Another Thing on my Desktop ...

Hermes Pup!

Just look at the expression of bliss on this lil pup's face

... I'd look like that too if I had an Hermes scarf around me too!

I keep this on my desktop just cos it's so cute! :)

Things on my Desktop ...

There are days I feel so mad, I look like this Angry Chick ...

Then when I look at this, I can't help but laugh!

And that's why this picture has found a permanent place on my desktop :)

春水堂Chun Shui Tang, Taipei

It occurred to me that I had not featured a very popular Taiwanese drink - Bubble Tea! Apparently, Chun Shui Tang prides themselves as being the original creator of the bubble tea. And I have to admit that theirs is one of the nicer ones around - the "bubbles" or tapioca pearls have just the right amount of chewiness, while the tea tastes just right ... I asked for less sugar (which is 80% of the normal amount of sugar).

Just to sidetrack a lil, one thing I appreciate about buying tea in Taiwan is that you can ask for the perfect amount of sugar in your tea, as well as the amount of ice in your drink. And the various tea combinations are amazing ... I really missed their tea stalls when I moved away from Taipei previously.

My Iced Bubble Milk Tea ... this really hit the spot as it'd been a long time since I had some chewy tapioca pearls

Hubby's Iced Jasmine Tea ... this was so fragrant and refreshing!

I Jy Sheng Bread Shop, Zhongshan, Taipei

We discovered this bread shop around Zhongshan MRT, Taipei. Turns out the chef won some international baking competition in 2010, beating out seven other competitors from countries like France and Japan! No wonder it was doing roaring business that day we were there!

The award-winning bread - made using Taiwanese millet wine, dried lychee and roses...

Sea-salt flavored bread ...

"Po Lo"/Pineapple Bread ...

Tomatoes with cheese and tuna on top of baguette ... this was actually my favorite

Can you tell I love bread? :)

Cheese Biscuits!

My aunt in Tokyo makes one of the best (if not the best) cheese biscuits I've ever tried ... even better than the ones by Marks & Spencer, in my honest opinion. I was missing them so much when I came back that I wanted to try making them myself. However, I needed a pastry cutter/dough blender. I had given up trying to find one in Taipei, as I'd not seen any shops around Taipei that specialised in baking materials ... then I stumbled upon one near the fabric market!

So, here are my Parmesan Cheese Biscuits!

They don't taste as buttery as my aunt's but that could be due to the fact that I used a different type of cheese. I'm eager to try them again ... using cheddar cheese next time :)

Dessert at Taipei Fabric Market

So, I was at the fabric market in Taipei over the weekend, and while walking around, we found a stall that was really popular! The queue just never stopped ... people just kept coming and queuing up. That really piqued my curiosity, so I went in for a closer look ...

But first, here's a look at the facade of the fabric market ...

The stall with the perpetual queue ... what are they selling? ...

Shaved ice???

ahhhh ... Almond Jelly! That's what everyone's queuing up for! We chose the combination of green beans and red beans with their almond jelly. It was wonderfully refreshing and delicious on a warm day.

I'm Enamoured With a Lace Top ....

I had been searching for this lace top (or something similar with those beautiful scalloped sleeves and bottom) which I'd seen Emily from cupcakesandcashmere wearing here (below) way back in around Jan this year. (Don't you just love the way she teams this rather fancy/dressy top with something so basic as jeans, making lace so wearable?) ... Then, as though she could read my mind, Emily wore it again here just today! Me thinks this is a sign!

I started searching for it on the Forever21 website online, hoping I could ask a friend to get it and send it to me, but ... I couldn't find it. So, the search continues ...