Pour Over Coffee has become the newest coffee brewing trend in Taiwan. I was never a big fan of drip coffee. but after tasting award winning Panama Geisha coffee, I am floored! I never realize how much work is involved in a good cup of coffee. Things like the region of the coffee beans, variety of the beans, roasting technique, coffee grinds, brewing technique, temperature of the water… and many many more can affect the character of a good cup of coffee. An excellent cup of coffee is definitely a work of art.

台灣的咖啡文化真的是日益精湛。自從喝了Jessy姊從台灣帶回來的藝妓咖啡豆之後，對一向酸酸苦苦的黑咖啡另眼相看。住在加拿大，唯一會喝的咖啡只有星巴克的 Soy Latte, 其他的一概不碰。喝過了鄭超人先生烘培的咖啡豆以後，才知道原來好的咖啡居然可以口齒留香，餘韻回甘，連沖泡完的咖啡渣都可以讓整室馨香，纏綿流連好幾個小時。咖啡豆的產地，種類，烘培技術，研磨粗細，沖泡溫度，方式等等都會影響一杯好的咖啡。這次回台灣，特地來到到湛盧品嘗手沖咖啡。

各式各樣的咖啡機與林朗滿目的瓶瓶罐罐讓人充滿期待。We visited Zhanlu Coffee while staying in Taiwan. They hand picked their coffee beans, and do the roasting on site, so that every cup of coffee is guaranteed fresh.

傍晚的湛盧，安靜溫暖，充滿了濃厚咖啡香與令人放鬆的音樂。

專業的咖啡手跟我們介紹各種不同的咖啡。先讓我們聞沖泡前的咖啡乾香。另外值得一題的是咖啡杯裡面已經盛有熱水以保持溫度，之後咖啡倒入後才不會冷卻過快。不同的咖啡要在不同的溫度下沖泡以及品嘗，才會喝到最原始的風味。

聚精會神Barrista 專心的沖泡著咖啡。用的是V60 螺旋萃取濾紙式咖啡壺

Knowledgable Barristas explain different types of coffee and demonstrate the pour over brewing technique using of V60.

第一個步驟是悶蒸，讓咖啡的味道完整萃取出來。看那完美的小山丘形狀，就知道咖啡豆是完全的新鮮!

First, the coffee is pre-infused for 30 seconds to extract the full aroma of the coffee. A perfect dome is formed only if the coffee beans are fresh.

接下來的第二次沖泡，Barrista 精準的控制著水量及速度，慢慢的往外畫圓，萃取出來的咖啡一滴一滴的往下積聚。這時候可以聞到咖啡的濕香，又和乾香呈現出不同的風味。

After pre-infusion, the barista started pouring  the water slowly, spiralling outward with precision, controlling the speed and the flow of water carefully for a perfect cup of coffee.

一杯濃郁香醇的咖啡，完成! Perfecto!

《湛盧 大安手沖館》2006.06開幕

營業內容˙手沖咖啡/冰釀咖啡/義式咖啡/花草茶飲/冰淇淋/甜點/現烤輕食/咖啡豆/掛耳包

服務方式˙內用/外帶

地址˙台北市新生南路一段161巷2-1號

營業時間˙12:00-22:00
服務電話˙TEL 02-2708-9828

傳真電話˙FAX 02-2709-9821

Another amazing spot for vegetarian/vegan fine dining in Taiwan - Yuang Vegetarian Restaurant in Taipei. Being a vegetarian/vegan is so easy in Taiwan. Not only is it easy to get fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, but there are also many restaurants to choose from. This all-you-can-eat buffet offers hot and cold traditional Chinese dishes, sushi, sashimi, hand roll, wraps, salad, dim sum, pizza, pasta, risotto, soups, drinks… etc, you name it. In particular, the incredibly delicious vegan cakes! They are so soft and fluffy, not overly sweet but savoury. I couldn’t help but have slices after slices. There are so many different flavours; chocolate strawberry, mango, taro, date, hazelnut… I must had at least 8 slices, that’s pretty much as eating a whole cake all by myself!

Photo Curtesy: 原素食府官網 http://yuanveg.com/

通常純素的糕點都是厚重乾澀，因為沒有蛋跟奶讓它綿密鬆軟。但是原素食府禮聘知名糕點師傅精心製作，推出許多令人垂涎三尺的手感烘焙中西糕點。

Can you imagine that all these beautiful cakes are completely vegan? There are even more behind the glass display shelf. I feel like I am in cake heaven, and the cakes are indeed soft as a cloud!

自從吃全素之後，我再也沒有嘗過如此鬆軟可口的蛋糕。連理查吃了都驚嘆連連，直呼這不可能是全素的蛋糕! 有巧克力，芒果，，草莓，芋頭，堅果，抹茶口味。一個比一個好吃，如此的柔軟美味，不甜不膩，我一口接一口，完全不客氣的一盤拿過一盤。覺得幸福得像是飄在雲裡。

好想把糕點師傅請來加拿大開一家，應該會爆紅吧! 不然請收我為徒吧，我來開一家素食貴婦下午茶 cafe.餐廳資訊:

新北市板橋區府中路29之2號4樓（板橋農會大樓4樓，板南線府中捷運站1號出口）

02 2272 8999 / 02 2272 2988

One of the most amazing thing about Taiwan is the food. Take this elegant pattiserie for example, not only does it offer the most delicate pastries and sweets, but it also have the cutest hand drawn menu and the most romantic décor.

Alex Pattisserie 是跟姑姑逛完松山菸廠園區後休憩的地方。藍紫色的裝潢馬上吸引了我們的目光，不假思索就走進去了，完全攻佔女性市場。不過點心我一口也沒吃到，(不是純素)，所以我沒有辦法給予任何評論，大家看看照片就是了，呵。

手繪menu真的很用心，精美的畫本配上可愛的圖案，就是要讓人有身置小法國的感覺。

下午茶點心當然精緻，原味法式千層塔 Mille Feuille 是網路上大家首推，酥脆千層配上香草櫻桃卡是達。

Cake 繽紛生活蛋糕: 色彩繽紛的蛋糕組合, 開心果蛋糕為主體, 搭配熱帶水果慕斯和鳳梨cream。

裡面的裝潢是以藍色跟紫色為主，充滿了法國浪漫風情。

華麗的吊燈讓整個空間變得很精緻高雅，大而明亮的場地讓人心情很愉悅放鬆。

大家都說東西精緻好吃，裝潢美麗舒適，是聊天休息的好地方。可惜服務態度有待加強，東西點了沒有上，還要再三催促才有回應，最後我們還是放棄不等了。

餐廳資訊：

地址：台北市忠孝東路四段553巷18號(松山菸廠入口處正對面)
電話：02-2762-3236

Needless to say, I am super excited when I discovered their new cupcakes in the store. Look how adorable they are!

This one is my favourite – vanilla cupcake! Love the vanilla scent; creamy on top, soft at the bottom. Best of all, it’s not too sweet, just right. 

I am not exactly sure what flavour this is, my guess would be strawberry or cranberry cupcake. The savoury sour berry jam balances the sweetness of the cream. Excellent! (On a side note, I know it is suppose to be a heart shaped cream, but I kept thinking it’s a butt … sexy …. XD)

And this is cream filled cupcake. Don’t be fooled by the lack of cream on top, because it’s hiding inside! What a surprise when you bite into it! However, this is too sweet and rich for my blood.

And lastly, also the prettiest one of all, the dreamy lavender cupcake! In case if you haven’t tasted lavender before, it’s actually very minty, even a little bit bitter. In order to offset that bitterness, a lot of sugar has to be added. Therefore I find this too sweet for my not so sweet teeth.
Enjoy them with a cup of coffee or herbal tea. It’s the most relaxing moment in my busy day.

I have not been updating my blog for over a month, and I blame my new flat screen TV for it It’s so hard to get away from the wonderful entertainment TV provides. Anyway, today I am sharing my new handmade soap! Lavender Gromwell Soap!

今天來分享新的手工皂 – 紫草薰衣皂!

紫草有鎮定，消炎，解毒透疹的作用。之前就一直聽朋友們說紫草根用在皂裡面對皮膚很好，尤其是像我這種異位性皮膚炎的患者更是有益。研究報告表示，這裡面的萘醌類化合物 (Naphthoquinone compounds) 具有抗腫瘤、抗菌、抗發炎、抑制真菌、促進傷口癒再生等藥理效用。經常被使用於治療皮膚癌、濕疹及帶狀泡疹。近年來在日本也非常的盛行，有紫草皂，紫草霜，紫草乳液等等。

而我則是貪戀他美麗的顏色，一直想要來試試看。但是麻煩的是，紫草必須要泡在橄欖油裡面至少6個月以上，才能萃取出它的藥效，所以只能把它放在角落裡苦苦的等。最後，我熬了三個月還是按耐不住，把它拿來打皂了
The lovely purple color actually comes from the gromwell root not lavender seeds. Gromwell root is a herb that’s used widely in Chinese medicine. It is known to demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal characteristics as well as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Recent years, gromwell root have gained its popularity in Japanese skin care products because of its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Gromwell root is also a great colorants in handmade soap for its lovely purple to blue magenta color. Furthermore, it’s an excellent for people with eczema and acne prone skin.

Source: Alibaba.com

Gromwell root can be purchased in Chinese herbal store. I pre-soaked the roots in olive oil for three months. Some people believe it should be soaked for at least more than 6 months in order to gain its full medicinal benefits. While gromwell root is soaked in oil it’s a dark reddish color. However, it turns into blue-magenta or violet color in an alkaline environment.

這次超大手筆的把油給撩下去，打了三公斤的肥皂! 可是再也不這樣弄了，實在太辛苦，打的時候要小心不讓它噴出來，切的時候又很難脫模，以後還是少少的打就好了

My Recipe is simple:

• Olive Oil (pre-soaked with gromwell root) 1560g
• Palm Oil 220g
• Coconut Oil 230g
• Lavender Essential Oil 10g
• NaOH 269g
• Water 699g

泡在油裡面的紫草又黑又紅，完全沒有辦法想像做起皂來會是甚麼樣的情況。跟氫氧化鈉反映過後漸漸開始變成藍色。下面這是剛打好的時候，是呈現深藍色。

This is taken right after trace, the color is a royal blue magenta. Not what I was expecting, but it’s pretty.

我配合了薰衣草精油在裡面，表面再灑上媽媽種在花園裡的薰衣草。希望它做出來後會是漂亮的淡紫色。

And I also mix in some lavender seeds harvested from my mom’s garden in Vancouver.

過了一天以後，顏色居然變淡了! 淺淺的藍紫色! 漂亮漂亮!

After a day… SURPRISE!!! It’s a light purple just as I have wanted!

十天過後，我來切皂了。裡面居然有深深淺淺的紋路耶! 好棒喔!

After 10 days, I removed the soap from the mold and started cutting it. Another wonderful surprise! It’s lined with alternating light and dark patterns.

這些紋路，是因為我最後加了精油的關係嗎? 

Is the pattern from the essential oil that I added?

還是因為我放了薰衣草仔的關係? 我覺得比較有可能是薰衣草紫在裡面攪拌時產生的。

Or is it because that I mixed in the lavender seeds in the mixture? Personally I think this is likely the reason why.

不管原因如何，這真是個美麗的驚喜。做皂就是這樣，出來的成品會和你想像中的不一樣，令人期待。

Whatever the reason is, I love it! This is the joy of making my own soap. I get to experiment, and I get unique results every single time. No other soap in the world is identical to this one I make!

表層的顏色是淺紫色，裡面切開來後還是深的藍色。讓它皂化完成後應該裡面顏色也會變淺一點。

It is still a deeper blue inside of the soap, I guess the color will slowly change to a light purple as the soap making process complete in a month or two.

現在又是得耐心得等，一個月以後再見啦! 

We shall revisit in a month. Bye for now ~~

噹噹噹，開箱第一拍!

裡面總共有四合DVD, 兩盒是動態攝影，兩盒是靜態相片。

DVD 盒的正面圖片

DVD盒的背面照

連DVD本身都有圖片呢!Gudy 真的很用心，把DVD做得這麼專業，讓我們一打開就有驚豔感，實在太高興了。

最後獻上我們的婚禮精選 MV

]]> https://yuzulife.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/rr-wedding-in-taipei-%e5%a9%9a%e7%a6%ae%e7%b2%be%e9%81%b8-mv/feed/ 0 DSC_0082 bubumao wedding DVD DSC_0082 DSC_0086 DSC_0090 DSC_0096 https://yuzulife.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/%e8%80%b3%e7%92%b0%e8%80%b3%e7%92%b0-earrings/ https://yuzulife.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/%e8%80%b3%e7%92%b0%e8%80%b3%e7%92%b0-earrings/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 04:31:37 +0000 bubumao http://yuzulife.wordpress.com/?p=3151 ]]> 我喜歡小飾品，尤其耳環是我每天必帶之物。回台灣的時候去了東區的Kila Kila 以及五分埔的飾品店掃了不少耳環! 啦啦啦，台灣真是飾品天堂，好容易手滑!

小雛菊耳環看了讓人心情愉悅啊! 然後發現，新買的 Ball Topiary 很適合拿來當飾品照的背景 (噗) 紅花綠葉真美麗~~

上面這兩副橘色耳環都是在五分埔買的，不過店名我已經不記得了。

這付比較有都會感，是我工作時常會搭配的。購於五分埔的 Treasure Fashion

這副是比較雅緻的耳環，它特別的地方在它前後都是長墜式的。

這副耳環是理查選的，只因為他覺得大大的藍圓球很俏皮。這是在 Kila Kila 買的，他們的大象絨布袋很可愛吧。

這也是 Kila Kila 敗的，亮晶晶的swarovski 彩色水晶! (樂)

大阪燒大家應該都很熟悉，不過純素的大阪燒你有吃過嗎? 其實只要有素蛋粉跟素美乃滋，一樣可以做出可口的大阪燒喔。我今天做的大阪燒裡面有高麗菜，番薯絲，玉米，綠蔥，素花枝，跟一點捏碎的板豆腐。大阪燒根本就是煮婦拿來清冰箱剩菜而發明的嘛，基本上你想吃甚麼就放甚麼，隨興得很。

Batter

• 120g  grated nagaimo (120g 新鮮山藥泥)
• 4 to 5 tablespoons of dashi stock (ˋ4-5 湯匙高湯)
• 60g baking flour (60g 低筋麵粉)
• egg replacer that’s equivalent to 3 ‘large’ (60g each) eggs – available at Whole Foods (相當於三顆蛋的素蛋粉,  我是在Whole Foods買的)

Vegetables 

• About 300g roughly chopped cabbage (300g 切成粗條的高麗菜)
• 30g of grated sweet yam or carrot (30g番薯絲或紅蘿蔔絲)
• 30g of corn kernels (30g 玉米粒)
• 10g of diced vegan calamari (10g 切碎的素花枝)
• 10g of crumbled firm tofu (10g 捏碎的硬豆腐)
• 3 tablespoons of chopped green onion (3 湯匙蔥花)

First mix the batter, which is made of dashi, baking flour, egg replacer, and grated nagaimo. Then add in the vegetables and mix well. Pour the mixture into a hot skillet until one side is golden brown. Flip it over and make sure it’s cooked through. A good way to check if it’s ready is to poke a chopstick into the pancake to see if any of the flour still stick to the chopstick.

做法請參考圖示，先把高湯，麵粉，素蛋粉跟山藥泥混勻，加入青菜跟喜歡的配料，攪拌攪拌到入熱好油的平底鍋，等到煎成金黃色就可以翻面。全部餡料都熟了以後就完成了 (當筷子插進去不會沾黏就是熟了)。在上面淋上大阪燒醬，素美乃滋，灑上海苔粉就大功告成! 其實很簡單呢。做了幾次下來發現了小秘訣就是: 用低筋麵粉比用高筋麵粉鬆軟，而加了素蛋粉的表皮比沒加還要酥脆。

The dressing is very important for Okonomiyaki, The first layer is the okonomiyaki sauce, which tastes similar to Worcestershire sauce. It’s readily available in the Asian market. Second layer is Japanese Mayonnaise; I used veganaise as a substitute; however, the traditional Japanese mayo is definitely sweeter and creamier. Lastly, sprinkle some aonori (dried seaweed) and you are done! It’s really not hard and I find it to be an excellent recipe for cleaning up my food in the fridge. Afterall, okonomi means “whatever you like” in Japanese.

After having a big success with the Blackberry Pancake for breakfast. I decided to try Butternut Squash-Chestnut Soup with Caramelized Pears for lunch. I made butternut squash soup before, but it always tastes bland and lacking flavour. I can’t wait to try this recipe from Candle 79′s cookbook since it does incorporate a lot of interesting ingredients and spices that I am not familiar with.

This recipe is available on the website, see here.

First preparing the soup base with my Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven.

While the soup base is simmering away, I moved on to prepare the Balsamic-Caramelized Pears. We bought this amazing “Maletti” Aceto Balsamico di Modena from Cresendo in distillery a while ago, and I know it’s going to be excellent for this recipe. It’s got this velvety smooth texture and delicious sweetness.

And the final touch – award winning maple syrup from Ninutik. I purchased from LPK Culinary Grove. The sweets store use Ninutik maple sugar in a lot of their desserts. In my opinion, it’s the key to their savoury deliciousness. However, it was really sad to say goodbye to LPK as it closed down at the end of December 2012. I miss their high quality sweet vegan desserts

This is what the pears look like when I started with them.

And this is how it turned out! Beautiful caramelized color and it tastes divine!

Purée the butternut squash soup base and garnish it with the Balsamic-Caramelized Pears. This soup is amazing. It’s hearty and flavourful, and I have to say the caramelized pears are definitely the highlight of the soup. I am definitely making more of those for my dessert recipe.

Here’s an excerpt:

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