发现潜藏的口味

自从来到这里，对自己的味觉 / 口味有了更深一层的发现：

• 超爱面粉/淀粉类高的食物，如：面包、饭、粉圆；
• 涂上花生酱的饼干；
• 蒸鱼；
• 麦片。

我在新加坡的时候，都把这些食物当成理所当然，不知为何人在异乡，对这几样原本就很熟悉的食物有一种特殊的craving。也特爱吃零食了。

这些都是我在家乐福、学校的福利社和学校附近的熊威超市的战利品：

朋友在淡水帮我买的鱼酥。超好吃，可惜吃完了～

靠近小南门捷运站的家乐福。Everything in Chinese :)

还有蔬菜饼、铜锣烧和巧克力没有上镜呢。

刚才读《联合早报》时得知米、麦和咖啡涨价了，在1003也听到DJ黄文鸿说，有机构说我们已经身处在物价上涨的时代。

我的天啊，正当我发现自己爱吃米和麦类食物的时候，价格攀升。台北也一样，面包都好贵喔。

不过重点是，我也发现自己越来越不挑食了。小时候的我嘴巴很机灵，什么好吃 / 不好吃、“漏风”等的食物，我都是第一个提出意见。可能是一直受父母影响，不能挑食，所以坏习惯消失了，取而代之的是“什么都尝试、什么都OK”的味觉。

开始厌倦这样的味觉，因为台湾是美食天堂。我的嘴可以挑一点。

还好，在这里遇到一个很可爱的朋友，她懂什么是或不是极品，也推荐我一些学校附近不错吃的店家。得好好向她学习才是～

以前在家里，什么都好吃（因为是妈妈用心烹调的），现在人在外，每天的“厨师”都不同，味道也不同，吃也成了我一天的最大享受。

或许，5个月不见，之后见到的我，就是个大胖子～

无论如何，我对吃可以再讲究一点。:)

Day 51: New Life Church

On the last day of my Spring Break, I went to New Life Church with TY! It's my first time visiting a church; have never done so back home, as far as I can remember.

Although I'm a Buddhist, I didn't hesitate much when TY asked me if I wanted to go for this church event, cos I wanted to experience how a church activity is like. Moreover, I heard that F.I.R's 阿沁 and 劉耕宏 will be performing at this church concert. Come to think of it, it was really an eye opener~ :)

On the bus with TY. Ready to set off! :)

The concert was held at a building in Taipei Fuhsing Private School, which is just opposite the famous bookstore—— 誠品敦化.

Basketball court.

Basketball court is the first place you see when you step into the school. Although I didn't tour around the school, but I have a feel that it's really huge.



At the other end of the basketball court, there's this cement stage. Hmm, I wonder if Taiwanese kids have assembly in the morning. Shall go find out from my friends.

Next up: The Concert!! :)

We went to the gallery at second level cos the first level was packed with many many people. We even have to share seats! But it's ok, since concerts are supposed to be crowded. 这样才有气氛!!

The concert was held in conjunction with the release of a new album by New Life Church, and the songs from the album are composed by the members of this church, under the theme of Hope.

The performers were really talented and professional! They dressed so much like artistes that F.I.R's vocalist 飞 was "buried" within them. I didn't notice it was her until told me.

F.I.R's 飞 (In red top)

刘耕宏

F.I.R 阿沁—— my favourite!

今天看到的阿沁，比较不像艺人，反而很像朋友。纵使他给媒体的印象一直都很友善，但他今天畅所欲言，在台上还和女友飞“打情骂俏”，让她害羞，真的很逗趣～

The songs they composed were full of love and hope, and this makes me suddenly realised why F.I.R's songs are usually encouraging. Those songs had previously helped me overcome a dark period in my life, and now I know their inspiration actually came from God.

音乐是很有感染力的，尤其是充满快乐、感恩、希望的歌曲。或许因为觉得中文歌比较亲切，所以特别有感觉，心情也变得更加轻盈～

觉得这个教会和娱乐圈有很紧密的联系——阿沁自弹自唱的《不凋零的花》，我曾经在HIT FM（台湾的流行电台）听何耀珊诠释过。是他唱到副歌的时候我才发现的。原来，流行音乐也能和宗教巧妙做结合喔! :)

The singers who sang in the album were also featured in an MV. The graphics were very nicely and professionally done, although some of the singers' expressions were a little unnatural. They were probably inexperienced but that's ok. :)

芝颖学姐 took us to tour around the church after the concert ended. Whoo~ It's my first time entering a church, so full of curiosity and excitement~



芝颖学姐 told me that there's a couple who'll be getting married in the church today, and upon seeing the wedding photo I was totally shocked-- the bridegroom was ex-Sixplus（六甲樂團）vocalist—— 阿文!! Omg, what a coincidence!!

Ex-Sixplus vocalist 阿文 and his wife.

The tour around the church marveled me—— it's very elegantly and nicely decorated. The whole place looked very cosy and peaceful, and such atmosphere can really influence a person to feel calm and secure.

Behind these people is a bookstore.

Besides Bibles and church-related books, cute little souvenirs and ornaments are sold in the bookstore too.

I'm attracted by the shiny disco ball on top of the cards stand. Elegant!

The Cafe.

Church members gathering and engaging in a sharing session.

Next, we attended 阿文's wedding at a multi-purpose venue where church sessions and special events are held (I think). There were talks by the priest and a senior couple, and performances by the church singers.

You see the LED above? LEDs are seen everywhere in Taipei—— in buses, schools etc—— they even have it in this hall! By the way I think this guy is quite cute. He can compose songs and sing well~ :) He's like a star singer within the church.

The priest giving a talk. 覺得他是充滿現代感的人, very fashionable. See the guy on the very right? He's Raymond, member of the boyband Tension.

As I was sitting at the side of the hall, my view was blocked by a pillar, haha. Luckily they've got this plasma TV that shows the live telecast. Sweet sweet! Showered with happiness. :)

芝颖、TY、Me. 芝颖 reminds me of S.H.E's Hebe. She's a 研究生 at NCCU's 新闻系.. 聪明啰～

这次参与教堂演唱会，真是大开眼界。我看见也感受到信徒们对他们信仰的虔诚，更是第一次在私下场合，一次过近距离看到这么多从事演艺工作，或曾经在荧幕上出现的人—— FIR团员阿沁与飞、刘耕宏与妻子、Tension团员Raymond、前自然卷主唱娃娃、前六甲乐团主唱阿文，还有《千里之外》MV的女主角。



Since New Life Church is near 东区, TY and I walked around the area. This PRADA's advertisement is REAL BIG!

We had a sumptuous 排骨饭 dinner at 君悅，which is most acclaimed for its signature pork ribs set meal. The food was good but was a bit expensive lor. 一分钱一分吧～

The 配菜 goes very well with the rice and adds flavour to the ribs.

The meat is tender, the skin is crispy.
Tastes superb with vinegar!

Day 49: 二次游淡水 & 周杰倫效應

Unlike Singapore, we've got no one-week mid-term break within our semester here. Instead, there's a Spring Break that lasts for four days. From what I heard from my Taiwanese friend, Spring Break is similar to Qingming Festival, when people pay visits to the graves of their departed family members or relatives.

This Thursday marks the start of this year's Spring Break. Yesterday, TY, OF and I headed to 淡水. It's my second time there since I came here, and my conclusion is: There's simply too much to see and eat at 淡水! A few hours are definitely not enough for a tourist who wishes to know more about 淡水.

I switched to "tourist mode" yesterday, and decided to source for the famous snacks at 淡水. 要吃, 就吃最好的~

***

I. 美食 Gourmet



Snack number ONE: Smelly tofu. Amazingly, I've so gotten used to that smell that I don't think the tofu are smelly at all. The tofu from this stall is not very smelly; I've yet to try a really really smelly one. Will go to the famous 豆腐街-- 深坑 one day to hunt for the smelliest tofu!!

Me & OF & the different desserts we ordered.

Snack number TWO: Beancurd / Pudding. I ordered Pudding+Pearls. Don't think that the serving is small; I only remembered that I forgot to take a picture of it after I tucked in! Was too eager to savour this much raved dessert. :)

The pudding was exceptionally smooth and the pearls were really chewy, though I hope latter can be bigger so that they're nicer to chew on. The soup wasn't too sweet, just nice for people who don't have sweet tooth~




Snack number THREE: 花枝丸. These sotong balls are freshly made and taste excellent with chilli powder and pepper.

A teenager approached us while we were eating our sotong balls at a corner of a street. He showed us some magic tricks and I loved the his trick of taking out a poker card out of his mouth in front of us! Although these so-called "magic" are just illusions, but he was fast enough to deceive our eyes.

By the way, I thought silently that.. he looked like Jay Chou. ;)


Snack number FOUR: Tower ice-cream. We both had the strawberry cheese cum mango milk. Its taste wasn't as good as it sounds, but still, I love ice-creams so I thought it was OK.






Snack number FIVE: 阿給. As mentioned earlier, 淡水 is really famous for this snack. The name "阿給" comes from the Japanese pronunciation of oily tofu-- "abura-age". It is actually 冬粉 wrapped inside 豆乾, topped with 魚醬.

There are a lot of shops at 淡水老街 claiming to be the inventor of 阿給, but the actual shop where 阿給 originated is at 真理街. I'm glad we found the genuine 阿給! YAY!! :)

There were not enough seats inside the shop so we had to stand beside a family to wait for them to finish their food. Long queues were seen at both "eat-inside" and "take-away" areas set up for taking orders. The owner must be making big big money!!





Dinner @ 公館 (We left 淡水 by dinnertime): 雞錦丼+四川泡菜+茶碗蒸+紅茶. Can you believe it this is the first time I'm eating out at Yoshinoya, despite it being rather popular in Singapore. :X The chicken was really tender, and I love its gravy! The Chawan mushi was savory too, there's even a piece of chicken inside. 幸福~

***

II. 周杰倫效應 The Jay Chou Effect

If you watched Jay Chou's Secret, you would have known that the school featured inside the movie was Jay Chou's secondary school-- 淡江中學. It's become a famous tourist spot now. We saw many many tourists even though it was a school day! So I call this "The Jay Chou Effect". 大家都是衝著周杰倫而來～ :)

From 紅毛城 (Fort San Domingo, within walking distance from 淡水老街) we set off to 淡江中學!!

Along our way we passed by 真理大學 (Aletheia University). I was surprised to see buildings of European style within the campus. It doesn't look like a university at all; more like a park in one of the European countries. The classy architectural style made me feel really relaxed. How I wished I can attend a school like that. Makes me feel like a tourist every day. :)

Elegant!

This is what you see when you enter the university from its front gate.

That's the auditorium (I think)!


Omg there's even a fort here.


They really put effort in botanic art. This is outside the School of Management and Mathematics.


自拍 from the rooftop of the university.

And then, we reached my much anticipated 淡江中學 (Tam-Kang High School)!! :) :)

This is the very famous 八角塔 (Octagonal Tower). Do you find it familiar? It's the opening scene of the movie, when 晴依 (曾愷玄飾) introduced the school to 葉湘倫 (周杰倫飾) as they walked along the pathway I was standing on.

I remembered it was a long shot, and the director must have used the camera suspended at the end of a long long rod. So where was the camera placed? Probably in front of this building, which is facing the Octagonal Tower:

We went to the sides of the Tower and took more photos. This Tower houses the administration building and several classrooms.

We reacted the Classic Move in the corridor, where 路小雨(桂綸鎂飾) would tap on 葉湘倫's shoulder and when he turns back, she will point her index finger on his cheek. Cheap thrill~ :)

Yeah, going for lesson.

By the way, the uniform in the movie was not the school's actual uniform. Took a photo with these two friendly students to show you how their original uniform looks like. I love the knee-length socks and the black dolly pumps!

A peak of a classroom inside the Tower. Looks cosy!


Classrooms in another building. Really love the architectural design!!


This is the field where the rugby competition in the movie was held.


Oh, so rugby is a very well-recognised sport in the school.


I have a feeling that this bench was featured in the movie. But I may be wrong~


Don't know what this building is, but it looks elegant~


Really doesn't look like it's a place within a campus.


I appreciate the school's effort in planting all these nice flowers and plants around the school to add greenery and beautify the campus.


The signs that remind tourists not to enter classroom areas are seen at certain parts of the school. If I were a student there, I will feel proud being part of the big family, but meanwhile I will also hope to enjoy the serenity of the campus, without disturbances from visitors. Dilemma~


Road outside the school.

It was near evening when we walked back to 淡水老街. From there we headed to 魚人碼頭 (Fisherman's Wharf). See, 海與天連成一線!! :)

This is a really nice walkway along the sea. Imagine holding your lover's hand and strolling here-- must be very romantic! :)


We saw this pet pig outside a drinks shop. The owner keeps a pet squirrel as well. O.o


I been to 魚人碼頭 3 years ago but that was in the day. Oh, so this is how the 情人橋 (Lover's Bridge) looks like in the night. Really good spot for dating. :)

I'm on the bridge! Behind me is the stretch of restaurants, bakery and snacks shops that cater to the tourists. A highly commercialised / tourist-y place.. Won't really like it if not for the nice scenery.

***

III. 隨圖 Random

Saw this cute signboard along the 淡水老街.

Talking about dogs, there are many many vagrant dogs along the streets in Taipei, unlike Singapore where there are more vagrant cats than dogs. I am afraid of dogs before I came here, but now I'm quite immune to their presence. I heard it's a kind of psychological effect-- the more one is exposed to something that one is feared of, the more he (she) will become used to it.

Emo emo~

Cute little houses at the Fort San Domingo's entrance! :)

I see the contrast here: A run-down make-shift vegetable stall vs. a nicely decorated classy boutique.

Seldom see such huge Taiwanese artiste's advertisement posters in Singapore. But it's so prevalent here. :D

So glad to have re-visited 淡水 and explored the other part of it with a much much more beautiful mood. :)