a bite of china 舌尖上的中國

 

A great documentary about the flavors of China. A Bite of China, the seven-episode documentary, brought the Chinese back to their culinary roots, most of which has been forgotten in the urban rush.

It's a pity that there is no English subtitle for now.

104˚F, New York

In summers, my spirit usually lifts when someone suggests “let’s eat outdoors”. Imagine this: a long wooden table with some chairs set up under the trees, in a pavilion, or on the grass, laden with pressed polk–dot napkins, vibrant salads, bottles of Chianti, fresh bread that tears easily, and platefuls of cantaloups at the stage between ripe and ruin...

But when it’s 104˚ F outside, I’d prefer forgo dining al fresco.

While I’m sitting at my desk typing these words, I can only try to lose myself for a while in my memories of the icy Finland. Cool...

在夏天裡，每次聽到有人建議來個戶外聚餐時， 我總是神采飛揚、高興得像個小黃蜂。讀者們, 請這樣想像著：在樹蔭下, 在小亭子裡, 或是在绿草上, 被幾張椅子圈圍的長木桌上擺了折好的小圓點圖案的紙巾、多采多樣的沙拉、意大利 Chianti 紅酒、新鮮柔軟的麵包, 和滿滿一盤有點過度熟透的蜜瓜...

可是外面是 華氏104˚ 的天氣, 我寧可放棄戶外用餐的閒情意致。

此時正在敲打鍵盤寫這篇短文的我, 只能嚐試將自己帶入芬蘭的冰涼回憶裡。 嗯, 真清爽！

What makes me feel happy? 什麽是讓我快樂的事情？

Outside, the swirling clouds on the top of the Alps were clearing away. Inside the study, I finally finished the design project from hell.

To clear up my tired mind and to release the tension held in my neck and shoulders, I’d try some tips to have my endorphin fix –––

1.Take a long walk in a green park.

2. Enjoy a cup of Taiwanese tea while listening to Bach’s music.

3. Take a lavender relaxing bath.

4. Sniff some citrus (fresh lemons and limes from the kitchen).

5. Have a good laugh from watching my favorite cartoons, i.e, Chibi Maruko-chan (櫻桃小丸子, ちびまる子ちゃん）and The Simpsons.
 
But what works the best for me is to enjoy a creative, full-flavored meal with fresh ingredients.

I like food. When I eat I feel happy.


外頭，阿爾卑斯山山頂打旋的烏雲已漸漸地消失。裡面，在書房的我終於剛好完成那好似被打下地獄，永遠不得超生的設計案子。

為了清理我疲乏腦袋的思絡、解脫我的脖子和肩膀上暫掛的緊張，我會試著用不同的方式來調理我的身心靈 –––

一、在公園裡走上一段長長的路。

二、一邊傾聽巴哈的音樂，一邊喝茶品茗。

三 、泡著有薰衣草味道的鬆弛浴。

四、聞聞柑橘科類的植物 （如廚房裡的新鮮檸檬）

五、看著最喜歡的卡通影集–––辛普森家庭和櫻桃小丸子而開懷大笑。

不過話說回來， 對我最有用的偏方卻是享用一頓帶有創意、風味十足的新鮮膳食。

我就是愛吃。當祭著我的五臟廟時，我覺得快樂似神仙呢。

Inspired by The Sea Urchin

One day we anchored in Nonsuch Bay to the South-West of Green Island, an uninhabited island just off the east coast of Antigua. We drove our dinghy over to this beautiful island to explore. I was all over the moon as soon as I set foot in it, and discovered piles of sea urchin shells (tests) lying on the pristine white sand secluded beaches.

The sea urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, so odd and interesting, serves as an explicit message of paradox and surprise.

As a designer, I admire its alluring form presenting aspects of sharp and smooth for tactile and aesthetic experiences. Many of my designer fellows have came up with witty design objects inspired by the sea urchin such as the interior accessories, jewelry, perfume bottles, etc.

As a food lover, I love the sea urchin's buttery texture, rich and briny with a sweet, mildly fruity finish, and I like to eat it raw with lemon, or soy sauce and wasabi. In the hot summer time in New York, I often treat myself a cool, delicious Uni Soba (sea urchin buckwheat noodles in Japanese) at Soba-Ya.

Just before leaving Green Island, I bent down and picked up a few sea urchin shells, which I can display on the bookshelf of my home to remind myself of the sensation of the Caribbeans.

Celebrate the Sunset with Rhum

Ti'Punch, mixed with Rhum, can sugar, and lime juice, may be the most well-known drink in the French-speaking Caribbean states.

After an exhausting yet enthralling sailing day, we often celebrated the sunset with a few glasses of Ti'Punch on our boat. All crew members agreed that, substituting passion fruit juice for lime juice, emphasizes more the exotic, tropical flavor of Rhum, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by products such as molasses and sugarcane juice.

In perfumery, Rhum can be explored to interpret the festive mood and the influence of masculine. To name a few of fragrances with rhum in: Guerlain Homme, Locoste Pour Homme, Lolita Lempicka Au Musculin, Hugo Man, and Lubin Indole Du Lubin.

I have no preference for the fragrances, but I'm in favor of the packaging design of Hugo Man: crisp clean and undeniable masculine, just like a slick and beautiful Monohull sailboat.

Good-Bye to My Summer Provence 跟夏日的普羅旺斯說一聲再見

My summer memories of Provence (普羅旺斯), like the falling leave in the autumn air, flutter to my mind. I come to realize that a fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer waves good-bye.

I still remember––the sun-kissed Côte d'Azur (蔚藍海岸), the warm color palette of architecture, the fig trees, the Pastis and Rosé wine, the herbs, the scent of lavender in the air, the olive tree groves, the wine-fuelled meals, the pine-scented sun, and the occasional naps after reading few pages of a fat book by José Saragamo in a shady balcony...

My friends, please stay tuned for the episodes of my summer Provence.

Things That Arouse a Fond Memory of the Past 喚起我美好回憶的事物

The fragrant blotter cards.
My old Moleskine sketchbooks.
The moon in a clear night.
The tofu cuisine in Kyoto.
The yellow ginko leave that have been pressed in the pages of a book.
The photo of a little red farm storage shed in Norwegian Lapland.

My Summer Porvoo, Finland 我在芬蘭普佛的夏天

In summer Porvoo, the colorful painted wooden walls are the main attraction to me. I like to stroll down the cobblestoned alleys, capturing the tangible scent of history from the cracked and washed-out paintwork on the walls. And when the river breeze blows into the town, I could even smell something tantalizing, which might be grilled salmons topped with fresh dills...

I'm at home in New York, and I still can smell the idyllic scent of Porvoo coming in the September wind. Who knows, maybe I'll visit it again even though I've been there three times this year already.

My Eight Wonders in Goms, Switzerland–––The Walliser Platte #4 / 瑞士Goms的八大驚奇–––阿爾卑斯山的瑞士冷盤 #4

The Walliser Platte
After a seven-hour exhausting hike from Eggishorn to Flestch,

a platter of a Swiss local dish *Walliser Platte is as good as a course of Kyoto Shojin Ryori, whether in its visual presentation or its taste of satisfaction.

*An assortment of very thinly sliced cold cuts, bergkäse, locally produced country cheese, pickles, pickled onions, a pat of butter and crusty bread.

The Flavor of Laziness on Sunday 星期天的慵懶味道

It's good to make a change, if we were not careful, life can quickly become monotonous, predictable, a drag. So when the sunshine shone through the windows in this morning, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to vary things a bit, to break with routines.

Therefore, I decided to enjoy my coffee, fruit salad, and reading Sunday New York Times in my bed. The sweet taste of mangos and strawberries in my mouth, the sound of flipping through the newspaper, and the fresh smell of lemon, a sort of detergent odors, lingering on my bed sheet, exuded a lovely flavor of springtime laziness.

As the sunlight gradually sprinkled into my bed, the warm atmosphere in my room made me think: maybe the word "deadline" shouldn't appear in my dictionary for a while, especially on Sundays...

改變總是好的，因為只要一不小心，我們的日子可能一剎那就變得單調平凡，可預期，煩煩瑣瑣。因此當早上的陽光透過窗戶投射入屋，我不禁想著其實打破常規也不算是壞事一樁。

所以，就這樣決定賴在床上大喇喇地享受咖啡，水果沙拉，讀讀星期天的紐約時報。芒果和草苺的甜美滋味溶入口中，翻閱報紙的聲音聲聲入耳，再加上床單隱隱散發出那種帶有清潔劑味道的檸檬清香，空氣中自然地流露著一絲絲春天的慵懶味道。

當陽光悄悄地撒滿我的床單，一室的溫暖讓我開了竅：“截止日期”不需要時時刻刻出現在我的字典上，尤其在禮拜天…

Awesome Things That Are Beyond Words 難以用筆墨來形容的美好事物

There are awesome things that are beyond words:

True love;

The taste of fine dark chocolate;

The texture of velvet;

The smell of Sakaura blossoms lingering in the spring breeze.

Listen to this music…

有些美好的事物是難以用筆墨來形容的， 像是：

真愛；

精緻細膩的黑巧克力；

絲絨的觸感；

日本櫻花徘徊在春天裡的氣息。

聽聽這段音樂…

The Tea Tastes Like a Volcanic Eruption 嚐起來像火山爆發味道的茶

In this morning, while drinking a cup of Lapsang Souchong tea, a black tea from Wu-Yi region in China, its smoky, tobacco ash-like aroma and flavor reminded me of the the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull on Tuesday, April 13.

Volcanic gases and silicate ash has spread across much of Europe, bring air travel across the continent to a near standstill. My Finnish friends who've got stuck in Geneva for a few days, are considering taking a bus back to Helsinki. But how long is the journey going to take? Three whole days!

Being a frequent traveler, I have plenty of stories to tell about being stuck at the airport. The experiences are not pleasant but I use the time to catch up on my reading. Even so, I still prefer reading calmly in my cozy apartment while sipping on my hot volcano-flavored tea.

今天早上隨意喝著一杯來自中國武夷山區的拉普山小種紅茶，它那帶著一股濃熏雪茄煙灰的味道不禁讓我聯想起四月十三號在冰島發生的Eyjafjallajokull火山爆發。

火山的瓦斯味及灰墟已籠罩了大部分的歐洲，導致洲際航線幾乎癱瘓。我滯留在日內瓦多日歸心似箭的芬蘭朋友們， 局然想要搭巴士返回赫然爾辛基。那可得足足花上三天的時間耶。

經常旅行的我，滯留機場對我來說已是家常變飯。雖然這樣的經驗不足以為道，可是我隨遇而安，恰好可以利用這段空檔來讀讀那些該讀但還沒時間閱讀的書。不過話雖如此，我還是寧可待在自己的小屋，一邊靜靜閱讀一邊細細品嚐那股帶勁的火山味的紅茶。

Taste the Rainbow in the Alps

 After sipping a few glasses of white and red wine, Della's photos were getting blurry and blurry.

We had an unforgetful New Year Eve dinner at Gasthaus Speiserestaurant in the Swiss Alps.

The eight-course meal, created by the talented chef Friedrich Zemanek, resembled a GESAMTKUNSTWERK, addressed to all the senses and  was served by all sorts of auxiliary arts relating to the flower arrangements, the dinnerware and the cutlery, and the visual presentation of the edible. As for the food itself, it completely aroused our appetite s through its colors, smell, consistency and even sound (e.g. crispy aliments).

Though it was a cold starry night, the taste of the food brought us joy --- like a warm and colorful rainbow in the blue sky.

I am passing the warmest regards to you from the chef Zemanek --- Happy New Year.