensive) treat. There is also green tea yokan. Yokan is a jelly dessert consisting of red bean paste, agar and sugar. Its texture is thicker than jello and its flavor is not overwhelming. It's especially good to eat chilled on a hot day.

(tumblr.com)

(blogspot.com)

Japanese desserts can be created with shaved ice. With a variety of toppings such as sweet red beans, ice cream, little chewy mochi (rice balls), fruits, even flan, you can eat this and die happy.

.(weheartit.com)

(foodspotting.com)

This is just a tip of the sweetness, cavity inducing iceberg of Japanese desserts. I haven't even started on their coffee flavored jellies, cakes, etc. God I love Japanese desserts!

Is there a green tea dessert I've forgotten or haven't tried yet?

Shoji Ueda - Japanese Photography

So I found a Twitter post by @ Fashionpressnet today about a Japanese photographer, Shoji Ueda. His style is a combination of surrealism based on reality. His photos are head of his time, and he has a unique use of perspective. My favorite photo titled "Children, Father, Mother" (パパとママとコドモだち) from 1949 looks like a cool, retro photo for some fashion label.

パパとママとコドモだち  Children, Father, Mother (1949)

シリーズ「砂丘モード」より  Dune Mode (1985)

シリーズ「砂丘モード」より  Dune Mode (1985)

Read the full article on Fashion Press' site.