Desserts in Taiwan

Grass Jelly, Taro Balls, Taro Ice Cream and Red Beans on shaved ice

Ask me ONE thing about Taiwan at this moment, I would tell you it is the DESSERTS that I miss. In Taiwan, they call it 吃冰, literally meaning "to eat ice". A lot of their "shaved ice" desserts are served on ice, similar to ice kacang. But that does not mean you only eat the ice.

Street food, good food, yummy snacks can be found at:

Nearby temples - 庙 口 小吃
Night markets - 夜市
Old historic - 老街
Close to major universities

This is one of the desserts that I miss while I was looking at my photo files in the folder. The dessert photo told me "You have not posted me yet". Oops, I am sorry. How could I? I have already left Taiwan sometime ago and I have forgotten about this.

Oh well, this happens when you save the best for last and when, the BEST gets FORGOTTEN. Yucks! I hate myself for doing that.

There are many dessert shops that specialize in Grass Jelly (仙草 ) and Taro Balls (芋圆) Desserts. Do check them out when you are there in Taiwan.




For all the other Taiwan episodes, do check out my Taiwan Eating link under Labels.

Tag: desserts, ice

Customer Service Standard in Singapore - time to UP it !

Can I Help You? Are You Being Served? This blog comes at a right time when Singapore begins hosting a series of events such as Youth Olympic Games and when the Integrated Resorts open in 1-2 years time. It is really a time to review the services profession spectrum around Singapore and improve the overall service standard from food to shopping and even the dreaded hotlines!

With my interest in food, "The Restaurant Test" and "Fast Food Exploits" definitely attract me to knowing what is happening around the food scene when it comes to customer service. Well, friendly customer service is definitely one factor that makes me return to a restaurant or make some food a certain ritual. As one of the frequent callers to customer service hotlines in banks, telco service operators and retail merchants, I am also interested to know the experiences of other people when they dial the easy (or not-easy) hotline.

If you have real stories to share about Singapore Customer Service...Share Your Story. You can pop by The "Are You Being Served?" blog and make your voice known. Good or bad customer service, it can always be made better when the service "providers" are aware. You can even suggest a mission for the squadso they can be out, testing.

California Strawberries

Strawberry picking time! We headed for strawberry picking in the morning, at our favorite U-Pick at Swanton Berrry Farm. Bad news bestowed! The strawberry field was quarantined due to suspected moths (an agricultural pest!)! Heck! I thought only humans were quarantined for the H1N1 swine flu! Now, our favorite strawberry field has been quarantined too! With just a little good luck on our side, we were recommended to go to their neighboring fields. Phew! It sent bright spark to all our faces. We thought we have spent ONE HOUR down Highway 17 for nothing. Ok. At least, there is something. Some 'healthy" strawberries for us to pick.


After that mild exercise of picking strawberries, we drove further down to our favorite cioppino stall. I am sure Phil's Fish Market is no stranger to those who have watched FoodNetwork since Phil was featured before. And this is definitely not our first time there. With A&S with us this time, we ordered more food. Seafood chowder, fried calamari (rings and tentacles) and of course, a huge bowl of slurpilicious cioppino. It was completely satisfying!


Indian food @ Peacock, Santa Clara

In our one week in the Bay Area, we also tried two establishments that serve Dum Biryani. We had take-out from Kabab and Currys, at Santa Clara (famous for its Dum Biryani) and dine-in at Peacock, also at Santa Clara(above).

Dum Biryani is a famous Hyderabad dish, where the meat (chicken, mutton or lamb) is layered with the rice and cooked under low flame in a sealed container. This style of cooking is sometimes called Dum Pukht. And naturally, biryani cooked this way is called Dum Biryani. Yum yum yum! and not *Stupid Dum Dum* ... ... ^o^


I like basmati rice a lot - and so what happens when basmati rice is mildly infused with the aroma of the chicken and lamb and all the spices ? I love thee even more!

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