This is what we are referring to as a "Matera corset" (after the famous NYC costume shop, Barbara Matera, where Jim learned how to make these sheer quilted net corsets for broadway; they're kind of like Spanx, but with better support, and you can mount a slippery-silky dress onto them, and the performer can do all kinds of crazy things without falling out.
I haven't gone and done anything particularly exciting these last few days (other than running on the amazing panoramic track), but I thought I'd dedicate a little blog to the fun things I've found at the store/ got in my pantry. Most of Em and my shopping trips involve us repeatedly turning over packages, trying to figure out what things are, and how to eat them.
I just really liked this name. So perfectly clear about what it is!
Emily and I finally got our own rice cooker! With ALL the directions in Chinese, so we youtube-d how to use it, and like when I make instant rice, I managed to burn the first batch...but it was still delicious!
Also, this is what our rice cooker says on the side...
It's so sentimental.
So, uh...we also found this at the store...
And some cheap, local red wine (US$4) and...some white liquor? It was US$3, and there was A LOT of it on the shelves. I think it's 40 proof, because there were other similar bottles with other numbers on it, too. Let's find out what it is!
And here is a parade of my favorite snacks so far:
Dried (candied?) mangoes--delish!
AMAZING single-serve drip coffee. I can drink it black, it's so smooth (albeit, a little weak)
This--this is NOT good. It's fine, but blech. It's like a rice-jelly-paste with not-so-sweet gelatin on the inside. I like mochi ice cream, so I was hoping the off-the-shelf kind would be good too.
MORE SEAWEED! I should be writing a blog about just this; I have tried every brand of roasted seaweed I have come across. I am becoming a seaweed connoisseur!
This is how sliced white bread (that I've found) comes, which is PERFECT for a single American eating it--I will actually finish it before it goes stale! Go Taiwan!
These mushrooms are wonderful--they are almost the texture of noodles, and they take on the flavor of what you're cooking (like all mushrooms). I've had them in soups and other dishes already, and cooked them like pasta, and found them to be a fun replacement!
Our freezer currently holds an ice tray, 1 bag of vegan dumplings (Em), 1 bag of edamame (Em), 1 bag of pork and leek dumplings (me), 1 bag of pork and shallot buns (me), 2 petite steaks (me), and 3 trays of vegan red bean buns aka dessert (Em)!
This is the best fruit I've eaten here so far: the "wax apple" or 'lambu' in Chinese. It's a little smaller than a fist, and has a sort of crunchy/styrofoamy texture, but is gently sweet. Imagine a watermelon, if it were crisper and without seeds.
You don't eat this part, but that's what it looks like from another angle
I also tried the "Buddha Head Fruit," so named because it looks like the head of the Buddha. Called the Custard Apple by white people, it's the size of a grapefruit, and tastes a little like mango custard. It's good, but a pain in the butt to eat; you can't eat the almond-sized seeds, but the flesh encasing them is delicious. It's like eating sunflower seeds, but slipperier.
That is all for tonight; Tomorrow, Emily and I might go to find the Ikea--we are moving to our permanent apartment in two days and need to provide our own bedding, and everything we've seen out and about is pricier than the Ikea website, so it's worth the trip to our familiar land.
Hopefully I'll have something awesome to report next week--we might do a tour-de-Taiwan with Annie Ling this weekend, since we're being kicked out of the shop all for prospective student interviews! :D
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