Travel: Taipei, Taiwan

No matter how many times you’ve been to a country or city, it’s always difficult to plan and book things from abroad, let alone having to do that for a group of 12 people. Thanks to another bridesmaid’s tremendous help, I managed to pull off a rather successful bachelorette’s weekend trip to Taipei. From researching and planning, booking and panicking when places are full, to everything falling into place and finally getting excited, all the stress and frustration that had been mounting for months up, the emotions were just too overwhelming. It wasn’t until the very moment I sat down and buckled my seat belt on the plane back to SingaporeI that I finally gave way to exhaustion and relief,  yet feeling bittersweet after having spent the last two and a half days with my best friend who I don’t see often and will very soon get married. I’d like to say that it was all worth it.

Taipei is a great place for a weekend getaway, especially if you live within the “proximity”. Of course now that I’m farther away it’s less convenient but still, a weekend is enough for anyone to eat all the crazy good local food in Taipei and go home with your mouth filled with ulcers (from all the “hot” food they have). Since we didn’t check out any of the attractions, I’d focus on all the food we had.

I wanted to start off our weekend activities “with a bang”, which means we went for Taiwanese spicy hot pot on Friday night. I heard and read so many good things about this particular restaurant one could imagine my delight when I found out that it’s located in a mall right beside our hotel. It’s basically a win on all fronts except for the fact that we had to go in our least attractive clothes and our hair tied up. We had a little section of the restaurant and a server all to ourselves. We ordered a half-half pot, with one side filled with pork broth and another with Taiwanese spicy flavorings. After the pot was heated up came dishes after dishes of beautifully curated food: the pork belly and Wagyu beef slices became flower petals, lettuces and mushrooms and all sorts of vegetables transformed into a floral arrangement… The food was literally too beautiful to eat and seeing our kind and patient server put in layers of food into both sides of the pot and fishing out cooked meat and vegetables for us simultaneously was fascinating. It was all like a show to us and at the rate we were eating with the amount of food we ordered, we were full very quickly.

   

Lunch on Saturday was no different in terms of how much we had (and over-ordering). I did not plan for anything since I wasn’t expecting everyone to be able to make it to lunch after the big night out I had anticipated. We ended up at a local Taiwanese restaurant that has small tables and serves up small dishes. With the limited space we had, we fit in as many plates we could: fried tofu, fermented eggs, bowls of prawn noodles, minced pork rice, rice with pork floss, bean curd custard… More than what we could finish (and the photo below included), but good for everyone to try a bit of everything. Nothing exceptional but quite nice overall.

For dinner we wanted to do European and somewhere nice. STAY (Simple Table by Alleno Yannick) was able to promise us that. A quick search on the name would bring you to recent news about him verbally abusing kitchen staff, but what it would also tell you is this 3-Michelin starred chef’s history and stint at the famed Parisian Hotel Le Meurice. What’s helpful about having a group of 12 was the ability to book private rooms and we can be as loud as we want. The menu was pre-ordered and we knew exactly what we were getting. Everything from the foie gras terrine, pan-seared scallops to the lobster bisque and ribeye steak was immaculate. One of my favorite desserts being the millefeuille was also done very well and just how I like it – crispy from top to bottom and incredibly hard to eat tidily.

      

I must say the most anticipated meal of the trip definitely had to go to our Sunday brunch at Mountain & Sea House. Again, it was one of the places where I read tons of great reviews on and both locals and tourists have raved about. We all knew we wanted some authentic Taiwanese food (if that makes sense) before we left Taipei and this restaurant was exactly what we needed. Set in an unassuming low-rise building with old Chinese paintings and tiles and wooden furniture, it’s every bit of where we’d expect to get some “authentic” local food. We didn’t understand most of what was written on the menu because of the fancy poetic titles of the dishes but we ordered almost all of them as suggested by our yet again oh-so patient server. I highlight this since patience is much needed in someone having to wait at least three full minutes before putting down a plate full of food on the table or having to present dishes in a certain way so that they are “camera-ready”. And that’s a lot of time given the number of dishes we ordered and at the same time they try their best to make sure we taste the food at their optimal temperature and sequence. It’s really not that easy trying to deal with us, and especially when there are more than 10 people individually attempting to take the most artistic photo as they can. Okay I digress, but it has to be pointed out. Anyway, we were completely blown away by the food. I don’t think I’ve ever said this more than once in my life about Chinese food from a restaurant (the only time being in Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong years and years ago). And the price turned out to be reasonable too even though we had to order a bit more to meet the minimum. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one at lunch who thought so highly of the food given all the “hmm’s and “ahh”s and “oh my god”s there were throughout the entire meal. The fried tofu with egg yolk was creamy but light, the chicken was served cold but smoked, the seafood congee was just so rich and hearty, the rice was chewy and soaked with flavors of chicken and mushroom, the fish was tender and with homemade sauce it just melts in your mouth… All very beautifully displayed and far more intricate than the ones at hot pot we encountered. This was on a whole new level of appreciating and enjoying the Chinese cuisine with local Taiwanese ingredients. Sure, there are lots of restaurants that serve up great Chinese food and are probably much, much cheaper but with all the thought and effort put into every single element of something as simple as a chicken wing, it’s definitely a place worth being recognized. It’s also what’s so special about Chinese food because after having that exceptional food, the first thing that came to my mind was to bring my family here. You always share all the food you have, and the more the merrier.

We definitely ended the trip on a high note (plus the much-needed massage session we got right after). Through a single meal, Mountain & Sea House managed to forever alter my perspective towards Taiwanese food to something far beyond even their beef noodles, their dumplings, their hot pots, their crazy fresh seafood and all the other things one can find in their night markets.

Although I’m glad that the trip was finally over and done with, and while I’m still somewhat recovering from the consecutive late nights, I’m happy that I was able to discover and experience things for the first time with old as well as new friends. No matter the difference we have as friends and as individuals, our appreciation for food will always tie us back together.

Travel: Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Barossa Valley, Australia

This was my most anticipated trip of the year going to Australia. I really enjoyed our last trip there, which was four years ago: driving by the sea along the Great Ocean Road to see the 12 Apostles, visiting wineries at Yarra Valley, getting the best coffee I’ve ever had in Melbourne, hitting all the nice beaches in Tasmania (Wineglass Bay is absolutely breathtaking), seeing a random wallaby chilling at a parking lot… not to mention encountering the biggest spiders I’ve ever seen in my life. The weather was nice every day, sunshine and blue skies, beautiful scenery. And since this time around we were visiting places we both haven’t been, it makes it even more exciting. We spent a total of six days in Australia, with two days each at Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and the Barossa. Was definitely too hectic and would advise anyone going to these few places (which most people do at the same trip) allocate a full two weeks. I think we were a bit too aggressive and Kangaroo Island is actually a lot bigger than I thought!

I gotta say Adelaide was a delightful place and it certainly surprised me as I didn’t expect that much from a somewhat small city (the airport is within 15-20 mins of the city center). We stayed at the Mayfair Hotel which was very nice and is located right across the street from the main shopping strip. The tram is free within the city and there are free bikes for rent, both of which we took full advantage of. With only two days in Adelaide we made sure we were able to fit everything in so we looked up opening hours of markets and booked all the restaurants we wanted to try. We got ourselves some delicious paella for lunch and a nice cup of brewed coffee at the Adelaide Central Market. Walking down the aisles, you’d come across people greeting one another, some handing out free samples of food, some shouting out their daily specials. It’s really how you’d imagine a food market to be like. We then spent the afternoon walking around the Botanical Garden. I’m not sure what it is about them but we’ve always enjoyed walking and resting in parks and gardens if there’s one around us: London, Kyoto, Tokyo, San Francisco, Paris… and my boyfriend always ends up napping while we’re at it. I guess it’s a good way to just relax and enjoy the nature, which we don’t get a whole lot of in Hong Kong and Singapore. The next day we went to yet another market, Adelaide Farmers’ Market, which happens every Sunday. We got there a bit late with our bikes but still managed to get some toasts and paella (again!) for brunch. We biked along the river through Elder Park and Grundy Gardens and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was such a nice day to just people watch and relax. It was another one of those days.

   

   

      

   

   

   

     

   

   

  

We set off for Kangaroo Island first thing on our third day in Australia. The pier was actually farther to the city center than we thought and we had to call and get on the next ferry. The Sealink people were really nice on the phone while obviously we were panicking and rushing through rain to get ourselves there on time. Of course we made it and the ferry was a short 45 min ride. The weather also got better once we arrived on the Island and made our way to Sunset Winery for some artisan cheese and wine for lunch. We were the only ones there and had the balcony all to ourselves where we had amazing views of the sea. It was SO NICE seriously. I didn’t want to leave. We drove along the coast and visited Prospect Hill, Kingscote and Emu Bay before settling ourselves in our hotel in American River. We made it a point to wake up early the next day and drove all the way to the other side of the island so that we’d have enough time to get around Flinders Chase National Park. Who knew Kangaroo Island was so big?! The difference in temperature throughout the day is quite significant and it’s especially windy and chilly along the coast. The walk to Admiral’s Arch was beautiful and the waves are simply impressive to watch all the while spotting fur seals diving in and out of them. You’d miss them because of their color but there are tons of these seals lazying around on the rocks as well. The boardwalk is close enough for people to have a good look at them. Our next stop in the park was the Remarkable Rocks. You gotta give it to them Australians for the name but the rocks are quite remarkable themselves. Some of them are covered by orange colored lichen and with the bright blue sky and sea as the backdrop, certainly make an incredible picture. It’s a pity all this scenery had to be enjoyed in a rather hurried manner as we had to drive all the way back to the pier to catch our ferry, but we refuse to leave the island until we saw at least one live kangaroo on Kangaroo Island (sadly, we’d seen a lot of dead ones along the road while driving)! So we went for the Heritage Walk near the visitor center at the entrance of the park which promises views of an abundance of wildlife (you can imagine my excitement as we walked deeper and deeper into the woods). We actually saw a lot of colorful birds we’d never seen before and they’re just everywhere we go. What we also saw were flocks and flocks of geese, walking about and making noises we thought were of kangaroos’… Then there was the slightly more exciting wildlife – the koalas. They’re obviously all perched up on branches and so while we had to be careful not to step on one more of those goose droppings, we were constantly looking up at all the trees to see whether there are any fur-like ball-shaped cuddly creatures on them. Although we were in such an impatient state, we managed to spot a few (some asleep, some stared down at us) but then continued on to our path in search of what we were really there looking for. And we did! Boyfriend said all of a sudden, halfway through our walk “there’s one over there!” in his best effort not to shout but whispered loud enough and in a tone for me to know what that meant. And there it was, hopping about right in front of us. In a matter of seconds people seemed to appear from out of nowhere (the trail had been quite desolate without any traces of human being thus far) and everyone just stood still, careful not to scare it off. We saw another lone kangaroo doing its thing before we left the trail but it quickly hopped away. Not feeling completely satisfied but I guess mission accomplished. Boyfriend was more excited with the last two days ahead of us anyway, where we visited the Barossa Valley.

   

  

  

   

It took us a while to navigate and find our bed and breakfast that night. We even went into some random guy’s backyard thinking that that was it. Poor guy got woken up by us and his dog barking. Blinkinstal is located on Tanunda Hills overlooking vineyards and farms. Sue manages the cozy apartments and in the mornings, cooks up some pretty good scrambled eggs and toasts breakfast. The room itself is cozy with a fireplace and it has everything you’d need for a restful stay. The Barossa Valley itself is really quite something. It’s really different from the Provence region in France as it has a lot of greenery in the fields and farms, full of grass and trees, whereas the South of France seems to be a lot more bare and dry. Anyway all in all we did two full days of wine tasting and the highlight was definitely Penfolds, where we booked an exclusive session to taste their Grange and other premium wines. Needless to say we did get a bit tipsy after all that wine drinking! We are however disappointed to say that Hentley Farm was a bit of a let down. Going there for their tasting menu was definitely one of the things that I looked forward to the most going on this trip but it did not really blow me away. The setting is nice and the service is great. But we were just not very impressed by the food. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good and the dishes were well thought out but I guess we were expecting something more than just good. That’s somehow a problem that people nowadays tend to have as we are constantly spoiled by all the great food that we are lucky enough to have tasted from all around the world and we’re just not willing to settle for something less than what we’ve had.

   

Our trip to Australia was another unforgettable one with memories that I’ll truly treasure. I’m grateful for this opportunity to not only have expanded my visual, sensory and gustatory experiences, but also to have spent an amazing time with my beloved. It’s crazy how we already spend day in and day out together but it never seems to be enough. I guess that’s why I just enjoy these travels with him so much more.

Restaurants and bars we tried:

• Press Food & Wine, Adelaide
• Udaberri, Adelaide
• Street ADL, Adelaide
• Artisans of Barossa
• Vintner’s Bar & Grill, Barossa Valley
• Hentley Farm, Barossa Valley
• Peel Street, Adelaide

Wine tastings:

• Sunset Winery, Kangaroo Island
• Henschke, Keyneton
• Artisans of Barossa
• Kaesler, Barossa Valley
• Penfolds, Barossa Valley
• Two Hands Wines, Barossa Valley
• Hentley Farm, Barossa Valley

Travel: Provence and Paris, France

Although it’s already become an annual trip to visit the boyfriend’s family, I’m always excited to go back to France. The dry and hot air of Provence, the deafening echoes of the cicadas, driving past rows and rows of vines, olive trees or lavender fields, the same bees that keep coming back during every meal. I love it all. We’d pick strawberries, eggplants and tomatoes from the garden and spend afternoons in the pool or playing petanque. We’d take the motorbike and climb up Mont Ventoux, baffled by the amount of cyclists who’d pick no other time but when the sun is blazing at 39 degrees at midday to brave this colossal mountain. Boyfriend surprised me with a night’s stay at one of our favourite hotels Crillon Le Brave, which we visited three years ago and witnessed our first ever “moon-rise”! He even booked the same table for dinner that night, which was on the furthest corner of the restaurant terrace. With live music in the background and the best view of Mont Ventoux at the back, this place is truly magical and you feel like you can live there forever…

   

  

   

  

   

Holidays in Provence are always too short, but what’s different this year was instead of spending a few extra days at the family’s apartment by the sea at Theole-sur-Mer, I’d chosen to spend them in Paris. The city has always been at the back of my mind ever since I lived there seven years ago, and it induces a different yet somewhat familiar feeling in me every time I step foot into Paris. It is as if seeing an old friend, telling me that she’s been waiting for me all this time and I’m finally back again. I get as nervous as I am eager to see Paris time and time again. We stayed at Mama Shelter this time, a hip yet isolated hotel in the 20^th. We were quite surprised to find the bar and restaurant completely packed with locals the two nights we stayed there, given how empty the whole of Paris is during this time of summer. I liked its proximity to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery as I’ve never been, so we spent some time walking down brick lanes and sifting through the tombstones. The only one that we really wanted to see was that of historical lovers Heloise and Abelard, whose story once resembled that of ours. Yet another surprise, I was brought to a cute alley, Passage des Panoramas, that night for dinner. As out of place as it is, Passage 53 is a tiny restaurant of six tables. Food was phenomenal and I had the best lobster dish I’ve ever had in my life!

On our last full day in Paris, we spent quite some time looking for available Velibs after stuffing ourselves at brunch at Les Enfants Perdus. It was so worth it though, touring around the city’s attractions on bikes and you end up saving a lot of time. We took a break at the Jardin du Luxembourg and people watched. So relaxing to just sit in a nice garden to watch the world go by and then you realize you’re actually sitting in front of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. How surreal. Simple reminded me of how much I’ve missed it. Dinner was at a cute little restaurant, Cinq Mars, which is tucked in a quiet street near Musee d’Orsay. The sky turned into all these beautiful colors when we walked out. It’s actually nice having the city relatively empty (minus all the tourists!), which makes you feel somewhat special and it’s just there for you to enjoy. We strolled through the Jardin des Tuileries and got to the Place de la Concorde, took one last look at the Tour Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe and said our silent goodbyes.

   

  

  

  

   

It was those few months living in Paris seven years ago that made me fall completely for the country. Everything about it, everything in it. My love for France has since been unconditional. And Paris will always and forever be a place I long to return.

Travel: Bangkok, Thailand

It’s been a few years since I was last in Bangkok. All I remembered from my last trip was how good the food was. I’ve always liked Thai food: the rich flavors, the spiciness, the variety. What I failed to remember though, was how bad the traffic was. It took us well over an hour to get to our hotel from the airport, which was fine given how far airports usually are from city centers. But our subsequent cab rides during our four days in Bangkok took up the majority of our time rather than being at the destinations we were brought to. Not to mention being ripped off by every single cab driver and we got so fed up that we eventually decided to use Uber after our second day there. Funnily enough, both normal cab drivers and those of Uber seem to have absolutely no clue where things are in the city (even the very popular restaurants). So Google-mapping and making the wrong turns ate up even more of our time…

Anyway, now that the downside is out of the way, let’s get back to the good stuff – the food. I have to mention that it was clear from the start that it would be all that we were doing in Bangkok and we’d stuff ourselves with everything we could find. I also have to admit that I left all the researching to my friends and one of them even got recommendations from a local, so I trusted them to take me to authentic places. Having said that, we went from having street food to fine dining, from queuing for the apparently best Pad Thai in Bangkok to learning how to make our own from a local chef. Some of the photos I took couldn’t possibly do the food justice but they were all really good. We were having far more than three meals a day on average. The more we had, the more we found we have yet to try. Places to return, places to discover. Highlight of the trip was definitely the cooking class. People would say it was another rip-off, and given the price and what we cooked, it probably was. But it really did provide me, a foreigner, a different perspective to how their food is made and why they taste the way they do. Like how the use of real coconut water, milk and cream in various dishes would result in very different tastes and texture, or how adding in sweet, sour and spicy ingredients all into one dish can really elevate its flavors. I was taught there are no short-cuts to making a great dish, and also what it feels like frying chilli for the first time (I was immediately sobbing and choking at the same time).

People always say it doesn’t matter where you go, what’s important is your company and this trip to Bangkok holds true to that. It’s great sharing new experiences with friends who are close to you yet you don’t see often. Last year was Taipei, this time was Thailand, I wonder where we’ll be going next…