Snake Wine - PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt theme : Wine/ Vast

On a trip to Taiwan with my son one year, I brought him to the Huaxi street night market (华西街夜市) which is renowned for its snake cuisine and wine products.

I ordered a Snake Meal Set (NT 250) which has a bowl of clear Snake Soup, a small glass each of snake blood mixed with honey, snake gall, snake oil, snake belly, snake wine, two capsules of snake oil and a cup of herbal tea.

While we were waiting for dinner to be served, I was traumatised by the sight of the shop owner slicing along a snake's belly and draining its blood into a vat of rice wine. I let my son have the whole meal.

The snake sellers believe that snake wine and meat posses many medicinal qualities. My son didn't like the drinks because a couple of them tasted bitter. We were told the drinks would detoxify our body, improve our immune system and cleanse our blood. My son's faces turned very red and his body felt very hot after finishing everything. Was the meal too nutritious for my teenager? :P

Look at the size of the snakes!

The shop sells a vast range of products made from snakes. Tourists were most fascinated by the bottles of snakes infused in rice wine. The bottles are sealed and stored in for up to 36 months. The snakes are preserved to have the snake poison dissolved in the liquor. The more venomous the snake, the more expensive the wine.

I didn't buy any snake wine or snake products. My husband prefers only chicken and pork and would not touch any other meat. :P

Fo Guang Shan Monastery @Kaohsiung, Taiwan - PhotoHunt

Photo Hunt theme : Quiet /Signs

Welcome to Fo Guang Shan Monastery!

On a chilly January morning, we visited the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, Fo Guang Shan Monastery.

Built on a hilly site, we took a slow, long climb to reach the various sites on the top of the hill. All was quiet, save for the melodious chirping of birds.

The grounds are very picturesque, and the monastery has a number of museums, shrines, and monuments to see. It's an amazing place ....... so tranquil, so beautiful.

As it was approaching the Lunar New Year, the monastery grounds were scattered with adorable lanterns of little monks. Wish I could stay longer to admire the lighted lanterns at night.

cute statue of little monk

Life-size standup sign in support of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou

Signs in Taiwan are mainly written in traditional Chinese characters. And since Taiwan was holding its Presidential Election then, several innovative business owners made use of the opportunity to support their favourite Presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou as well as market their products or services.

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Taiwanese Dessert : Ice-cream Roll with Peanut Brittle Shavings - WW

shaving tool for peanut brittle candy

Walking along Taiwan Jiufen's old street, I came across many stalls selling traditional Taiwanese snacks and desserts. I was fascinated by this elderly man who was hard at work shaving the huge slab of peanut brittle in front of him.  

I watched him for a while and ordered one ice-cream roll with peanut brittle shavings (NT35).

spring roll wrap + peanut brittle shavings + ice-cream + .......

Cilantro was added to the dessert. Interesting! 

Surprisingly, it didn't taste weird.

This icy cold dessert was actually yummy. I finished it although I was shivering as the temperature was 17 degree Celsius on a wet, rainy morning. :D 

Jiufen Old Street, Taiwan 台湾 九份老街 - WW

Entrance to Jiu Fen Old Street

Jiufen's quaint streets, teahouses, stunning views of the ocean plus a wide variety of novelty and souvenir shops transform it into a popular tourist magnet.

Nestled in the hills in the northeast of Taiwan, this picturesque old town was a prosperous gold mining town until the 1950s. With the decline of gold mining activities, the poor village faded.

Must pose for a photo on Jiufen's famous flights of steps - a great souvenir to bring home

Fortunately, Jiufen's charming layout and architecture was the inspiration for a number of films such as Hou Hsiao-hsien's 'A City of Sadness' (侯孝賢的'悲情城市'), which won the Golden Lion award at the 1989 Venice Film Festival.

This was my second trip to Jiufen and it was still full of fun and delights. I enjoy wandering around this mountain sanctuary. There are lots to see and taste and don't forget to take lots of pictures.

Stalls selling all kinds of traditional Taiwanese food, beverages and snacks lined both sides of the narrow street. It took me quite a while to complete this short winding lane as I was constantly distracted by the sights and wonderful aroma of the food.  

Not wanting to offend the kind vendors who offered food-sampling at almost every stall, I tried everything. :P In the end, I purchased quite a lot of souvenirs to gift away to friends and relatives back home.

teahouses on both sides of the street

a unique teahouse which sells pottery

traditional teahouse and restaurant

 

finally a place which serves coffee!

There are many unique teahouses which offer awesome views of the ocean and mountain of Jiufen. For visitors who dislike the commercialised old street or the noise, these teahouses offer a place to relax. You will forget your worries as you sip a cup of tea and enjoy the scenic view of Jiufen.

Many local residents provide accommodation places. If you were not in a hurry, you may want to pick a nice B and B to stay for the twinkling stars and fishing lights at night. I am planning to stay a night on my next trip to Jiufen.

九份老街的特色就是那復古懷舊的街景, 依舊保留著純樸的舊日生活風貌。
九份環山面海，擁有變化多端的山海美景。
让自己的心沉醉在美丽的山城 - 九份。

Yummy Eats in Taiwan - WW

Superlicious Vanilla Cream Puff  (Kaohsiung) NT35

In Kaohsiung, while my tour group was visiting a Chinese temple, I was checking out the quaint eateries nearby. :P I bought this cream puff to snack on, it was so delicious, I bought another and another......  It was so good, I bought for the whole tour bus. :D

I love visiting Taiwan's 7-Eleven stores. I was eagerly buying food items and beverages to try. I love their wide range of beverages that comes beautifully packaged. The drinks taste good though.

Besides the famous Ding Tai Feng which has long queues at any time of the day, there are other good dumpling restaurants too. Former chefs from Ding Tai Feng set up their own shop..

This is a yummy snack!? This poster was promoting these sexy snacks at a busy street in Ximenting, Taipei. I didn't try. 

Fo Guang Shan Monastery 佛光山, Kaohsiung,Taiwan - RT

Great Buddha Land

Fo Guang Shan was founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1967. Since then it has evolved from a mountain top bamboo forest to the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan.

It is built on a hilly site. We took a slow, long climb to the various buildings. A map showing the routes to the various sites in the monastery.

The great Buddha statue (40m high) is surrounded by 480 small Buddha statues. The right hand is raised as a gesture of guidance while the left hand is lowered as a gesture of receiving.

There is a tea pavilon before entering Great Buddha Land. We stopped for a rest and have a sip of the refreshing tea. No cups, we drunk from tiny paper bags. :)

The grounds are very picturesque, and the monastery has a number of museums, shrines, and monuments to see.

It's an amazing place ....... so tranquil, so beautiful and the cheerful nuns and volunteers I met were ever so ready to help. 

The Four Verses of Fo Guang Shan

• May palms in every world be joined in kindness, compassion, joy and generosity.
• May all beings find security in friendship, peace and loving care.
• May calm and mindful practice give rise to deep patience and equanimity.
• May we give rise to spacious hearts and humble thoughts of gratitude.

Outisde the main temple building Da Xiong Bao Dian

Some of the 500 monk statues .....

I was very excited when I saw Fo Guang Shan Monastery on my tour itinerary, I had seen the advertisement of its newly built majestic Buddha Memorial Center which opened on 25th December 2011. I wanted so much to see it for myself. Alas, the tour guide did not include the new building in our itinerary. *sob.....sob*

Animal Parts Anyone? At Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market - PH

Photothunt theme : Animal

Night markets are a hallmark of Taiwanese culture and the best way to experience it is to try the vendor food. In Kaohsiung, the Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市) is the oldest and biggest, frequented by locals and busloads of tourists. :O

I'm gonna start with the unusual snacks at this night market, then the popular ones in my next post. :) 

yummy braised pig trotters with braised pig blood cubes, tofu....

The Taiwanese loves anything that's braised. I love braised food too. At the Liuhe Night Market, one finds many vendors selling braised animal and poultry parts, almost every part of the pig, duck or chocken can be braised. Even tofu, pig's blood cubes and eggs are braised.

This Granny is doing a roaring business selling her yummy braised food. Not only do the locals love it, the Chinese tourists bought the braised items to go with their beer.

Highly sought after braised duck's tongues, I don't fancy this.

Need to nourish your brain (补脑)? Have a bowl of pig's brain soup. :D

Animal organs are legally sold here :D They are valued for their nutritious properties.
Don't ask me if they do work, I don't eat organs.

I cannot imagine how huge this deep sea monster grouper was, but it must have lived quite long to grow to this size. And they caught and eat it. Poor fish.

This BBQ stall has a constant long queue. Each stick of BBQ bits is brushed with their specially marinated sauces and sold from NT10 (Singapore 50 cents). You can choose from chicken thigh, wings, breasts, necks, feet, heads, pork, beef etc....

The Taiwanese named the chicken butts "7-mile fragrant" (七里香). I find nothing fragrant about it because I have not mustered the courage to try that, yet. :P They are very popular in this night market.

I heard so much about this mullet gizzard (烏魚子) that I simply must try it. I paid NT50 for a small bite. Hubby almost puke after taking a tiny bite. I bravely chewed and swallowed the rest. Don't like it - it has an extremely strong fishy taste. Too strong for us.

So, what are the popular yummies at Liuhe Night Market? Next post. :D

高雄六合夜市 - 好吃又好玩!