A trip to Hualien

I went to the Harvest Festival at the Shueilien Village in Hualien. It was the first that I went joining such event. And it was quite impressive.
The village I went to is called Shueuiline, which locates right beside Yianliao but in the south. The village is quite big, occupying two sides of the road. The terrain of the village is quite flat, with some hills, and a lovely beach. The main event venue of the festival was held at the square of the Village Office, which is right next to Shueilien Elementary School. The day I arrived was villagers' Grand Picnic Day, when all villagers came to this square, bringing their harvest to share with everyone. Some Amis, the tribe that the village belongs to, even brought their hunting games. There were boars, ducks, and fox, and many fresh vegetables and vines. When I began savoring the flavor of wild boars, my attention was soon attracted by a dead object. Apparantly, it is the head of something I am eating now. I kind of stunned, but the food was delicous, so ...

Later, I went hanging around the place. And I found that English has penetrated into the small English, the evidence is shown in the pics. I saw this kind of billigual sign post everywhere on the campus. Hmm, I think it's a shame for the government to ask schools do this. What's purpose of showing this kind of sign? However, I tried to ignore the english and focused on the patterns on the sign. Well, I think they are quite special.
For the coming two days, there are more events to come. So there are more stories to come.

dinner at Yie Ji

Yi nudl n head skin
Originally uploaded by Blowing Puffer Fish.

Tonight, for a change, we choose to eat some traditional taiwanese csine. The most mouth-watering food in Taiwan is some cuisines from the southern part of Taiwan, to be precisely at pointing the location, foods from Tainan. I have studied in Tainan for four years, and I have always tried to find really good Tainan food at Taipei city. However, I've always disppointed at the so-called Tainan food in Taipei, since the taste and everything is different from those I had in Tainan. But the urge lingers, and tonight we go into Yie Ji to try them out.
First we ordered Yi noodle, both dry noodle and with soup. The dry noodle definitely taste better since the soup is a bit greasy. And the taste is washed down the soup, making it almost tastless. After a good stir, the dry noodle tastes just like the ones I had back in Tainan. The noodles are elastic, making chewing thme a pleasure. And the braised meat is shredded in tiny pieces so the every mouthful of noodles allow you to capture the full flavor of the ingredients in the bowl. For people who want a stronger taste, I suggest them to add extra spice sauce. Though I don't think the spicy sauce tastes that good. It's better to try the original taste, and remember the taste in your mouth so you can compare the taste for future Yi noodles. The noodle gets three stars out of five.
The braised meat rice is a mess. It's sweet and greasy. Adding pepper or anything won't help at all. So don't try the dish, but definitely give it a try on the braised egg. Like tea egg, the braised egg is a local and common specialty everywhere. The white is hard-boiled with an outer skin of sauce. When bite inside, the yolk instantly melts into your mouth. And the combination is absolutely great. Everyone should try this.
The other dish that you can never miss is the red-oil wanton. It is several wantons dipped in red hot spice oil, dotted with fresh shredded green onions and vegetables. Though it is called red-oil, it is not that spicy. The sauce is based on broth, cooked with herbs and vinegar. After pour the broth into the bowl, put in the wantons and a spoonful of spicy oil. Then the combination makes a mouth-watering dish. The stuffing of wantons are fresh pork. When you eat it, you must use a spoon to have some broth and red oil init, then have a bite of wanton first. then put the rest in the spoon and swallow it. The tase lingers all your mouth. I will give four stars to this dish. Since it is the first one that I tasted so far that has the closest taste to the ones in Tainan.
So come here for a hearty dinner.

Yie Ji
tel: 02-2362-9916
No. 2, Lane 333, Sec. 3, Roosevelt Road.
台北市羅斯福路三段333巷2號

Have fun there!!

Tonight @ Bongos

With Murphy stout
Originally uploaded by Blowing Puffer Fish.

Tonight, we had a hearty dinner at the Bongos, a deli that serves affordable food and drinks for everyone.
The place is cozy with many seas and tables. Well, here comes the first complaints from me: the tables. The table are too wide!! Maybe they are good for many people sitting together and have a bid meal, but there seems to be a lack of small table for people who come in in small numbers. We three sat by a large table. The table made us difficult to hear each other. There were lots of sutdents or young people talking and playing, which made it even more difficult to converse. So for couple who want to enjoy a romantic moments, this is definitely not the place to go. Instead, Bongos is great place for family gatherings and school reunions.
The best thing about parties is to enjoy delicious food and drinks. At Bongos, your taset buds will be satisfied with its varied menu. The menu lists Mexican food, pasta, salads, and American-style burgers. What's more, it provides a wide variesty of beer, you can select local Taiwan beer as well as Beligian beer (yes, Beligin beer!!). Not to mention several British beer. So after briwsing the menu for several minutes, because the noise was making me have trouble figuring out what are the ingredients of each dish, I chose fish 'n' chips. Very British, but somehow different. Judging by experiences, this british dish is altered to meet the taste of locals. The chips are great, and sufficinet to feed your stomach. The single fried cod fillet was juicy and salty. The crispy crust retains the juice of fresh cod. When you take a bite of the fish, you can taste the falvor of ocean right in your mouth. I don't quite remember the taste of side sauce, since the original tastes are already good. The dish would get 2.5 out of five stars.
Then need something to quench the greasy taste? You need British beer to go with this British dish. I ordered Murohy's stout to go with dish. It a great combination. The stout is a little bit dry, but still maintains its sweetness and fragrance. But the place obviously has nothing to go with the beer. For there is a custom that each beer has its own cup. So here comes another complaint, the cup is not the one for this kind of beer. I somehow felt disappointed. With continuous noise and lack of service, the place becomes intolerable for people who come in the enjoy the meals. But it's great to see the backwall's filled with books. I guess that the place might be a lot quiet in the afternoon. I think that's the time to enjoy the dish and kill time. Judgin on that, I will give the atomosphere 3 out of five stars. Here is definitely a great place for gatherings and parties as I said before.
The deli closes at 2200, so might be a place for people to hang out and watch people. Though I had some bad experiences, I still recommend this place is worthy a visit. But of course, bring your friends along.

Bongos info:
No. 3, Alley 5, Lane 74, Wenjou Street, Taipei
(02) 2365-6059
北市溫州街74巷5弄3號
If you are lost in the maze, call Debby 0952-821-930

Have fun there!!