TPE

Taipei's international airport is located 50 km outside of Taipei. It's very efficient and Immigration was easy to clear. We sure were glad to see our bags had made it.

We followed the signs to the airport shuttles and found a room with multiple ticket counters. We asked for the bus that went to our hotel, the Shangri-La and purchased a ticket. I know most people who stay at the 5-star Shangri-La would take a taxi but we like the challenge of negotiating public transportation. Cost was NT145, roughly $5 per person and it took 50 minutes. Taxi would have been NT1250 and taken the same time.

We found the bus stand easily and stood in the correct lane.

When we got on the bus, we told the driver we wanted to get off at the Shangri-La and when he stopped right outside the hotel, he nodded for us to get off. It was easy-peasy.



2013 11 24

China Airlines

We flew on China Airlines from San Francisco (SFO) to Taoyung International Airport (TPE) in Taipei. Our flight left at 5 minutes after midnight on Saturday morning and arrived on Sunday at 6 am. Because we had crossed the international date line, we lost a whole day. Taiwan is 16 hours ahead of the west coast.

Since we only had carry-on luggage, we checked in at the kiosks and got our boarding pass. We should have checked in at the counter and gotten cabin tags for our carry-ons. When we arrived at the gate, the gate agents weighed our carry-ons and told us that since the bags were over 7 kg, we would have to check them. Meanwhile, there were others around us with much larger and heavier bags than ours who were allowed on because they had a cabin tag. Live & learn.

China Airlines has more leg room than US carriers and surprisingly the flight was quite comfortable. Each seat had its own entertainment monitor.



2013 11 22

Taiwan--Foodie Haven

Taiwan is an island that lies off the southeastern coast of China. It's a tiny island--about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined but with 3 times the population at 23 million. It is 245 miles from north to south and 90 miles from east to west.

Despite its small size, it sure has a lot of great food. If you're an adventurous eater, this is your destination.

Mandarin is the official language but quite a few of the signs are also written in English. The Taiwanese are so friendly and helpful that if you look at a map, someone will invariably ask if you need help.

Transportation is easy to negotiate, efficient and inexpensive. The best time to visit is the fall, when the weather is cool and there is minimal rain. There is no Visa required for US citizens. The currency is the New Taiwan Dollar and the current exchange rate is roughly $1 = NT30.

Sushi Sada, Burlingame

In November, we took a vacation to Taiwan. We're always in search of a place to eat prior to flying out of SFO. We found Sushi Sada on Yelp. It's located at 1861 El Camino Real, just a few minutes from SFO. It was okay but we'll continue to look for the best place to grab a pre-flight meal.

Beef Udon--$11.95, including a salad. This was a small portion but was actually pretty tasty.

I ordered the Sushi Combo for $14.50 but forgot to take a picture of it. The Sushi Combo included a bowl of miso soup and a green salad. It had 5 pieces of Nigiri--tuna, hamachi, salmon, shrimp and unagi along with a choice of several rolls (I chose the California roll) or sashimi (for an additional supplement). The nigiri had small pieces of fish.

2013 11 22

Apple Pie, Part 2

I found another recipe for apple pie. This was Grandma Ople's Apple Pie recipe on Allrecipes.com and was ranked highly by over 5800 reviewers. I made my own crust, using Ina Garten's recipe and the pie was delicious!

Here is the recipe for the apple pie:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Pie-by-Grandma-Ople/

And the recipe for the pie crust:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe/index.html#!

2014 01 07

Dutch Baby

My husband found an Alton Brown recipe for Dutch baby and decided to try it. It's a sweet popover served for breakfast. My husband already had a pretty good recipe but thought that since Alton Brown is the king of science, he would see if Alton's was better. It wasn't. Alton's recipe produced a flat, dense pancake and it was more complicated to make. Back to the original recipe.

Dutch Baby (Alton Brown)

3 Tbs butter, melted and divided

2 3/8 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately ½ cup

3 Tbs vanilla sugar, plus extra for serving

½ tsp kosher salt

½ cup whole milk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

Lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven. Set the remaining tablespoon of melted butter aside to cool slightly. Wait 10 minutes before assembling the other ingredients.

Place the flour, vanilla sugar, salt, milk, eggs and remaining tablespoon of melted butter into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Carefully pour the batter into the preheated skillet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown. Sprinkle with additional vanilla sugar and serve with lemon wedges.

Now, here's my husband's original recipe. It's nice and puffed when it comes out of the oven. I guess the extra egg makes all the difference.

Dutch Baby

2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Add butter to shallow dutch oven and place in oven.

Stir flour, milk and eggs and blend well. When butter has melted, add batter to dutch oven. Bake for 20 minutes until edges are brown.

2013 12 29

Thursday Night Dinner

Here's this week's Thursday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro--all for $24.95.

Salmone Affumicato--Crispy Asian Style Wafer, Thin Slices of Smoked Salmon, Persian Cucumbers & Creme Fraiche paired with 2012 Benziger Family Winery Sauvignon Blanc, North Coast

Quaglia Arrosto--Stone Oven Roasted Quail Served in Cannellini Bean Ragout with Petite Pasta, Organic Escarole, Candied Garlic & Brodetto D'Erbe paired with 2012 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel, Sonoma

Bistecca Alla Griglia--Grilled Marinated Flat Iron Steak Garnished with Organic Fingerling Potatoes, Onion Confit, Winter Harvest Olives, Arugula & Oven Roasted Tomatoes Served in Red Wine Sauce paired with 2009 Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Vol-Au-Vent Con Mandarini--Puff Pastry Filled with Muscat Zabaione Topped with Satsuma Mandarins paired with 2011 Bonterra Vineyards, Late Harvest Muscat, Bartolucci Vineyard (Organic), Lake County

2014 01 09