Do you know where your cacao comes from? Cacao is the botanical name of the tree— Theobroma cacao— on which the chocolate fruit is grown. Before it can be turned into chocolate, the fruits must be harvested at peak ripeness. Their seeds are removed for fermenting, drying, roasting, peeling, and grinding into chocolate, a complicated ... Read more »
Taiwan is gaining international recognition as a foodie’s paradise. With some of the world’s best street food markets, not to mention regional Chinese, Hakka, aboriginal, Japanese and Western food cultures, a trip here can easily revolve around eating! Make sure not to miss these 15 must have food experiences in Taiwan, recommended by Nick Kembel, an authority on the country. ... Read more »
Taiwanese pineapple cakes, a delicious treat popular in Taiwan throughout the year, are square-shaped crisp and crumbly pastries filled with delicious pineapple jam. I spent the day with regular contributor Diana Chan, as she shared her recipe to make these treats at home. A little time consuming, but not at all complicated, it’s hard to beat this authentic homemade version. ... Read more »
Pete and I loved our all-too-brief visit to Taiwan a couple of years back. We bought home Taiwanese oolong tea and pineapple cakes, but wish we’d known to look out for the rest of these great souvenir suggestions from fellow travel bloggers. ... Read more »
“Wherever we go, across the Pacific or Atlantic, we meet, not similarity so much as ‘the bizarre’. Things astonish us, when we travel, that surprise nobody else.” ~ Mary Ritter Beard This quote brings to mind a thought from Vera Nazarian, which I shared back in May; the reminder to consider that, wherever we are, ... Read more »
I love cable cars! So I was very excited about riding on the Taipei Maokong Gondola during our visit to Taiwan’s capital earlier this year. It wasn’t until we did it that I realised quite how incredible this particular cable car journey would be – a long and leisurely half an hour in duration each ... Read more »
With five nights booked in Taiwan, we were keen to supplement our city break in Taipei with a visit to somewhere altogether greener and prettier. Three nights in Taipei and two in Taroko Gorge was a perfect balance, and gave us a wonderful insight into Taiwan beyond its capital city. This beautiful national park is ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]