Bentos Are the Equivalent of Cute Food for Play

OMG.  Have you ever thought about how cute Bento boxes are?  I can’t help but love those things!  Haha,,, I mean, they’re a great way to brighten up a person’s lunch!  Come on, no one can turn a smile away from a Bento box, especially when it’s made so adorably.  And you can just tell that they are made with love!  Lol…  Like, if you ever go to East Asia, Bentos (便當) are extremely popular.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about (or if you do, for that matter), well, Bento boxes are a huge aspect of Asian culture because they have all the nutrients we need for lunch in them, *cough cough* by that, I mean it has a huge amount of rice in it 😉 .   It keeps us full and it’s uber tasty!  Yea, well, while we’re at it, we like to make it all cute and fancy… And originally it was made by parents for their children because the adults wanted the kids to have a good lunch so that they would do better in school (good logic, no?).  But nowadays, the tradition has passed onto making it for someone you love in general!  For example, sometimes a girl will make it for her boyfriend or someone she likes… or, a girl may make it for a good friend she is close with.

The point is that Bentos have become a symbol of love (familial or … that other kind of love).  It’s a way for people to express their love and a way to brighten up another person’s lunch.  People always say that food is the best medicine when you feel down… Bentos are the answer- kawaii and delicious… Who can deny such a box? 😀

P.S.- I’m hungry for Bento boxes lol… I think I’ll start making some for myself to bring to school for lunch… Nom Nom Nom…

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Try A Different “Idol” Show

A few minutes ago, I just finished my first ever episode of a really amazing show: 超级星光大道 Chaoji Xing Guang Da Dao.  Now, I knew this show was a hit in Taiwan, just like how American Idol is here in America.  But I never expected it to be better than American Idol!  For those of you who don’t know, 超级星光大道 is a Taiwanese singing competition show.  Just imagine American Idol with all Chinese people singing to compete for money and fame.  Yep. That’s the show.

After awhile, I became tired of American Idol (I’d say by the 2nd episode?  I know, it was still auditions and I was bored!).  Well, with 超级星光大道, it’s different.  Why, you ask?  They cut out the audition crap and get right to the singing.  Plus, the challenges are sooo much better.  The one I just watched had the competitors sing and act at the same time (I guess it’s kind of like a musical??? hahah).  It was just really fun to watch… On another note, Simon Cowell became a cranky nuisance after a few episodes.  It just wasn’t fun to watch him criticize anymore.  The judges on 超级星光大道 have so much character and make statements that are actually useful (and true!).

As for the contestants, may I just say that these people competing have talent. They aren’t people who sing bad and still want to make it big.  Or, they aren’t on the show because they look pretty *cough cough Kellie Pickler*.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable show to watch.  It’s simple, fun, and exciting.  When you get the chance to watch 超级星光大道, definitely do it. 😉

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Time for THOSE Delectable Sweets Again!

Once again, the time has arrived to chow on some 月餅 Mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival!  Before I get into the yummy taste of 月餅, let me give you a little history lesson about 月餅.

Now there are 2 tales related to the history of 月餅.  The first is this:

According to the ancient Chinese book recording customs and ceremonies, known as Li-Ji, the Chinese Emperor should offer sacrifices to the sun in the spring and to the moon in the fall.  The Chinese Emperor felt obligated to this “rule” because of the belief in the legendary Chang E, who was the mythical moon Goddess of Immortality.  Eventually, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month came to be known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, a term dubbed officially by the Song Dynasty.

I know, that tale was a little confusing, right?  Probably.  Well, here’s the second tale:

Apparently, the 月餅 became famous for its use to overthrow Mongol rule in China in the Yuan Dynasty.  The Ming revolutionaries, as it turns out, had sent messages in 月餅.  I guess this was how they spied on the government and sent secret letters.  But how in the world did this idea come up?  And who came up with it?  The answer is 2 people named Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) and his advisor Liu Bowen (劉伯溫).  These two spread a rumor that there was a deadly plague circulating and that the only way to prevent it was to eat certain mooncakes.  Therefore, mooncakes were quickly distributed around China.  Now, there were a few ways in which the messages were concealed.  One way was to coordinate the message with the Han revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.  Another method was to print the message on the surface of the mooncakes as a puzzle or mosaic.  To read the secret message, one would have to cut the 4 packaged mooncakes into 4 pieces each for a total of 16 mooncake parts.  Then, the pieces would have to be fashioned so that the message could be read.  And then to destroy the message, one would eat it!

Ahhh… the second tale seems more fascinating, no?  Hahaha… I enjoy the second tale more.  Well, that’s the history of mooncakes.  In other words, these tales are the reason as to why the delicacy is so special to the Chinese.  Let’s take a short break and take a look at these prized mooncakes, now that you know a little more about them.

Yum. Now that I got your taste buds rolling, I’ll get into why I love mooncakes so much and why I get so excited about them when the Mid-Autumn Festival comes…

So, since I was a child, I’ve always had mooncakes every single year.  They are the best tasting things ever! (That is, besides sushi and pocky!)  ALWAYS, have mooncakes with tea!  They taste soooo good with tea.  Anyways, I especially love the pineapple, 蓮蓉 lotus seed paste, and 豆沙 sweet bean paste flavors.  The pineapple mooncake is OMGZZZ delicious!  It almost kind of tastes like pineapple cakes (famous in Taiwan).  The chewy flavor of the pineapple in the mooncake is sooooo yummy!!!!!! *drool*  And as for the lotus seed paste mooncake, I love how it tastes so luxurious… It satisfies the taste buds!  Lastly, the sweet bean paste is just so familiar to my taste buds, for it is in most Chinese sweets.  So, as you can see, they each have their own distinct flavor.  Certainly, there are plenty of other flavors out there and so many modifications to the original one.  But I love to stick to the original mooncake.  Simple. Tasty. Satisfying. There’s only one catch to this lovely delectable.  It’s mad expensive!!!!!  I would say prices range from $10 to over $100 for a box of them.  And in a box, there’s only, like, 6 of them!  If you love cultural food, I’d suggest you try these mooncakes if you haven’t already.  They’re being sold in stores everywhere (that is, where Chinese peepoz are populated).  And don’t forget, these are in stores for a limited time!  After the Mid-Autumn Festival time period, you have to wait to eat them again.  =( And one more suggestion for those of you who want to try this treat: buy the expensive ones, for they are worth your money.  Simply put, the cheaper ones are fake versions of this delicacy and they ruin the delicious taste.  XD  Now I’m gonna get me some of these mooncakes!

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Surviving on an Empty Stomach

OMGGGZZZZZ!  Today I was sooooo hungry!!!!!  I ate breakfast at like 9:30ish and then didn’t have food until like 8:45 at night!!!!!!!!  It was driving me crazzyyyy!  And this morning, I didn’t even have much.  I ate some rice with pickeled cucumbers, “jiang”, “ga zhi”, and “you tiao”.  That was it.  And then it all went downhill when my parents left the house.  They had some errands to run, so I was left all alone… EXCEPT they didn’t leave any food for me!  And there was like nothing in the house… AT ALL!  So basically the entire day, I was ranting to myself about how hungry I was.  My stomach was even gurgling!  And what’s worse is that I couldn’t even concentrate on the work I was doing!!!  Hunger drove me absolutely insane.

And here comes the not so happy ending:

My parents finally came home around 7:30.  I was hoping that they brought home sushi for me, but they didn’t. 😦 O well.  Anyways, even though they came home, my Dad still had to pick up dinner.  It turns out they didn’t eat the entire day either.  So, my Dad was getting Chinese Take Out for us.  I was sooooo excited!  FOOD HERE I COME!  When it was here, OMGGZZZ I wanted it soooo bad!  Finally, around 8:30, the food was being served onto plates!  There was rice, broccoli and chicken, and duck.  Yum.  But sadly, I was so hungry, I was like, BINGING!  So crazzzy.  And then after I “binged”, I felt so guilty for eating sooo much chinese take out food, aka Fake Chinese Food.  Now, at this moment, I’m still feeling guilty…  What a day, right?

So here’s the moral of the story: Despite hunger, never become a savage! (sounds familiar, eh? *cough cough* Lord of the Flies)

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Falling In Love with Fashion

I’m an avid follower of fashion news.  Every new innovation in the fashion world is immediately known to me.  I find fashion an interesting topic.  Every single designer has their own “style” and even though some styles are “uncreative” and “lacking material”, I feel that there is still some story behind it.  Personally, I love either the really elegant clothing or the wacky, crazy style.  That’s why I’m IN LOVE with Japanese fashion.

If you look above, you’ll see some designs from Japan Fashion Week.  I’d say those styles shown are more of the wacky, crazy style I’m talking about.  But, you know what?  IT HAS EDGE. Those dresses are absolutely brilliant; I love the prints, the appliques, the look, and most importantly, the silhouette.  To me, it all comes down to the silhouette and how it is presented on the model.  When I see those dresses, I feel like I’m no longer on Earth, but rather a different world (don’t worry, I’m not crazy, I’m just describing the effect the designs have on me).  Ya…. so moving on the Japanese Street Fashion….. I present you with…..

TADAAA!!!!!  I’m sorry, but I’m crazy about Japanese street fashion in addition to their elegant clothing.  I love how the Japanese are not afraid to go crazy with what they want to wear.  It’s like they don’t have a fear of what others will think of them.  What courage they have… hahah… But anyways, I love the school girl look that they favor so much.  As you can see, there are many different variations of the school girl look, but each one represents the same idea: an innocent girl who is NOT AFRAID of expressing her inner beauty.  Well, that’s a little lesson about Japanese fashion.  Maybe one day I’ll come back on this topic when I learn a little bit more about Japanese Fashion.  Hope you enjoyed reading this little blurb!

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