Taipei International Flora Exposition

My uncle and I went to the Taipei International Flora Exposition yesterday.  The event is in Taiwan from November 2010 through April 2011, and is the first time the International Horticulture Exhibit is in Taiwan.  Even though we were there from 9am until 4pm, we saw maybe only 1/3 of the entire exhibit.

The exhibit itself is in downtown Taipei, to show an urban green living space, and it is about 0.4 square miles.  There are 4 major areas, with 14 pavilions highlighting various themes.  There is an exhibit on renewable resources and energy, one on the future, and an area showcasing designs and flowers from other countries.  There are also living roofs that you can walk on.  In all, there are over 800 different orchids and over 329 million plants.

The only downside of the Expo is the sheer number of people who are there.  To further compound the problem, most of Taiwan is now on New Years break so they don't have to work this week.  For several of the pavilions, you must line up first to get tickets that then direct you to come back at a set time.  For the most popular exhibits, these tickets are completely handed out by 10am.  (the Expo opens at 9am!).  Most people who have gone have said that to see the entire Expo, you probably need 3 full days - which I can definitely agree with.

Ticket prices aren't too bad, they're about 300 NTD per person, which equates to roughly $10/person.  For $10, I would definitely say the Expo was worth seeing.  There are a lot of really beautiful flowers and floral designs and the conceptualization behind the Expo was well thought out.

Love and Hate

Things I hate about Taiwan:

1. Humidity - my hair is naturally wavy.  Wavy hair + humidity = Monica's hair in Barbados (friends episode)
2. Crazy drivers - please don't run me over
3. A lot of people smoke - yuck. yuck yuck yuck yuck yuck
4. I can't go shopping for clothes here b/c nothing fits me (the girls here don't have hips or butts)
5. All my relatives want to force feed me - which I don't understand since I already can't fit into the clothes here...
6. Squat toilets - enough said (although luckily, most places now have western toilets, thank God)

Things I love about Taiwan:

1. My family's here
2. The food - all the food!  street food, din tai fung, beef noodle soup, oyster pancakes, everything
3. Everything is cheaper here (except for cars, but I'm not buying a car so I don't really care)
4. Universal Healthcare - enough said (for those of you against "socialism," *ahem Michele Bacchmann, welfare is money from the government, yes you, Bacchmann, who received $250,000 in welfare - idiot)
5. The milk here is so much more fragrant than the watered down crap we have back in the states.
6. Chinese New Year in Taiwan = $$$$ :D

Din Tai Fung

No trip to Taiwan is complete without stopping by Din Tai Fung.  It has attracted so much attention globally, that the NYT rated Din Tai Fung as one of the top ten restaurants in the world - the only Asian restaurant on the list.  In 2010, Din Tai Fung's Hong Kong location was awarded One Michelin Star.  Oh, and that Din Tai Fung in LA?  Doesn't even come close.  There is just something about the ones in Asia that makes it stand out.

There are 5 locations now in Taiwan, 4 in Taipei and one in Hsinchu.  Yesterday we stopped by the closest one to our house, which is located in the Tienmu SOGO department store.  Yes, the department stores here have restaurants, and grocery stores, and just about everything else.

Din Tai Fung is famous for it's xiao long bao - a little pork dumpling that is wrapped in a thin, almost translucent dough, but strong enough to hold the dumpling and the broth in without breaking.  Din Tai Fung is also famous for their impeccable service.  Even though the wait can be over an hour long, once you are seated, service is nonstop and your food comes out right away.  Also, if one of the skins on your dumpling breaks, they will actually steam another one for you!  THAT is service.

 This is a shot of inside the kitchen, where they are making and filling the xiao long bao.

 This is what the finished xiao long bao look like, after they have been steamed.

That is how much broth comes out of one little xiao long bao - it's the best part!  Which is why they will steam you another one if the skin on one of the dumplings break and all the broth spills out.

 Inside of a shrimp dumpling.

Dessert - layered cake

Aside from their xiao long bao, Din Tai Fung is also really well known for their chicken soup and fried rice.  Apparently tourists from Japan go crazy over their fried rice.

This time around, we ordered 3 baskets of xiao long bao, 1 of the shrimp, some vegetables, chicken soup and hot and sour soup.  No need to take up precious stomach real estate with fried rice :)  I left full and happy - and then I promptly sent a picture over to my brother who couldn't make the trip.  I'm so mean.

Old

I was out by 8pm last night.  Out.  8pm.  Out cold.  So asleep that I had no idea my aunt and cousin dropped by at 8:30, even though they were supposedly very loud.  A sign of getting old apparently.

To be fair, I slept maybe 6 hours on the flight over.  It appears that every time I am flying to or from Taiwan, there has to be a really loud snorer on the plane.  For this flight, the guy slept most of the flight (13 hrs), and snored for probably 90% of that.  And it was one of those loud abrasive jars you from your sleep type of snoring.  Eventually I gave up and grabbed my iPod and listened to Krishna Das to help me fall back asleep.

We landed in TPE around 5:45am and got home around 7.  After unpacking and settling in, we went with my grandmother to the temple.  My dad's older sister has been in the ICU for the last 2 weeks and my grandma has been fraught with worry.  She wanted to go to the temple to pray for my aunt, so we accompanied her to buy some flowers and fruit and went to the temple together.  This particular temple has been around for roughly 300 years and is one of the earliest Mazu temples in northern Taiwan.  Mazu is the Heavenly Holy Mother, so the temple is devoted to her and named after her.  She is the one who will answer problems and help with whatever worries and cares you have on earth.  As my grandma and parents prayed to Mazu, I held my incense and prayed to God that he would help my aunt recover and look after my grandmother.  I've come to realize that my difference in religion from the rest of my family doesn't mean I can't respect who they worship.

(Here is an image of ceremonial money being burned as an offering.)

I also ordered my qi pao, and after much deliberation, I decided just to go with the traditional red.  You really can't go wrong with a red qi pao.  At least I hope not!

I am a nerd

Unfortunately, Karen had to work on some of the days I was visiting her.  I took the opportunity to walk around the American History Museum.  Museums, I love them.  I especially love walking through museums by myself.  Why you ask?  So I can take my time and read everything and not have to worry about making people wait impatiently.  (nerd alert 1)

The American History Museum is one of my favorites, and it also houses the famous First Ladies Exhibit where the gowns are put out on display.  I have been reading a lot of biographies on our founding fathers (nerd alert 2) and it was so neat to see artifacts from that era and from the very people I have been reading about.  I can only imagine what they were like when they were alive.

The first major display upon walking into the museum is the original Star Spangled Banner Flag.  It was the flag that inspired Francis Key Scott to write the song that would eventually become our national anthem.  It used to hang in the Smithsonian, but it is so fragile now that it is laid flat and will never hang again.

Some highlights from the museum:

This statue of George Washington created quite the stir when it was first revealed.  It was thought to be vulgar as George Washington was "inappropriately dressed."  I really like the symbolism of the statue and how all the details mean something.  It's a Grecian style statue to symbolize Greece as the world's first democracy.  There are smaller figures of American Indians and Christopher Columbus to symbolize the old and new worlds.  Most important though is the outstretched sword, which symbolizes him selflessly relinquishing power to the people after he led the country to victory in the American Revolution. (nerd alert 3)

Michelle Obama's Jason Wu inauguration gown

 

 

George Washington's Original coat

Lincoln's pocket watch.  Inside the watch, there is an inscription of "Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861 Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon April 13-1861 Washington thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon." Apparently Lincoln never knew about the inscription. (nerd alert 4)

time line of our Presidents

Slavery.  This whole exhibit brought tears to my eyes.  I have been watching Ken Burn's Civil War (yes... nerd alert 5) and it's hard for me to fathom how people can justify treating other human beings this way

What's Important

In the middle of wedding planning and studying for the patent bar, I have rediscovered my love for yoga.  Technically, I never stopped loving it; I just couldn't find a studio that's close to me that I loved. 

Every studio that I tried, I instantly compared to my old one.  My old one had amazing facilities and amazing teachers.  Each studio I tried either didn't have great facilities, or their instructors were sub par.  I always left feeling like I needed more.  I have finally found a studio where I feel the instructors are up to par with the ones at my old studio.  I've been trying to go every day, even when I don't feel like it - and I have to say, I never regret dragging my butt to yoga.

Yoga just helps me feel centered, grounded.  It reminds me to remember what is important in my life:  my health, my blessings, my ability to help others.

Interestingly enough, all this self reflection reminded me of a story regarding my dad.  My dad grew up in a impoverished home, where meat was a delicacy about once a week.  He had one pair of shoes, that he only wore for track (he was team captain).  After practice and races, he would take his shoes off, tie them to his backpack, and walk home barefoot.  In college, he had a girlfriend who came from a well to do family.  She would take him out to dinner and insisted on buying my dad nicer things - like suits, watches, etc.  The second she told my dad she wanted to buy him a suit, he broke up with her.  He said that he didn't need something fancy, and her behavior showed him that she only cared about materialistic things and how one "looked" - something he did not find attractive.

Often times, I find myself wishing I had the latest Chanel bag, or the latest Louboutin shoes... and then I remember this story about my dad and I remember what is important.  Material things fade and are forgotten.  I've made the mistake of buying materialistic things to make myself happy - but the happiness only lasted so long, a week, a month?  

I love this story about my dad because it reminds me to be humble and to appreciate the "free" things in life.  Lying in shavasana last night at yoga, I thought of Kevin, Momo, my friends, my parents, and I came to the conclusion that my life rocks.   

Detox? What Detox?

Upon my arrival in D.C., I mentioned how I really need to detox from my glutinous Atlanta trip.  Well, that didn't happen.  The following morning after getting in, Karen took me to Cafe Belga for brunch with our old high school friend Jason.  From there, we went to Eastern Market, where we saw the infamous Lobster Truck.  Lobster Truck! Of course we tried it.  and not just one lobster roll... two!  The fat fest continued on as Jason then took us to Maine Avenue Fishmarket, where he introduced us to deep friend scallops.  Have you ever had deep friend scallops?  Wow, amazing!  Especially on a cold sub 20 degree day!  Have I mentioned all this food was consumed within 3 hours?  Yeah... so much for my detox.

Belga Cafe is a belgian restaurant that served some amazing mussels and innovative waffles (or "wafels").  I ordered the Geitenkaas Wafels, which had goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and red pepper with a side of salad.  Karen had the Gerookte Zalm Wafe, which was a puff pastry waffle with smoked salmon, roasted tomatoes and chive cream.  Jason ordered some amazing mussels. The portions, thank goodness, were normal sized!  However, the food itself was just okay, although I did really like the puff pastry waffle.  I think more restaurants should make puff pastry waffles now. 

Look at the steam coming off these mussels!

 

a cross section view of the puff pastry waffle:

 

Upon Jason's suggestion, Karen and I bought tickets to an improv comedy show called "A Girl's Guide to Washington Politics."

**tip** Tickets can get expensive, or you can go 2 hours before the show and and get their stampeded seat tickets for $15.  There are about 10 of these seats, but they are first come first serve.

As we waited to buy our stampede tickets, Karen took me to Teaism, a cafe that serves food, tea and little snacks.  According to our friend Dan, Teaism has these amazing salty oat cookies, so we decided to try one.  I wish we had ordered a dozen - it was amazing!  Although one may be turned off by the name of "salty oat," the salt actually wasn't too heavy.  It was just subtle enough that it surprised you with every bite, but it wasn't like drinking out of the ocean.  I would really like to get my hands on the recipe!

After sharing the cookie and a bar of bacon chocolate, we headed over to the Woolly Mammoth Theater to catch the show.  The show itself was hilarious - they poked fun at just about everything, left and right.  There was even a section where they asked the audience to shout out a name of a place in DC (someone said Tidal Basin), a celebrity (someone yelled out Kate Gosselin) and an issue you feel strongly about (Don't Ask Don't Tell).  From there, they completely imrovised a song and skit about Kate Gosselin around the Tidal Basin and somehow also incorporating DADT.  It was pure comedic genius.  However, the one thing I did notice was that if you don't follow politics, you may not understand some of their jokes or know who they were poking fun at.  Regardless, for $15, Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  If you're in DC and follow current events, I would highly recommend it.  

After the show, we were both ravenous - a girl's gotta eat right?  Karen then took me to Kushi, her newfound favorite izakay/sushi place.  We ordered several things to share, including some fresh hamachi and uni, along with grilled stuff.  The fresh was pretty fresh.  I always use the uni as a guide, and the uni at Kushi was pretty decent.  It was Karen's first time trying uni, so I described it to her as the "foie gras of the sea."  And if it's bad, it smells like feet.  Luckily, the uni didn't smell like feet and was very velvety and buttery.  There was a hint of fishiness, which to me doesn't mean it's completely fresh.  

 

[lobster roll, deep friend scallops, hamachi and uni]

We ended the night with some lovely sea salt and black sesame ice cream.  It's good to have friends who enjoy food :) 

Goodbye Duuurrtty South

My last full day in Atlanta brought me to a Civil War museum and of course, good eats.

Atlanta itself is an interesting city.  As we were driving around, Jen explained to me why you can drive down one street, and the street name will change 3 or 4 times.  During the antebellum period and post civil war, freed slaves would live in one congregated area that would basically be along the same street as the white citizens of Atlanta.  To separate themselves, the white people would rename their streets so they would technically not live on the same street as the freed slaves.  Although much time has passed since the Emancipation Proclamation, the street names were never changed and there is still a lingering racism against black people.

Thanks to Hannah's encouragement, Jen and I headed over to the one and only.... Cyclorama.  It is the world's largest oil painting, at 42 feet high, 358 ft in circumference and weighs in at over 9000 lbs.  It is also over 120 years old.  It is a circular oil painting that depicts the Battle of Atlanta, and the exhibit involves revolving stadium chairs as it revolves with the painting to retell the battle.  Interesting facts:  It was originally commissioned for $43,000 (crazy!), and eventually sold to what was essentially a traveling circus.  Eventually, the circus ran out of money, and the painting was sold again, but sold with the animals.  This is why the Cyclorama is right next to the Atlanta Zoo - the original animals that started the zoo were from the circus!

 

Following the very interesting exhibit, Jen took me to have authentic southern BBQ at Fox Bros BBQ.  and I thought the portions at Highland Bakery were large... We ordered fried short ribs (yes, fried - only in the South I tell you), the Logan (tots covered with brisket chili and cheese), brisket and pulled pork plate, and short ribs. I think we had enough food for about 10 people.  Luckily, my old friend Mike and his wife Lee joined us to help us with our gluttony.

 

 

My original plan was to leave Atlanta in the late afternoon so I wouldn't arrive too late in DC.  Jen easily convinced me to push back my flight so we could have one last good meal together.  Bribe me with food - I'm that easy.  So for dinner, we went to Rathbun's, opened by Kevin Rathbun, a local well known chef.  And if this isn't a testament to the portion sizes in the South, entrees are called "big plates" and "second mortgage plates."  Due to several days of over-indulgence, Jen and I decided to order several small plates to share, rather than order individual entrees.

We started with an amuse of African squash bisque with cranberry essence and shaved foie gras.  For our shared plates, we ordered eggplant steak fries, bone marrow, a salad of ellijay apples with blue cheese, wildflower honey, and shaved white truffle, a sirloin carpacio with sea salt and truffle aioli, and a charred corn with gouda.  Overall, the food was generally pretty good - but not something to cry home about.  The eggplant fries were nicely fried, but the portion was way too large for an appetizer.  The salad was nice and fresh, and overall nicely balanced with the honey and touch of sea salt.  The carpacio though was not one of my favorites.  The meat was completely covered in a bed of shaved parmesan that was probably 1/4 of an inch thick.  I think if they simply shaved some parmesan slices on top it would have been better for the presentation and palate.  The meat itself was pretty good, although the truffle flavor was a little too subtle, you definitely had to search for it.  The bone marrow was delightful (really, can you go wrong with bone marrow?).  It came with a side of jam and also some fleur de sel.  Personally, I though the jam was too acidic for the bone marrow, but just a pinch of salt brought out the rich flavors of the bone marrow perfectly.  Overall, I would say Rathbun's was a nice restaurant, but I wouldn't add it to my restaurant bucket list.