the Summary of my blog post

         As time goes by, it is time for the last post of the blog assignment. As what I say on the first presentation of the reason why I choose the topic “Those Food l Like”, I am a girl whose hobbies are enjoying delectable food and through the golden chance, I want to share the food that I know and I like to all of you. Besides, I hope that you may start to pay attention to those food that you have never eaten or even never heard of after reading my blog post.

          Among all the articles that I have posted, I view the food of my hometown, Dong Gang, series as my best love ones. It is not only because they are much closer to my daily life but also because I think that most of you may haven’t been to Dong Gang, it is likely that many of you are not familiar with the specialties there and you might wonder in such a small town what is worth eating. As a girl grown up in Dong Gang, I’m glad that I could answer your question, introducing the representative food in Dong Gang and expect that one day, you will come visit there, tasting the tasty food in person! These posts gave me the chance that I could show how wonderful my hometown is and this reason is why the posts are my impressive and favorite ones.

A Kind of Food with Strong Smell

         Have you had this kind of experience: When someone is eating his or her “delicacy” in a room, the other people in the same place start to complain about that because the smell of the food is too strong to bear? This week, my topic is one of this kind of embarrassing food. It is Durian(榴槤), one of my favorite fruit.

         If you are the person who do not like durians and even think that they are the worst fruit in the world because of their unique odor, you may wonder the reason why there are so many people like to eat durians. I think that many advocates of durians, including me, will tell you that “because they are so delectable” and then we are likely to say that “especially eating them after they ice in the refrigerator. The iced durians taste like ice cream so much.”

I have asked many of my friends whether they like to eat durians or not. Most of those who have negative answers even  have never eaten durians before, and the reasons they don’t like durians are mainly just because of their stinky odor. If you are the person as my friends who have a poor first impression on durians’ unpleasant smell, I must tell you that “Don’t judge the “fruit” by its “odor”, or you will miss one of the fine food in the world!

          Moreover, durians are rich in nutrients. Therefore, some countries in Southeast Asia call them “the king of fruit”. Durians abound in protein, vitamins, dietary minerals and so on. If you have not eaten durians before, give them a chance. It is worth trying it!

video: 

10 Amazing Benefits of Durian Fruit

Red Bean Cake in Wantan

         This week’s topic is Red Bean Cake(紅豆餅). When it comes to red bean cakes, as a student of National Taiwan University, you may have heard of or even eaten red bean cakes of 晴光, which is located on Tingzhou Rd.(汀州路). However, I am not going to talk about晴光. I want to recommend another store which sells red bean cakes as well. Actually, I think that the red bean cakes there are better than晴光.

          Speaking of red beans, where in Taiwan will come across your mind? It’s Wantan(萬丹), a township in Pingtung county. Although my hometown, Dong Gang is not far from Wantan, it was not until two years ago that I ate them at my first time. Since the first time I ate them, I have fallen in love with them. From then on, each time when I go to Wantan, without exception, I will buy a few red bean cakes at the store.

          The cake skins of the red bean cakes are soft. However, you can also say that they are crispy when red bean cakes are freshly baked. Besides, the filling plays an important role of a satisfying red bean cake. The filling of the red bean cake of the store is made from local ingredients- red beans of Wantan. At your first bite of it, you can see the red bean paste spurting from the cakes skin and you will be surprised at that the flavor of it is different from every bite of red bean cakes you have eaten before. It is sweet but not greasy. If you want to enjoy the best red bean cakes of mine, come and visit the store!

Address: 913屏東縣萬丹鄉中興路二段631號

The Food in My Hometown(5)-tortoise jelly of 東隆堂

This week, I would like to recommend a store in Dong Gang to you. Its name is 東隆堂. 東隆堂 is a store which is famous for its various kinds of Chinese medicinal cuisines. Among them, the most well-known product is tortoise jelly (龜苓膏). And it is my today’s main character.

Tortoise jelly is made from tortoise plastron(龜板膠) and dozens of precious Chinese herbal medicines(中藥材). The appearance of Tortoise jelly, based on its English name, is similar to jelly, but its color is quite different from the jellies that you usually can see in the convenient stores-it’s black. Seeing its strange color, you may have a question in mind: Is it really delicious? In my opinion, undoubtedly, it is delicious, especially with some honey which can mix the bitterness of tortoise jelly. Besides, it is beneficial to our health-it can activate the blood circulation of our body.

Next time, when you visit Dong Gong, in addition to eating Bluefin tuna, you can have a new choice-going to東隆堂, which is nearby the most renowned temple-東隆宮, to enjoy a bowl of tortoise jelly and other worthy eating Chinese medicinal cuisines .

Something unrelated to the topic:

You might have noticed that it is my first time to talk about the name of store on my blog. The reason why I mention its name is because the store has something to do with me-the owner’s daughter is one of my best friend, as well as my kindergarten classmate and junior high school classmate.

The Food in My Hometown(4)-a kind of fish with a weird nickname

         This week, l will introduce a kind of fish that you must eat when visiting Dong Gang to you. Before writing something about it, l would like to tell you a joke about the fish.

One day, A and B go to Dong Gang.

A:”I have heard of a kind of fish that is famous in Dong Gang”

B:”Really?”

A:”Yeah, it’s 那個魚.”

B:”哪個魚.”

A:”那個魚.”

B:”...”

         Now, do you know which kinds of fish that I would like to make an introduction? Right, it is那個魚. The real name of 那個魚 is Harpadon microchir (小鰭鐮齒魚).

The origin of its nickname is because its real name is too long for consumers and fishmongers to remember and call, thus they point the fish and say 那個 ,instead of its real name, to let each other what they want to buy or sell in the process of making a deal.

(Hmm......I think that the uncooked 那個魚 is not as appetizing as the cooked one.)  

          In Dong Gang, you can find various kinds of那個魚dishes, like fried那個魚, 那個魚soup, and vermicelli with那個魚. Any of the dishes has its fans. Among all the dishes, l like fried那個魚 the most. Although 那個魚 has many small fish bones, you can eat it with those bones as long as it is fried. The taste of fried那個魚 is like codfish(鱈魚). Sprinkling the pepper as what you do before eating Taiwanese popcorn chicken(鹽酥雞), I think that if you are a popcorn chicken lover, you will love the good flavor of Dong Gang as well.

The Food in My Hometown(3)-肉粿

        I thought that some of you might have seen or even eaten Savory Rice Pudding(碗粿), which is called Wa Gui in Taiwanese. However, how about 肉粿? Do you know what is it? It is common that people mistake 肉粿 for Savory Rice Pudding because their Chinese names are quite similar. In fact, you can distinguish 肉粿 from Savory Rice Pudding through their appearances. Savory Rice Pudding based on its Chinese name is bowl-like and it is sometimes covered with dried radishes(菜脯). Different from Savory Rice Pudding,肉粿 is sliced-shape. The businesses slice the rice cakes before selling it to their customers.

        In a bowl of 肉粿, you can not only eat the soup made from milk fish(虱目魚), but also can taste the other fresh ingredients, such as meat, sliced sausage, and dried shrimps.Of course, we cannot forget our main character, 肉粿. 肉粿 is made from rice, so you can also feel the aroma of rice when you eat the chewy and palatable snack. With one bite, I am sure that all of you will fall in love with the finger licking traditional food in Dong Gang.

The Food in My Hometown(2)--Rice Cake with Brown Sugar

          After showing Rice Soup last week, this week, I want to show you something more about the food in my hometown-Dong Gang.

          When it comes to Dong Gang, some of you might associate Dong Gang with a place which is famous for its abundance aquatic products. What’s more, some of you even have heard of the three treasures of Dong Gang-Bluefin tuna(黑鮪魚), Sakura shrimp(櫻花蝦), and oilfish(油魚子). However, I don’t want to mention them today. Actually, seafood is not my favorite at all although I am a person, grown up in Dong Gang. Therefore, the main character in this week’s posting is 雙糕潤, a specialty in Dong Gang.

          According to its English name, Rice Cake with Brown Sugar, 雙糕潤is a kind of  snacks made from glutinous rice and brown sugar. 

雙糕潤 tastes like Mochi, but its texture is more chewy than Mochi. In every bite of the雙糕潤, you can feel the strong taste of brown sugar that make you cannot help but eat it one bite after another. Nowadays, in order to meet visitors demands, many businesses have launched雙糕潤 in diverse flavor, such as taro, red bean, and matcha. Nevertheless, among all of the flavor, my favorite is the most traditional one-the brown sugar flavor. In my opinion, the brown sugar flavor is the one that represents 雙糕潤 the most. Next time, if you have an opportunity to visit Dong Gang, don’t forget to try some雙糕潤. I think that you will like it as I am.

The Food in My Hometown(1)--Rice Soup

Last week, because of the three-day holiday, I went back to my hometown, Dong Gang, a town in Pingtung County. And then, it happened that there was a triennial festival, Dong Gang King Boat Ceremony, held in Dong Gang. The people in the town and the visitors all over Taiwan came to celebrate the ceremony and had fun. But what’s the connection between the food I would like to talk about today and the festival? That’s because my today’s topic is Rice Soup(飯湯).

           Maybe some of you have not heard of Rice Soup, but Rice Soup is one kind of delicious and well-known delicacies in Dong Gang. Especially during the King Boat Ceremony, the authority concerned would prepare Rice Soup to the visitors who participate in the activity and the townspeople. Now, are you curious about what the Rice Soup looks like? Let’s look at the picture. 

         A bowl of Rice Soup generally contains a lot of ingredients, such as fish balls, cuttlefish, and shrimp. Someone view Rice Soup as a sort of congee, but I think that there are some little difference between Rice Soup and congee. In my opinion, Rice Soup is not as thick as congee and you can still see the rice grains in the soup clearly. After reading my blog, are you eager to try some Rice Soup, come to visit Dong Gang!

Week 2 : Pomelos and I

        Hi, it is my second posting. In last week’s posting, some readers replied that moon cakes are too sweet and contain too much calorie. Therefore, in today’s posting, I want to show something much healthier to you. It is one kind of fruit in my favorite list-they are pomelos. Actually, at first, I didn’t love pomelos as much as I do now. Do you want to know when I started to view pomelos as my love? Let’s read on.

        The event happened on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival when I was just a child in kindergarten. Then, there was a pomelo-peeling game held in the kindergarten. Each student and their parent needed to peel five pomelos as soon as possible. The winner would get a bike as a prize. In the end, beyond my expectation, my father and l won first prize. However, much to my embarrassment, in the process of the game, I did nothing but keep sneezing. (I don’t know the reason.) Thus, with help of my father, I successfully took five pomelos and my new bike home.

                                                                            (Here is a photo of my father and me.)

         From then on, every time when I eat pemolo, the memory of this unforgettable and a little bit funny experience pops into my mind. It was the opportunity that made me feel pemolos taste better than l had ever eaten and became one of my favorite fruit.

         

         Besides, although pomelos are juicy, sweet, rich in vitamin C and low in calorie, we cannot eat too many pomelos at a time or you will have a stomachache.

Week 1 : Food in Mid-Autumn Festival

        Hi, everyone. Today is September 27. Do you know what day is today? Yeah, it is Mid-Autumn Festival. When it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival, nowadays, BBQ has become the one which crosses people’s mind most frequently in the holiday. However, in today’s posting, although BBQ is one of my favorite food and activity, I am not going to talk about it today. Today, the food that l would like to show you are the other traditional thing which also represent Mid-Autumn Festival—moon cakes.

        Speaking of moon cakes, do you the origin of eating moon cakes? If not, let me tell you. There is a historical story about it. It was said that in the late Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuan-Zhang, who finally became the first emperor of Ming Dynasty , planned to lead the han people to resist against tyranny of Yuan Dynasty. They decided to carry out their plan on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. But, how could they do to let everyone know that secretly? To solve this difficulty, they came up with an idea that they put the notes into moon cakes and gave those cakes to people. From then on, the custom of eating moon cake has been handed down to present time.

         Above all kind of moon cakes, my favorite one is Yolk Pastry. And there is a picture for you. There are pineapple cakes and mung bean pastries in the picture. Do you wonder why you do not see the yolk pastries? That is because……it has already been eaten by me. If you have not eaten any moon cakes, why not try one now. Finally, l wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!