Desserts in Taiwan

Grass Jelly, Taro Balls, Taro Ice Cream and Red Beans on shaved ice

Ask me ONE thing about Taiwan at this moment, I would tell you it is the DESSERTS that I miss. In Taiwan, they call it 吃冰, literally meaning "to eat ice". A lot of their "shaved ice" desserts are served on ice, similar to ice kacang. But that does not mean you only eat the ice.

Street food, good food, yummy snacks can be found at:

Nearby temples - 庙 口 小吃
Night markets - 夜市
Old historic - 老街
Close to major universities

This is one of the desserts that I miss while I was looking at my photo files in the folder. The dessert photo told me "You have not posted me yet". Oops, I am sorry. How could I? I have already left Taiwan sometime ago and I have forgotten about this.

Oh well, this happens when you save the best for last and when, the BEST gets FORGOTTEN. Yucks! I hate myself for doing that.

There are many dessert shops that specialize in Grass Jelly (仙草 ) and Taro Balls (芋圆) Desserts. Do check them out when you are there in Taiwan.




For all the other Taiwan episodes, do check out my Taiwan Eating link under Labels.

Tag: desserts, ice

California Strawberries

Strawberry picking time! We headed for strawberry picking in the morning, at our favorite U-Pick at Swanton Berrry Farm. Bad news bestowed! The strawberry field was quarantined due to suspected moths (an agricultural pest!)! Heck! I thought only humans were quarantined for the H1N1 swine flu! Now, our favorite strawberry field has been quarantined too! With just a little good luck on our side, we were recommended to go to their neighboring fields. Phew! It sent bright spark to all our faces. We thought we have spent ONE HOUR down Highway 17 for nothing. Ok. At least, there is something. Some 'healthy" strawberries for us to pick.


After that mild exercise of picking strawberries, we drove further down to our favorite cioppino stall. I am sure Phil's Fish Market is no stranger to those who have watched FoodNetwork since Phil was featured before. And this is definitely not our first time there. With A&S with us this time, we ordered more food. Seafood chowder, fried calamari (rings and tentacles) and of course, a huge bowl of slurpilicious cioppino. It was completely satisfying!


Indian food @ Peacock, Santa Clara

In our one week in the Bay Area, we also tried two establishments that serve Dum Biryani. We had take-out from Kabab and Currys, at Santa Clara (famous for its Dum Biryani) and dine-in at Peacock, also at Santa Clara(above).

Dum Biryani is a famous Hyderabad dish, where the meat (chicken, mutton or lamb) is layered with the rice and cooked under low flame in a sealed container. This style of cooking is sometimes called Dum Pukht. And naturally, biryani cooked this way is called Dum Biryani. Yum yum yum! and not *Stupid Dum Dum* ... ... ^o^


I like basmati rice a lot - and so what happens when basmati rice is mildly infused with the aroma of the chicken and lamb and all the spices ? I love thee even more!

How to choose a web host

An engineer by training, I am used to things in table-format. For this, the rating site on website hosting has won my heart. At a glance, I could clearly see the Top 10 Web Hosting Providers organized neatly by the provider, price, space, traffic and by reviews. Any one of you interested to get a web host for your personal domain can really check out this website. In addition, there are specific categories for web hosting to choose from. If you are looking to start a forum website, they have a category under Best Forum Hosting. If you are looking to start a blog, they also have a category under Best Blog Hosting, which provides information on an affordable web hosting plan. This site also has Articles for you to empower yourself with the knowledge of web hosting. Rather than hard-selling on web hosting, having knowledge of it and being able to choose wisely is a smarter way to go ahead when picking your web host. Even when you are confused by technical terms such as server, hardware and traffic, do not be. This site explains them in simple terms. So now, who won the Best Web Hosting Awards in September 2009? Check it out and you are on your way to your preferred web host.

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwood State Park.

It was no surprise where we were.


No, we did not travel back to California to see the California redwoods. It was a short day trip during the week we were there.

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwood State Park.

More photos and food here.

Discounts on Accor Hotels - Accor Hotels City Super Sale

I was pleasantly surprised to find hotel rates in Christchurch, New Zealand going below US$80. Those hotels with Accor Hotels City Super Sale tag at the side, are going for less than US$60! This is surely a good deal. My last visit to New Zealand was more than five years ago, and I would really like to visit New Zealand again. With hotel rates going on sale, what else can stop me? It is the best time to travel. Airlines are also offering promotions and discounts, enticing people to travel amidst the economic crisis and the recent flu pandemic. With discounted airfares and hotel rates, it is really a value-for-money travel package.

With Accor Hotels City Super Sale, travelers will be able to take advantage of savings of up to 60% (hotel rates starts as low as US$25 per night). However, this will be for a limited time only. You have to book on-line between 23 - 29 June, for stays between July 10 and September 30, 2009. Cities "on-sale" include Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hanoi, Manila, Mumbai, Sydney and Auckland. Have you picked any of these as your vacation destination?

If you are visiting Singapore for some major events taking place in the second half of 2009 such as F1 and Asian Youth Games, there are hotels such as Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay, Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel and Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen that are worth considering - they are all running below US$100 in the city super sale!

Ukiah, California

At Ukiah, California


The vegetarian restaurant location within the temple.


Enjoying a happy meal with friends :)

This is a continuation from Trip to California 18-30 Dec 2008.

Tag: vegetarian, ukiah

New consumer network - Acobay

Have you owned a KitchenAid yet? In the new consumer network Acobay, you can start sharing ideas, thoughts, opinions about consumer products and guess what - there is a Home Appliances category, just for me!