nanamoose Musings

Taipei Finds: VVG Something

A couple of months ago, my friend Faye and her team decided to add a café to her bookstore/lifestyle concept store VVG Something in a little alley off Zhongxiao East Road, a decision I welcome with open arms and legs.

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A cute little addition to the VVG empire that occupies one end of Alley 40 on Lane 181, VVG Something sells beautifully bound, imported hardbacks on gastronomy, along with random household knickknacks like old typewriters, ice-shavers, copper teapots from India, enameled brassware from Poland, and handmade stationary from Japan. If this doesn't already send you pacing out the door to go find it, add bright red French doors, white brick walls a big fat lamps with a black shade, and an oh-so-cute coffee counter that reminds you of an old ticketing booth.

The coffee here comes in gargantuan sizes, so pack up a good book, or simply flip through the ones available here, and while away a rainy afternoon in the company of Some Very Very Good Things.

VVG Something is at 13, Alley 40, Lane 181, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei
台北市忠孝東路四段181巷40弄13號
Tel: (02) 2773 1358

星期六的小確幸

之前 P 和我提過，台灣最近提倡所謂「小確幸」， 即說生活中「微小但確切的幸福」。最近我才碰巧在香港某報章中看到，發現原來這「小確幸」是出自村上春樹Murakami Haruki 的手筆。《小確幸》摘於村上春樹《蘭格漢斯島的午後》一書， 在文章中，村上說他自己選購內褲，把洗滌過的潔淨內褲捲摺好然後整齊的放在抽屜中，就是一種微小而真確的幸福。 P 說他的小確幸是忙碌工作完一整天後的小酌，而我呢？其實也差不多，是我的奶茶。

奶茶今天對我來說早就超越了一杯飲料的境界。它確確實實地就是生活中的一種小小的幸福，是一種有能力在一個陰天的下午裡帶給我一種溫暖的氣息的東西。在外面狂風暴雨的時候，泡一杯奶茶，吃個小點心，獨自坐在窗邊看書，是何其幸福的事啊！

今天我和大家分享我的小確幸的祕密－紅棗蜂蜜奶茶的炮製方法。

Honey and Red Date Milk Tea

To make red date and honey preserve:

150g Dried Red Dates
50g Rock Sugar
250ml honey
350ml Water

Instructions:
1. Wash the red dates, cut in half and remove pits. Boil with water and rock sugar in a small saucepan for about 30 minutes until the water almost fully evaporates.
2. Crush the red dates gently, making sure that they aren’t mashed too much.
3. Boil gently again on low heat so as to fully reduce the moisture.
4. Add honey and mix. Transfer into an air-tight container. This will keep for months.

To make milk tea:

Keemun black tea (or any other type of strong back tea)
100ml water
100ml milk

Instructions:
1. Take about two teaspoons of Keemun black tea and cook in 100ml water until boiling. Add 100ml fresh milk and continue to cook on low heat until just about to boil.
2. Make sure to let the mixture cool lightly before adding the red date-honey mix. Otherwise, the benefits of honey are extinguished in boiling liquid.
3. Add about two teaspoons of the red date honey mixture to the milk tea.

希望大家找到自己生命中的「小確幸」。其實甚麼事物都可以，只是你用心去體會。

Hong Kong Finds: Sheung Wan 第二部

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從荷里活道一直忘西邊走，在文武廟旁轉上樓梯街吧。有看過60年代 The World of Suzie Wong 的朋友們會記得 Robery Lomax 追著載著 Suzie 的人力車那一幕吧；Robert 站在樓梯街前茫然地徘徊找尋美麗的 Suzie。今天，繞著樓梯街往西走過去，你會看到的卻是截然不同的景致。樓梯街後是四方街。這裡有一家性格Showroom, 不定時的開門， 展示設計師老闆 David Ericsson 和 Alexis Holm 的自家鞋履及皮革品牌。

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四方街結束之後是太平山街，是香港我最愛的街道之一。第一家出現在左手邊的廣記食店，專營涼茶車仔麵， 古怪的擺設讓這家店經常成為拍攝對象。老闆笑說，他從來也只會煲涼茶，於是一做便做了47年。

接下來的太平山街，現在擠滿了藝廊與小boutiques，最據特色的，可能還是Sin Sin。 Sin Sin 早在2006年就獨具慧眼地把她位於安蘭街的 boutique 搬到這裡的西街，展示她富有東方色彩的自家設計還有從世界各地收集回來的藝術品。

逛完西街逛隔壁的東街吧。這裡有可愛的瓷器小店 Loveramics。女主人 Grace 的夫家是做瓷器生意的，年輕一輩的便決定利用這個機會創立自己的品牌，和多位設計師crossover 合作，為 Loveramics 設計了多套富有性格又可愛的瓷器系列。

Loveramics 的斜對面是新開沒多久的特色花店 Ellerman，由久居香港的德國人開設。Ms Ellerman 有感香港無法找到價錢合理又高品質的花束，於是開了 Ellerman， 賣花之餘還有販賣各類和花卉可以相互搭配的飾品，如可愛的茶杯、擺飾等。

最後，由東街往上走向太平山街，視覺會不自覺地被街角那個大黃色的門框給吸引。這個叫做Konzepp 的 concept store, 開幕的時候叫做 Hatch, 後來雖然因為知識產權糾紛改名 Konzepp，但在他們的網站還是可以清楚看到“Hatch” 背後的意義－為了醞釀出一個可以讓香港各界創意人士分享並激發新想法的地方：

The Konzepp Space was born out of the desire to hatch a place in Hong Kong where the artistic and creative community could come together, share and hatch ideas and products, cross-pollinating like-minded inspirations. Every few months, Konzepp shifts merchandise themes, focusing on interesting products with a design focus. Customers will be able to shop, meet up, listen to music, read design, lifestyle, & fashion magazines all whilst sipping various green tea concoctions.

Konzepp aims to bring back the discovery and excitement of a shopping experience and to develop design collaborations within the local Hong Kong creative community and abroad, encouraging multicultural creative dialogs.

Konzepp 不定期每幾個月便更換產品主題，希望可以製造一種另類的購物樂趣。

廣記食店
上環太平山街4號
tel: 2549 7028

Sin Sin
上環西街52號
tel: 2521 0308

Loveramics
上環東街37號
tel: 2915 8018

Ellerman
上環東街36號
tel: 2291 0388

Konzepp
上環東街50號

最有 feel 的香港茶餐廳

在台北待了一陣子，開始有人問我，想念香港嗎？

我想了想，發現除了家人朋友，最想念的，還是香港的茶餐廳。曾幾何時，我也和我初到香港旅遊的不丹朋友P 一樣，覺得這是甚麼不三不四的通粉，公仔麵，咖啡奶茶，簡直就有點騙人嘛，家裡現成的東西怎麼拿了出來賣呢？

可是，不消多時，我被香港的同胞們感化了。我開始發現茶餐廳文化的可愛。它帶給我的是一種難以用言語來形容的滿足感，而這種滿足感，是必須親歷其境才能夠感受的。它像是在東京魚市場看鮮魚拍賣，或是在印度德里趕火車，有一種殘缺的，近乎浪漫的刺激感。這種刺激感，充滿夾擊力卻又平易近人。在茶餐廳， 你隨時可以看到挽著LV手袋的闊太太與地盤工人並肩同桌，津津有味地吃著餐蛋麵，或是電視明星和穿著校服的中學生們“搭台”喝奶茶啃多士；茶餐廳的可愛，也正是勝在它夠親民。社會裡的階級與隔閡，似乎在喝一杯奶茶的時間裡消失。

茶餐廳文化，是英國殖民時代遺留下來的產品。當時生活拮據的港人為了一嘗所謂西餐的滋味，自創了一套融合本港食才和西方烹飪方式的菜式，形成較為高價位的港式西餐廳如位於白沙道的太平館，和較為廉價的茶餐廳，如蘭芳園。在香港，我最愛的茶餐廳有下列幾家：

金鳳

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最愛它的雞派凍奶茶 （凍奶茶是之前就沖好冰起來的，所以不另外加冰，這樣奶茶就不會越喝越淡），還有夥計們齜牙咧嘴的那幅恨勁。可別被他們嚇壞了，其實這裡個個人都非常好的！

灣仔春園街41號春園大廈地下
tel: 2572 0526

海安

說穿了，其實海安沒有甚麼特別好吃的，就是它那份懷舊勁兒討喜，紅色高椅背的卡位配上高挑的屋頂還有那隻在樑上徘徊的貓，光是這幅情景就值得來捧場了吧。

上環干諾道西17號地下
tel: 2540 6340

蘭芳園

由1952 年經營到到今天坐擁尖沙嘴、信德中心和中環三家店，蘭芳園在香港受歡迎的程度可見一斑。 雖說是絲襪奶茶的始祖，我還是最愛它的蔥油雞扒撈丁，脆皮的雞扒灑上蔥末再淋上熱油，和公仔麵搭配著吃，真是人生一大樂事啊。

中環結志街2號
tel: 2544 3895 / 2854 0731

華星冰室

有人愛澳洲牛奶公司，有人愛Hokkaido Milk，我就最愛華星。澳奶有點兒遠，Hokkaido Milk服務態度差勁，還是華星，炒蛋永遠香味撲鼻，夥計永遠活力奔放效率十足。

灣仔克街6號廣生行大廈地下B1號舖
tel: 2666 7766

翠華

永遠不會令人失望的香港金招牌。這裡沒有最好喝的奶茶，也沒有最好吃的菠蘿包，可是說也奇怪，我往往在國外最想念的卻是它。可能是它那隨時隨地也可以滿足你的慾望的能力吧。無論是咖哩飯，肉醬義大利麵，魚蛋粉或是豬仔包，每一樣都做得很是像樣。山頂上海或香港幾場，我每聽到翠華開新分店我都可以興奮半天。最愛它的冬陰公豬軟骨片頭米線。

中環威靈頓街15-19號地下至2樓
tel: 2525 6338

在较大的地图中查看nanamoose's Hong Kong Cha Chaan Tang Finds

And the Moon Shines a River in Jinguashi

About an hour away from Taipei lies a hill station little known outside the Formosa. This area, a little to the east of the famed Jiufen, has been a mining area used by the Japanese during the Second World War. Today, however, little here remains to suggest its tumultuous past apart from the Mining Museum and scattered Japanese style houses. Most of the mines are now carpeted in lush green vegetation, and its location, hemmed in by the Pacific Ocean, are attracting local holidaymakers and artists seeking to enjoy the slow life.

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Ms. Yang was a Taipeier who like many, came looking for solace years ago and fell in love with the blue skies, lush green hills and distant waters. She first started accepting guests into her own house and named it 月河民宿 Moon River Inn, a two story structure along a small flowing river. Think brick walls, fireplace, wooden windows frames decked in green, a bright red sofa and lots of drapery. There’s even a beautifully designed light court by the dining table to allow light in through the gabled roof.

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真心咖啡 True Heart Café, with additional rooms in the basement, came afterwards, also retaining much of the building’s original wooden structure and decked in warm vibrant colours and fabrics. Books and CDs adorn one wall while another is decorated with postcards sent from satisfied guests from all over the world. I arrived at True Heart Cafe on Jinguashi’s old street one warm, sunny afternoon to find the entrance to the café blocked by a group of serious looking men and women. The only relaxed person there, one Ah Nuo, drenched in sweat and wearing ripped cargo shorts and a simple T-shirt, explained that they were teachers on a study tour stopping for some coffee en route to the Mining Museum. He explained that he was a friend of Ms. Yang’s, and that I should come visit his art gallery later on if I have time. I might also want to tag along with this group to the museum, and he’d be happy to be my guide.

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Being from a city like Hong Kong, my alert signal naturally started wailing. He doesn’t look like someone who owns a gallery… and offering to be my guide upon our first five minutes of meeting? This doesn’t sound right. And so, being a typical city girl, I respectfully declined. That same afternoon, Ms. Yang took me to a beautiful art gallery on the foot on the Jinguashi mountains and facing the vast Pacific Ocean. One signature piece from the gallery was a wooden chime made to resemble the bells worn on the belts of miners so that they could find each other in the dark when trapped. The crafter designed this wooden chime in memory of his father. As a kid, he always remembered the joy of hearing the bells’ muted ring outside the house, because it meant that his father was coming home safe from the mines. The crafter, and owner of that beautiful space, was of course Ah Nuo.

In Taiwan, learn to open up to people. When you do so, you’ll find that you’re making friends fast, at every turn of a corner. Jinguashi happens to be an exceptionally beautiful place to practice this art.

PS: apparently Ms. Yang has acquired an additional two story building next door the café and named it Little White Palace. Perfect for a family of four!

月河民宿 Moon River Hostel
台北縣瑞芳鎮金瓜石銅山里祈堂路130號
tel: +886 938-752202

Taitung Finds: a Secluded Treasure called Private Spot

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The owners of Moonrise Inn in Dulan, Taitung had it all figured out. A secret spot they’ve set their eyes on for seven years, and now finally, it’s theirs, and they’ve marked their territory with a quirky new guesthouse and a friendly little shibu-inu called 白寶 “White Treasure”.

So what’s so “private” about this location? Well, only it’s tucked so high up in the mountains and guarantees such breathtaking views that, well honestly, I’d rather not share it with anyone if it were mine. Owners 翠娟 Cui Juan and 淑雲 Shu Yun obviously have a much bigger heart than I do because not only does their private spot boast individual villas to rent, they also have a huge lounge area (with a peculiar stonework design) where their renowned coffee is cooked and shared amongst friends, and a pebbled front yard where guests sit, lie, or splay out in whatever position comfortable to watch the plethora of stars above (PS: this is a nightly event. Thus is life in Dulan).

Do me a favour will you? Please keep this a “secret” between you and me. Otherwise, if it’s secluded location is not enough to fend off the crowds, perhaps its slightly expensive price tag (NT$4,800 for a two person villa) might do the trick.

私房景點
959台東縣東河村都蘭村郡界82號
訂房專線：089-531065 行動電話 0933-519860

Taitung Finds: Best Fresh Fish

When next in Taitung, don't forget to pig out on local fresh fish, often a red-throated coris or tilefish, served pan-fried with lime and peppered salt, and accompanied by a simple stir-fried mountain vegetable dish. By far some of the freshest and best fish I have had.

At East Harbour 東港 in Taitung City, these wonderful fresh foods are served roadside under a huge banyan tree, and most importantly with the benefit of eat-till-you-drop complimentary braised pork rice!

Another great option is Special Pick 特選 in Fu Gang Harbour, about a fifteen-minute drive south of Taitung City. Pick your seafood at the door and have them cooked to your preference onsite, fresh. Make sure you order the white cut chicken 白斬雞 too.

East Harbour 東港生魚片
台東縣台東市新社三街1號
tel: (886) 933383207

Special Pick 特選海產餐廳
台東市富岡街37號　
tel: (886) 89 281447 / 281917

Taitung Finds: Paw Paw Drums

Most of the literature surrounding 三仙台 San Xian Tai (“the Stage of the There Immortals”), three huge pieces of rock jutting out from the middle of the Pacific Ocean in between Taidong and Hualian, says that it is so named when 呂洞賓 Lv Dong Bin, 李鐵拐 Li Tie Guai and 何仙姑 He Xian Gu, from ancient Chinese folklore the Eight Immortals, decided to board the island from here. However, to the Amis, the three immortals mean nothing to them. For the tribe nearest to San Xian Tai, these rock formations have always been called PiSiLiAng, meaning a land for herding sheep. Since the little island is landlocked in the midst of the lapping waves the sheep have nowhere to go but to stay put, and hence PiSiLiAng have become a favourite spot for herders.

As is the case with most aboriginal areas in Taiwan, the biggest challenge faced by the community these days is the lack of local career opportunities, forcing the majority of the working population to big cities and leaving the old and the young behind. Most children are being taken care of grandparents too old to be able to discipline them, and hence social problems like drug abuse starts to present themselves.

Seeing this, community development director Chen Chun-mei teamed up with music teacher Zhi-ming to develop a drumming group for teenagers. The group turned out to be a huge success. Soon, every kid and teenager wanted to join. The children make their own drums from abandoned buoys from the ocean, and the drumhead from dried sheepskin. Their name, Paw Paw, literally means buoy. Today, proud to be part of the Amis tribe and part of the group, the children start to cherish their culture and the traditional Amis language.

We came to watch the performance on a hot summers afternoon. When we reached the music hall, it seemed as if every grandparent and child from the tribe had gathered around the building to watch these kids perform, for the nth time perhaps. Grandmas were chatting amongst themselves, and little kids roamed free, clambering in and out of the thick, wood-framed windows as if it was tree. There was an air of festivity, and when the drums rolled, I was awestruck.

 

To see where Paw Paw Drums are performing next, follow them on facebook.

Taitung Finds: the Aboriginal Three Star Experience

When I first visited 耀宗 Yao Zong’s “Urn Lily Spring” Restaurant near Shitiping in Hualian, the place resembled more of a derelict factory of some sort. With its plastic chairs and Yao Zong’s topless Amis muscular physique, we wouldn’t even have guessed that it was a restaurant, let alone a fantastic one. However, that meal left me mesmerized, and I was not able to stop thinking about it for the next two years.

So finally, when I stepped once again into Yao Zong’s restaurant last week, you could imagine the anticipation and excitement. This was the aboriginal world’s El Bulli, and Yao Zong their Ferran Adria. And with the publicity surrounding Yao Zong’s culinary mastery in the past two years, Urn Lily Spring had grown from that nondescript roadside shack into a seaside gallery of sorts resembling a high-ceilinged banquet hall and with a capacity of near hundred. Not that Yao Zong would entertain such large number of guests with his laid back Amis attitude, but the complete shift in atmosphere did take me by surprise.

Thus our courses arrived:

roasted cherry tomatoes on a bed of shitake mushrooms and chayote shoots (龍鬚菜) with a yuzu tinged sesame sauce - refreshing;

freshly caught sea urchin;

baby mountain bitter gourd stuffed with ikura and black beans – one of Yao Zong’s greatest inventions and an explosion of interesting flavours;

an aboriginal glutinous rice ball covered in deep-fried taro flakes, dipped in sea salt and paired with grilled aboriginal herb sausage, a seemingly simple dish, yet so full of basic, robust, and contrasting flavours and textures;

a simple poached lobster, fresh to brim;

and Yao Zong’s famous sea-salt encrusted fish.

Two years can do wonders to a chef’s culinary journey. Yao Zong has developed a masterchef poise that was just short of the arrogance carried by many today’s so called celebrity chefs. He greeted us with the usual charm and warmth of an Amis and told us to drink up and enjoy the ocean breeze while he prepared the food. He has also earned a fleet of about five servers and a charismatic pet piglet called Da Bao, or Big Treasure. Each and every dish was good, but I found myself reminiscing Yao Zong’s good old shack on that hot summer’s day, Urn and Lily playing tag by our table while I ate, sweat on my brow and the sea breeze blowing salt-encrusted kisses on my cheeks.

So what is it about a meal that makes it unforgettable? Is it ultimately down to the food? Or do you need to build a story around it in your mind, a story crocheted from the people making the food, their background, the environment, the smell, the sounds, and your own projections and prejudices? My favourite Yao Zong moment, built from the perfect constellation of all these elements, had gone, but I would keep coming back. After all, reminiscing the past, especially in the company of such good food, can sometimes be a joy.

Urn Lily Spring is now at Pakelang Boat House B&B, No. 15 Dafengfeng, Changbin Township, Taitung
陶甕百合春天 台東縣長濱鄉樟原村大峰峰15號
TEL: +886 921633406 or +886 89-881400

Taitung Finds: A Singing Dog in Changbin

Somewhere tucked in the hills of Changbin 長濱 between Hualian and Taitung there lies a little stone house with the strangest dog ever. And I’m using the word strange here in as endearing a way as possible, because, as you will see, there really is no other word to describe this peculiar scene.

Every morning at about 10am, Max starts to whimper impatiently, trying to attract the attention of his owner Nian Yang. It’s time for his morning snack. However, while most dogs perform a little trick of “sit” or “roll over”, Max here, a full-grown husky with one blue and one hazel eye, starts to sing. And it’s not any ordinary singing. It’s an operatic duet of the highest quality, a man vs dog interpretation of Schubert’s Ave Maria, and man, it’s good.

 

Back to the household that houses this peculiar animal. The couple, Nian Yang and his wife Ci Bu, opened Sunny Buhouse about two years ago, not as a guesthouse but a place “to share with you our way of life”. They chose to base this new home in Changbin after falling in love with this mountainside location; the Pacific Ocean lapping quietly in the distance while the green precipice of the Hai-An mountain range hang precariously, yet majestically, at their backs. At night, the rooftop, still fresh with warmth from the morning sun, invites you to lie down and stargaze; a blanket of closely-knit stars fighting to embrace you with their radiance, and a shooting star rocketing past your eyes every other minute.

These are but two of the many reasons I fell in love with Sunny Buhouse at first sight- Max and beautiful Changbin. Yet there is so much more to this. There is the décor - clean, simple, yet dotted with touches of ethnicity – an African miniature totem, Indian furniture, aboriginal wall hangings and the smell of burning mugwort leaves to welcome you upon your arrival – a product of Ci Bu’s artistic and spiritual imagination. In the mornings, Ci Bu whips up a healthy buffet breakfast made with her heart and soul – homemade goji berry bread paired with plum jam made by a friend who’s left the rat race in the city to be a jam connoisseur, herbal tea concocted by a Chinese doctor neighbour, and a rosemary tea brewed from fresh herbs in the garden. Ci Bu explains all of this to you patiently in her soft, calming voice, itself a source of healing energy, while her husband, Nian Yang chatters excitedly on about his views on modern Taiwanese education.

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In the end, no matter what reasons there are to love a place, it always comes down to the heart. Nothing beats the power of human energy and affection. At Sunny Buhouse, I felt the positive powers of yin and yang work in perfect harmony, creating a space that is both soothing and uplifting. I believed, the first moment I stepped foot on this piece of land, that I would be back here often. I believe I was right.

Sunny Buhouse is at 85 Zhongyong Village, Changbin Township, Taitung County
陽光佈居 台東縣長濱鄉忠勇村85號
tel: 0933-990233 0933-664642
email: [email protected]
NOTE: Best to call and ask for directions from Taitung or Hualian, or visit their website