Back!

I left the blog unattended mid-Japan life and skipped over all my eating done in Shanghai.
Current location is Seoul, Korea. I live by Soongsil Univ. Station, which is the poop colored green subway line, very close to Seoul University.

Being 100% Korean but 80% gastronomically un-Korean (although I could probably eat a bucket of Kimchi if left alone with it too long), I look for as many flour-products as possible to even out the newly imposed hike of rice into my diet. And... I went to Paris Baguette--how trendy and unpoetic of me.
Paris Baguette is common in the states where I grew up because there are far too many Koreans around. And I didn't like it for the same reason I didn't like Pink Berry. A hyped and branded pretty place for people who want to pay more for the same thing Dupan or Gateaux could offer.
But I went there because in Korea it's often cheaper than local bakeries and seems decidedly humble and small-operative because many chains are owned by husband and wife and they'll remember your face if you go often enough.

I'm addicted to the morning toast with fiber. It's just so good.
Best way to have it is freezing it thoroughly and then toasting it on high heat for a short time so that the top end is the slightest bit frozen and hard/chewy in the center.

I want to say I haven't found toast to challenge this fiberbaby but the Cranberry Toast at bread&co. is SO good. The bread&co. that sold me mine just opened-grandly in front of Bongcheon Station exit 6.
Sorry, too much writing!

Here are some other choice parisbaguette moments: croissant, garlic toast, sweet potato cream cheese(no pic) , sweet potato bun (no pic)


ps: I'm back~

Motoyama Milk Bar

So Lisa and I booked a trip to Sapporo to see the winter snow festival and challenge my lactose intolerance with by chugging Hokkaido milk and other milky products. But that didn't pan out so well as it's impossible to find hotel rooms still open and because domestic travel in Japan is ridiculously expensive. So we decided to get our Hokkaido milk fix in tokyo. Roppongi hills, actually, only a few stops from school.




The interior is dainty and pink as appropo to anything Japanese. I thought the zebra patterned seats were a funny and ironic. There were also cow heads with different colored tongues sticking out. Surprisingly cute and not creepy.




This is their theme dessert plate. The cow roll cake with soft cream on the side.


This is their dessert plate with cake, pudding and iced cream.


I ordered the white day special that was supposed to have pink whitechocolate spots on the cake instead of their usual chocolate, but they had run out of the white day special cake. the staff was very apologetic and offered to replicate the same dish with their usual cake. frankly i didn't care too much because I had gone a month with no cake and felt this withdrawal that made me not want to complain. Everything was so milky and delicious. What made the plate so good was that they used crushed pistachios for garnish and on the side was this strawberry buried under a hillock of strawberry mousse and whipped cream. The mousse was so thick and marshmallowy and reminded me of a montblanc.

They also offer coffee and tea with Hokkaido milk. Too bad I take my coffee black.


Address

104-0061　東京都中央区銀座5-9-18
Tel (030)3571-5351

http://www.motoyamamilkbar.jp/shop/

Beard Papa's

Lisa and I went shopping in Shibuya and coming out of the station, we smelled something...


Having heard that beard papa's in Japan is infinitely superior to those in other countries, I refrained from trying them in Taiwan. And I have to agree that Beard Papa's in Taiwan never had this wafting smell effect as this one did.


They were promoting their Strawberry cream


"It tastes like a strawberry smoothie" is what Lisa said and I think this describes the cream puff really well. I actually don't like cream puffs (soz!) but this one made me very happy and I forgot about my aching feet for a minute or two.



Address

東京都渋谷区渋谷2-24-1　
渋谷駅東急東横東館１Ｆ
TEL (03)5428-3560
無休　10：00～22：00

http://www.muginoho.com/

Strawberry Scones

I had such a sticky time with these that I don't think I will bake scones again but here's your eyecandy. enjoy~

PBJ bars

Last night I was looking through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook and decided to make Peanut Butter & Jelly bars. Creaming butter and adding peanut butter (creaming peanut butter?) is something I've never done before and it gives you this beautiful butterscotch color that browns into a caramel in the oven. The end product is dense and wet. If blondies a pbj came together, this would be their lovechild. What's great about these are that theyre sweet but the peanut topping is salty so that there is a lovely contrast.


I used strawberry jam for mine but I think raspberry would do even better.

ps: eating these in portions greater than two-inch squares at a time may result in death.

Borba and Bakery

Sorry folks, for being MIA
I am pretty bad about making posts during the school year at my home campus.
I'm on my winter break as of now and I will spend the spring semester in Tokyo so you can expect blogs of my Japan food adventures. ^^

I recently took a trip to Saks 5th in the city (jerseyspeak for ny) where I stumbled across... this.

Borba is a facial skincare line with creams and gels and now, this, vitamin waters in trendy flavors like acai berry which is the new celebrity weightloss food icon. There was a little refridgerator with these zero calorie drinks in four to five flavors and even gummies which promise healthier skin.
I seriously doubt their potency but I bought a few anyway. The bottles are reusable and very pretty.



The same day, the rockefeller center magnolia did not have a two-mile line wrapped around the block *gasps* probably because it was the day after christmas and tourists kept the crowd concentrated near the tree and other displays. Anyway, magnolia's cupcakes are just as good, even without the sixty minute wait. I got myself doublechocolate and buttercream cupcakes but be sure to try the banana pudding--excellent reviews.

Best Scone

If Amherst/Umass has the best pizza (Antonio's), then CMU has the best scone.

La Prima Espresso is probably my favorite thing about going to CMU.
This semester I don't have any classes in Wean Hall so I don't go there as often but the past two years have seen a lot of sconing.
There are two kinds of scones they sell, and the better kind are triangular, bigger, a bit dry, and always in the display case. Those are my favorites. But they do have smaller oblong ones in the in front next to the muffins and brownies. They're sort of undercooked--which could be a good thing but that's for you to decide.
Apricot and Chocolate Chip are winners.

Stuffed Pretzels

I came across Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels in the freezer aisle of the Geagle (Giant Eagle) in Squirrel Hill. It's a short busride away from CMU campus.
"Chocolate Crumb" stuffed pretzel. My shopping buddy Christine decided to restrain herself but I went against my culturally instilled groupism tendencies and stood by the pretzel. I even put back some other junk to make junk space. And I think this was one of the best choices I've ever made in my life.


Chocolate is the best bet because it's chocolate. But there are a lot of different kinds including savory varieties. To name a few:
Sourdough Asiago
Apple Cinnamon
Mixed Berry Cobbler
Cheesecake
Bavarian
Cream Cheese and Herb
Grilled Cheese
Cheddar Jalapeno
Pizza
Omelette
Spinach and Feta
They're not as big as the average soft pretzel so you can stop freaking out. If you have asian girl hands like mine, you can say the pretzel is a palm and a half in diameter.
You zap it in the microwave for about a minute and it becomes this soft, gooey thing you get to break up and consume slowly. But not too slow because it'll cool down. Plus finger licking.
The trick is though, to heat it up for just the right amount of time so that it becomes just hot enough but not overheated and tough. This a matter of whether to microwave it 55 seconds or 58.
Perfect for a college student with lazy mornings.
I often wake up and compulsively eat random things I don't really like and end up feeling unsatisfied to the ex-treme. "Should have showered and gotten that coconut chocolate cake donut at Entropy." That kind of thing.
Anyway. This is good. You're stupid if you pass it up.

More goodies from IJY

They do not fail




If you like tiramisu





Or

chocolate mochi with chocolate dipping sauce

Previously reviewed here




Address

IJY Sheng
一之軒時尚烘焙
台北市師大路 53 號 電話：(02)2362-0425 傳真：(02)2362-2625
http://www.ijysheng.com.tw/

Starbucks: muffins

Before I express any kind of praise about Starbucks I want to make it clear that I am definately not a fan of Starbucks or any other coffee franchise. In the states I would not happily shell out US$2.00 for a tall black or for unworthy calories from the baked goods display. But in Taiwan you experience this withdrawal from being deprived of the Western saccharide for an extended period of time. Starbucks has been my solution. I dare say the chains in Taiwan carry better selection and quality baked goods than those in the states and their portions are such that I can tackle them by myself.

Here is your eyecandy.


Hey, Sexy, great top!





The blueberry muffin tastes just the way you would expect a good muffin to taste like. It stays true to a muffin's texture and dense consistency. Actually, that dense quality about muffins is what turns me off from them most of the time and it's what causes my muffin-count to stay really low. Including these two recent eats I have heretofore eaten approximately 5 muffins literally +2.5 muffins virtually by way of foodporn and imagination. But the blueberry muffin was definately good. No post-consumption regrets and only fond memories.

I had to try the chocolate chip muffin the next time around after reading hungrygirl's review and I have to second her critique. As far as competition goes, I think the blueberry and chocolate chip would have broken even but I much prefer the lighter, cake-like texture of the chocolate chip muffin.



Address


Heping Store
2 Heping Rd., Section 1, Daan District
台北市大安區和平東路一段2號
(02)2369-4200

http://www.starbucks.com.tw/home/

first post

Two months into my three month stay in Taiwan.
There are good bakeries everywhere in Taipei but IJY Sheng is my favorite chain; I frequent the one in Shida night market because I live only blocks from it. All this was consumed over the course of two months because even I have my limits. I will keep the descriptions to a minimum because its more productive to let you ogle these babies than to say "its sooo good!" after every photo.


Oreo cheesecake #1 best seller in the refridgerated section



I usually don't like the mooncake type texture but this was so beautiful and tasted strongly of taro.



I'm a coffee lover and I take my coffee black with no sugar so I have a bias against any food that makes coffee taste like it should be sitting next to the chocolate milk in the dairy aisle. But this was ranked #2 in popularity so I tried it at the risk of disappointment. And it's good! The pretty little mass decorating the surface is also found sitting on top of a layer of mocha cake and takes it from very good to so good I would get it again and forgo tasting new cakes.



The closest way to describe this is an asian Boston Creme donut. The cavity is filled with a custard and chocolate.



I was never a fan of cheesecake until I had this. If I remember correctly it was 3am when I was converted.



Caramel cake






This was also caramel, with an apple filling






My favorite 麵包 from IJY. I think you can never go wrong with 竹碳麵包. The ingredient is literally charcoal made from bamboo and makes a distinct but elusive flavor that I still can't fully grasp. The color is beautiful and you get a surprise layer of mochi inside.



The 竹碳麵包 was so good I had to try the chocolate counterpart. It loses to the former by a hairline. In place of the mochi there is a layer of chocolate right below the surface.

I haven't seen this in the states but matcha and redbean pairings are very common here.

Innards first because they were so great. The colors reminded me of spumoni.

did I say that I would keep the commentary to a minimum?

Everything NT$30-60

Address

IJY Sheng

一之軒時尚烘焙

台北市師大路 53 號 電話：(02)2362-0425 傳真：(02)2362-2625

http://www.ijysheng.com.tw/