Comfort Food Search: Din Tai Fung

One of the best findings for me so far in Japan is the discovery of a Din Tai Fung in a department store at Hakata Station. Good Chinese food is rare in this country, so I'm glad that my favorite siao long bao is only 20mins bus ride away...!

Din Tai Fung at the Hankyu Department Store in Hakata.

Siao long bao and dan dan mien lunch set for 1490円. The set came with 4 siao long baos; unfortunately one was consumed before this picture was taken. I guess it's still pretty expensive.. ^^"

I am quite happy that the siao long bao is quite close to the ones I had in Taipei and in Hong Kong Din Tai Fung. However, I'm kind of disappointed that they can't be bothered with putting the right type of noodles in their dan dan mien! I mean, the soup base was pretty good, if they used 陽春麵 for the noodles, then it would be perfect... it will taste just like the real stuff!! Now, it just tastes like Japanese style Chinese noodles... (-_-")

Dan dan mien, but not with the correct noodles. (T_T)

I also thought that they would have a menu for dinner, but it looked like the only thing they serve are siao long bao, steamed buns, noodles, and spring rolls... I was hoping to get my Chinese food fix there... I guess I have to resort to my own cooking (however good or bad that might be). ^_^"

Oh well, I am just happy that I FOUND REAL SIAO LONG BAO in Fukuoka...!! Maybe I won't need to come home afterall... (at least not yet)!! YAY SUPER HAPPY!!! o(^v^)o

OMG Hot Pot Revelation!!

Everyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely fond of hot pot. I know a few friends who love hot pot just as much as I do, but I don't really know if I know anyone who likes hot pot MORE than I (we) do. So, it has caught me by surprised that after 20+ years I have not discovered this until now. This is EPIC! I present to you: zousui 雑炊!!

Ingredients:

- Left over hot pot broth

- Rice enough for everyone

- 1 egg (per 2-3 people)

- green onions

Here is how you make it:

Leave enough hot pot broth in the pot to cover the amount of rice you have. Add rice. Bring to a boil.

Beat eggs. Pour it on top of the rice evenly. Stirring not necessary (just let it cook at the top).

Just before the egg is fully cooked, add green onions.

And then it's totally ready to serve! I know that usually at all-you-can-eat hot pots, we usually stuff our faces with beef, pork, chikuwa, and all the other good stuff. But, you've got to save some room for 雑炊! I think with Cantonese-style hot pots, this method is good for clear soup bases (chicken or something); it might be too salty for satay. None-of-the-less, it is definitely worth a try!

And that marks my official 2 months in Fukuoka. Nom nom nom... しゃぶしゃぶ が大好きです!! ^_^

離家出走兩個月

在福岡的時間過得很快... 真想不到我離開溫哥華快兩個月了! 我真的很喜歡這裡生活 - 我喜愛我的工作, 也愛我的自由。我最開心的是好像所有的東西都有一個新的開始... 在溫哥華的我是怎樣都不重要, 我可以將所有東西 reset 了﹐ 再試一次。沒有人因為我以往的不對而討厭我。是的, 其實我是一個很沒有自信的人。很多身邊的人覺得我很堅強, 很硬朗, 不理會別人的批評。其實內心的我比任何人脆弱... 我的外殼只是為了不讓人看小而已... 我不理會別人的批評, 是因為我不想理會自己對自己的 批評。 我真的是一個很自私的人。 我知道我不多不小都因我的自私而傷害了身邊的朋友... 所以我也覺得自己很討厭, 是一個不稱身的朋友...我又怎會有勇氣去接受別人對我的評價呢?

所以﹐ 爸爸媽媽﹐ 對不起。 容許我再任性一次﹐ 我離家出走了。雖然我不一夜之間不見了﹐ 但我也是一走了之。在這裡我真的覺得整個人輕鬆了,每天都可以努力做一個新的我! 其實我都很想念溫哥話的人; 也許當我玩夠了, 長大了以後 , 我會有勇氣回來面對以前的我吧...!!