desserts/events: 2011 TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL BAKING SHOW

I had my eye on the 2011 Taipei International Bakery Show ever since I saw the write up by Yi on My Several Worlds last year and I had to wait a whole year for it to come back around! So when I spotted the coupon/flyer at a neighborhood bakery, I snatched it up and luckily caught it on the last afternoon of a four day run.

It's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for baking supplies or just want to browse the eating side! They had tons of stuff for the hard core and bakery owners- industrial mixers and ovens, as well as for the home baker- sprinkles, cookie cutters, candy molds and mega packs of cupcake liners.

The Wilton area had a lot of great supplies, cake toppers and cutters. I even picked up a cupcake carrier there for a 15% discount since it was the last day.

One day, you will be mine...

There was no shortage of too-cute-to-eat confections to gawk at and take pictures of.



One of my favorite eats was the gelatos- there were quite a few vendors on the "professional side."

How do they get the colors on these cakes to look so smooth? Spray on 'frosting' in spray paint bottles.

Where else would you see shoes made out of chocolates?

It was kind of cool to peek inside the world of industrial baking. The sizes of these mixers and baking molds was kind of awesome. I can't even imagine the price tags. It's hard to tell, but the last mixer in the picture below was probably almost as tall as I was.

Huge silicone rubber baking molds that were the size of the rubber mats that would go on the floor of your car.

It was cool to see non-bakery things like cheeses and flour too. I was surprised to see Din Tai Fung even having a mini display, that of course had a line going for it.

Would you buy Chiahe flour because Din Tai Fung uses it?

I got suckered into buying a few packs of this wheat noodle and the sesame/chili sauces, but it was actually a good purchase. The packs were huge and separated into individual portions and cook quickly. The sauces, I'm kind of addicted to now. I'll have to do a separate post on these and find the ordering/purchasing information.

There was a sugar molding competition where the chefs created amazing delicate and huge displays that you could get up close to see (behind the glass, of course!)

The one sample area that I found was not worth getting mobbed for. Everyone elbowing and gunning for a small sample, many people grabbing 3 or 4 at a time. This small toasted slice was brushed with sugar so it was crispy and sweet.

I thought I'd be swimming in samples and food, but I realized that the showroom is split in two sides- the industrial side and the bakery side. Turns out, I ended up wandering around the supplies and vendor side first after spotting a shop full of cupcake liners. By the time I made it to the "bakery" side, they were packing up and getting ready to clear their stalls... like this guy:

But popular bakeries like How Sweet, Florida Bakery and others were selling their popular items like egg puddings and cheesecakes.

I'll definitely be back next year and be a little bit more organized about walking around and getting better photos instead of doing it last minute for a few hours like I did this year (thus all the iPhone pictures). Mark your calendars- March 2012!

CLOSED!/mexican: i recommend TACO2GO

TACO2GO
No. 10, Lane 76, XinSheng S. Rd, Sec. 3
(02) 2368-3209

MRT: Gongguan

website: Taco2GoTWfacebook page

hours: 11AM - 3PM; 5PM - 9PM

$

Kid friendliness: only 4 outdoor stool seats; can take food 2go

Visit reviewed: 4/3/2011

Let's not forget what city we're in, but somehow Taipei has seen the opening of three new Mexican joints the past six months (Taco2Go, Macho Tacos, Mayan Grill), revamping of one opened last year (Oola), but the closing of four others (El Gallo, La Casita, Yuma Southwestern Grill, Taco Bar). The math is complicated, but the taste test is easy.

Hot, cheesy and cheap- that's a good start for my bite of burrito right?

In a blink and you'd miss it location tucked along the alleys near Tai Yi Milk King, Taco2Go is the perfect name for this colorful, five month old hole in the wall. If you thought Macho Tacos was small, you haven't seen Taco2Go yet. There's only four barstool seats so if it's crowded or raining, you should get your food to go. Thanks to readers Ginny and Mei for the heads up that I should give it try.

The tacos, burritos and quesadillas (with ground beef or chicken) are impressively under NT$100, while the nachos are NT$129. The quesadilla is NT$50- seriously, how can you beat that? The couple that runs this tiny kitchen moved back from the states and the spirit of Taco2Go seems very friendly and wanting to please. After a drought of good Mexican food in Taipei, I find it amusing that there's suddenly a new wave of entrepreneurs want to take that on, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Keep it coming!

I watched as my burrito was quickly made with spoonfuls of pre-made rice and refried beans. Setting it on the panini grill made it nice and hot, and melted the cheese which glued everything together. The ground beef seems spiced with taco seasoning and tasted like something I might have made at home- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not going to the most authentic thing I've ever eaten, but it's probably just as good as what I could quickly make for myself (unless I was craving enchiladas and guacamole- for that, I'd have to get in the kitchen).

The more I ate it, the more I liked it and it reminded me of when I ate my panini-grilled shawarma in Toronto, walking and devouring. The size was good for the price and taste was good enough to make me curious about the nachos. I'll have to go back again. A bonus is that I'll save room for a big bowl of shaved ice afterwards, with Tai Yi just a few lanes over.

Are you just as surprised as I am by the new Mexican food wave? Don't forget to tell them where you heard about Taco2Go if you go check it out and write back and tell me how you liked it.

italian: i recommend BUNNY LISTENS TO THE MUSIC

BUNNY LISTENS TO THE MUSIC
No. 15, Lane 6, Qingtian St
(02) 2395-9388

MRT: Guting

website: bunnymusic.com.tw

hours: 11:30 AM - 10 PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, room for strollers

Visit reviewed: 3/23/2011



I had been hearing about Bunny Listens to the Music for awhile (maybe years), but with such an unusual name, I didn't know what to expect. So it wasn't until my friend wanted to have lunch there that prompted me to finally give it a try. And you know what? It's definitely worth a try with its stylish interior, creamy pastas and desserts and breads from its sister bakery, Boite de bijou.

The decor is roomy and warm, and filled with customers- reservations are definitely recommended for lunch, afternoon tea or dinner.



Lunchtime business sets change monthly and run from NT$360-500 and include a soup, main dish (pasta, risotto, seafood or chicken), dessert and coffee or tea. And nice crusty bread that we devoured with butter.





We must have asked for refills on the bread at least three times. I also like getting my drink lemon ice tea with my meal.



I got the tomato beef soup, but recommend getting the onion soup instead. The tomato beef soup was very peppery, while the onion soup was sweet with carmelized onions.



I liked all our main dishes, but my favorite was probably the risotto with crab meat and vegetables in pumpkin cream sauce (NT$420).



Al dente and creamy with lots of fat pieces of fresh crab meat and slightly sweet from the strong pumpkin flavor. I dislike it when a dish says it has crab in it and you can't find even one piece. This one had chunks in every other scoop.

The spaghetti with sauteed pork and garlic, chili peppers and olive oil (NT$400) had a nice light touch yet a kick from the chili peppers.



I was unsure about the tagliatelle with shrimp and scallops in tomato cream sauce (NT$400) because the cream sauce had a slightly sour flavor, but it grew on me.



The server recommended the roasted 1/2 chicken with devil sauce (NT$500) which we thought was going to be crazy spicy, but it was manageable. I probably wouldn't order it again since the pastas were more memorable.



When this plate of cookies came to our table, we had to double check and ask "is this our set dessert?" When the answer was yes, we asked if we could trade it for the real desserts. The good stuff!

So the dessert sampler tray came out for us to choose from. Which one to choose? So hard to pick! We ended up getting the poached pear and apple tart and Macallan (+NT$110).



After my first bite of this rich chocolate dessert, I gasped "Oh my god!" Not because of the amazing taste, but because of the strong alcohol flavor! Named after the single malt scotch whisky that is used in the dessert, the Macallan is definitely memorable. We laughed at my friend who sought out dessert, having had ordered it before and really loved it. I'm not a big drinker, so for me, the alcohol taste overpowered the sweetness of the chocolate.



Overall, good food in a good space- could be a really cute place for date night and get your date tipsy with dessert. And you can walk a few blocks away to check out Boite de bijou to take some more goodies home.

hungryintaipei restaurant roundup- april 2011: philly cheesesteaks and mexican food in taipei?!

I'm always spotting new openings and closings of places and sometimes I talk about it on Twitter or Facebook, but for a more permanent place, I'm going to try and do a monthly summary here on the blog. Some places I've tried and will be writing up soon, others I've just spotted or heard about. Everyone is welcome to add in the comments section- I can't be everywhere at once! :)

• Philly cheesesteaks in Taipei? What is the world coming to? First, it seems like a Mexican restaurant wave is hitting Taipei and now I find this out. You know I'm going to go check this out! Who's eaten at Cheese David?
  
• Speaking of Mexican food- tried tiny hole in the wall Taco2Go (opened last November) in Gongguan, near Taiyi Milk King Shaved Ice. If you thought Macho Tacos was small, you haven't seen Taco2Go.
  
• Went to the soft opening of Mayan Grill, a new Mexican sit-down restaurant near Ambassador Hotel (write up coming soon). Timing might be good with the closings of El Gallo, Yuma Southwestern Grill and La Casita this past year, if they can make the menu work.
  
• Heard there will be a new branch of Eddy's Cantina in Tianmu opening soon, in the old Sababa location. Does that mean all the Sababas are slowly closing down?
  
• Spotted a new branch of Evan's Burger next to Parents Restaurant, near Zhongxiao/Dunhua. When is it opening?
  
• Cubanos was bought out and being revamped. When I went in December, I was told that cuban sandwiches will still be on the new restaurant's menu, but the new place will serve pastas and a broader menu. We'll see if that turns out to be true.
  
• One of the co-founders of Oola has opened up Fresh Greens, a salads and paninis cafe in Neihu (note to Fresh Greens- please put your address in English on your FB page and on your website!) I guess Neihu is springing up a bunch of these cafes ( Journey Kaffe anyone?) so someone open one in the Xinyi District!
  
• Spotted Hello Kitty Sweets cakes and desserts at Fuxing Sogo's food court. I'm finally tried the restaurant last week.
  
• Lawry's has moved from its Living Mall location to the Xinyi district, in the building across from Neo 19.
  
• Also nearby is Spanish restaurant DN Innovacion
  
• Macaroni Grill has closed its Neo 19 location and will reopen in the old Traders Vic's location on Minsheng E. Rd, in the Ruth Chris/McD's building. Will you follow Mac Grill to their new location?
  
• Ton Sushi also closed their Neo 19 location so only their Bellavita location remains.
  

As you can see, I've been eating faster than I can blog, but wanted to put some of the news out there in case a place shuts down before I've had a chance to write about it. (I have a few of those posts in my drafts folder). I know there's more out there, so consider this list a work in progress!

If you like this new experiment or find this useful, please leave me a hello in the comments section! Muchas gracias!

my kitchen: hello kitty sugar cookies

Ever since I bought the trio of pink Hello Kitty baking supplies, I've been experimenting and every cookie, cake, biscuit and even cornbread has been kitty-fied.

This past weekend, I made sugar cookies from a Pillsbury Funfetti Cookie Mix that my sister got for me. I liked how the dough stayed relatively firm compared to the recipes that I've tried in the past in which the dough seemed to become soft and sticky very quickly and not stay firm enough to peel off the cut shapes. It helped to flour the surface generously and work quickly.

This cookie cutter is actually meant for toast so it's quite large and makes a cookie bigger than my palm. The cutter is in two pieces, so it helps to push firmly on the outline and not so hard on the inside one (with eyes ears and bowtie) otherwise the bowtie and right ear are perforated from the rest of the head. I've also seen cookie cutters that have the whole Hello Kitty body and has legs that you can use to "prop" up the cookie and make the Hello Kitty stand.

I decorated the cookies before baking them with Wilton Pink, Red and Blue Sparkle Gels. I found out that the gels don't dry and stay in place the way typical cookie icing, or royal icing, does. I found out the hard way when I decorated cookies and everything smeared during the transport. But it was an accident that I decorated my christmas cookies a few years ago before baking them and found out the gel hardened like a candied texture so that I could bag up the cookies for giving away.

Want to see my other Hello Kitty creations?

my kitchen: cabbage apple peanut slaw

When I was a kid, I wouldn't eat coleslaw. I think I found something off-putting about the goopy mayo that it often came loaded with and sometimes the occasional raisin. Ick. But sometime in the post-college, nicer-dinner-restaurants years, I ate grown up versions that cut out the mayo and were fresh and tasty. So now I find it one of my favorite salads to make at home- crispy shreds of raw cabbage, slivers of carrots, strips of apple and a handful of fried peanuts all tossed in my favorite miso dressing with a dash of mustard- that is fast and easy and delivers satisfying crunch and sweetness.