travel: Taiwan 2012, Day 1: Houtong Village, Jiufen, Sunny Room B&B

We arrived at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei, at around 1.15 local time. We met our guide for the next 9 days of our trip: RoundTaiwanRound. I believe we have James Huang from RTR for the next few days, up until our stay in Alishan, after which, Grant from RTR will be looking after us.

We bought a prepaid phone card at the airport that includes unlimited internet (when you walk out of the arrival gate, turn left, then left again. There should be some phone company kiosks offering this service). As we want the convenience of our own hotspot for the duration of our trip, we chose the package that costs TWD1000 from Chunghwa Telecom. This involves unlimited calls and internet for 7 days, after which we have to call the phone company to extend for another 7 days (at no extra cost as the extension is already included in the price. Why they don't just do the 14 days since the beginning is beyond me).

After switching 1/2heart's sim card and turning on the hotspot option in his iphone (go to 'settings' and turn on 'personal hotspot'), we have our own mobile hotspot for internet for our other devices - ipad and my notebook.

James brought to our attention that there would be a slight change to our initial itinerary: the only road accessible by car to Taroko Gorge, our desination for day 3, is currently closed due to landslide just a couple of days earlier. The alternative would be to take a train, which neither I or 1/2heart was too keen about. So, we took James' alternative to shuffle our itinerary a bit and for today, we went to a small village we did not include initially into our itinerary: Houtong Village.

Houtong is pretty close with the more famous Jiufen, both were mining town booming back in the old days. Houtong was a mining town specializing in coal. There are many remnants of the old mines and workstations, but the scenery was absolutely beautiful. James told us that only a couple of days ago, he was also in the area and it was raining buckets. So I guess we are pretty lucky.

Uh yeah... sorry... that is my backside...

But Houtong nowadays is more well known for an entirely unrelated object to mining. I will give you some clues:

That paparazzi is James.

Got it yet? More clues? Plez, it's pretty obvious by now, right? There are a lot of paparazzi in the area, and the stars are the felines.

cats, cats, cats everywhere. Cuteness overload

After our cat therapy, we had to fill our tummy with some snacks...

Off to see some cats again...

I was quite smitten with this little guy...

Then off for dinner just around the corner. James brought us to this local eatery that served simple traditional dishes. Light and filling and delicious. We had some noodles, sweet potato leaves as our vegetable intake, braised eggs, pork dishes, and meatball soup. Total damage: TWD385, and our hunger was fully satiated.

It was already dark and James took us to the minsu/B&B that I had chosen for our Jiufen stay. And Oh God, this place is beautiful.

note: most of our B&Bs for our Taiwan trip were booked by James and Grant from RoundTaiwanRound on our behalf. All I did was search on the internet for accommodations and room type that I prefer and asked the boys to do the booking, as most of the minsu owners do not speak English.

B&B/Minsu in Jiufen: Sunny Room

Our Room is Blossom, and costs TWD 3200. (includes breakfast, and they also have free wi-fi in room)

Let the pictures do the talking.

See that rectangle stone basin on the right by the window? It is home to this little guy:

More details of the bathroom:

There is a convenience store nearby, reached by walking through some flight of stairs and more gorgeous night view of quaint Jiufen and surroundings.

Our purchase for the night: bought Taiwan Beer to try and see what the fuss is all about. My Taiwanese friends seem to always swear by this brand, so we had to give it a go. I gotta say, I am not too fond of it... . But of course we would not pass by the massive yakult drink... .

Our balcony seems to have a killer view... can't wait until next morning...

travel: Taiwan 2012 - Pre Flight

4 months ago, moi and 1/2heart decided that we were long due for an overseas holiday and agreed to take some time off work at the end of the year to go away somewhere. But since neither him or I could take long extended holidays, our choices of destination were kind of limited.

After plenty of hrmm-ing and ahh-ing, we finally chose Taiwan as our destination. Well, we wanted China, but I guess we prefer to leave the big country for much much longer holiday in the future (crossfingers). Besides, Taiwan looks wonderful enough for a two weeks break in December.

And after getting trolled by flying planes everyday (we always have to drive past the international airport to work), finally the day came when I could say 'stuff this' to my work computer, and went on my merry way to catch our flight - which was scheduled at 7 p.m. on 14/12/12.

So, this will be our travelogue, and be aware that it will be very picture heavy.

You know the exact time that actually stroke a chord inside me and screamed, "Girl, you are actually going on a holiday, hoorayy!". It's when I was actually inside the airport. Ah, Sydney Airport, how I love you whenever I visit you to board a plane... . (I do come quite often to International Airport area for work purpose, which only usually left me feeling depressed due to my envy on all of the people checking in their luggage and their smiles as they entered the passengers-only gate...).

View of the plane we would be boarding. Our favourite carrier: Singapore Airlines, and a random item we found on the shops at the airport. Emu Pate, anyone?

Before long, it was time to fly.

Our dinners and what drink to order when you were on a singapore airlines flight? Singapore Sling, of course.

We had around 7 hours layover in Singapore Changi Airport before our connecting flight to Taipei, so we booked a 6 hours block to stay at Ambassador Transit Hotel. The group has a Transit Hotel at every terminal, but when I tried to book for the one located at Terminal 3 over 2 months ago (as our connecting flight would be departing from terminal 3), it was all booked out, and only Terminal 1 hotel was available. Nevertheless, I guess it was decent enough for a short rest. 

And Changi's Christmas spirit is in full swing. Pretty Christmas decorations everywhere... .

When morning came and after we checked out, 1/2heart saw Dunkin Donuts, and so 1/2heart shall have some Dunkin Donuts... . (and the koi fish picture is just here to make the blog prettier :D We did not harm or digest any koi).

Before long, it was time to fly again, this time to our real destination: Taipei.

review: PeriPera Water Tint, PeriPera Tint Jelly, PeriPera Tint Balm, TonyMoly Cat Chu Tint

I have never been a fan of lipsticks due to their sticky constitution; or lipgloss, due to their nature of making lips looking plump. I have quite a full looking set of lips, so plumping them up will usually make me look like a psyduck.
So my lips are probably the most untouched/bare area on my face - until a few months ago that I finally decided to try some lip tints from Korea's PeriPera line.

The first lip tint that I tried is PeriPera Water Tint in Orange Juice (above picture, top right). The color is lighter than the other 2 available shades of PeriPera Water Tint(Cherry Juice and Pink Juice) and since it is very watery, it is actually very easy to control the level of shade on your lips as you can easily spread/blend them out.
With lip tints, I usually only dab a small area of my inner lips, then spread them outwards using my finger. (cotton buds work too, though you will probably lose a lot of color that way as the tint will more easily get transferred to the cotton buds).
If you want a darker shade, obviously be more generous with the application, though be very careful, your lips will definitely look very orange. XD I prefer more natural look.

The super cute packaging definitely helped me making my decision on purchasing more lip colors from their line. (Btw, the art is made by Mari Kim, who also designed the animated characters of Korea KPOP group 2NE1 for their music video I Hate You).

PeriPera Water Tint - Orange Juice

The Peri's Tint Balm is equally adorable, although as with most balms, application could be somewhat troublesome (yes, dig your digits in there). There is the bold color in the shape of cute lips in the middle, and this is meant to be swirled along with the outer more transparent balm. The end result is moist blushy looking lips in your chosen color.

PeriPera Peri's Tint Balm - #5 Cherry Pink

My most used item though, is probably the PeriPera Peri's Tint Jelly, due to the simple and slim packaging and it is so easy to be applied with the most balanced shade as the end result (lighter than the Water Tint). I got myself the shade Mango. Note that the end color turns out to be peachy pink (see comparison at the end of this post).

PeriPera Tint Jelly - Mango

Then, I also bought myself a bolder deeper red color, but as I wanted to venture outside PeriPera, I chose TonyMoly Cat Chu Wink Tint in #2 Red (coughASuckerForCutePackagingcough). As with PeriPera Water Tint, it is easy to control the shade of the Tint with your finger. Little dab goes a long way, as the color is quite rich. (in my comparison picture, I managed to get the deep red color to be quite light and natural. Simply dab your inner lips, then spread out).

TonyMoly CatChu Wink Tony Tint - #2 Red

All of the above can be bought at a shop at Gmarket, and Ebay.

In term of ease of use and application, I heart PeriPera Tint Jelly. You can just use it as per your normal lipstick as it has similar packaging. However, for bolder richer and longlasting color, definitely go for the Water Tints (either PeriPera or TonyMoly). I kid you not. These suckers stayed on my lips for at least 5 hours straight, even after drinking. Granted, the color become lighter every passing time after the first application, but you don't have to worry about pale looking lips for hours.

(Try spreading the colors of the Water Tints on your lips using your finger, then try rinsing your finger with normal soap. You will have a field time rinsing it off.).

Ok, color comparison:

review: Schkinny Maninny 5 Days Detox

Another randomness galore. This time I am going to review a detox program from Schkinny Maninny.

Because I am a green nazi, I opted for their Green Spring Cleanse program, costed A$310 (A$329.95 including delivery).
Well, they are not kidding when they say green. I have never eaten/drunk so much green in my life in the span of only 5 days.

Their Detox program ranges from 1 day, 3 days, or 5 days. I went full monty, suck it in (a few times every day, literally), and chose the 5 days program.
Every morning, Schkinny Maninny delivered an esky consisting of my whole day & night's meal. After the first day of getting through, I am so glad that I chose Green Spring Cleanse program, rather than their Just Juice program (where you only have juice for all your meals). The GSC gave me salad for dinner, and they were very yummy healthy hearty salad that definitely satisfied after the whole day of liquid juice & vegetable fibres.

Schkinny Maninny Esky containing full day & night meal

GSC program rundown:
Breakfast:
Schkinny Leap Frog Juice
Ingredients: Spinach, Cucumber, Apple, Kiwifruit, Parsley

Brunch:
Schkinny Leap Frog Juice (as above)

Lunch:
Schkinny Water Frog
Ingredients: Spinach, Parsley, Kiwifruit, Watermelon, Orange

Afternoon:
Schkinny Alkaliser
Ingredients: Kiwifruit, Spinach, Parlsey, Cucumber, Lemon, Celery

Dinner:
Daily Salad:
Day 1: Chickpeas, Coriander & Parsley, Onion;
Day 2: Rocket Salad, Walnut, Pear, Cucumber with Avocado dressing;
Day 3: Brown Lentils, Wild Mushroom, Cherry Tomato, Orange pieces;
Day 4: Organic Tempeh (although I'd say this is tofu, not tempeh), Red Cabbage, Grated Carrots, Raw Cashews; with Spicy Soy Sauce dressing;
Day 5: Red Kidney Beans, Cherry Tomato, Green Capsicum, Baby corn. Red Onion, Raw Corn Kernels, Coriander; with Chilli, Lemon Juice & Olive Oil dressing.

Looking at the salad ingredients (and they provide more than enough to fill you up) I definitely got the proteins that I need; however, oh Lord, how I miss munching on anything other than leaves & beans & their derivatives. (*cough*redmeat*cough*)
Schkinny Maninny provides a small tub of bird food mix seeds, for your jaws to not go fully cold turkey on chewing for daytime. I have to say though, they were not enough for me, and I still had a handful of roasted almonds (non salted) and raisins or dried cranberries every day.

That much, I could manage.

A tub of mix seeds and daily support cards

5 days program gives you some extras

I am of an average build & weight and I exercise regularly. My usual eating habit falls in the region of being health-conscious (if I do say so myself) during the weekdays, as I work a desk job and hardly do any strenuous physical activity. On the weekends though, I pig out XD. I love my meat, so the past 5 days have been quite an achievement for me. Not to mention constantly reminding myself that this thing costed me 300 bucks, so I better did it right.

The hards for me:
- Passing Cha Time or Easy Way outlet. NOOO!!! Those bubble teas with rainbow jellies and pearls kept beckoning me hither.
- Juice no 4: Schkinny Alkaliser. One word: Yuck. I never ever once managed to finish the whole bottle. The max I could muster was always half. The other juices were tasty though.
- My blasted colleagues kept bringing biscuits and munchies to be shared around. Why don't they ever do this when I'm not detoxing.
- Day 2 and 3 were the worst for me, though not in any way unbearable. I felt quite lightheaded, lazy and sleepy for those 2 days. No headache or nauseous symptoms as warned by Schkinny Maninny, thank God.
- By late of day 4 and the whole of day 5, I started imagining the seagulls and pigeons flying outside my office as roasted crispy skinned birds smothered in spicy sauce.

The extra perks during the program and by end of day 5:
- Skin clearing up. Yes, not kidding. I had a small breakout on day 2 (not sure if due to the extra almonds I ate or the toxins being flushed out of any pores & crevices), but they quickly cleared up by day 4, and my overall complexion becomes brighter (although I still felt lethargic).
- More than regular bowel movement. Not diarrhea, but you definitely won't have any trouble doing your toilet business when doing this detox.
- Weight Loss. 1 kg in one week.

Will I do this again? Definitely. But for now, I am changing my favorite color to Black. I'm getting a bit sick of greens.

My 1/2heart - in all his wisdom and smartassness - decides that it's time to celebrate my completion of the detox program and has booked a table for two at the chophouse for dinner this Saturday. I will do my best not to go all T-Rex and attack all the meat (you are not supposed to 'celebrate' and go on an eating spree after a detox program. It will do your system more harm than good).

Well, if on next Monday, you look at the newspaper and see a headline of an Asian girl who bite people off during the Sydney Zombie Walk, that is most probably me being completely overwhelmed by my inner carnivore.

Kitchen: Durian Pandan Chiffon Cake

I swear this blog is so random... . Haha... . On this occassion, I am going to blog briefly about my latest bake: Durian Pandan Chiffon Cake.

The cake is so light, fluffy, and airy. It is a tad too moist for my liking, due to the Durian puree (I used durian puree, not essence) added to the batter. But the texture is perfect, although the bottom (or top, whichever you see it) is slightly broken because I did not wait for it to cool long enough before removing it from the pan.

Recipe:

Pan size: 25 cm in diameter (top diameter) angel cake tube pan

(A) 

• 6 egg yolks
• 50 gr caster sugar (sifted)

(b) 

• 190 gr cake flour (sifted twice)
• 2 tea spoon baking powder (sifted twice along with the cake flour)
• pinch of salt
• 2 tea spoon pandan paste (I use koepoe koepoe brand)
• 2 tea spoon vanilla essence (optional, it just makes your cake that extra fragrant)
• 180 gr durian puree 9 (I bought frozen Thai durian in packages at Asian food store, thaw it, and pureed it using an electric hand blender)

(c)

• 140 ml combination of: coconut milk + pandan leave extract + milk
• 90 ml corn oil

I did not have the whole 140ml of coconut milk. Instead I diluted the coconut milk with pandan leave extract & regular milk to make the end cake result less moist/wet. If you like your cake extra moist, do go ahead using 140ml of coconut milk. If you don't have pandan leave extract (I bought it in a can type at an Asian food store), you can dilute it with water. 

(d)

• 9 egg whites
• 100 gr caster sugar
• 1 tea spoon cream of tartar

Method:

• Pre heat your oven to 170 C. The oven must be well heated before baking.
• Whisk, using a hand whisk (do not use electric whisk) to mix (a) together. Keep whisking until color is kinda pale. I found this to be around 4-5 minutes. 
• Add (c) to the above gradually and whisk slowly until all incorporated. I usually add corn oil first, then the coconut milk mix.
• Add pandan paste & vanilla essence, whisk slowly. Add the sifted cake flour + baking powder, add salt, whisk slowly until all are well mixed and THERE ARE NO VISIBLE LUMPS. Otherwise your cake will have ugly white lumps. The mixture will be thick at this point. Add durian puree to the mixture, whisk until fully incorporated. Set aside while you prepare the egg whites meringue below:
• Using an electric whisk under low speed setting (I use electric hand whisk, so it is possible even if you don't have the big fancy table top electric whisk), whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add the cream of tartar. This will stabilize your egg whites longer when they reach soft/stiff peak.

Ensure your mixing bowl for the egg whites is free of water, oil, and any traces of egg yolk. To separate eggs easily, I find it easier to separate cold eggs (straight for refrigerator). Cover the mixing bowls containing the egg yolks & egg whites with cling wrap and wait until around 1 hour for the eggs to reach room temperature before you do any whisking to the eggs.

• Change the whisk setting to high, gradually adding the caster sugar in 3/4 batches every 1 minute or so, continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peak. To reach this state, I found it takes around 4-6 minutes.
• take 1/3 of the egg whites meringue and fold it into the yolk mixture using a plastic spatula. Do not press on the meringue while incorporating it into the yolk mixture, otherwise you will deflate it. Keep folding until there is no visible white streaks. Add the second 1/3 of the meringue into the mixture (the yolk mixture should be quite smooth now after the 1st meringue), fold until no visible white streaks. Add the last 1/3 meringue, and repeat fold.
• Pour the batter to the pan. Smooth the top surface with spatula, and give the pan a light bang on your table surface (lift it just a tad bit and drop it. This is to release the trapped air bubble in the batter to avoid hollow tunnels in your cake once it's baked).
• Pop the pan into the oven, and bake at 170 C for at least 20 minutes. DO NOT open the oven while it's baking. Then lower the temperature to 160 C for the next 35-40 minutes.
• Once baked, turn the pan upside down straight away. Otherwise, the cake will sink down. I use a bottle of wine and pop it as a stand into the middle hollow tube of the pan. 
• Let it cool for 2 hours. Smaller pans can get away with 1 hour wait.
• Using a sharp thin knife, run it along the edges of the pan to loosen up the cake and take it off the pan.

The whole apartment smells of heavenly durian and pandan. Mmmmmm... . So far husband has gone through 1/4 of the pan all by himself. I don't expect long until I need to bake a new batch... .