taipei eats: dill herbs restaurant

Hello! It's been almost three months since my last blog post, and that whole "I'm gonna bake every weekend and blog about it" plan kind of went down the drain...I mean I had been baking, but just never got around around to blogging for some reason. 

So here I am trying to ease back into blogging with a review of Dill Herbs Restaurant! My mom had been eying this place for a while, and though she never declared out loud, from our daily conversations regarding what to eat for lunch/dinner (a constant dilemma in our household) for the past two weeks, I could tell she really wanted to eat out--specifically here. 

 

  

Dill Herbs Restaurant has an earthy and modern decor with a country style twist. There's enough room for my baby sister's giant stroller to navigate through, so that's always a plus for us :) I find it pretty nifty when restaurants chalk up one of their walls, especially if it's a recipe (even though this one is just how to cook pasta). There's also a shelf stocked full of fresh produce you pass by on the way to the restroom.

 

 

 

Anyways, on to the food. 

lavender macarons with lavender chocolate ganache

I haven't made successful macarons in a long time.

Since I started this blog about eight months ago, I noticed most of the macaron recipes I've posted have been past successes. Ever since the pumpkin macarons I made for the Thanksgiving reunion--plus I didn't even think they were as noteworthy as some of previous ones I've made--my macaron skills seemingly went down the drain. Every single batch of macarons after that resulted in sticky, unsightly meringues.

A week ago my dad returned from a business trip with two boxes of French butter cookies and a bag of GIANT macarons he bought from an airport in Paris. The macarons were bigger than my palm (that and I guess my hand is smaller than the average), and of course I had to taste test each one :) me with my uncontrollable sweet tooth.

Chocolate, pistachio, and coffee. I've made all these flavors before, but eating macarons de France is something else. These macarons were airy yet dense, each bite delectably crisp and chewy. I couldn't pick a favorite. I can never pick a favorite when it comes to macarons. It's hard to rank one above another when the flavor profile of each macaron is so distinctly unique. Except for those occasional macarons that just taste like a mouthful of sugar :( but let's not go there. 

Besides satisfying my sweet tooth, these giant macarons served as inspiration. It was about time to bring my macaron hiatus to a close, and maybe they'll turn out okay this time.

I was still hesitant. Considering Taiwan's ridiculous humidity, I had long thought my macaron baking days were over. There was no way the batter would set, especially since the inside of our house can get just as stuffy as the outside. But by some miracle, after months of failed macarons, I managed to whip up this batch of lavender macarons.

Lavender itself has a really strong flavor; use too much and your baked good might come out tasting overwhelming or even bitter, but these macarons were just right. I ground and sifted dried lavender buds into the macaron batter, giving each cookie a fresh, minty essence. With the rich lavender chocolate ganache sandwiched in between two nicely ruffled shells, the macarons were creamy with a light flowery aroma.

But what I was really happy about is how well the macaron shells turned out! It's been SO LONG since I've made successful macarons, and it honestly makes me feel really good :) like I've (re)conquered something! Not only were the macarons tinted with a nice lavender, but they also had the signature ruffled feet, smooth crisp outer shell, and full center. 

I brought these to Mandarin class to share with my teacher and classmates again, and these did the trick too! Baking for people really is an indescribable feeling, and it only motivates me to bake even more. I plan to bake a treat for my classmates at least every week, and hopefully I'll stick through with it :)

earl grey shortbread

It's safe to say that I don't like drinking Earl Grey tea as much as I love baking with it. There's something about the flavor of Earl Grey in a cookie that just works. I'm not sure I can pinpoint it. In fact, I'm not sure I can even pinpoint what Earl Grey tastes like: 

It's citrusy. It's spicy. It's smokey.
It's fragrant and flowery.
It's perfume-like.

A sip of the tea leaves a unique tartness tingling on the palate; it's aromatic and rich, brisk and relaxing. Believe it or not, I didn't really like Earl Grey tea the first time I tried it. Granted there's that tad sophistication merely from its name (I mean, come on, Earl Grey), so considering that and its rising popularity, I could only expect it to taste amazingly soothing, right?

But my first cup left me disappointed and unimpressed, with a bitter aftertaste of oranges in my mouth and a strange, sharp sensation that shot up my nose with each sip. It was far from soothing, but I chugged it anyways.

So I stayed away from Earl Grey for a while and kept to my Matcha. It wasn't until a spontaneous tea-hunting expedition at the supermarket that I decided to give Earl Grey another shot. And I'm glad I did! I'm pretty sure it's just the difference in brands, and therefore the difference in flavors, but I like this subtle, light flavor more. Less bitter but with the familiar citrusy bergamot.

So my second (and third, fourth, fifth, and so on) cup of Earl Grey left me rather smitten.

tackling writer's block with bananas

June just began and Taipei has already morphed into some sort of convection oven. A step outside our building meant risking my fresh clothes and clean hair to be drenched in perspiration within the matter of seconds. The sun isn't as blistering as it had been in the South (when I went on tour the previous two summers), but the humidity! It wraps itself around you like a heavy, damp blanket, and any hopes you have for the slightest breeze are crushed by the thick mugginess. June just began, and I can only imagine the humid weather come mid-July or August. To think I actually refused to install an air conditioner in my room...

I've been having consecutive unproductive weeks. I haven't been baking, I haven't been cooking, I haven't been reading as much as I used to. Once I'm hooked to a novel, I can read for hours, lying on my bed with my feet propped up against the rounded white headboard. But these days I feel distracted. Maybe it's the same old stress--the same family issues, the same lingering self-doubts that rattle both nerves and confidence despite perpetual reassurance.

I haven't been writing, I haven't been blogging. What I did do was attempt the dreaded personal statements. But despite having a story to tell, despite the emotions, the epiphanies, and the inspiration that came with it, writer's block still got the best of me. Every approach I took, every good idea that formed in my head trickled out bland and lifeless once my fingertips tapped the keys.

So I'm writing this post to tackle my writer's block--hence the title--and to hopefully draw out the motivation to get back on my feet again!

With the lack of posts all month, I haven't updated about my summer classes have I? Last Wednesday I took a placement exam at the university where I'll be taking Mandarin classes. Except for a few empty blanks and a horrendous elementary-level essay, the exam wasn't as complicated as I'd imagined. At orientation yesterday I received my schedule, bought my textbook, and found the tiny classroom I'll be going to and from for the next three months.

And so I baked mini treats ahead of time to bring as afternoon snacks. Since we had two overly ripe and disgustingly browned bananas abandoned and untouched in our fruit bowl, I used them and my new silicone baking cups to make mini banana bread cupcakes :)

panda cookies over etudes

Monday night I attended my friend's (my older sister's godmother's daughter...what a mouthful) senior recital where she and five other graduating seniors of the music department put together a seamless performance of solos, duets and other collabs, and in the end, even parodied a Taiwanese talk show. 

My high school didn't have the tradition of holding senior recitals. There were end of the year performances where a few groups recognized the seniors in front of the audience and others that rewarded plastic plaques during the class period, but seniors didn't get the spotlight chance to perform as my friend did that Monday night. It made me a bit nostalgic. The only solos I've performed since beginning high school were for auditions or CM exams. My private teacher didn't gather all her students for a recital of any sort either.

I'm not an avid violinist anymore. Though I do pick up the wooden instrument and run through my twelve major scales from time to time, I always set it back down after about fifteen minutes or so with no willpower to even finger through an etude. But as I watched my friend perform her solo that night, watched her bow articulating vigorously into the strings, her fingers quivering amidst a vibrato, chords reverberating in the auditorium...my hands itched to play.

banana carrot loaf cake

The only thing I've been wanting to bake these days is bread. Bake a loaf of bread and you've got next-day's breakfast set and ready--which is why I love baking bread late at night :) Sadly, the oven is no longer stationed in my room :( so good-bye to falling asleep to the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread...

But that might just be a good thing--so my room won't infest with ants and all.

Anyways, instead of making bread at night like I usually do, I baked this banana carrot loaf in the morning! But that's besides the point. I'm really proud of this loaf of bread! Since I basically just threw a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and then mixed it all together, I'm rather impressed that my banana carrot loaf turned out especially well: moist, dense, spongy, and not too sweet :) Banana-based recipes usually end up with a overpowering flavor of bananas no matter what else you add in to the batter; but surprisingly, the shredded carrots have a natural tangy sweetness stronger than that of the banana, so this banana carrot loaf tastes, in a way, a lot like carrot cake!

taipei eats: kao-chi restaurant

Located next to--and perhaps even overshadowed by--the world famous Din Tai Fung on YongKang Street in Taipei is Kao-Chi Restaurant, serving up their Shanghai-style dim sum and cuisine. Kao-Chi lacks the waiting crowd that usually barricades the sidewalk right outside of Din Tai Fung, but that's good for my family and me cause we're all pretty impatient when it comes to food :)

Today marks the second time that we've dined at Kao-Chi, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. It never gets too crowded at the restaurant--whether it be around the usual lunch or dinner time rush--and although there aren't lines forming out the door, I feel it's hardly a loss since the food at Kao-Chi is not only delicious, but also more budget-friendly!

All of the appetizers are places out on a side table next to the outer wall of the kitchen. I'm pretty sure you just get up and go over, choose what you want, tell the waiter, then go back to your seat and wait for the servers to bring it to you. Maybe. I'm not sure though, cause after spending 5 minutes going back and forth from my seat to the appetizer table, I ended up not picking anything.

These Shanghai-style fried pork buns are my guilty pleasure, and are usually brought first to our table in a hot pan with its traditional wooden cover. Remove the lid and you find 10 (my picture only shows 8 because my mom couldn't wait any longer to dig in) small pork buns, pan-fried to perfection, each topped with a sprinkle of white sesame seeds. Each soft and chewy bun encases a juicy pork filling that is shaped into a miniature ball, but the best part is the bottom of the bun where the dough has a crispy texture. Yeah I know, they're not the cleanest of eats, but one or two on a good day is fine by me =)

THIS is another one of my guilty pleasures. It's so good, I can't even... I don't know, I mean the glossy look of this dish is a dead give-away to how much oil the chef could have possibly used, but my mom is always reminding me that the amount of oil is what makes the food so savory and delicious. And I can't really argue with that, cause this dish is heavenly.

the oven's back with a carob coconut loaf

Good news! Our shipment finally came! Two days ago to be exact :) And the first thing I did was unpack ALL of my baking equipment and set up my beloved convection oven in my new workspace a.k.a. my bedroom. My dad was skeptical about this at first, but I finally convinced him after showing him how far away I placed the oven from my bed frame and closet, so as to not accidentally set anything on fire...

I can't explain how happy I am to be baking again! It's been about four months since the last time I legitimately baked with the oven, so I was actually a bit hesitant to begin. The numerous recipe ideas I've bookmarked in my head didn't help the cause much either.

But the hesitation easily subsided once I set my giant bowl before me--my other gadgets and ingredients positioned off to the side, bordered along the edge of my peripherals. Even with the tabbed recipes in mind, I immediately dropped my initial plan for a banana-based recipe when I came upon a shelf stacked full of cans of coconut milk at the supermarket earlier that evening. I have been--and always will be--an almond milk-type person (even though they don't sell almond milk in Taiwan *cry*), so I never really got around to trying coconut milk. I already set my mind on using carob powder no matter what I was making, and well, coconut and chocolate do complement each other...

So a carob coconut loaf it was! I highly doubted the loaf was going to taste any good because I didn't add honey. Yeah I know--extra sugar and calories and all--but I approve of honey-use since it is a natural sweetener, and just a tablespoon or two enhances the mildly sweet flavor every tasty loaf of bread needs. So I opted to melt some dark chocolate instead, even though I expected the other ingredients would mask its sweetness.

knee injuries and spring cleaning

It's been about two weeks since I've legitimately exercised, and it's been hard trying to eat clean with all the bakery goods and sweets tempting me :(

Two weeks ago my left knee started swelling for some weird reason, and pressure would build up in the joint if I ever walked too much or stood for too long. After two trips to the hospital (most people just go to the hospital for check ups since there aren't many private clinics here), one X-ray session, lots of limping, hours of waiting, and two doctors with very different ideas of what could possibly be wrong with my knee, I'd like to conclude that it's just inflammation ^_^ possibly, maybe, hopefully...

I'm happy to say my knee is a LOT better than before :) except the occasional slight swelling from walking too much. Sad to say I still can't run or do vigorous cardio for a while...BUT at least it's healing right?! :D

Anyways, I had a pretty hard time keeping my diet clean these two weeks, thanks to all of the mochi, bread, egg tarts, cakes, etc. that suddenly appeared out of nowhere -_- (thanks a lot relatives. haha just kidding). I'm usually good at this self-control thing--or rather, I used to be really good at this self-control thing...

Every morning I start out with this incredible burst of confidence in my self-discipline; but then as the day goes on, I randomly sneak in a few bites of cake here, or a nibble of bread there, and my willpower gradually diminishes down to nothing.

taipei eats: din tai fung

Among the many questions I've gotten from my friends about Taiwan (about the people, the area, my house, my kitchen, my room, etc.), I think the most important one we all can agree on, and can't help but be curious about, is this:

How's the food?

Quite frankly, food here is DELICIOUS. I'm not trying to brag or shove it in anyone's face but Taiwanese food is amazing, and it helps that there are countless numbers of food establishments--vendors and restaurants alike--down just about every single street. From typical pork belly rice to the infamous stinky tofu, homemade seafood porridge to tender oyster omelets, Taiwanese comfort food not only evokes the warmth of down to earth, home-style cooking at its finest, but also strongly ties in with my own sense of cultural identity, as do all different types of food, all over the world. But that's for another blog post :)

So I guess from now on I'll be posting about my food outing adventures on By the Spoonful too =) as long as I remember to bring along my camera.

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Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese institution. It is a world famous dumpling house that has establishments in, I think, 10 countries? One of the chief reasons why I love Din Tai Fung is because they steam their dumplings. I know of several restaurants out there that lather their dumplings in extra, unnecessary oil, so I appreciate that Din Tai Fung leaves their delicacies alone, letting the natural flavors of the ingredients speak for themselves.

Anyways, appetizers first! We always order kao fu (top) and xiao cai (bottom).

Kao fu is a wheat-gluten, which is used as a meat-substitute in Asian dishes, often braised in a sweet and savory sauce along with other ingredients, and served cold. I actually didn't know it was a wheat-gluten til 5 minutes ago, so I'm actually pretty surprised hahahaha but it has the texture of tofu and is really addicting. Xiao Cai is basically a small dish of vegetables--tofu strips, bean sprouts, seaweed-- drizzled with a vinegar dressing, on the lighter side and also, very addicting and a must try if you ever eat here.

 
I also never knew there was a such a thing as young or old ginger until I came to the Din Tai Fung in Taipei.

The ginger slices above are from a young ginger and has a lighter yellow color and milder taste. Young ginger is mostly used for toppings or eaten as is, usually dipped in vinegar or soy sauce. Old ginger is the one we most often find in supermarkets, and are the ones used at the Din Tai Fung in Arcadia, CA (the Din Tai Fung I used to frequent). Mostly used for cooking, from soups to stir-fried or braised dishes, old ginger is juicier and has a much stronger flavor. Ginger is gaining a lot of popularity and I always see healthy smoothie recipes that call for ginger slices. Boiling water with some black sugar and ginger slices makes for a great cold remedy too!