Taiwan Gradtrip (Food) Diary: Day 3 - Kenting/Kaohsiung

Hi guys - I just got back my 8D7N graduation trip to Taiwan! We travelled to three main destinations in Taiwan: Kenting National Park, Kaohsiung City and Taipei City. The trip was amazing - was filled with fun, adventure, laughs and of course, wonderful food which I am desperate to share with you! In the next few posts I will write about where we went, what we did and the food we ate - sort of like a travel diary so I can remember this fantastic trip. I hope you'll find it entertaining and helpful if you decide to travel to Taiwan in the future!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Itinerary: Day 3

Breakfast > Packed up > Lunch at Kenting Main Street > Travel to Kaohsiung (2-hour van ride) > Checked into hotel > Dinner at beef noodles shop > Walk along Love River and take Boat ride

We didn't do much this day as we had to travel back to Kaohsiung for the next part of our trip. We were going to visit Kenting Farm in the morning, but it was raining too hard for us to go out :( I thought I would be able to live up my Pioneer Woman dream by taking photos of cows and pastures :(

Eat: Lunch at Yi Ben Lo Mei

This is a place that specialises in soya sauce dishes. It's a casual restaurant where the customers can pick their own ingredients from the variety of meats, vegetables and noodles, which is then cooked up with their specialty soya sauce.

I chose to have vegetables, an egg, some pork balls with mushrooms and some noodles. I really liked their sauce as its slightly sweet, not too salty or heavy and it had hints of spice. The noodles were the best; they had a texture similar to that of the noodles in Mi Goreng (Indonesian noodles) and it really mopped up all the sauce, so it was very tasty! Price depends on what you pick to eat - probably around NT100-200.

Eat: Dinner at Gang Yuan Beef Noodles

My, my...even mentioning the words "beef noodles" can make me salivate instantly...I really miss it from Taiwan! First we ordered some cold cucumber sticks with garlic, sesame and chilli oil, which were very tasty and refreshing.

As for the beef noodles, we had the tossed variety this time and it was just absolutely delicious! The noodles were thick and chewy - my kinda noodles - and the sauce was just thick enough to slightly coat the noodles. The beef was tender and well-flavoured. Perfect eaten with a dash of chilli oil.

We shared a bowl of noodles between two, and a plate of cucumbers between 4 - NT63 each.

Do: Love River, Kaohsiung

This river is supposedly a landmark of Kaohsiung, but it wasn't very interesting to see. A boat ride at NT80 each takes you up and down the river, but when we went it was almost Dragon Boat Festival so we only travelled up half the river.

Eat: Macarons from Le Petit Prince Bakery

The macarons were quite dissapointing - they a bit too dry and crumbly, not much flavour and very little filling. NT120 per bag.

Taiwan Gradtrip (Food) Diary: Day 2 - Kenting

Hi guys - I just got back my 8D7N graduation trip to Taiwan! We travelled to three main destinations in Taiwan: Kenting National Park, Kaohsiung City and Taipei City. The trip was amazing - was filled with fun, adventure, laughs and of course, wonderful food which I am desperate to share with you! In the next few posts I will write about where we went, what we did and the food we ate - sort of like a travel diary so I can remember this fantastic trip. I hope you'll find it entertaining and helpful if you decide to travel to Taiwan in the future!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Itinerary: Day 2

Breakfast > Sightseeing around Kenting [ChuanFan Rock (船帆石), Elulanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔)] > Lunch at HengChun Ancient Town > Dead Coral Beach (星砂灣) > MaoBiTou Park (貓鼻頭) > Water Activities at ChuanFan Rock Beach (船帆石沙灘) > Dinner at Amy's Cucina

Do: Sightseeing Around Kenting

ChuanFan Rock (船帆石)
A rock that is apparently eroded to look like a ship's sail. From the side as seen on the photo, it is supposed to look like President Nixon's profile. It was raining like nobody's business when we passed by, so we only took photos from the car.


Elulanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔)
This was built by the British when they were in Taiwan. A small trail from there leads to the most southern point of Taiwan (which again we didn't go due to the rain). It was still pouring like mad, so we were all donned in kiddy yellow plastic raincoats!


Dead Coral Beach (星砂灣)
The beach is not composed of fine sand, but rather, thousands of irregularly shaped pieces of dead coral that has been washed onshore! We had a fun time finding corals that resembled certain objects...and finally the sun came out at this point.


MaoBiTou Park (貓鼻頭)
The views from here was just incredible - you could see a huge stretch of where the South China Sea meets the Luzon Strait.

Eat: Lunch at HengChun Ancient Town

Braised Pork Noodles and Soya Sauce Eggs

We wouldn't have noticed this humble, dimly-lit noodles store if our driver had not pointed it our for us. Apparently it has been cooking up these bowls of delicious noodles for 60 years already - the old lady cooking them up told us that the bowls used have been there as long as the shop has been in business!

Their eggs were just awesome - lightly drizzled with a thick, slightly sweet, oyster sauce reduction, and went really well with the eggs. There is a choice of either noodles in soup or tossed noodles in a sauce. I went for the tossed option - the braised pork was very flavourful and tender. The noodles were a tad too soft for my liking, but tossed with the sauce, a few dashes of black vinegar and chili sauce, it was good enough for me to finish the whole bowl. (NT40/bowl of noodles; NT 40/plate of 4 eggs)

Tofu Dessert
This is a milk-flavoured tofu pudding dessert, with red bean soup. I loved the milky flavour of the tofu, and it went really well with the generous amount of red beans. They also sell their tofu with a huge variety of other toppings. (NT35)

Do: Water Activities

So, after sightseeing and our stomachs taken care of, we went to do some water activities at ChuanFan Rock Beach (船帆石沙灘). We thought it would be something chilled; but in fact the activities were REALLY exhilarating. We were screaming, shouting, and holding on for dear life! In fact, our triceps and bicpes and back muscles hurt for a few days - even wearing our backpacks hurt. Nonetheless thinking back it was really fun - despite me falling into the water upon a particular sharp bend! (NT450/per person, 3 different rides, around 1.5hrs)

Eat: Dinner at Amy's Cucina

Amy's Cucina is a restaurant located towards the end of Kenting Main Street. The eight of us ordered food to share:

Pizza: We ordered two flavours, Supreme and Mexican Beef. Both had lots of cheese (yay), and I particularly liked their chunky tomato sauce - it was chock full tomato flavour and was laid on quite thickly. Base was a bit too dry.

Baked Seafood Rice: They were very generous with the seafood - prawns, clams, scallops and fish...delicious combined with the creamy white sauce and golden brown cheese topping.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta: The pesto cream sauce was the best - the fresh basil scent and flavour really came through. Chicken pieces were a bit dry.

Spaghetti Carbonara: Lots of bacon and a very rich sauce. Nothing too special, but it's all good as it's hard to find a decent Carbonara in HK!

Baked Cheesecake: Perfect for me as the had the slightly sour lemon flavour that I love to balance the richness of the filling, and the browned top made it look very appetizing. Base went well with the filling, not too sweet and quite buttery.

We shared all of this, NT200 each.

Eat: Mangoes!!

Yes, even something as simple as mangoes is worth writing about. Our driver treated us to these mangoes, and oh, I haven't had such sweet and fragrant mangoes for a long long time! They were really juicy too, and none of the ones we had were sour. Perfect end to the day!

Note on Transport: We hired a driver and 8-person van for the day, which cost us NT5000 in total. They will also help plan your day and recommend what to do so you can get the most our of your day. Service time is around 8-9 hours. A great option for us car license-less students!
(Leader Travel Service Co, leader1388@yahoo.com.tw)

Taiwan Gradtrip (Food) Diary: Day 1 - Kenting

Hi guys - I just got back my 8D7N graduation trip to Taiwan! We travelled to three main destinations in Taiwan: Kenting National Park, Kaohsiung City and Taipei City. The trip was amazing - was filled with fun, adventure, laughs and of course, wonderful food which I am desperate to share with you!

In the next few posts I will write about where we went, what we did and the food we ate - sort of like a travel diary so I can remember this fantastic trip. I hope you'll find it entertaining and helpful if you decide to travel to Taiwan in the future!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Itinerary: Day 1

10am flight from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung > Took a rented van to Kenting National Park (2 hour ride) > Hotspring at SiChongQi area (四重溪) > Dinner and Snacks at HengChun Ancient Town (恆春鎮) > ChuHuo Scenic Area (出火) > More snacking along Kenting Main Street

Accommodation in Kenting

We stayed at a hostel called Farm Guest House (牧場旅棧), where the eight of us stayed in a small hut to ourselves. It had two bedrooms, two toilets and a little 'living room' area, and the hut was adorably decorated with a cow theme! They also provide delicious breakfast, which were freshly made, toasted sandwiches as well as pudding, milk tea and soy milk. The location was perfect for us - less than 10 minutes walk from the busy Kenting Main Street, but just far away enough for some peace and quiet.

Do: Hotspring

There are many hot springs clustered around the SiChongQi area. The Japanese-style one we went to had around 6 pools, with varying temperatures. Some hot springs require you to be nude, so remember to ask before entering! Ours cost NT220 for unlimited time.

Eat: HengChun Ancient Town

Beef Noodles

Our driver recommended this shop to us. We didn't want to stuff ourselves just yet as we wanted to leave room for food later in the night, so we ordered a plate of vegetables (NT100) and 4 bowls of beef noodles (NT80/bowl) to share. The soup base was my favourite component; very rich, mildly spicy and was packed with the aromatic flavours of spices. The noodles were not chewy enough for my liking, and the beef was quite flavourful and tender.

Deep-fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Chips

Whilst walking around the main street, we spotted this small shop that sold freshly fried food, and we ordered some to share. The chicken and chips were fried upon ordering and was then tossed with some parsley and pepper-salt. I loved the chips as the sweet, tender centre contrasted really well with the seasonings. The chicken was succulent and surprisingly, not overcooked. Unfortunately it wasn't open yet when we went back for more :( (NT160 total)

Green Beans Shaved Ice
Our driver treated us for this, how nice! A specialty of the town, it consisted of a small mountain of shaved ice on a bed of chewy, tapioca 'noodles' and nata de coco drizzled generously with a sticky syrup and cooked green beans. It was a bit too sweet for our taste buds, but it was very refreshing!

Do: Fireworks at ChuHuo

The ChuHuo Special Scenic Area's attraction are the spontaneous flames on the ground. We brought fireworks from HengChun and ignited them here, where we did some "Fireworks Painting". Don't worry, it is perfectly safe and none of us got hurt. When we went pass the area the next time, the flames were still burning brightly despite the rain!

Eat: Kenting Main Street

Kenting Main Street is the heart of the area and was bustling with locals, tourists and vendors. There are numerous numbers of stalls selling a range of local snacks, restaurants offering a variety of cuisines (Japanese, Italian, Thai) as well as many shops selling beach clothing and souvenirs.

Green Tea and Milk Tall Soft Serve Ice Cream
A refreshing treat to kick off our crazy food night! It was very very tall, and despite being slightly too watery, the green tea flavour really came through and was perfect with the milk taste. (NT 30)

Grilled Meat and Sausages
I had a grilled sausage, which tasted more like a Chinese preserved sausage so it was a bit too heavy and a tad oily, hence took up valuable stomach capacity! I'd definitely recommend sharing this. They also serve grilled glutinous rice sausages, lamb and pork ribs. (NT30/sausage)

Korean BBQ Beef (Bulgogi) Roll

This is my favourite find on the whole street - it's just SO good! The seaweed is the Korean kind - crispy and salty - which wraps around shredded lettuce, kimchi, corn and a generous amount of juicy bulgogi. The meld of salty, sweet, spicy and savoury is just perfect! They also have other choices of chicken and pork. (NT60)

Mini Dorayaki
This stall sells a myriad of dorayaki (Japanese pancake sandwiches) flavours, such as red bean, custard, black sesame, peanut, strawberry and chocolate. The pancake is quite fluffy and not too sweet, but overall it was a bit dry. (NT100 for 7)

Fresh Milk
The owner claims that the milk is fresh from the nearby Kenting Farm. The consistency is similar to that of Hong Kong milk, but a little more rich and creamier. I love drinking milk, so it was still good for me. (NT30).

And after all the crazy eating, we went back to our hostel and had a good night's sleep.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

Well, I'm finally back - I've officially finished the IB Diploma on Monday and my summer holiday has started! But strangely enough, and I really don't know exactly why - I haven't been dying to bake after exams. (Gasp!)

Maybe it's because prom is coming up next week and I want to make sure my dress fits, or because there's no one to share my bakes with, or because I gained an absymal number of pounds from too much snacking during revision, or simply because I was just exhausted after 4 weeks of hell and all I wanted to do was just...sleep.


However I did do some cooking. I really ought to try a few new dishes this summer, and learn a few Chinese dishes off my mum, because once I'm off to uni I'll have to feed myself, and I can't just eat brownies and cookies all day! At the moment I'm very keen on trying some Japanese and Korean dishes. Anyway, I made this Chicken and Mushroom Risotto for dinner the other day and it was not bad at all!


It's the first time I've made risotto using the stir-stir-stir-over-the-stove method (I tried oven-baked risotto before) and I must say it's pretty tiring, standing over the stove for almost an hour making this dish! It just seemed forever before the rice would absorb the stock become soft.


But the result was totally worth it. Even without the addition of cream, the risotto was still perfectly creamy but not heavy, the rice was done just right - soft with just a bit of bite. I used shiitake and white button mushrooms which gave a lovely blend of mushroom flavours. I can't wait to make risotto again - probably one with sun dried tomatoes next!

(Also fingers crossed that my baking crave will come back soon :S I really want to use this summer well and try baking new things!)


Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4

250g arborio rice
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
300g mushrooms, sliced
4 chicken fillets, cut into bite size pieces
1L chicken stock
20g butter
3 tbsp olive oil
40g parmesan, grated
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the chicken pieces in 2tbsp olive oil until golden brown and cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Heat the remaining oil and butter in a large pan, add the garlic and onions and cook until onion is translucent. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms to the onions and stir around to coat them with oil. Cook until mushrooms soften and release their juices.
4. Stir in the rice. A ladle at a time, add in the hot chicken stock and stir the mushroom-rice mixture until all the stock is absorbed. Repeat until rice is cooked - chewy, but not yet mushy - taste to check.
5. Season risotto with salt and pepper, and stir in the cooked chicken pieces. Stir in the grated parmesan. Plate up the risotto, and sprinkle on more parmesan prior to serving.

A Temporary Farewell

For those who check out my Flickr photostream from time to time, you may have seen a sudden bombardment of random school photos - class photos, photos of people dressed up as soliders or fictional characters and photos with 200-odd heads peeking at you.

As you may have guessed, last week was my last ever week of high school and the whole of Year 13 dressed up according to different themes for each day - we had "Uniform with a Twist Day", "Fictional Characters Day" (my friends and I dressed up as red card soldiers from Alice in the Wonderland), "LAIRE Day" (which is basically everyone dressing up as warriors of sorts and we had a whole year 'battle' at lunchtime) and on the last day, we all wore our KGV Class of 2010 shirts that one of our classmates designed.

I guess the title of this post has two meanings. To my readers, I'm going to be having my first exam in exactly 13 days from today, so I will be initiating a baking and blogging ban on myself. It's going to be hard on me, but these exams, strictly speaking is going to determine the next phase of my life - university. Maybe it's the Chinese genes or something, I'm quite a study freak, so in the next 6 weeks my life is going to be revolved around study notes and past papers. My last exam is on May 24th and I promise that I'll be posting then, so a temporary farewell!
To my year group and myself, it's sure been hard to say farewell to high school. After all, it is the place we have gone to everyday and grown up in for the last 7 years. We've all changed so much, matured so much, experienced so much and learned so much more than we would have imagined upon of first step into KGV. To quote from our Head Girl's extremely fitting speech on our last assembly - "I came to this school a one man wolf pack." I think this line really says it all, and I am so glad that in these 7 years I have met so many people, made friends with so many people, cried and laughed and argued with and baked for so many people!

I really could not ask for anymore; I'm sure this is going to be a temporary farewell, even though we all part our ways for our next phase in life, I'm going to remember my high school life in my heart and that will certainly never leave me. And here I'd like to make a shout out: "Thank you, KGV Class of 2010 for making my high school life truly memorable, I had the time of my life. I wish everyone of you the best of luck in the future. I love you all!!"

And of course, I wouldn't have imagined to not bake anything for my last ever high school lessons! Here are the things I baked throughout the week, and coming to think of it...it's the last ever time I will for my classmates and friends :(

For our English Tea Party, I made a fruit tart - a sweet tart crust filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with strawberries and peaches. My teacher also baked us a cheesecake, YTH baked chocolate cupcakes and we also had crisps, and Earl Grey tea to make it a real 'tea' party!

For Biology, I baked some chocolate cupcakes. I tried to make a caramel cream cheese frosting, but it failed as the caramel was bitter (I just fail with wet caramels) so I woke up at 5am to make another frosting. Because I was totally still half asleep and lacking creative juices at that time, I decorated them with white chocolate piped into some diagrams we learn in Biology. They're so badly done I'd probably get no marks, but Biologists, can you guess what they are? :)

For French, I baked madeleines. I took the fuss to bake them early in the morning too, so they tasted really fresh when we had them. I love the lemony flavour of classic madeleines as it balances the butter and sugar out. Can't stop munching on them!


I also baked some Chocolate Coffee Sandwich Cookies. The filling is a white chocolate ganache with some instant coffee. I totally forgot to take photos of these, so photo courtesy of my friend A. (form class buddy :D) Recipe from Joy the Baker.

Well this is it for now...I'll be back in late May!!