Thursday, February 28, 2019

Miyahara Best Ice Cream In Taichung

BEST OF THE BEST...

Before we left for Taipei, my son requested one last destination in Taichung, he said we must not leave Taichung without trying the best ice cream in town.  It is called Miyahara, one of the most popular retail stores in Taiwan.  Well, it is not surprising that it would be crowded and to be IN the crowd as a tourist even though the prices can be "sky-high" to me.  Let's join the crowd... see what they have in store. 

No regrets, Miyahara is indeed very impressive, from an old eye hospital and now being recreated into something really charming, selling their house brand ice cream, pineapple pastries, chocolates, tea, cookies and snacks.  All these suit me real fine especially the Ice Cream, which is their most popular item in the store.  To our shock, the queue was really long, the whole length of the building from the back to the front, we lined up for our turn.  Well, if we can't beat them, we just simply join them... after all, it is ICE CREAM!  LOL...


Nice ambience and desserts!
I resisted these... 
We queued for the ice cream instead... 
Not too long we got ours..... maybe half hour or so.... 
The End! 
LOL... 


Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Local Food At The Dark Palace, Taichung

RECOMMENDED BY TOUR GUIDE...

Our tour guide is a husband-and-wife team.  Both of them fetched us from the airport.  The wife is a Malaysian but married to a Taiwanese man and both of them were "hired" by us for two days.  They recommended their local food and took us to places where locals go.  During the two days, we had lunch with them and one of them is called Dark Palace in Taichung. 

This time we were smarter, we did not order one main dish for each of us as on our first day...
Dark Palace Taiwanese Gourmet...
Serves different types of noodles and rice meals... 
As usual, the mother sits while waiting to be served... LOL... 

We had noodles..
Something like Pan Mee in Ipoh... 
We had rice too... with fried chicken....
Pork chop rice...
Looks good, eh....
Three bowls for the four of us... 
The portion is just nice.... 
Saving up our tummy space for desserts next!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Rainbow Village, Taichung

INTERESTING SIGHTS... the next morning, the tour guide took us to a tourist spot called Rainbow Village in Taichung.  Highly recommended to go, this place is not to be missed.

There is a history behind this brightly painted village, a cluster of houses was in fact a veterans village back in the 1940s.  Huang Yong Fu also known affectionately as Rainbow Grandpa was one of the last remaining veterans living in this area.  He is a military veteran who was born in Hong Kong and fought against the communists in the ROC army.  Rainbow Village was started by Mr. Huang who came up with a way to protest against the demolition of this small collection of houses.  The government began an aggressive program of demolition the villages in the 1990s and replacing them with new high rise apartment buildings for the displaced families.  Rather than fighting with the government, he decided to paint so as to brighten up the village, starting with his own house and moving on to the next house and soforth until the whole village has turned into a colourful sight.

And today Rainbow Village has become a tourist attraction.... and we were there in the morning to capture these scenes.
We saw the Artist himself but we did not queue up to take picture with him..
We should have... now come to think of it... 
However we took pictures with the "superhero" who obliged us tourists at the entrance... 
With our beautiful tour guide... 
Really colourful, right?

Monday, February 25, 2019

The Reason I Follow The Young To Taiwan

NOT SO MUCH ON SIGHTS... but more to the love of food adventures!
Yes, I love to hang out with the youngsters, they have endless appetite, they have no worries on overeating, they don't have realms on being overweight and they like to try anything nice on sight.  One more reason.... I love to eat but I cannot take large portions, that is not a problem, the young people can finish the unfinished.  LOL... 

And during our first day itself, we visited a night market and all we did was stuffing ourselves.  "Let's Try The Food" is our theme for this trip!  LOL... And we certainly did.... the best thing is that none of us gained any weight.... All the Walking against the cold weather played an important part so do not worry about over-indulging.  We certainly need the body fats to keep us warm!
The crowd at the night market.... 
Queuing up for the food is very normal....
The best of the best is that I just have to wait and take pictures... 
Another good reason to go with the youngsters!!
As night falls.... the crowd increases... 
Walk the talk... 
The joy of trying a bit here and there.... 
Their favourite desserts... 
Expressions of food!
Never ending food trail... taking back to the hotel... 
Just in case waking up hungry in the night!
LOL.. 

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Mun Soon At Boon Pak Garden, Ipoh

FIRST TIME TO MUN SOON...

My friends know better, this couple eat out quite often and it is a wonder that they could remember the names of the shop too.  And I, being a food blogger for more than 10 years now is still learning from my friend who has just started blogging four years ago!  LOL...

Now what I normally do is to go to her blog and get the name of the place which we go to for our meals.  LOL... So easy and convenient as she is more updated than me, she blogs real quick, her posts her more current so to say.  I have been slacking lately, maybe due to my busy schedule, running up and down every now and then to here and there to goodness knows where.  LOL...

Back to my present post, we had dinner here one fine evening.... Mun Soon is the name and we waited nearly one whole hour before our food was served on our table!   Price is pretty reasonable here, around RM60 for the four of us with these dishes below...
Marinated Pork Ribs but without bones... 
And happy smiles when the "camera" gets to eat first!

Four types of vegetables with belacan sambal...
Steamed fish with their special sauce... 
And a simple Foo Yoong egg with shrimps... 
Oh yeah, we ordered a bowl of soup too...
Yes, these five dishes cost RM60... not bad, right?

Saturday, February 23, 2019

10 Personal Trainer & Fitness Tips to Help You Build Muscle

So, you’ve been hitting the gym for a few weeks now, but still aren’t seeing any results.
This is common issue experienced by plenty of people who have the drive, determination, and will, but still have trouble reaching their fitness goals. The best solution to this problem is to work with an experienced personal trainer to help you figure out what you’re doing wrong and how you can improve your fitness routine.
However, not everyone likes the idea of working with a personal trainer. So, for those who’d rather achieve their goals on their own, we’ve spoken to a few fitness experts, and put together this helpful list of 10 training tips to help you burn fat, enhance endurance, and build muscle.

Make Sure You Understand How to Build Muscle
Ask any personal trainer and they’ll tell you that there are a certain muscle-building basics that everyone should know. For starters, you’re going to need to increase your caloric and protein intake, which will give your body the building blocks it needs to build muscle.
Then, when you’re at the gym, you need to focus on your form and weight train at least three or four times per week.
Lastly, you need to understand that tissue growth happens while you’re not at the gym. Therefore, it’s important to give yourself time to rest and relax after your workouts so that your muscles can grow.

Always Eat with a Purpose
When trying to build muscle mass, everything you eat needs to have a substantial nutritional value to it. In other words, the food you eat always need to serve some sort of nutritional purpose to help fuel your workouts and help your body build muscle.

Do Meal Prep
According to this site transformedpersonaltraining.com, meal prep is one of the best ways to help you accomplish your fitness goals.
Preparing your meals in advance helps prevent the urge to skip meals or eat unhealthy foods, since everything is already prepared for you. We recommend taking a few hours once a week and preparing all your food for the next 7 days to come.

Make Sure You’re Eating Properly
Regardless of what your fitness goals are, the most important factor in achieving those goals is eating properly.
Since the food you eat is what will fuel your workouts, without proper nutrition and eating healthy foods, you’re not likely to reach your goals.
So, with that in mind, it’s vital to maintain a healthy diet consisting of complex carbs, complete proteins, healthy fats, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Eat More Often
Although most of us were taught that eating three meals per day is healthy, if you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, you’re likely not eating often enough.
Most fitness trainers will advise you to eat about 5 times per day, or roughly every three hours, to help stimulate and boost your metabolism. A good rule of thumb is to break up your meals into two smaller, mini-meals, eaten between three larger, basic meals.
Then, since activity levels usually decrease as the day goes on, it’s best to decrease the amount you eat as the day comes to an end.

Be Mindful of Portion Size
Since you’re going to be eating more often, it’s also important to pay attention to portion size to avoid over-eating.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure that meat servings are no larger than the palm of your hand, and for starchy foods such as pastas, no larger than your fist.
Another good tip is to use smaller plates, bowls, and cups, since people generally serve themselves more food when they use larger dishes.
Read more on estimating portion size here.

Don’t Overdo the Weight
When trying to build more muscle, people often think that lifting more weight is better. However, studies show that time and tension, as opposed to weight alone, causes muscle tissue to grow.
Therefore, we recommend that you use a weight that has you failing on your reps after 30 to 40 seconds. So, if you’re muscles are failing you at only 15 or 20 seconds into a workout, the weight you’re using is too much for your body.

Focus on Your Form
Never take shortcuts when working out. Poor form not only decreases the effectiveness of your workout, but you’re also more likely to injure yourself.
Therefore, it’s best to aim for a full range of motion during your exercises. This causes your muscles to do more work per movement, and results in breaking down more tissue by the time you’re through with the exercise.

Be Smart About Supplements
Most trainers agree that supplements can play a huge role in boosting muscle growth. So, with that in mind, it’s important to understand which supplements are used for which purposes.
If you’re trying to build muscle, you’re likely already taking a protein supplement. However, studies have shown that taking creatine is one of the most effect size and strength building supplements on the market.
You might also want to try using peppermint, which alters a person’s perception as to how hard they’re working out. This makes your workouts seems less strenuous and easier to complete.

Be Wary of Cardio
If you’re trying to get bigger, you should probably slow down on your cardio workouts. This type of workout causes your body to burn too many calories, which are needed for building muscle.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to avoid cardio completely. But, instead of running every day of the week, it’s best to aim for light jobs every second or third day. 

Friday, February 22, 2019

Shopping For Gifts

WINDOW SHOPPING... at AEON Station 18.  The Chinese New Year mode was still on, lots of decoration and cherry blossom here and there....
And of course, yours truly cannot resist... 

Went into Kaisen... and found this... 
Really thought of buying...
They brighten up the living hall... don't they?
One might not be enough...
Two's a company....
Good choice for home improvement? Or as gifts?
By the way, one cost RM23.90... 
Cheap or not cheap?


Thursday, February 21, 2019

Fine Presentation At Dim Sum Yuen, Ipoh Garden, Ipoh

FIRST TIME coming by to Dim Sum Yuen, formerly known as Kao Lee in Ipoh Garden.  It took a Kuala Lumpur lass to inform me that Ipoh has this fine dining Dim Sum in Ipoh Garden, I am indeed not up to date with the latest here in Ipoh... friends call me Food Blogger and yet I am way behind the name.  LOL...

Anyway, thanks to my outstation friend, we came to taste the goodness and the admire the presentation at Dim Sum Yuen.  The place has a nice ambiance, neat and clean to our eyes and not noisy at all unlike the other restaurants selling dim sum.  Menus were given to us upon seating and we just have to mark whatever we wanted on a piece of paper.  I prefer it this way, we can order without having to say "No" to those normal dim sum carriers in the restaurant.  We did not have high expectation on the food, perhaps due to the non-crowding in the restaurant.  Well, we were wrong in thinking such.  The food we ordered were up to our expectation or should I say beyond... Four of us agree heartily that we must come back again soon!
First impression on the tea set... Passed!!
And now the food....
Steamed pork ribs...
My girl will love this, I am sure!
Radish with its condiments...
Sticky rice with chicken and sausages... soft and tasty... 
Chee Cheong Fun...
Clear porridge for me... 
Tomyam Fish Cake... 
I like these Swans....
They are actually Yam with meat fillings... 
Very nicely done and tasty too... 
Desserts.... Peanut balls with black sesame fillings...
And "three birds in a cage"

One flew out for modeling effect... 
Oh yes, to our nice surprise, we met our ex-colleague here... 
She retired more than 20 years ago....
Good to see her again and we called her to come over and have a chat with us...
Many thanks to her, she picked up our tab as she left the place earlier...
Really appreciate that, KT!1
That gives me another reason to love this place!
LOL... 


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