Seaworld San Diego, California

Following San Diego - Part I, here is the famous killer whale in Seaworld, San Diego.

San Diego, California

For some reason, San Diego just did not attracted me that much. We took a short road trip from Bay Area, California to San Diego, California. And really, San Diego Seaworld has been over-hyped! The rides were so-so and the shows were ok. We made it for the Sea Lions show, Dolphin Training, and of course Shamu, Shamu, Shamu!

This is the Dolphin Training Session.

 
 









Flamingo Walk

Up next! The ever famous whale :)

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!