Oops, a month late

I went to Hong Kong for a long weekend! A whole month ago, and I forgot to upload my pictures!

This trip was solely for the purpose of spending time with family, and in the requisite Chinese fashion, that meant squeezing as many meals as possible into one long weekend. I didn't see any sights, I barely bought anything at all. But yep, I ate. And ate. And ate.

Hong Kong at dawn

My trip didn't start off so fortuitously. I rushed to the airport on a Friday afternoon after work, only to find that bad weather delayed my flight. This was only conveyed to us after boarding, so I sat in the plane for hours... and hours... and hours. So much for a short skip and a hop to Hong Kong! By the time I landed, it was nearly 2am in the morning, way after public transportation had stopped for the evening in HKG. So I napped in the terminal until the first bus arrived at 6am.

Luckily, the rest of the visit was framed in sunny cool weather. I saw many relatives, spent time with the parents, and ate my weight in seafood.

Seafood, BEFORE

Seafood, AFTER

My favorite still has got to be the mantis shrimp. It's hard to find them anywhere else, and these were so large and plump,
and the flesh was so sweet and tender. It's a treat I only seem to have in Hong Kong.

Not quite HK food but delicious (and pretty!) just the same.

Besides fancy meals, of course I had to find some time for some old favorites. Looking back at these pictures though, it's probably a good thing I don't get to eat like this often... I'd develop some pretty serious health issues very quickly!

A breakfast I often dream of: instant ramen in borscht (or, the Cantonese version of it), toast topped with butter and
condensed milk, and the always unique HK style milk tea served in a thick porcelain cup.

Street-style rice crepes... I could write poetry to its amazingness.
The classic trio in the background aren't slouches either: curried
fish balls, braised pork skin, and stewed turnip.

I did, however, notice something different about Hong Kong this visit. People seemed so unhappy there. The populace seemed to be in a constant rush, everyone was hustling hard to get through the day. And even in that, there was no joy. People were often rude, and easily aggravated and grumpy.

Is it them? Or is it me... have I changed? Have I been away from New York City for too long? Have I already become accustomed to the more laid-back charm of the Taiwanese people?

In the end, this visit made me feel pretty happy about my decision to come to Taiwan. Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart. I have family there, people who touch me with their sincerity every time I visit. But in the end, I have decided that Hong Kong is like a bad boyfriend... you'll always love him, but you know you just can't be together. :P

So I'll enjoy my occasional visits, especially now that I'm so close by, but I think I can finally put that vague desire to live in Hong Kong to rest.

Did I mention I'm always hungry...?

So! I am on a brand new adventure. I have left the continent of Europe, to travel back to Asia. I am in Taiwan this time, and my poor waistline (so newly reacquired after vigorous dedication to a New Year's resolution) is probably on the verge of disappearing again. But it's Taiwan! The island of food!

I've been in Taipei for less than a week, and have mostly been seeking out small local places for my meals. I haven't even cracked open the pandora's box that are the night markets, and there is already more than plenty to keep my belly full. Is it surprising then, that my photos so far are 98% food?

So far, the takeaway I've received from this week's meals is that Taiwanese food is unexpectedly heavy for such a warm climate (and it is WARM. and HUMID).

One of my first meals back to celebrate my return to Asia involved rice balls. I missed those little suckers so much when I was in France, which was funny because I had eaten them so much in Japan that I was sick of them.

YUM!

Another trip down memory lane is Ah Chung Mee Sua, is a rather famous place located near where I'm staying in Ximending. I visited last time I was in Taiwan, and it hasn't changed at all. The broth was thick and tasted heavily of bonito, while the braised intestines added an earthy flavor. I have to admit, I felt really full and needed a nap after eating the whole large bowl. This meal set me back 110 NTD (65 for the mee sua, 40 for the drink), or $3.50 USD.

Hearty, and rich, this would make a really good winter
meal/snack

Rats; the picture below really doesn't make the dumplings look appetizing. But rest assured; they were plump and juicy and best of all, CHEAP. This restaurant sells dumplings by the piece: all pork-based dumplings cost 7 NTD (22 cents USD), and all shrimp-based dumplings cost 8 NTD (25 cents USD). Each protein was paired with different veggies, so there were about 10 different types of dumplings in all. I stuck with the pork base, and had pork-cabbage, pork-leek, and pork-radish. 7 dumplings in all, for a cheap dinner of 49 NTD, or $1.56 USD. Next time I'll try the shrimp!

Maybe I'll get 10 dumplings next time... splurge!

I was walking along one day when I noticed a small open-air restaurant with about 5 items total on its menu. They specialized in zongzi (粽子), sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed. The Taiwanese version of this yummy treat involves pouring a gravy over the whole thing before serving. This certainly sounded interesting, and so I had to try. Taste-wise, this was more like a Cantonese 糯米雞... it was stuffed with fatty pork, peanuts, a salted egg yolk, shitake mushroom, and chestnuts. Paired with the savory gravy, it was delicious and filling. And at 65 NTD (just a smidge over $2 USD), another cheap meal!

Not pictured: the lumps of fatty fatty pork.

For dinner one night, I tried to balance out the heavy food with something a little lighter. I found a place serving Fujian-style fish balls, and decided to try them out. These fish balls were stuffed with bits of meat and served in a light broth. The fish ball portion was a little bland, but the meat inside was generously flavored. Add a simple dish of greens in an attempt to be healthy, and I had a 75 NTD ($2.40 USD) meal.

See? So healthy.

The menu. Everything's so cheap!

Of course, I had to go get a Taiwanese breakfast one morning. I ended up ordering way too much food... a nice large cup of sweet soy milk, a Taiwanese rice roll (stuffed with 油條, pork floss, and pickled radish), a fried fritter filled with lotus bean paste, and some fried turnip cake. This was enough for me for two meals, and only cost me 95 NTD ($3 USD).

A bounty of food for three bucks.

After all these meals, spending anything more than two or three dollars seems outright frivolous! Like I mentioned before though, I'm finding the food surprisingly heavy and unsuited for hot weather. One thing that does make sense though, is the plethora of drinks available in Taiwan. With this weather, it's imperative to stay hydrated! I finally broke down after a few days, and got my first shaved ice. It was from a pricier spot, and cost more than any of my meals so far (120 NTD, $3.82 USD)!

The first. Of many.

There is still a long loooooong list of food I want to eat, so perhaps it's good that I'll be spending a year here. It's tempting to cram it all in now though! The juicy fried pork chops! The night market street food!

... maybe I should look into joining a gym or something....

Spanish food, of course

I wouldn't be 'always hungry' if I didn't have a plethora of food pictures to go along with all the scenery and architecture, eh? The food I saw and ate in Barcelona was wonderful, and therefore warrants its own entry.

I did a lot of research before heading to Barcelona, and it was hard to decide where to eat with the limited time I had. In addition, Spain is sadly one place were solo eating is at a disadvantage. My stomach can only fit so much, so ordering everything on a tapas menu just wasn't feasible. Still, I managed to see a lot, and eat some delicious food.

I arrived at the Barcelona airport right before 2pm in the afternoon. As lunch is considered the main meal of the day there, many places were still open for business. I already had a place in mind, and so madly dashed to the train that took me out to city center. By 3:15 or so, I was tucking into this plate of beauty:

Grilled prawns, clams, and teeny octopi, all topped with lemon and a divine parsley oil.

La Paradeta is a local casual eatery that pretty much only sells seafood. When you arrive (and there's usually a line!), you stand behind a counter very much like one from the supermarket. An array of fresh seafood is arranged before you, and a helpful lady behind the counter grabs and slices portions of what you want. She sends it to the kitchen then, to be grilled or cooked in marinara sauce, and off you go.

The seafood I received was extremely fresh, and cooked perfectly. The shrimp was sweet with a firm bite (I hate overcooked mushy shrimp with a passion), and the octopus had the most delicious little charred bits on its tentacles. The clams were good too, but not as great as the other two (maybe the Chinese part of me just wanted some black bean sauce). I kind of wish I picked something else as my third choice, as the clams ended up being pretty pricey.

At the end, it wasn't the best deal I've had in seafood (the meal, as seen above along with a hunk of bread to sop up all the lovely lovely juices, cost just under 19 euro). But as a first meal in Barcelona, it was a delicious way to start the trip.

For lunch on another day, I had plans to visit a place I found online that was supposed to have a great set menu for 10 euro. When I got there though, I felt a little blah about their day's menu, and ended up next door instead. Of course, I now wonder if I would have had a better meal at the original spot, but alas, one can't eat everything.

Set lunch at Miriot. This was described as 'supreme salmon on crispy sesame squid and
cuttlefish paella'. The fish was flaky and cooked well, though the paella fared a little
less well, being rather greasy.

Set lunch dessert, mango 'soup' with ice cream. This ended up being quite good and
refreshing.

For 10 euros though (12 after tax and a marginal tip), this three course lunch was a steal.

In addition to visiting restaurants, I was naturally interested in some of the food markets that dotted the city. The most famous of these is La Boqueria, located near the touristy Ramblas. Frankly, I don't think I saw many locals at this market (and the few I saw were insanely annoyed at the rabble), but this didn't diminish the market's charm one bit.

La Boqueria! A hungry hoarde descends....

Okay, I don't care that this mainly is aimed towards tourists. Look at all the Spanish ham for sale!

More ham. There must have been a dozen vendors, all selling meats. The hardest part was trying to figure out which
place to patronize!

In addition to ham, there were lots of stands selling fresh fruit.

Fruit juices, in dozens of delicious combinations! Should I get the raspberry kiwi? A classic pineapple coconut?
Ooh, but strawberries are in season. I ended up getting a refreshing strawberry mango juice.

It really seems like everything in this market is brightly colored! Here is a candy stall. Look how cute some of
these candies look! Now I wish I bought some!

A combination meats AND cheese vendor. 

Okay, I had to get some meats. There were many options, but I stayed away from the
lighter-colored, thinly sliced Serrano ham, and got this thicker cut. It was great; there
was a sweetness to the meat (which, is supposedly from the fact that the pork was acorn-fed),
and it wasn't too salty. Many of these little portions were sold in paper cones, but this
particular vendor sold them in what hilariously looks like french fries containers.
This was PLENTY of ham for a snack, and only cost a little over 2 euros.

Shrimp/prawns seem to be huge in Spain... so many options!

I guess locals also shop here for their seafood!

Too bad it was a chilly day; otherwise, these fruit pops look like they would be so good!

The European version of 鹹魚. Salted, preserved fish... probably a staple protein for many many cultures, many many
years ago. Now, they're a delicacy!

Besides the meats, I ended up grabbing a few small bites to nibble on while wandering the market. It was extremely crowded though, so I didn't take any pictures.

Finally, I was able to stop off at a small eatery for a few pinchos/pintxos before leaving Barcelona. Many of these small bites were displayed right on the counter, leaving me manymany options to choose from. It was so hard to decide!

On the left, a piece of pan tomate topped with ham. The sweet saltiness of the ham was
paired perfectly with the tomato, and the crunchy bread provided an additional texture.
On the right, some poached shrimp served cold. It was very light and refreshing.

Toast topped with a soft Spanish cheese, an anchovy, and a small pepper. The cheese was
mild and reminded me of ricotta, which set off the salty anchovy and pickled pepper
perfectly.

On the left, a salted cod (bacalla) fritter. On the right, potatoes with an aioli. While
tasty, these last two dishes were a little heavier, and made me wish I stuck to the
cold pintxos instead. Overall, the meal wasn't expensive, costing about 10 euro total.

Looking through these pictures again makes me hungry! I wish I could describe in better detail, just how different the ham tastes in Spain, utterly different than anything I've had before in the states. I got curious, and so looked it up on the internet. Apparently, jamón ibérico (or pata negra) wasn't available in the U.S. until as recently as 2007. The highest grade, jamón ibérico de bellota, was sold in the states starting from 2008, and costs almost $100 a pound. No wonder I haven't had this before!

But the jamón ibérico de bellota is indeed something special. There's a complexity of flavor that elevates it from being just a piece of salty dried meat.  Luckily, traveling within the E.U. means that I got to bring some back with me to France (at the relatively low price of about $40 a pound. Also, I snagged a bag of bits of ends for just 4 euros)! My favorite kind of souvenir. :)

Experiencing Hong Kong, through food

Whenever I land in Hong Kong, there's always a special feeling of coming home for me.

For the majority of this visit, I stayed at an airbnb apartment in Mongkok. I chose the place mainly due to its relatively reasonable price, and I figured it would be pretty accessible to public transportation. Also, I am originally a Mongkok girl, this neighborhood being the one I lived in for the first 5 years of my life. My choice was a great one, as I was literally steps from countless food options.

Fa Yuen street. I stayed in the building on the left corner.
There are dozens of food options in these few blocks,
along with lots of shopping.

For a month, I spent time with relatives, walked around the busy streets, and basically ate enough to gain over 5 pounds. Warning: upcoming pictures may induce feelings of hunger. Writer of this blog is not responsible for any keyboards broken due to reader salivation. :P

My uncle and his family took me to have an all-seafood meal. It was very
very amazing. First up, was large shrimp wok-fried in soy sauce.

Scallops in their shell, steamed with lots of garlic.

Lobster, served with noodles on the bottom. All the lovely lobster gravy
dripped onto the noodles and made them super delicious.

Salt-pepper fried mantis shrimp.

Fresh abalone. It was surprisingly tender and sweet.

Besides fancy meals, I also got to sample a variety of food available from street vendors.

Hot and sour potato starch noodles. This was an
intensely flavored bowl of noodles!

The meal of my dreams! A big bao, filled with pork and vegetables ($6 HKD),
a skewer of curry fish balls along with rice crepes ($8 HKD), and a mango
ice ($14 HKD)... it's perfect!

Braised beef brisket with turnip. 

Staying on Fa Yuen street had another perk: there were lots of fresh fruit stands on the street, all offering a wide array of fruit usually for less money than the supermarket. Being in Hong Kong during the hot and humid late Spring has its benefits: the fruit selection was amazing!

I had some of the best lychee I've ever had during this
trip. This particular strain (糯米糍) is known for its
small seed. This resulted in an unusually large, juicy,
and sweet mouthful of fruit.

My first experience with mangosteen! This fruit has a really unique
flavor, not really like any other fruit. It is sweet, with a faint tanginess, and
an interesting floral finish that you taste more with the nose than the mouth.

Look at these tiny cute mangoes! 

Additional food...

Classic Hakka dish, braised pork belly with preserved
mustard greens (梅菜扣肉). The pork was suuuper
rich and fatty, but the greasiness was cut by the tangy
greens.

Cantonese style fast food: baked pork chop served over rice, and a red
bean ice. 

An extremely large and fulfilling breakfast at a local
Mongkok 茶餐廳. The HK style milk tea is unique and
utterly delicious. I miss it already!

I dream about this dish a lot when I'm not in Hong Kong or New York...
thick rice noodles stir fried with black bean gravy. 

Before leaving, I had to have one last meal at an airport restaurant. I
decided on Shanghai xiaolongbao, and a cold jellyfish appetizer.

Ironically, Hong Kong girls are some of the skinniest women I've ever seen. With all this food, how do they do it??? Such a mystery!