STRAWBERRY CAKE

My daughters bought a strawberry cake for my birthday from Paris Baguette at Wisma Atria. This is a top Korean bakery with 3500 stores in Korea, USA and China.  The cake was covered in fresh yogurt instead of fresh cream and generously decorated & filled with big and juicy strawberries.

BEANCURD GINGKO NUTS PORRIDGE

A bowl of simple porridge to lighten the digestive system during the humid weather.

Boil porridge with beancurd sticks and gingko nuts. Season porridge with salt and mirin. When ready to eat serve porridge with a dash of light soya sauce and sesame oi

SAFFRON INDIAN KITCHEN

Not a cheap option to eat Indian food in a restaurant but hearing so many good reviews about Saffron Kitchen in East Coast Road, we give it a chance.  The business is good and when we left every table was filled.  Advise to make reservation beforehand.

Solid chicken masala curry, creamy and mild.  Right choice to go with rice

Cauliflower and potatoe curry heavy on cardamom and cumin but well blend

A good choice for curry, crispy and thin naan and pappadam

Saffron basmati rice with hard-boiled egg.  The rice was fluffy and firm

Mutarbak full of onions and muttons

2-DISH MEAL

Simple dishes to prepare - fried minced pork with curry leaves and spices, luffa with mushrooms.  Within an hour dinner is on the go

Marinate meat with spicy shrimp paste.  Fry minced garlic, onions and curry leaves till fragrant.  Add in minced meat and fry over high heat and sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of water.  Simmer the meat till thoroughly cook.  Throw in 1 sliced chilly, stir and dish up.

Cut luffa into thick slices (choose small luffa as big ones contain a lot of seeds).  Stir fry garlic and dried prawns.  Add luffa and fresh portabella & straw mushrooms.  Do not add too much water as luffa gives out a lot of water during cooking.  Season with oyster sauce.

KATSU DINING

After settling in the hotel we proceeded for dinner at a Japanese eatery nearby.  It was bbq food where the food was prepared in another section outside the eatery.  We proceeded to order food and pay outside the eatery.  We shared the food as the portion was large.

Big piece of crackling pork katsu with stewed beancurd, fried egg & sausages and vegetables with thick sauce

An extra side order of fried sausages

Chicken katsu rice.  The tender chicken was deep fried with egg batter

Another side dish  -  What is it??

Sesame fried chicken with onions and herbal plant.  The chicken were fragrant and well seasoned

TAICHUNG

After reaching Wuri Station by HSR we reconnected a regular train to Taichung Rail Station, which was packed to the realm, making it more inconvenience with all our luggage.   The station is a city landmark of Taichung and a symbol of an era, and is a renaissance-style building from the time of Japanese control of Taiwan.  It was built in 1917.  Its construction represents the development of the city of Taichung and the construction of the railroad in Taiwan.

We stayed in newly renovated Plaza Hotel.  The location is great, 3-min walk from Taichung train station.  It is very accessible as there are many buses going to everywhere in Taichung. The rooms are exquisite though small but was adequate for two.  Clean and come with free  buffet breakfast.

BLUEBERRY PORK CHOP

DH likes to eat meat. Once in a while meat takes center stage at the dinner table.  He likes pork chop be it grill or pan fried.

The chops are tenderized with pineapple juices and marinated with seasonings (salt, pepper, worchester sauce, mirin and red wine) for 2-3 hours.  Cook fresh blueberries in a saucepan with red wine till soft and season the sauce with some sugar.  Grill or pan fried chops and serve with the blueberry sauce, side dish of caramelized green apples and fried rice.

HIGH SPEED RAIL TO TAICHUNG

Taiwan has great transportation service and is cheap.  Moving around in Taiwan is a breeze.  We took a High Speed Rail from Taipei to Taichung in less than an hour. The trains are clean and comfortable and offer ample leg resting space.  We arrived at Xinwuri Station and transferred to normal line to reach Taichung city.

LIGHT MEAL

This simple and light porridge is suitable for hot weather.  It is not heavy for your body and provides & replenishes moisture that one loss through sweating.  When porridge is half cooked put in the gingko nuts (split open and remove the stem) and beancurd sticks and boil till soft.  Season with salt and soya sauce.

BLUEBERRY BUTTER CAKE

A simple blueberry butter cake for tea. I used brown sugar instead to bake an aromatic cake