Tuesday, December 30, 2008

台灣小吃探索(續) Taiwan Snacks Are the Best !(Cont.)

Taihodien Spicy Hot Pot 太和殿麻辣鍋Taihodien Spicy Hot Pot 太和殿麻辣鍋 - Spicy Hot Pot is really popular in Taiwan. Some places offer all-you-can-eat buffet around US$10-15 dollars per person, but the ones who don't are usually better. My favorite is Taihodien (太和殿), located on Sinyi Rd.






Go to YongKang Street in Taipei and you will find following delicacies.

Braised Beef Noodles @ YongKang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵(紅燒) Braised Beef Noodles 牛肉麵











Steamed Spareribs with Rice Flour @ YongKang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵的粉蒸排骨 Steamed Spareribs with Rice Flour 粉蒸排骨 - Goes extremely well with beef noodles










Fresh Strawberry Sorbet @ Ice Monster 冰館的新鮮草莓牛奶雪酪 Strawberry Sorbet 草莓牛奶雪酪 - Don't forget to enjoy a dessert at Ice Monster.

Monday, December 29, 2008

台灣小吃探索 Taiwan Snacks Are the Best!

Last year I actually made myself back to Taiwan for Christmas Day although most of Taiwanese are not Christians. During my one week stay I tried to catch up my favorite Taiwan snacks. Here are some:

Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐) - They are not rather stinky or smelly but crispy outside, juicy and tasty inside. You gotta try this if had chance. Available in most of the night markets in Taiwan. Never seen one in the U.S.







Bubble Tea or Boba Tea (珍珠奶茶) - One of the most famous Taiwan drinks. In US it usually costs three dollars but in Taiwan it's less than one dollar. There are several tea shop chains in Taiwan serve Bubble Tea, but I personally love "Chun Shui Tang" (春水堂) the best.










Tofu Pudding (豆花) - The pudding is made from soybean as how tofu is made, and it goes well with Boba. The Three Brothers (三兄弟) do a good job at putting red bean to each of the Boba to bring the mouthfeel to the next level.








To be continued....

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Purdue Memorial Union covered in snow


Purdue Memorial Union, originally uploaded by thoth188.

Isn't this beautiful? I know everything looks better in snow, but sometimes it's a pain in the ass to slip on streets.

Click here to see more photos of Purdue University.

Friday, December 26, 2008

You cannot spell stupid without IU


IU touchdown, originally uploaded by thoth188.

Okay, here comes my first away football game to one of the Boilermakers' rivals - Indiana University. Both teams were striving to win the Old Oaken Bucket, which is the trophy that is annually awarded to the winner of the football game between IU and Purdue, back to school and win the pride.

Unfortunately, Boilermakers lost the 2007 game. But it's a good and interesting game to be part of it, especially when only 5% of the attendees are on your side. I have to say Purdue fans showed great school spirit and I am very proud of my alma mater.

There was a huge traffic to get to the stadium and that caused us to miss the opportunity of tailgating with IU students. Obviously they need the expertise of logistics management from Krannert School :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

World's Largest Drum


HCG_12 World's Largest Drum, originally uploaded by thoth188.

I am not quite sure if this is true or not, but it seems like we have the largest drum in the world.

This photo was taken when I was in the homecoming game on October 28th, 2007. And my favorite part of the game is seeing Neil Armstrong, the first person who steps on earth, cheering up the football team and crowd during the half-time break.

It's my second football game and now I can have my opinion about American football. My general impression is football game is quite intense and quick. A lot things could happen in ten seconds, and a quarterback is the key player in the offensive team just like a pitcher in a baseball team. There are some rules that I still don't understand, but overall I enjoy football games better than other sports games.

Click here for the photo set on Flickr!

Go Boilers!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Why History Can't Wait - Person of the Year 2008 - TIME

Why History Can't Wait - Person of the Year 2008 - TIME

是的,一點都不令人意外,歐巴馬成為了時代雜誌評選2008年度風雲人物。這位美國有史以來第一位黑人總統,已經讓在全世界人心留下深刻的印象。

只不過大家還記得去年的風雲人物是誰嗎?點這裡看答案。他們有許多共同點-都是總統(或者即將成為總統),而且都是政治明星。

歐巴馬競選時期,最讓大家佩服的是他運用媒體的能力。從初選一開始他的競選團隊就大量使用各種二十一世紀才出現的新媒體-Youtube。宣布副手的時候也是第一優先讓主動提供e-mail或手機號碼的一般民眾知道。他甚至還有flickr pro帳號(昨天整理照片的時候突然發現的)。重點是他不但可以透過這些媒體跟民眾互動,還可以跟這些人小額募款。

但是對於歐團隊治國能力,個人必須有所保留。雖然他具有領導統御的特質,但是不令人諱言,有不少選民把票投給歐巴馬只因為他是個政治明星-想想看如果你把票投給他,你就參與了某種「金氏世界紀錄」:選出美國第一位黑人總統。

亂世出英雄。如果現在不是亂世,那怎麼會有馬英九、李明博、歐巴馬、跟普亭呢?