Taipei - Jin Feng Luroufan (Braised Pork Rice)

Luroufan at Jin Feng

There are a few signature or staple dishes in each city - some seem geared towards tourists (egg tarts in Hong Kong - not that locals don't like them, we just don't eat that many of them), while others truly live in people's subconscience and and are eaten by locals on almost a daily basis. To me, an example of the latter would be luroufan in Taiwan, or braised pork rice.

On previous trips, I had been introduced to Formosa Chang, or "bearded Chang" in Chinese (鬍鬚張), which, in my untutored opinion, is a very decent chain, but I decided I'd go looking for more options, just to compare (this will sound familiar to food nerds...).

Cocktails and Whiskey in Taipei - Caffe Libero, Marsalis, Fourplay

Souvenirs from Taipei - Kavalan Concertmaster, and vintage glass from Nostalgic Future

When I tell people I'm planning my wedding, they naturally ask about the person I'm about to be married to. "Is he a foodie too?" is probably the most common question, and my answer is always "absolutely not".

So a month or so ago, when I caught up with G in Taipei (he had already been there a couple of days), I was more than surprised when he suggested we go bar hopping after dinner. He said this knowing that my kind of bar hopping involves more whisk(e)y and proper cocktails than party scenes and bottle service (and in many cases, beer). Needless to say, I took that license to drink and ran.

11 favourite drinks of 2012

Scapa 16 years at The Macallan Whisky Bar & Lounge, The Galaxy Macau

As you can tell from the new "e_ting drinks" section on the blog, drinks have become an increasingly important part of my diet. This sounds crazy, because, everyone needs fluids, right? But around age 15, when I first started getting acne, I suddenly became obsessed with the idea of detoxification. Back then, we didn't have juice cleanses and the like (even if there were, they weren't easily accesible to teenage me) and the best and easiest way I knew was to drink gallons and gallons of water. For many years, probably half my schoolbag's weight came from my bottle of boiled, filtered, room temperature water.

As I grew up, I just kept on that path - first thing I do in the morning, even before coffee, is very warm water. When I went out, it would just be warm water, or warm tea, then maybe a glass of wine with a meal. I came to realise, however, that it was normal for people drink a whole range of things that were beyond my usual repetoire - juices, soft drinks, cocktails - and plus, my curious self drove me further down the paths of my mainstays coffee and wine, which saw me (and will still see me!) taking all sorts of lessons, classes, workshops and examinations.

My top 20 dishes of 2012

Baked char siu buns at Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hong Kong

As I'm picking my Top 20, I realise I haven't travelled very much at all this year, and you probably already know why. It's funny, because I used to have to leave Hong Kong every few months, else I'd feel claustrophobic or just generally be itching to go away. This year has been so jam-packed with hugely fun things, I guess claustrophobia just got pushed out of the way.

I'm also cheating when I titled this post "top 20 dishes", because while some were individual dishes, others were full meals.

Anyway, without further ado, and in no particular order:

A Guide to Coffee in Hong Kong - Where to Drink, Buy and Read about Coffee

Cafe Deadend's "Dirty Double"

Hong Kong is no longer the coffee desert I came back to 6 years ago. It has gotten to the stage where I can get a good to excellent beverage whichever district I might be in - well, almost - there are none near my home in Tseung Kwan O, which is why I've also decided to list where you can also buy coffee beans and equipment to brew at home.

(Edit Oct 2013: Just so you know, this was written in Dec 2012. Since then, good coffee places have continued to open. I guess I'll start a 'living' list one of these days, but for the time being, please keep in mind that this is now old).

Grassroots Pantry - Feel-Good Food

Dessert at Grassroots Pantry - fig napoleon with pistachio and cashew cream

Eating well has been something of a challenge recently. It seems particularly ironic because I have access to fresh organic local vegetables every Sunday, however there is no irony in it at all when you realise that the time spent making sure that there are vegetables at Island East Markets every Sunday is exactly why I haven't been eating them.

The first time I went to Grassroots Pantry, it was with Table for Two, for our very fun food crawl. The second time, it was to invite them to come set up a stall at Island East Markets. This time, the third time, I was finally able to go in for a proper meal (after having seen the lovely GP girls almost weekly at the market! Needless to say, they knew I was going in for dinner - end disclaimer).

Shiraz heaven - Fox Creek McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2004

I'm one of those lucky people who has quite a few wine lovers around her, who, seeing how miserable she looks without a drink, hand her a carefully-chosen bottle now and then.

This Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz is one such bottle. The thing is, I'm not usually a fan of Aussie Shiraz. Too much of the time it's got too much vanilla, it's jammy and stewed in an overripe way, and almost too luscious, so full-bodied it's just like thick, raisiny lead on your tongue. Or it goes the other extreme of being way too fickle, spicy and peppery.

I don't know what the Fox Creek was like younger, but after 8 years, this 2004 is beautiful. (Ok, come on Aussies, let's say it together: BEE-YOU-DE-FOOL!). It's got everything on the Shiraz spectrum, and it comes through in layers. On the nose it's pretty typical - dark red fruits, chocolate. On the palate, you get a bit of vanilla, but it's quickly offset by some green herbs - rosemary, perhaps - and a fruity freshness, like fresh cranberry juice. That freshness and seemingly lighter body is what I love most about this (but it manages to be 14.5%, I guess the fresh fruit is what does it). There's a teeny bit of black pepper too, and yes, some raisins but not too much, and lots of dark chocolate, especially if you're having meat with it. And such a long, velvety finish. Mmm...

If only all Aussie Shirazes were as sophisticated as this, then they wouldn't have such a dodgy reputation!

Interview: Fuchsia Dunlop at Hong Kong Literary Festival

Fuchsia Dunlop

I was fortunate enough to get a last-minute press pass to one of the talks that Fuchsia Dunlop was giving at this year's Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

Entitled Hot and Sour, it was a Q&A session about Fuchsia's (mostly food) experiences in China, mostly related to her memoir, Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper (which, by the way, has been translated into Traditional Chinese, and perhaps soon into simplified for the Mainland Chinese market, a prospect that Fuchsia looked forward to with "trepidation").

Fuchsia Dunlop at "Hot and Sour", moderated by Chengdu native, Jennifer Zhu-Scott

After a bit of a wait (that's what you get for being last-minute) I caught Fuchsia for a zippy 10-minute interview in the all-emerald Centurion lounge of the Kee Club, and I shivered all the way through, because the aircon was worthy of a mortuary, and I was so nervous and thrilled to be meeting the only non-Chinese author I trust to talk about Chinese food. I have an enormous amount of respect for Fuchsia's efforts in understanding China, its culture and its food. If I could achieve a fraction of what she's done in "communicating" China to the West, I'd be very proud of myself!

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed recording it, and many thanks, Fuchsia, HK Lit Fest and CatchOn.