Look what I found! It turns out that Yu’s photobook Kaiten TEBURU ha Mutsukashii, which had her followed by photographer Ivy Chen in Taiwan doing their Taiwan Cafe rounds, will be translated to traditional Chinese in a new release simply titled Taiwan’s Girl (台灣的女孩), to be out on December 27th this year. I doubt this will show up on any other online websites~
I don’t really follow baseball, but that time I got to watch the World Series by chance, I ended up being an Ichiro fan, so I love this commercial. xD And I love that Yu-chan’s faster than him when snatching meat.
Apparently they did a series, but you never know with these commercials any longer. They go PUFF all the time, even those that seem legit uploads.
Food opens more doors and makes more friends than any other form of diplomacy. It allows us to explore each other’s differences and find common ground while celebrating each other’s cultures, changing the way we understand our planet one meal at a time.
A kick-ass quote by Andrew Zimmern in preparation for the YAMYUM Food Blogathon ;D
It begins on Monday 3rd! So TOMORROW!
You know, I’m not currently a big fan of Helados D’Onofrio mainly because since the mid-90s, the company has been regurgitating the same type of ice cream over and over again. There’s only many ways you can mix vanilla and chocolate on a stick, you know?
Their brand has gotten stuck in a way that it only does combinations of chocolate, vanilla, lucuma [1], and a very cringe-worthy hot pink strawberry.
Then again, the same thing happens with snacks and sweets. There’s only so many ways you can mix chocolate cookies with vanilla cream, or vanilla cookies with an assorted arrays of creams (yes, once again: chocolate, lucuma, strawberry… but sometimes mint and if they’re feeling adventurous, peanut.).
But as with many things you grow up, you can’t hep but have a weakness for the memories it brings back. I do remember enjoying my chocolate Buen Humor, the chocolate-cookie-vanilla-ice-cream Sandwich, the fruity Eskimo, and as a little kid it was all about the Copa K-Bana (you know, as in “Copacabana”), and the Vasito (little cup) which was a tiny cup with a one-single flavor “scoop” — Yes, it was either chocolate, vanilla, lucuma or strawberry.
The Bombones (chocolate bonbons filled with vanilla ice cream), the Jet (chocolate covered vanilla ice cream on a stick), Frio Rico (cone with vanilla ice cream with scattered chocolate, which has developed in coffee or dark chocolate versions lately), and I clearly remember Huracan (“hurricane”, water-based orange or lemon ice-covered vanilla ice cream), which had that silly commercial of… what was it? A sumo wrestler (?) wondering if it was “an earthquake or hurricane” and when tasting the ice cream, he would scream “HURACAN!!!”
But the one thing that brings the most memories to me are the D’Onofrio men and women who would bike the city blowing their horns to the typical sound of Helados D’Onofrio.
As a developing nation, we have been trying to minimize the sounds of the city (because we’re a very noisy city). Lima is filled with signage asking drivers to not honks their cars, etc. because noises are bothersome. Small business have sprung, with families opening small bodegas where they sell an assortment of things, and you guessed it, ice cream. This is why, D’Onofrio sellers cannot always be found riding their bikes everywhere around town — except for some neighborhoods that remain relatively small — and when you have the luck to run into one (a picturesque sight that brings many memories), they don’t really use their horns any longer.
So ever since I read this post, equaling the sound of a D’Onofrio ice cream seller to “the death cry of an exotic bird,” I’ve been thinking about them. The hard work it must be riding around the city, under the sizzling and humid summer, seeing people passing by and knowing that they now compete with little bodegas who sell ice cream which are properly refrigerated.
I feel a bug of making a documentary about them, but I haven’t work on film for years now. I feel inadequate, but I feel the need to put this out there. Somebody must do something to remember all of this, because… as Osen would put it — it’s in danger of been swept away with the times.
Real vs. Fiction
It’s a tough one, isn’t it?
We’re bombarded with fiction and fantasy in nearly everything we consume… there’s something about my food, though, and I don’t like it when it’s re-touched. I’m a firm believer that food photography — as tasty as it may look like when it’s styled and re-touch — should be “as natural as possible,” then again~ that’s just me.
I believe that whatever you photograph in food, you should be able to eat it afterwards — so you don’t waste food.
I’m not against re-touching photos of food… I’ve done minor color enhancement, and I’ve definitely erase bumps or spots that may distract your attention. But I’ve eaten everything that I’ve photographed.
So my question with this McDonald’s ad is… could you eat the burger, after you’re done? If not (I seem to notice that they’re spraying something on it), why throw away a perfectly fine patty, a fine bun, fine pickles, lettuce and the slice of cheese? It’s such a waste of food… just for a photoshoot.
After we’re done photographing a model, we don’t throw her away.
You all know that I like Brown Eyed Girls. I actually spent a huge chunk of my trip to Taiwan listening to Brown Eyed Girls’ albums (especially the first two), and then I realized something. I LOVE JeA, like… so much.
But I have a confession to make~ I didn’t really “get” her at first. To be honest, I was way too distracted by GaIn to notice anything, but as time has passed by… I finally get it. JeA, you’re amazing just the way you are. I’m sorry I took you for granted when I first started listening, but now I have a deep-seeded respect for you (as a person) and your talent. Your voice is beautiful, layered with feelings and experience that just flows towards your audience. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
We’re in Kaohsiung, still heading south. The plan is to still head south and then head back up through eastern Taiwan all the way to Taipei.
Hey, guys~ it’s nearly 9am in Peru time, nearly 10pm in Taiwan. Currently staying in Tainan… the longest we’ve stayed anywhere until now.
Visited three museums, including the History museum… the Fine Arts one (but that was another city) and some museum they’ve just setup, so we didn’t have to pay. Learned loads of stuff about Taiwan’s history with Mainland China, the Dutch occupation… and, of course, the Japanese occupation. Taiwan is a unique mixture of China and Japan, with a dash of Hawaii.
There’s loads of walking, and a lot of Taiwanese fearing us getting lost in the city, so we’ve gotten the reputation of the Peruvian tourists that can’t read Chinese. When we’re not walking, we’re eating ~ which is good to counter all the walking. I think I’ve literally drank my weight in bubble tea. Loads of milk tea, and I had some winter melon one today.
Same with street food… there’s just no stomach enough to try everything at least once. Though, I did go to a proper hot pot place tonight and had some very spicy soup. Luck is mine since I didn’t carry a camera then…
When we’re ready for bed — like I am now — there’s loads of TV. Funny thing is that MTV Taiwan and V channel are swamped with Kpop. I’ve never seen so many performances from Music Bank and Inkigayo. Similar with Kdrama… loads of them on air, even though they’re dubbed. Jpop is minimum, though MTV did show some Kat-tun mv like five times on a day.
Anyway, it’s getting late and I have an early start again. Will have to gather thoughts at a later date. Expect posts on Korean Air, American suing culture, Taiwanese tv shopping, and more~~~
I gotta admit… with the cars, the scooters (the scooters!!!!!) the people, the noise, the smell of food and all the signs in Chinese… my first Night Market experience was a little overwhelming.
I think this is… Taichung. Not really sure what the name of the market was, though. Got some really exciting pictures with the Nikon camera… can’t wait for them.
