Wednesday, February 21, 2007

India

...And we're off! See you in a month!

posted by Pamplemousse @ 3:26 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 08, 2007

My Current Desktop Background

Currently exhibited wall mural from Pixie, a local artist gallery and comic book/figurine shop around the corner from us. Seems to be an unofficial centre for local artist initiatives. They have a different local artist display each month.

I love this one. Brian says they look like lost children who have stayed up all night in a zoo.

posted by Pamplemousse @ 11:14 PM 0 comments

Something Fresh, and Something A Little Too Fresh... Adventures in Taiwan cont'd.

OK... number one on my back(b)log is Jan 26 birthday dinner...

We decided to just take a gander around our eatery-packed downtown neighbourhood since I wanted to try something new and we hadn't had the foresight to ask for recommendations.

For my birthday, Lady Fortune brought me just what I wanted: the foodie's Holy Grail - something I hadn't tried or seen before. Not different like live octopus tentacles or monkey brain, not something really out there. Not crazy, just fresh - a food trend passed down from Tokyo.

Japanese Pancake Dinner
(no English name, but you can find it at: No.13, Alley 126, Zhongxiao East Rd. Sec.4, Taipei, one pancake feeds 2 as a meal, 4 with other dishes, ~NT$250).


Each table is equipped with its own griddle, and Japanese knick knacks line the shelves. Posters on the wall direct you as to how to cook your Japanese pancake, helpful diagrams included.

Step One: Mix.


We ordered shrimp and beef pancake with fixings. It comes in a kind of bannock dough mix.

Step Two: When the grill is hot, pour on the pancake mix.

Step Two: Wait ten or fifteen minutes. Flip. Wait another 5-10 minutes.

Step Three: Load on the toppings. (At this point I mentioned to the server that it was kind of like Japanese pizza. He seemed offended.
Helpful Tip: Don't compare Japanese food to Western food out loud to Japanese people.
(Topping Legend: Red: tomato(?) White: Mayo with a tinge of wasabi Green: No idea. Some kind of herb Pink: Dried Octopus flakes.)

Step Five: Slice like a pizza. (See! It wasn't that offbase.) Serve it up with spicy wasabi mayo dip:


Not wanting the experience to be over yet, I ordered a stir-fried noodle dish. First they cooked the veggies and meat separately.

Then, they tossed it to dramatic effect.

The final touches:
Delicious.
And a fantastic deal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later in the night we went to a Goodbye Party for a colleague. As Brian took a bathroom break, I experienced an expat phantasm...

Naked Drunken Expats in an Asian Bar. ...I didn't think it would actually happen outside of second-hand stories. I had to blink a few times disbelievingly. And sure enough, just before Brian returned from the washroom, like a good mirage, it was gone. Shirts back on, noisy bar chatter returned.

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posted by Pamplemousse @ 9:41 PM 1 comments