Finding Din Tai Fung

View of Din Tai Fung storefront

 The joy of looking for comfort food you like .... dim sum.

Having tried Din Tai Fung in Malaysia, we were determined to check this out in our eat-list whilst in Taipei. There were a number of Din Tai Fungs in Taipei. We saw an outlet at Taipei 101, another at Sogo near an underground station.

Those outlets were not our target. We headed for the original store at Xinyi Road. It was easy, we exited Dongmen Station and the outlet was a hop away on the right.

As we were there before 10am, surprise surprise, no queue.

Customary "Been There Done That" photo

Din Tai Fung's signage was in 3 languages.
Mandarin was most prominent, with English in smaller font.
That suited us just fine.

Next to the English wordings were Katakana, ( ディン Din  タイ Tai フォン Fung ) a component of the Japanese syllabary usually used for non native Japanese words.
Wondered why. The reason was clear when we were in the restaurant. This place was popular to Japanese visitors.
Some of the waitresses were able to communicate in Japanese.

The Japanese have a long history in Taiwan. It was once its colonial master. However, the relationship between Taiwanese and the Japanese is much more amiable than compared with the Japanese's occupation in China.

4 Steps to enjoy Xiao Loong Bao

The 4-Step Xiao Loong Bao eating etiquette.
The main idea was to enjoy the broth encased within the bao.
The pork and succulent skin came second.

Remember Step 4, its hot.

Bragging rights, rightly so.

Branches in 10 countries a testament to the popularity of this chain.

The star of Din Tai Fung

Sticky rice dessert

Braised beef noodle

Shredded pork fried rice with egg

Array of appetizers

Payment was quick and efficient.
Total bill was TWN$1,628.00 for 6 persons.
This was for 10 dishes.

Street view in front of the shop

View of Taipei 101 far away

52 Amazing Things We Love About You

Celebrated my 52nd season this year. Many many things to give thanks for. Physically still good on many fronts, I must say. Last five years' pictorial report card below. Not to brag about but grateful for the simple highs, hiccups, hikes in life. Thank God for that.

2009 Fuji

2010 Ilchulbong Tuff Cone

2011 Sagarmatha National Park

2012 Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

2013 Fansipan, Phan Xi Pang or Fanxipan

Received  a deck of 52 gambling cards as a birthday gift. In each card was a pasted feedback or assessment of me as a father by my 4 children. Basically a report card. Some are telling ..... as though you have been exposed as a collector of hotel shampoos and soaps. Anyway in the annals of my history, I am going to leave it verbatim. Still love them a million.

                                              

52 Amazing Things We Love About You 

Eldest Son  

1. Love how you have raised us to be
2. Your lame comments
3. You have exposed us to the good food all around the world
4. Love how you insists on what is right
5. Love how you provide for us
6. Love how you love that lame garden =)
7. You enjoy the simple yet inexpensive things in life
8. How you've taught us to be thrifty
9. You spend on things that are worth spending for
10. How you've disciplined us for our own good
11. How you have been a great figure to others & not just us
12. Love how you always finish what you start
13. Love how you always plan before hand and see right to it

Second Daughter 

1. How you sing the oldies on 104.6 FM  =0
2. How you teach us about life through songs, messages, etc
3. sepet eyes How proud you are as a Chinese *I am trying too! =0*
4. The way you show us how much you love us
5. The annual family holidays that you & mummy plan - thank God for providing :)
6. Who you are ... A blessing to all
7. How practical you are
8. I love that you always put family first besides God
9. You love us all the same
10. The innovative side of you to make stuff
11. You set a good example to us
12. You love mummy
13. I thank God for an amazing, irreplaceable father! Love you

Third Daughter 

1. Love how you have always brought us on durian trips to expose us
2. How you have taught us the importance of family
3. How you will always bring home Chinese sausages from KL
4. All the half-priced sandwiches & pastries from The Westin
5. How you have encouraged us to get involved in ministry
6. How you've not complained (much) about us getting too involved in our ministries
7. You've accepted our similarities and differences
8. Your really REALLY lame remarks
9. You've raised us to become righteous man and woman
10. Teasing me about my pimples
11. You are worried for our future more than ourselves
12. You're worried for my social life more than me
13. How you always insist us to become a doctor first and the rest later  =>

Youngest Son 

1. How you're always determined in what you do
2. How you let me go out with my friends
3. Teaching me to have a balance between studies and fun
4. Heart 4 the needy
5. How you allow me to do sports
6. Fixing my shoes willingly
7. Pushed me to study
8. Do stuff the old fashioned way
9. How you bring joy to the extended family
10. Straight to the point attitude
11. Teaching me what is right and wrong
12. Allowing me to help out here and there in church although its last minute
13. Annual X'mas party that is such a blessing to people, friends and family. Love it.

From Jogja to Dieng Plateau

Road to Dieng Plateau

Be ready for a long ride. Going to Dieng Plateau from Jogja took five hours plus. Why Dieng? Well the Balinese have Island of the Gods. Here in Java, Dieng was known as the Abode of the Gods.
Road condition was okay from Jogja passed Borobudur then Magelang.

However, from Magelang to Wonosobo, the road was much narrower and bumpy. Overtaking was difficult and our van kept a good distance away from older vehicles going uphill. Some were under powered and looked like it could roll backwards. We saw some "roll backs" on certain uphill stretches.

Beginning of narrow stretch after Magelang

Rustic views

Logged timber a common sight

Talk about horse power!

Welcomed pee break at a petrol station

Street vendor plying their trade

Reaching Wonosobo town

These buses were parked in the middle of the road

"Toll Booths" sprout out of nowhere!

Arrived at Dieng 

Terraced vegetable gardens

Magically set against mountain backdrop

The Ruins and Surroundings

Part of the attraction in Dieng were these remnants of Hindu temple or candi. Enterprising locals donned mask and costume of Hindu Mahabharata heroes to pose with tourists, for a fee of course.

Pace here was a bit slower compared with Prambanan

A relaxed family smiling for the camera

Puntadewa temple 

Monkey gods to pose with

Dieng Plain was much cooler and walk was pleasant

Pretty flowers but poisonous

Arjuna cluster

Those with steps were popular with photographers

Mostly local tourists

Sikidang Crater commercial area

It's hard to imagine that below this surface, boiling hot magma

The Volcanic Area

We arrived to view our highlight, Sikidang Crater. The main hub was a cluster of shops selling souvenirs and tidbits. You can go to the loo here before venturing out to the crater about 500m away. The smell of sulphur had hit us upon disembarking from our van. Local vendors offered us face masks but frankly, I doubt it would be of any help.

Our carpark in the background

Walking towards Sikidang 

Boiling cauldron

Free of any vegetation

Standing upclose a mini cauldron

Bamboo orchestra

There was a local band dishing upbeat music.Perhaps to lull us into a sense of security. We were in an active volcano zone you know.

Lots of steam 

Around Dieng Plateau

Mirror Lake but not much reflection as it was a cloudy day

There was a flying fox facility behind us

Scenes around the lake

Path was damp from an earlier shower

Meet the local guardian

Walking on a cantilevered log was tricky

Branch about to hit face :))

New discovery - Carica Fruit

This papaya looking fruit must be processed to be eaten. At first glance, I thought it was papaya solo, a specie that bears miniature fruit. It can be found on little stalls that dot the way to the plateau. The fruit, which was sweetened in syrup, has a firm bite to it and its flavour mild. Best taken as a cold drink with lots of ice.

Papaya tree?

Grown amongst other crops

We bought carica here

Fruits were small but bountiful

Final product

Mee Ongklok

Our driver insisted that we ate the local specialty, mee ongklok. The famous outlet was located enroute to Jogja and he could make a stop.The gravy has a mee bandung / pasembor consistency. It was rich in spices albeit mild in flavour. 10 sticks of satay  came with each bowl.

The outlet we visited

The cook also collects the money

Condiments were satay, keropok

Tiny skewers of satay

It was a tiny restaurant