‘混假油’事件

在目前這種笑貧不笑賤、崇拜追求金錢名利的社會裡，商人為了牟取暴利而採取不道德昧良心的手段，欺騙並出賣消費者似乎已經變成了‘定律’。無奸不商也已成為致富的潛規則。而這種現象似乎在所謂以華人（中國人）為主的社會中尤其明顯，新加坡除外。台灣和中國的食品業者好像在比賽看誰可以瞞天過海魚目混珠，以最廉價的（化學）物料賺取最高的利潤。這些業者利用無限的‘創意’制造出了許許多多又假又毒的食品，殘害了多少‘自己的同胞’卻一點悔意都沒有，也根本不懼怕所謂的報應或天譴。

華人社會整體來說對‘錢’看得非常重。我認為已經到了病態的地步。從小就常聽到大人說：“要好好讀書，以后才能夠賺大錢”。我們很少會說：“要好好讀書，以后做個對社會有用或有貢獻的人”。我們都是以一個人賺多少來衡量一個人的價值。賺得多就是‘有路用’，賺得少就是‘無路用’。所以奸商不擇手段后身價上千億，我認為他們只不過是迎合社會的‘期待’罷了。

只要有了錢，社會大眾就會主動上前巴結奉承。有錢人所說的話都成了真理名言，有錢人所做的事即成了豐功偉業。大家都以羨慕崇拜的眼光看著那些有錢人，狠不得自己可以沾點光，奢望能夠被提拔成為下一個有錢人。因為有了錢，名和勢就會隨之而來。為了錢連身體靈魂都可以出賣或兜售的新聞在中、港、台層出不窮也不是無道理的。男人為了錢，偷坑蒙拐騙搶無所不用其極；女人為了 錢，什麼都可以典當變賣交易。人們常說年輕一代的價值觀扭曲，我卻覺得那都是父母社會造成的。當每個人都如此地‘崇尚’金錢，誰會願意做個高尚的窮人呢？

如果大統的高老板會‘做人’，把自家的員工都照顧好並高薪款待，試問這次的‘假油’事件還會爆發嗎？這件事情被踢爆不是因為員工良心發現，覺得欺騙並危害大眾的健康是件很不道德的事情后告發自己的老板。他們之所以會密告衛生局是因為不滿（眼紅）老板賺那麼多卻還對員工壓榨剝削。到頭來還是‘錢’字在作祟。 黑心食品，只要有錢賺而且有法律漏洞可以鑽，這種生意永遠都會有（很多）人躍躍欲試的。人性被錢蒙蔽了，良心被錢收買了。

總而言之，這整個‘混假油’事件赤裸裸地把（華人）人性的險惡丑陋曝露無疑。我們要反思檢討的太多了。。

grocery

I hate shopping.. but I love grocery shopping..

There is a supermarket (全聯福利中心) less than 8 minutes’ walk from my place. So it is pretty convenient for me to drop by on my way home from school. It is kinda small, as it only occupies the first floor of a small building. Most of the food products in the supermarket are produced locally, with quite a portion of them coming from Mainland China. Even before all the brouhaha about toxic ingredients, additives and whatnot in food products here, I have always try to buy different products from different manufacturers. Most of the time, I try to buy raw and fresh ingredients instead of processed food products.

nothing beats pasta from Italy!

And if I am in the mood or have errands to run outside of Tamsui, I will always go to a Carrefour hypermart 45 minutes train ride away. Recently Carrefour opened a branch in Tamsui but I’ve yet to figure out how to get there as it is tucked away in one of the housing areas far away from the MRT station. I usually buy ‘Western’ products there, like freshly baked whole meal bread, home brand cereals and muesli bars, chocolate and chocolate cookies from Europe, pasta sauces, and seasonings. Mostly dried and light stuff, since I need to take a train and a bus back to my place.

I can spend hours wandering through the aisles of a hypermarket, looking at products and merchandises. I like the variety and I like having choices, although many times I tend to stick to brands that I am familiar with. Most of all, I like finding interesting products from ‘exotic’ or uncommon places like Turkey, Iran, Poland and Russia. When I do find these unusual products, I will usually give them a try.

toxic

Today, news broke that traces of toxic chemical (甲苯 toluene) was found in paper boxes that were commonly used for take-outs in TW. It was allegedly used to swipe the inside of the boxes to remove printing stains. More than 50 big names in the food industry are affected, including a few famous restaurants and an airline. 

dried food is better than fake food, no?

In my 2 years here, there has been a constant exposé about inappropriate use of chemical in food and food-related products. In 2011, it was plasticizer (塑化濟 DEHP) in beverages, fruit juices, bread, sports drinks, tea and jam. Earlier this year it was maleic acid (順丁烯二酸) in food starch used in chewy tapioca balls and many food items. And now, it’s toluene on food packaging. These are on top of the routine discovery of improper use of pesticides, preservatives, additives, and what not. It's no wonder that TW has the highest number of dialysis patients in the world!!

Many of those caught pleaded ignorance. They claimed that they didn't know the chemical they were adding was harmful and/or damaging to health. And most of the time, these manufacturers will be fined. That's all. It's just like a small slap on the hand and they are then free to continue doing what they were doing. No jail term, no confiscation of property, no expensive lawsuit/settlement from consumers. It's business as usual once the fine is paid. 

Personally, I think the people of TW should take some of the responsibilities for these horrible food violation. They want food to be crunchy, bouncy or whatever when it shouldn't be. They want their food to look good, to not lose its taste after storage, etc. They want food to behave 'unnaturally'. Imagine puddings with no eggs yet remains aromatic, rice vermicelli contains less than 10% rice, ice-cream that doesn't melt, bread that remains moist after days, noodles that won't turn mushy when soak for hours, etc.  Thus it's no wonder these manufacturers resolved to adding toxic chemicals in the hope of (re)capturing the taste buds of these fickle consumers.
Now that I can cook in my room, I'm gonna try to ingest as little as possible these toxic by cooking as often as I can.

start cooking again.. kinda..

With my new place, I now have the option of cooking.. I may not be cooking all the time, but I want the option to do it whenever my mood hits me.. And since the new place does not come with a gas stove, I had to buy an electric one.. and I did..

Bought myself a Philips electric stove.. cost me NT$1680.. my first time using such stove, so I'm sure it will be a while before I'm totally comfortable cooking with it.. and to actually cook, I need a pan.. and I choose a Tefal frying pan..

Unfortunately, I didn't read the fine prints.. and like they say, the devil is in the detail... this Tefal pan can't be used on an electric stove.. it has something to do with the pan being made out of a metal that doesn't conduct heat from the stove.. so this NT$800 pan will have to follow me back to MY on my next trip home..

In the end, I bought a cheap(er) stainless steel pot (NT$130) and a non-stick pan (NT$490).. think both will serve their purpose as well as those branded ones.. and for one thing, I won't think twice replacing them when the time comes...

As my small fridge doesn't have a proper freezer compartment, I will have to cook whatever fresh produce I bought immediately.. also I can't really cook all the things I want, cos this is a studio (apartment) and my bed is less than a meter away from the stove (separated by a small walkway)! I don't want to sleep with my pillows all smelling like fried chicken or have lingering smell of my dinner, however delicious it may have been..

Anyway, for the past few weeks, I've been cooking, of sort.. mostly for dinner.. either simple fried noodle, (Japanese) curry noodle or pancakes.. I think I am (over)compensating for my not-cooking these past 2 years.. I will have to modify and improvise some of my favorite MY/SG dishes many times before getting them right again.. Looking forward to this challenge.. :)

seafood feast..

After visiting Yehliu Geopark, we went to a place famous for its fresh seafood.. It is actually beside a port where fishing ships dock..

There is a row of restaurants facing the dock.. and we just went into the first one..

Live "creatures" from the sea are on display... all we need to do is to choose and they will cook it for us..

A few close ups of some really weird looking creatures... that will end up in someone's table and finally stomachs..

Since I don't really have any preferences when it comes to seafood, Joe did the ordering.. and he ordered a table full!!

fresh prawns - steamed

deep fried white fish, smoked shellfish and vegetable

a kind of shellfish.. steamed with garlic paste

deep-fried fish eggs with mayo

Although there were only two of us, we managed to finish all the above dishes!! who can blame us, we were famished!! And looking at the amount of seafood we ate, our cholesterol level for that day must have gone over the roof! But what the heck... :p

Think I will be staying away from seafood for a long long long time.. especially shellfishes and fish eggs... :p

infrequent fast food..

Although I am not a big fan of fast food (think McD, A&W, KFC and BK), I do have them once in a while.. and while in Malaysia, I tend to have them a couple of times every month as my sis is a big fan of fast food.. :p

Since coming over to Taiwan, I only had McD once, which was last week! In fact, the other fast food that I had was Subway..  in my opinion, Subway is healthier than the rest of the fast food "gang", but even then, I don't have it more than once every month..

my first McD.. last week.. for dinner.. :p

Also, I don't drink soft drinks.. when I'm out, it's either plain water, bottled tea drinks (like green tea, English tea or milk tea) or fruit juices for me.. I was never much of a Coke/Pepsi drinker.. however there are several interesting-looking soft drinks that I would love to try out... maybe I will try these out in summer when the weather seemed more appropriate for cold drinks.. 

eating out.. bento style..

With no kitchen in my room and no freezer compartment in my fridge, I can't and don't cook as much as I did in Japan.. so most of the time I'll eat out or buy my food and have it in my room...

The food in Taiwan is relatively cheap if you consider its portion and tastiness.. I normally spend between NT$60 - NT$70 each on lunch and dinner.. I usually have rice once a day, and bread, noodle or some other non-rice food for the other 2 meals..

Here is a few of the Taiwanese-styled "bento" that I've had..

 

Paper boxes are used, instead of Styrofoam ones.. in fact, I've not seen any styrofoam container/box used as a container for packed food in Taiwan..

It is a norm to have a main dish, which is usually a meat/fish dish, and 3 or more sides... most of them are quite delicious.. :)

shredded chicken..

Taiwanese sausage.

braised pork.. one of my fav..

minced pork..

The above 4 "bento" were from the shops near my senior's house, where I stayed for a week when I first came to Taiwan.. As his place was in downtown, their portion and prices are slightly more expensive, between NT$70 - NT$85.

I'll share more photos of 便当 in my future blog entry.. there's never too many photos of good food, right?! :)

cold weather hot drinks..

As the weather remains cold and wet, and I being one who drink the recommended 2 liter of water daily,  it is boring to just drink hot/warm water.. so I bought an assortment of beverages, just to add some flavor and taste.. a few are familiar brand names, but mostly not....

Tea

a familiar brand..that tasted e same..

milk tea with black sugar

made in taiwan.. taste: 2 out of 5

Chinese tea is popular here but I've yet to buy any.. I don't want to get those that come in tea bags.. I wanna get a good (chinese) teapot to properly make tea.. so I think I'll wait and see if I can find the proper apparatus for brewing tea..

Coffee
Although I am not a regular coffee drinker, I do drink coffee when I'm in a mood for one... and the shelves in the shops are filled with diverse brands of local/imported coffee.. so I decided to start from instant 3-in-1 coffees and work myself up the quality chain..

3 different brands.. and one of them is a familiar brand..

First, a disclaimer: I am no expert on coffee, so the reviews were based on my own taste and preference. 

3 in 1.. taste: 2.5 out of 5

4-in-1 latte.. taste: 2.5 out of 5

Maybe it is my taste buds, but the coffees that I've had so far tasted either very mild, bland or both.. even when I've used 2 packets instead of 1 while making my drinks...

Others
Other than tea and coffee, there are other beverages too.. most of them are produced locally in Taiwan..

familiar brands.. but peculiar taste..

I need to first point out that although the brands, Milo and Ovaltine, are the same as those found in Malaysia, their taste couldn't be more different.. so pardon my bluntness, but Ovaltine here tasted like crap.. it is beyond horrible.. :x :x while Milo tasted somewhat similar but not as nice..

taste: 4 out of 5

This chocolate drink came from the US, so no difference in taste.. thus it remains one of my few favorite drink during those cold morning/nights.. :)

Date and longan tea on the left is okay, though lacking in aroma.. taste: 2 out of 5. Ginger tea with black sugar on the right.. yet to taste it as I'm not a big fan of ginger, whether it is in cooked food or as beverages..

So usually I will have one of these beverages once a day, or twice a day, maximum.. and most of the time, I prefer to just drink hot water.. as plain water is still the best.. :) :)

a taste of Italia..

Every week I'll go grocery shopping at one of the nearby supermarkets, called 全聯福利中心, which is sort of like the NTUC Fairprice in Singapore.. the items there are comparatively cheaper and with membership, I can save even more... :)

Since I don't have a kitchen in my room and I've yet to buy a slow cooker, I usually buy biscuits, bread and instant stuff, like instant soup and cereal.. the variety of instant cereals is unbelievable.. and I shall blog about it when I've tasted sufficient assortment to compare.. of course, there's also a wide range of instant noodles, but I try to not eat them so often as the amount of sodium and preservatives in them are astrologically high..

Anyway, as I was browsing through the shelves I stumbled upon this.. biscuits from Italy! or should I say biscotti!! :)

Initially, it was the design that caught my eyes.. as it somehow reminded me of the packaging I saw in Italy... at closer look, the wordings confirmed my hunch..  :) :) :)

There are 2 types of biscotti, one is butter cookies while the other is chocolate.. and I bought the latter.. :) The price tag stated NT$85, which is almost MYR$9 / SGD$ 3.70 / EURO$2.20 / JPY$220. It wasn't on sale, but I bought it anyway.. :p

yep, it's from Italy alright.. :)

This became one of my few indulgences..  Seldom do I spend so much on a packet of biscuits, but I just had to get this biscotti.. Also, I've not eaten any pasta that came close to the ones I've tasted during my trip to Italy.. even if it was just spaghetti cooked with olive oil and fresh tomatoes..

Darn! how I miss cooking and traveling..

mid-autumn festival

Unlike Malaysia and Singapore, Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday in Taiwan... here, many would make use of the opportunity to go home and spend the day with their family.. and giving gifts of moon cakes and pomelos are the norm..

Last week I was surprised to receive a gift of moon cakes, pineapple tarts and pomelos from a classmate of mine.. :) She insisted that I must experience this local festivity and be a part of the community.. 

a mini moon cake and a black sesame pineapple tart..

2 small pomelos and a box of pineapple tarts

One thing I've noticed is that the pomelos here are much smaller than those found in Malaysia/Singapore, about half the size.. the ones I had were slightly sweet but I've no idea how sweet they were supposed to be..  the moon cake was also smaller and not too sweet..

Personally, Mid-Autumn Festival was more fun when I was young.. we played with paper lanterns which had shapes of dragons, tigers, rabbits, etc. and we put candles on our main metal gates, illuminating it as did most of our Chinese neighbors in the housing estate.. as adult, this festival holds no huge significance to me...  truth be told, the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali resonate more closely to my heart than Mid-Autumn Festival.... and I think that is something only those who had lived in a multiracial and multicultural country like Malaysia could comprehend and appreciate..

made cupcakes... sorta..

Bought a packet of those cupcake mixes a few months ago and decided to try them.. My sis was supposed to be baking them for a friend of hers as a birthday 'cake', but she was too busy during that period.. Since I was in the mood for some baking, I decided to do do it.. :)

Cupcake mix from Tesco.. vanilla, not a flavor I would normally use or choose..

Just need water, oil and eggs... simple enough.. :p

After mixing and baking them, here they are... plain vanilla cupcakes..

As they looked kinda 'boring' and 'naked', I decided to make some icing or glaze... went online to search for a simple recipe.. and found a very simple one.. just require 1 cup of castor sugar, 1 tbsp of butter and some hot water.. I added some food coloring to "brighten" up it.. :p

Here, I present to you my first 'attempt'... pink cupcakes!! :) :) :)

As for its tastiness, well, I think I over-mixed the mixture, so it was not fluffy enough and a little tough but the pink glaze was sweet and creamy (because of the butter).. :)  Frankly I really would want to make cupcakes from scratch one of these days, instead of using these ready-made mix..

Anyway, I still have a pack of muffin mix to bake.. so stay-tune.. :p

hibernating cook

Been watching lots of reality cooking shows lately.. Top Chef: All Star, Top Chef: Just Desserts, The Next Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen... and all the culinary displays in those shows really make me miss cooking.. A LOT!

I like to cook... yet, I haven't been cooking very much since coming back from JP... :(

Ironically, being back in a country that has all the familiar ingredients that I love to use for cooking doesn't entice me into cooking more often.. why? because of the difficulty in getting FRESH produce.. One has to drive more than 20 minutes just to get to a grocery store or a (wet) market, unlike in JP or SG.. here, my mum does all the grocery shopping....

Secondly, I don't like my kitchen.. or should I say, my mum's kitchen.. It is a very cramped kitchen, with only 1 washing sink and 1 gas burner.. the preparation table is too low for my liking.. cooking utensils being stored in places that only my mum knows.. not having the spices that I like to work with.. I just feel out of place in there..

Most importantly, there is no one to appreciate my cooking.. my parents do not put much emphasize on the enjoyment of food.. for them, a meal is just to fill the stomach and get the required energy to work.. plus their concept of nutrition means each meal must have chicken, fish or pork (my mum don't allow beef due to religious reasons and no lamb as she says it smells..), so there isn't much leeway for me to cook dishes that I like which sometimes might just be a soup or vegetable (dishes)..

one of my favorite concoction - cucur udang (prawn fritters)

With so many "restrictions", it is hard to follow my taste buds and/or mood and cook whatever I would like to eat for the day.. While in JP and SG, I would go to the market and look at what is on sale for the day, then decide the dishes that I would like to cook and eat for the day.. sometimes with cravings, I would hunt down the needed ingredients or improvise/customize whatever I could get.. :) it was a fun process that I enjoyed immensely..

The reason I prefer cooking to baking is that I can be less rigid.. I don't have to follow the recipe exactly, if I don't want to.. I can't do that with pastry or cakes, where precise measurements are required..  I can take a dish, mold it and/or add in my own twist.. it is this freedom of expression that I like in cooking.. this is quite the opposite of how I usually do things.. I think this is a way for me to "go with the flow".. ;)
 
Darn! I really miss cooking.. I miss having friends over for dinner.. and most of all, I miss the look(s) of satisfaction and enjoyment when people taste my food.. of course, it will be an icing on the cake if there is someone (special) for me to cook for..

p/s: for those who are interested in the recipes showcased in Top Chef, check out this website.. once I am living on my own, I will definitely try some of the dishes there.. they look so interesting and appetizing!

Kota Kinabalu: food

Before the trip, I told myself that I will try, as many as possible, food that is uniquely KK, Sabah and/or East Malaysia.. and I would not eat in any restaurants or fast food outlets.. :)

Did some research over the Net on the food that are recommended.. there are many recommendations to try out Italian, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian and American restaurants in KK, which I've decided not to take.. To me, it is like going to Tokyo to eat fish-n-chips, or going to Rusia to eat ramen! Why travel over the way to East Malaysia to try out food that are not native there?? Why go all the way to KK just to eat in an Italian restaurant, for example? It makes no sense to me..
 
Anyway, here are some of the food that I had... :)

ngau-chap (includes beef balls, beef slices, tripe and noodle) from Yee Fung Kopitiam with herbal tea..
cost: MYR$ 4.50 + $ 2.50
Very "herby".. it tasted more like bak-kut teh than beef soup..
Tastiness: :) :)  (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) :) (out of 5)

bubble tea (local brand)..  with pearl from Centre Point.
cost: MYR$ 3.80
so-so, nothing special.. and frankly, the price is rather expensive..
Tastiness: :) 1/2  (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) (out of 5)

mi jian kueh (chinese peanut pancake), the thin crispy type that I can't find in Taiping, from Centre Point.
cost: MYR$ 1.00 per piece
Tastiness: :) :) :) 1/2 (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) :) :) (out of 5)

ham jim peng (salty fried bun), fried yam and ais kacang (shaved ice with syrup)
cost: MYR$ 1.00 per piece, MYR$ 4.00 for ais kacang
The size of these kueh are bigger than those found in Taiping, but no less tasty.. while the ais kacang had lychee instead of attap seeds.
Tastiness: :) :) :) (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) :) :) (out of 5)

rojak campur from Kedai Kopi Sofa
cost: MYR$ 4.50
Noodles, cucumber, bean sprout and beef with tasty peanut sauce..
Tastiness: :) :) 1/2 (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) :) 1/2 (out of 5)

fried hokkien mee from Ang's Hotel
cost: MYR$ 4.50
traditional, dark-sauced type..
Tastiness: :) :) :) 1/2 (out of 5)
Value for money: :) :) :) :) (out of 5)

Here are some drinks that I bought:

Orange juice, made in Australia.. MYR$ 7.90
trusted remedy to prevent myself from getting sick while traveling... :)

Oranjeboom (beer) from Holland.. MYR$ 4.60
not too sure if it is cheaper or more expensive than in Peninsular Malaysia..

Happoshu (beer) from Asahi Breweries, Japan.. MYR$ 6.99
 oh, how I miss the taste of Japan.. :(

Thomas Kemper's Black Cherry Soda.. from the US.. MYR$ 5.50
p/s: managed to open it without a bottle opener.. :p

Some of the local products that I bought and brought home.. :)

Teh Sabah.. for my dad, a tea-drinker/lover..

Tenom Coffee..

Keropok Amplang (prawn/fish crackers)

Kueh Cincin (ring biscuit)

Next will be my last entry on KK.. Just some misc photos and a quick wrap-up....