Yilan (宜蘭) is most famous for its hotsprings, innovative cuisine and 三星 spring onion, but it also happens to be the home of the Kavalan whisky distillery.
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Visiting the Nikka Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido
The highlight of the visit was finding out that there was a small bar in the museum, where we could sample the Yoichi 15y and 20y. Yes, actually get to taste them.
It wasn’t cheap, but the fact that they were even available to drink was amazing. We sent a photo to some friends who are big whisky fans and they were suitably impressed, and I assume, also very envious.
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Godfather, Part 1
“Have you ever tried a Godfather?” asked Shimura-san.
No, I had not, and with a name like that, there was no way I was not having one.
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If they can’t go to the crabs, then the crabs will have to come to them
The Old Folks are very particular about their crabs and have strict criteria on which to choose and how they should be prepared.
First, the crabs must be alive and fresh, which is usually the case in Singapore and not a problem.
Second, the size should be around 1kg — too small and it’s not worth the effort; too large and the meat would be too stringy.
Third, whenever possible, choose pregnant female crabs for maximum roe, which unfortunately weren’t available that day.
Fourth and finally, when cooking, do not, I repeat, do not, deep fry the crabs first. Most stalls do that to speed up the process, but it affects the final texture and causes the meat to stick to the shell.
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Another duck was harmed in the making of this post
We thought that we wouldn’t be able to finish the entire duck, and were indeed struggling around the three-quarter mark. But we decided to press on and managed to wipe out the whole bird, leaving only its lonely head.
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Three days in the mountains of Cingjing
Since 2005, Taiwan has been a regular holiday spot that we return to every few years. Our initial trips were restricted to only Taipei, but over time, we’ve been going further out to explore the other counties. During the summer of 2012, we decided to head up the mountains of Cingjing (清境) in Nantou (南投) county and spend three days there.
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A gastronomic journey of Sichuan flavours
Our meal started at around 7pm and by the time we finished, it was close to 10pm. It was a solid three-hour marathon of tray-after-tray, plate-after-plate of non-stop food.
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Laundry is a precise operation
The first rule of laundry is that you must separate the whites from the colours.
The second rule of laundry is that you must separate the whites from the colours.
Yes, apparently laundry follows the same rules as Fight Club.
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So much food, so little time (2021 edition)
I could probably add another dozen or two to the list, but there are only so many weeks in the year and gluttony, after all, is one of the seven deadly sins. We won’t be travelling overseas this year, but we sure can indulge in some revenge eating.
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Grapes are nice, but don’t forget the other fruits
Sticking with tradition, we opened another bottle of bubbly on the first day of 2021 and promptly started day-drinking. This year, it was the intriguing Migaki-Ichigo Mousseux NV made from 100% strawberries grown in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan.
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