162. Taiwan Day 1: Tokyo to Taipei on ANA's 787 Dreamliner (HND-TSA: NH 1185)

On my eighth trip to Taiwan, I flew from Haneda Airport (羽田空港) in Tokyo to Songshan Airport (松山機場) in Taipei.  Both of these airports are closer to the main city center compared to their newer airport counterparts.  In Tokyo, it often takes an extra one hour train ride to reach Narita Airport (成田空港), where the main international airport is located.  The same goes for Taoyuan Airport (桃園機場), which is located about an hour outside of Taipei, depending on your mode of transportation.  Flying from Haneda to Songshan trims a few hours off the journey, which means less travel and more fun.  Luckily for me, this decision also allowed me to fly on the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  All Nippon Airways (ANA), which was the launch customer for Boeing's new jet, designed a clean, fresh interior but not without some cool mood lighting.

There are no shades for the windows.  There is simply a button that controls the level of brightness streaming in from the outside.  The controls gradually adjust the light so that the eyes also have time to adjust.  I played with the button the way a kid would play with the power windows in a car.  The Dreamliner was like a new toy to me, but I quickly zoned out on puffy, white clouds over the East China Sea.

The most exciting part of any flight for me is still the meal.  Since it was my first time flying with ANA, I was looking forward to what was offered on their shorter international flights.

I started on the rectangular rice bowl first.  Various vegetables were arranged over a flavorful bed of rice.  The bamboo was particularly fresh and crisp, and the egg and shrimp were not overcooked despite being reheated during the flight.  It was clear that the airline put effort in producing not only a good tasting meal but a healthy and visually appealing one as well.

Not only was there rice, but there were noodles too.  Though it was a very simple, thin soba noodle, it was offered in two colors along with the traditional tsuyu dipping sauce.  Alongside the noodles were a wasabi flavored seaweed salad.  Even though it looked harmless, it definitely had a strong nose-clearing kick to it.

After a very quick four short hours of flight time, we landed safely at Taipei International Airport, more commonly known as Songshan Airport.  Since it is closer to the city center, we could see the outline of Taipei 101, the world's second tallest skyscraper, from the tarmac as we were taxiing to the gate.  It is a pretty neat way of welcoming passengers to Taiwan.

The flight was noticeably more quiet than flights on 747, 767, or 777 aircraft, and I definitely did not feel as tired or as dehydrated.  It may also have been due to the short flight time. 

Now that I had landed safely in Taiwan, it was time to eat! Until my first meal on the ground in Taiwan, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130630

143. Tokyo - Arigato gozaimashita: Wrapping Up A Week in Japan / ありがとうございました, 日本!

If I dedicated a post to every single restaurant I visited in Tokyo, I would never get to my long back log of posts from the Bay Area and the East Coast.  Here's the remainder of the eating, seeing, and doing from Japan... all in one post.

Ken and I slurped up some very homey ramen that really hit the spot after an exhausting morning at Tsukiji Market.  The shop owner joked that the bamboo was from the same place Ken was from... Taiwan.  Look for a red noren that says ramen in white Japanese lettering (ラーメン) hanging in the doorway.  The faded red business signage reads Chinese food (中国料理) in Japanese.  The owner says the gyoza is very good too.

天好 24
東京都 台東区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Taito Ward
花川戸 1-15-7 / Hanakawado District, 1 Chome 15-7

We passed the Asahi Breweries Headquarters on the way to Tokyo Skytree, the tallest freestanding tower in the world.  It was camouflaged against the gray sky and too pricey to travel up to the observation deck.  We relaxed over some chocolate and macadamia ichigo wafflate on the entrance floor instead.  The coffee is decent, and the chocolate beverages are milky and quite delightful.

100% Chocolate Cafe
東京都 墨田区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Sumida Ward
押上 1-1-2 / Oshiage District, 1 Chome 1-2
東京スカイツリー / Tokyo Skytree
東京ソラマチ 4F / Tokyo Solamachi, 4th floor

A popular expat gathering hole serving Spanish-Italian influenced Japanese tapas helped us shield the hustle and bustle of Metropolitan Tokyo at bay.  We ordered the hot spiced chicken, fries with anchovy butter, squid in black ink sauce, and quattro formaggio pizza, oysters, and more.  The highlight was the octopus and ooba pasta with yuzu pepper.  The shiso garnish helped keep the pasta light.

Rigoletto Bar and Grill
東京都 港区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Minato Ward
六本木 6-10-1 / Roppongi District, 6 Chome 10-1
六本木ヒルズ ウェストウォーク 5F / Roppongi Hills, West Walk, 5th floor

Kristen has a knack for introducing some very aesthetically appealing treats.  She ordered a gripping grape tart, and I selected a scrumptious summer peach tart.  There are more than two dozen tarts, all of which center around an individual fruit or combination of fruits that are formed into various flowers and other intricately carved shapes.

Berry Café
東京都 中央区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Chuo Ward
銀座 3-2-15 / Ginza District, 3 Chome 2-15
外堀通り / Sotobori-dori Street
ギンザ グラッセ 6F / Ginza Glasse, 6th floor

A true late night in the streets of Tokyo must include yakitori at an izakaya.  Grilled chicken wings, skewers of extra crispy chicken skin and succulent meatballs are go-to favorites.  What captured my attention, though, was the mentaiko omelette... salty orange fish roe rolled into sweet yellow tamago for the ultimate egg in egg action.  Oh, and the beer here is only 380 yen in the wee hours of the night.  Kanpai!

串焼ダイニング十兵衛 (Juubee Skewers Dining)
東京都 渋谷区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Shibuya Ward
恵比寿南 1-23-5 / Ebisuminami District, 1 Chome 23-5
恵比寿 スカイウォーク出口 / Yebisu Skywalk exit
アメリカンブリッジ ビル 1F / American Bridge Building, 1st floor

We celebrated the final night in Tokyo with drinks... a foam topped Yebisu Stout at the top of the Westin overlooking Ebisu District seemed fitting.  There is a scenic view of the Tokyo night scape just behind the bar.

コンパスローズ / The Compass Rose
 東京都 目黒区 / Tokyo Metropolitan, Meguro Ward
三田 1-4-1 / Mita District, 1 Chome 4-1
恵比寿 ガーデンプレイス 内 / Yebisu Garden Place 
ウェスティンホテル東京 22F / Westin Tokyo, 22nd floor

And that's about as much as my stomach can handle.  It's time to pack, get some rest, and head to the airport first thing in the morning... Taiwan is next on the itinerary! Super big thanks to Ken, the Lee family, and Kristen for the utmost guidance and hospitality on this trip.  Without you guys it would not have been as fun and gluttonous as it was.  Arigato gozaimashita!



I'm going to finish up a few posts on some recent fooding in the States.  Posts on my trip to Taiwan will start popping up in October, so stay tuned... until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130625-30

139. Tokyo - Massive Maguro: The Tuna Auction at Tsukiji Market / 築地市場 (Tokyo: Chuo-ku, Tsukiji / 東京都: 中央區, 築地)

Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (東京都中央卸売市場), more commonly known as Tsukiji Market (築地市場), allows a maximum of 120 visitors to tour the world famous tuna auction each morning.  Registration for the tour begins promptly at 4:00 a.m.  These 120 spaces on the tour are coveted spots, and registration for each tour is only allowed on the day of.  As a result, tons of Tokyo tourists queue up at the tour office before the sun even rises.  In anticipation of this race to Tsukiji, Ken and I hailed a cab and set out to the market around 3:00 in the morning.

After putting our names down for the tour, we were herded into a waiting room along with the other tourists to await instructions and details about the auction.  Many visitors were sleepy, and some were still inebriated from the night's festivities, but there was a general buzz of excitement in the room.  We met some fellow travelers from America's Midwest that were just as eager to see the maguro.

The first group of 60 set off around 5:20, and the second group took off just shortly before 6:00.  We followed the guide directly to see the tuna auction in progress.  Several auctions were being prepared while we entered, and they were organized into sections around the warehouse.

Each section of the auction house has its own caller, and each of them have their own individual style and flair to the way in which they shout out the prices just like how our own American automobile auctioneers have their own unique method of calling out bid amounts.

As soon as the giant tuna is sold, it gets hauled away immediately, and the auction on the next fish begins.  That was the cue for us to leave too.  It was time for us to find a traditional Japanese meal of fish and rice.

Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

築地市場 / Tsukiji Market
おさかな普及センター/ Fish Information Center
勝どき門 / Kachidoki Gate
東京都 中央区 / Tokyo Metropolis, Chuo Ward
築地 6-20-5 / Tsukiji District, 6 Chome 20-5
晴海通り / Harumi-dori Street

See more pictures and video from the early morning auction on my Flickr set here.

ML - 20130628

SOFAT Live - Tokyo Haneda Intl Airport, Boarding Gate 131

Konbanwa, everybody! I am currently sitting at gate 131 at Haneda Airport in Tokyo waiting for my Delta flight back home to Los Angeles.  There is still a little bit of time before we are bussed off to the plane, which is sitting on the tarmac somewhere instead of parked at the end of the jetway, so... I thought I would do some blogging.  I think this is the first time I have ever blogged live.

It has been just a little over three weeks since I left for Portland, Tokyo, and Taipei, so I'm very excited to get home.  After sleeping at the Hilton in Portland, the Westin in Tokyo, and numerous relatives', friends', and friends' relatives' beds, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.  There is a saying in Mandarin Chinese that goes, "Neither a palace made of gold nor a palace made of silver can beat one's own doggie den," or something like that.  I overheard my Aunt Jessica mention it to another family friend, so I did the best translation that I could.

I wish I had a picture or two to show the scene at the boarding gate, but I guess I'll attempt some descriptive writing as a substitute.

It's 11:10 p.m. in Tokyo.  The smell of jet fuel has permeated the boarding area... not to the point of over exhilaration or nauseating displeasure... but just enough to bring some excitement into my bloodstream.  The captain and flight attendants have just walked through the gate.  An older head flight attendant, or what I can only assume from her experienced stature and demeanor, holds sheets of paper in her hand.  She is dressed in her bright, red Delta uniform while discussing something, I don't know what, with her Japanese counterparts who are dressed in white, short sleeved blouses with navy vests.  The tallest of the Japanese Delta staff picks up the mic to make an announcement in a language I only pretend to understand.

There are four flat screens over the gate counter.  Delta Sky Priority.  Delta Sky Team.  Los Angeles, 0:35, DL 636.  And the weather: Los Angeles, 68F high and 64F low.  What a relief.  It has been consistently over 90F in Taipei for the last two weeks.  I think I have sweat out all the sodium from the many bowls of lu rou fan that I've scarfed down.  Speaking of food... what should I eat when I get home? In-n-Out? Chipotle? Those are the go-to standards of the many Californians who have been away from home for too long.

The demographics of the passengers on the flight include Americans, Japanese, old, young, families, individual travelers, groups of friends, elderly couples, the well dressed, and me in my plain, white V-neck and flip flops... so everyone, really.

From the corner of my left eye, I see the red rising sun on the tail of a JAL jet and the edges of the orange Airport Limousine that is supposed to shuttle us over to the plane.  Only about 20 minutes more.  One last e-mail to Mom saying that it's only about 20 minutes more before boarding, and a post to Facebook.  That's all.  お休みなさい (o yasumi nasai)... good night.  Safe travels to all.  Until the next live blog post, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130716(17)

124. Portland - Back to Portlandia for More Food Carts (Portland: Southwest/Downtown)

It is time to travel again! This trip involves a stop in Portland, about a week romp in Tokyo, and a two week stay in Taipei.  The first leg of the trip began last weekend with a flight to Portland to attend a wedding.  Since I had just finished writing 12 posts about Portland last month, this quick weekend trip came at the right time... yay for more posts on food from Portlandia!

Allison and I flew out of the newly remodeled Long Beach Airport on JetBlue on Saturday morning.  If you've flown on JetBlue before, you know exactly what that means... raiding the snack basket when the flight attendant swings by! When we landed it high time for lunch.  Those in-flight snacks can only hold us over for so long...

As soon as we checked into the hotel, we headed straight for the food pods at the intersection of Southwest Alder and SW 10th Avenue.  Originally, we wanted to try the famous chicken and rice at Nong's Khao Man Gai, but this location was not open on the weekend.  No worries, we quickly found the Euro Trash cart and ordered something we could not get in California... foie gras.  Duck Butter, as it is listed on the menu, is a sinfully seared piece of foie gras laying on a bed of freshly cooked potato chips dripping with garlic aioli (known as their house made Nah-Nah Chips just by itself) and the drippings of the fat foie.  I felt hunger, heaven, and a heart attack all in one bite.  Bewilderment.

While foie gras on potato chips is delicious and all, it doesn't quite make a full meal.  Just around the corner and a few carts down from Euro Trash sits the E-San Thai cart, one of the many, many carts serving Thai cuisine in Portland.  There are six Thai food carts just at the pod at Alder & 10th intersection alone.  I ordered a green curry with tofu, eggplant and other vegetables, plopped myself down on a parking curb and let the sweat drip down my face.

Allie had a hunkering for meat, so she ventured over to the Number 1 Bento cart for the galbi bento.  The flavoring was not far from what we know as Korean barbecue in LA, and for just six bucks, it was a steal.  One thing though... the food comes in a plastic container, so beware of the heat from the steaming white rice while holding the box.  Ouch!

Sitting and eating on a parking curb is no easy task, but the good food makes it all worthwhile.  We won't let the food take away from the main focus of the trip... the wedding.  Which, come to think of it... this was about the time that we dropped the food to head back to the hotel to get ready.

We clean up real nice now don't we? I kid, I kid.  These Instagram filters make us look extremely airbrushed, so they look best on IG.  Congratulations Sarah and Ray! Allie and I wish you two all the best.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130622

Post 119: Portland - Cursed by Voodoo Doughnut's Bacon Maple Bar (Portland: Southwest/Old Town/Chinatown/Downtown)

Every trip to Portland requires a visit to Voodoo Doughnut whether you love doughnuts or not.  It has become an institution in this city since opening its erection.  Some have flocked to this twenty four hour corner store to simply see the snake of a line, but many more wait patiently to experience that yes, indeed... the magic is in the hole.

Angela and I went to the shop to see what the fuss was all about, and I will stop just shy of saying that the doughnut shop put a spell on us because the two of us left with about three dozen doughnuts... for our friends and family, of course.  We were cursed by the voodoo doughnut to have an unrelenting craving for these fried rounds of dough, but partly, it was because we had absolutely no willpower.  None.

Here are the doughnuts that I bought with the exact descriptions from the menu on the Voodoo website... and some of my commentary.  The site may curse you with uninhibited gluttony too, and it may have possessed me to say some of these things.  Beware.

Voodoo Doll.  Raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake! Apparently, each voodoo doll looks slightly different from the next.

Bacon Maple Bar.  Raised yeast doughnut with maple frosting and bacon on top! This was delicious... my favorite.

Portland Cream.  Raised yeast doughnut filled with Bavarian cream.  Topped with chocolate and two eyeballs, representing the vision of our great city.  Well, what I see is a doughnut, so I think I will eat the vision of Portland.

Captain my Captain.  Raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting and Captain Crunch! Like drugs, really.  I can smell the sweetness of the sugar.

Triple Chocolate Penetration.  Chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting and Cocoa Puffs.  Who's gone kuckoo for Cocoa Puffs now?

Grape Ape.  Raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting, grape dust and lavender sprinkles! It looks a little like a solidified toxic version of grape Kool-Aid. 

Diablos Rex.  Chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting, red sprinkles, vanilla pentagram and chocolate chips in the middle! This one looks like it's verging on voodoo too.

Dirt Doughnut.  Raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting and Oreos! It'd be cool if there were some gummy worms digging their way out of this thing.

Maple Blazer Blunt.  Raised yeast doughnut shaped into a blunt and dusted with cinnamon sugar.  The tip is dipped in maple frosting and red sprinkle embers.  Prices vary due to Blazer Mania! OK, what someone smoking a blunt when they created this?

Marshall Mathers.  Plain cake doughnut with vanilla frosting and mini M&M's! Haha, I get it... it's very punny.

Old Dirty Bastard.  Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreos and peanut butter! Combine the Old Dirty Bastard, the Marshall Mathers and the Maple Blazer Blunt, and you get a Rapper's Delight.  No joke.  It's on the menu for $4.20.

McMinnville Cream.  Raised yeast doughnut with Bavarian cream with maple frosting on top and two eyeballs and a mustache! Wait, does this guy have a brother or cousin that I've seen before?

Neapolitan.  Chocolate cake doughnut with vanilla frosting, strawberry dust and three marshmallows! Why are we so excited about marshmallows?!

There you have it... a baker's dozen of the most popular devilish delights from Voodoo.  I took them back to So Cal with me.  Angela had a dozen of these too.  We got stares from everyone walking through the weird streets of Portlandia, and when we got moved up to the front of the plane (because the TV screen wasn't working), some of the passengers on the plane accused us of bribing the cabin attendants with doughnuts... jokingly, I think.  And back at Long Beach Airport, a dad even said to his son, "Hey, remember the man with all the doughnuts?"

Sugar overload for real.  Until the next voodoo curse, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120915

F.A.T. News 8: The Glory Days of Airline Travel

I was browsing through the Travel section of the Times when I found this electronic flip book of sorts.

This would make a cool, non-Kindle kind of book:
Airline travel then and now
graphics reporting and interactivity by Tia Lai, LA Times

We don't quite live in the glitz and glamour of the Pan Am days, but traveling around is still pretty cool.  Since we can't exactly travel back in time, we can definitely tune in to Pan Am, the new TV series airing in the fall on ABC.

Makes me want to be a pilot:
Come fly with them: Upcoming 'Pan Am' TV show capitalizes on '60s airline style
article by Mary Forgione, LA Times



It has a bit of Catch Me If You Can essence... adventure, sex appeal, and young stupidity all combined together.  And of course, it takes place during the glorious travel days of the 1960s.  The commercials look pretty promising, so it may become a new must-watch for me.  Ah, which reminds me... I should blog about the '60s-themed wedding I went to recently.  Congratulations Girl & Boy!

ML - 20110712