4s @ f/8, ISO 100 and 1.6s @ f/8, ISO 800, 5D Mark II, Rooftop of an 阿姨’s apartment complex

Happy 2012 everyone! I’ve been paying my annual visit to Taiwan these past two weeks, and between a wedding, eating (and photographing), meeting up with friends and family, and working remotely (a fringe benefit of being in tech), I haven’t had much time to photoblog. But expect a slew of updates over the next few weeks as I get around to processing an almost two-thousand photo backlog, and writing reviews for many of the restaurants I’ve been fattening up at here!

Having been near Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 one New Year’s Eve several years ago, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to brave the crowds again. Especially this year’s crowd, projected to be particularly intense due to it being the 101th year of the Minguo calendar. The lot of us decided to welcome in the new year from a distance instead, away from (most of) the insanity. And while we were lucky to find this vantage point, the fireworks show was both too short and a bit too far to be satisfying. Next year, if I don’t join the partygoers, I’ll very likely just welcome in 2013 from my deck in Taoyuan, which is supposedly home to some large firework factories.

1/25s @ f/5.6, ISO 3200, 5D Mark II, Hooker’s Sweet Treats

“I had my first experience with Hooker’s last week.”

But, to give some context: Hooker’s is a little cafe in the Tenderloin that serves up a variety of sweets, desserts, and of course, coffee. The bread pudding there? Amazing. And I don’t really even like bread pudding.

1/80s @ f/4, ISO 3200, 5D Mark II

The Klout office held a toy drive today, with all proceeds going to Walden House. Among the donations were an Angry Bird, lots of Barbies, and… a bottle of beer?

No no. While we may be sponsored by PBR, this was just an amusing product misplacement.

1/500s @ f/8, ISO 400, 5D Mark II, The Leary Traveler

As if a fried egg alone doesn’t already make everything better — add bacon, and you really have a winning combination!

1/10s @ f/2.8, ISO 100, Canon S95, Radius

Like with risotto, I’ve developed a certain infatuation with soft polenta over the past year (much of this can be attributed to some of the amazing dishes I had during my Seattle stint): so much so, in fact, that one can be fairly certain I’ll order it if it appears on the menu!

1/8s @ f/8, ISO 400, 5D Mark II, Tidbit Bistro

Anyone else like potatoes? Because I fucking love potatoes. Especially when they’ve been boiled or steamed to tenderness, as they generally are in the few (alas, very, very few) Taiwanese dishes in which they’re actually used.

Breakfast potatoes are another variation I heartily enjoy, mostly because breakfast holds a special place in my, well, stomach. And while I immediately associated the patatas bravas above with this, according to Wikipedia, this is actually a dish that’s served frequently as a tapa in bars, alongside orujo (pomace brandy) or wine.]]> http://johnnywang.tw/patatas-bravas-tidbit-bistro/feed/ 0 http://johnnywang.tw/sweet-potato-fries-dip-sampler-the-leary-traveler/ http://johnnywang.tw/sweet-potato-fries-dip-sampler-the-leary-traveler/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:33:24 +0000 johnny http://johnnywang.tw/?p=101

1/125s @ f/8, ISO 400, 5D Mark II, The Leary Traveler

I’m more of a truffle fries guy myself, but sweet potato fries come pre-tty darn close. Especially when they’re presented with as interesting of dipping sauces as these were! From 12 o’clock, clockwise: chipotle, garlic, pesto, and curry.

1/25s @ f/5.6, ISO 6400, 5D Mark II, Gastronaut

The folks over at Gastronaut SF have been catering some amazing food for us at Klout over the last few weeks, and these maple bacon skewers were no exception. Speaking with Kalen, the line cook responsible for making these tasty little morsels, the process involved curing pork belly for an entire week with a dry rub of salt, sugar (white, brown, and some molasses), cumin, cardamom, thyme, oregano, and one other spice I forget, redistributing daily. After thoroughly cleaning the pork belly of the (toxic) curing salt, one can optionally pour whiskey over it, letting it air-dry in the fridge. Throw it into a smoker, chop it up, pour maple syrup all over, cook, and enjoy!

1/80s @ f/8, ISO 200, 5D Mark II, La Note

I had a thing for buffets in my golden years, until my stomach started, in recent years, to resent copious amounts of food being shoveled down my throat. One of the chains my family frequented was a soup and salad buffet known as Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes, to Bay Area folks). As a kid, I hate the salad half of the restaurant, and would immediately gun for the soups and pizzas. Things shifted in the latter years though, as I grew to really enjoy a good salad.

1/125s @ f/4, ISO 3200, 5D Mark II

I paid Southern California a long overdue visit last week, after having stayed away these past 1.5 years. And while a small appetite and lack of time prevented me from eating everything and seeing everyone I wanted to, it was, overall, a good trip. All the Asian food I was able to indulge in aside, I had the opportunity to catch up with friends that I haven’t seen in anywhere from two to ten (ten!) years.

The above was the overall damage to my wallet, including my Sunday back in SF, squandered away with holiday sales. I, surprisingly, spent far less than I had originally estimated (and feared), which I attribute greatly to the aforementioned lack of fat-kid tendencies during my trip.