Lost in translation

So another year has come and gone, so I figured I should make a post acknowledging/reflecting on that. I started this blog a year ago (in fact my 1 year blogiversary just passed on Christmas) as an outlet for my life. Mostly eating, since that's what I spend most of my waking hours on, and to a much lesser degree running, cycling, school, pretty much whatever was on my mind at the time. Honestly, it's done just that, I can write about stuff on here that I can't see myself ever saying IRL (mostly fear of embarrassment). Anyhoo, I guess what I'm trying to say, not so eloquently, is that I'm really glad I started this blog (big thanks to Wayne Shooooo who told me to)... I've gotten to know people I otherwise wouldn't have known if I didn't start 'food blogging' (namely Roboppy and Feisty Foodie), I've gotten job offers as a result of my blogging, and I also have another bangin' hobby to put on my CV, yeah! I've also learned a lot of life lessons from blogging... namely that my time management skills suck, people will always stare at you when you're taking pictures, and people generally aren't too happy when you insult their food. Blah, at this point I'm kind of just rambling, so I'll get onto the rest of the post.

In any case, I didn't really have any food related content prepped for today (which is weird considering I never finished posting about Taiwan), so I figured I'd make a post about a folder of images I happened to stumble across on my computer.


So it should be totally obvious from the 'abcdefucku' hat that Taiwanese people often have a poor grasp of the English language. My sister and I had a lengthy conversation about this, and we ultimately concluded that no one is shameless/stupid enough to wear that proudly if it weren't a joke. Curiously enough I came across this gem at a street market. The Chinese is correct, so it's not like they're unaware of the content written on the flip flops. Sigh, I shamefully admit I bought a pair of these for my dad. As far as I know, he still hasn't worn them to this day.


Another example of poor taste/confusion. This is actually the name of a clothing store next to 西門町. No clue who chose the name, but did they honestly think a store named as such would attract customers? I'm just gonna chalk this up to another case of, 'We have no clue what it means, but we hear it all the time.' Namefail.


Imagine the look on everyone else's face when I was snapping this photo in the airport. Apparently, I'm helping the environment by standing closer to the urinal. Who knew? I actually have more of these pictures, but I didn't want to make this post a giant picture thread so I'll end it here.

Oh yeah... so for 2010... direction of MyInnerFatty. Hopefully a return to more NYC posting, more catching up on Taipei posting (ideally before I go back again next year), more cycling, less building bikes, and grad school updates (hopefully good ones).
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The cake is a lie (totally not mine)

Is it cheating if I post something that I didn't make? Well honestly I don't really care. My buddy Chris baked this for Christmas eve last night and when he sent me pics of it, I felt like it had to be made public for everyone to see. Why? Well, when I bake stuff, 9 times out of 10 it comes out looking like crap. Don't get me wrong, it usually tastes okay (and even if it doesn't, it still gets eaten), but it was as if all the holiday gods were smiling and this was the result. No I didn't get to taste it, but I'm sure it tasted as gorgeous as it looks. It's so hypnotic, perfect concentric circles of freshly cut fruit sitting in caramelized pools of fructose syrup. It just looks so fluffy and light, and so inviting with rings of whipped cream. Sigh... it almost makes me wish that my family celebrated Christmas/Winter Solstice.
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This is why I'm hot... I mean fat

I'm not actually sure how to tag this... does this count as a slice? Or a recipe? Anyway, I'm finally coming back to this post, partially because I'm bored, partially because it really annoys me to see a mishmash of pictures on the front page of my blog. Anyway, if you know me... you know that I jizz in my pants love the 'Spicy Special' at the deli found at 109th and Amsterdam. It's also no secret that I love Koronet's despite their absurd yearly price hikes (seriously, class of 2012 and on... you have no clue how glorious it was when the jumbo slice was $2.75). It would only make sense that the 2 things belong together, considering their close geographical vicinity. I can't claim credit for this, as someone on my team actually did this before I did, but I do have to say that the combo sandwich roll is a thing of beauty.


So this is how it works... two things that are incredible individually get rolled together. Simple as that. I know a lot of people find this disgusting, that the thought of a Koronet's slice is enough for a meal and then some. Same thing for the 'Spicy Special.' Well guess what, I'm a fatty and I happen to consider this a very balanced meal.



End result prior to rolling. Actually since then I've found a better way to do this (inspired by my ohsowhite friend Davenport). For each half of the sandwich, you cut the slice down the middle, parallel to the crust, not along the bias. By doing so, you can effectively roll the sandwich 1.5x around for a nice thin pizza shell. As far as how it tastes, imagine having tomato sauce and hot cheese before hitting a nice center crust of toasted bread... then reaching a perfect mix of mayo, pepper jack cheese, and hot turkey. It's pretty much like eating a pizza with the toppings of a sub... but with more carbs. If that doesn't sound awesome to you, then... I'm sorry, you're probably dead to me. The synergy of double cheese, and artery clogging oils is undoubtedly one of my favorite meals in Morningside. The kicker? Total price... $8.50.
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Go go gadget flow... wait, that's not right

Have I mentioned how much I love Go go curry's sauce (not to mention their provocative posters on the wall!)? Yeah, it's a pretty magical substance to me. Last year, I bought the 20 serving version and brought it home before I left Columbia for the year. That lasted all of 3 days. Anyway, Go Go Curry is another one of those places that I found whilst working at American Express. I did eventually get sick of sampling street cart food, cheap Chinese, and ultimately gave up on searching for a good beef noodle place in Midtown. As a result, I went through another phase where I loved Japanese food. Sushi, riceballs (OMSb holy crap!), and as it would be... pork katsu. Now as a little background on my love affair with katsu, when I was younger I didn't eat seafood. This was primarily due to the fact that I am indeed allergic to a crapload of different kinds of seafood, but mostly because I thought it smelled like ass (salmon and tuna especially), and even being around it would literally make me gag. When my grandmother would take us to Japanese restaurants, there was 1 thing I could order. That would be chicken/pork katsu. This sounds like a sob story, but I assure you it's not. I love fried food. I love pigs and chickens. I love rice. The marriage of the 2 is not just short of heaven on earth for me. Back to the point, Go Go Curry... one of the cheapest Japanese katsu places I could find in Midtown... I completely forgot to review it last year, so I made it a point to drag 3 of my friends to go on a free topping day. How is it?


I consider it the oasis of cheap katsu in Midtown. Sure there's Katsu-hama, but I'm a student. It's not like I'm rolling in money... I WANT FREE TOPPINGS DAMNIT! So first criteria for good food is met. It is cheap. It's actually $5.55 for the medium, and if you time it properly, that includes the katsu... I'll explain at the end. The one on pictured is the Jumbo Curry, and includes 2 sausages, 2 katsu, 2 hard-boiled eggs, and 2 tempura shrimp. On the right is our complimentary free pork katsu. Wayne and I split this, so I'm not as big a fatass as you're probably thinking right now (okay... maybe I am, just not on this occasion :D). Anywho, it's good katsu. Freshly fried, or what seems like it, both the pork and chicken katsus possess a nice distinctive popping of panko breadcrumbs, accompanied by a hot layer of oil beneath the surface of the coating. The meat is adequately juicy, and tender enough to tear with your lips... no knives here, this is an Asian restaurant after all. The shrimp are similar in quality, with a fairly thick coating of batter, but don't get me wrong... they are large shrimp (oxymorons ftw). The sausage is the slightly sweet Asian sausage that you'd find in Chinese supermarkets, chewy casing interspersed with chunks of fat. I assure you that's not as disgusting as it sounds. Finally, the egg... is an egg, nothing to mention there. The winner here is the sauce. Often times, curry sauce can be too spicy, too watery, too sweet, or too [#insert any of a number of adjectives here]. Not at Go Go Curry... they've managed to find what I think to be the sweet spot of tangy, sweet, viscous, yet runny sauce. I don't think I'm doing it justice... just... go try it.

Oh and the trick to the free topping 'trick.' The coupons are actually good for your next visit, which is absolute BS. If I show up on a day ending in '5,' it's because I want a deal on that day. So my friends and I have a rotating system. A pair of people split the jumbo curry with double everything, then you get a coupon. This coupon is passed to another friend who just gets the medium with a free katsu. Their coupon is then saved for the next visit, so that the chain reaction can continue. This of course requires at least 2 people, and the first person to order willing to sacrifice not getting a free topping (which is why we went with the double between 2 people). Friendship is... being willing to give up a free topping at Go Go Curry for a bro haha.
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Biryani Cart... I kind of miss you

Finally done with finals, so I guess it's about time I came back to posting about food (my suitemates were starting to give me crap for the lack of updates). Anyway, I'll keep this one short and sweet. The whole reason I started blogging was because I found myself placed into the heart of Manhattan, land of countless food carts, while being played to essentially play on the internet (okay, that part's not really true... I was hired to be a web developer). As it would so happen, I wanted to keep a log of the stuff I ate, I mean, a lot of it is so unique that it's something I'd want to remember later on... as stupid as that sounds. So myinnerfatty came to be. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. One of the first suggestions I was given by my coworkers was a street cart on 46th and Ave. of Americas... Biryani Cart. As someone who was barely familiar with street meat, and only know of it in the form of the 53rd and 7th chicken and rice cart, I just kind of thought to myself that this could never live up to those same lofty expectations as the other cart.

I was incredibly wrong. While both are chicken mixed with rice and sauce, the 2 are drastically different. The chicken tikka masala is drenched with a deceptively spicy orange and red sauce, layered over yellow basmati rice, and sprinkled with lettuce (so you can convince yourself that you're eating healthily). The chicken is well seasoned to an appropriate degree, is succulent and juicy (although you will occasionally run into a bone here and there), and just oily enough to leave a thin film of satisfaction on your lips after each bite. The sauce is the winner here, moderately viscous, the orange tint is ever so inviting. If you just looked at the platter, you'd be convinced that it can't be that spicy, but it is deceptively so. Of course, this isn't to the point where you're in pain when you're eating, but the tang is there, and definitely complements the heavy dose of spices. The rice is more or less... meh, but as good as the chicken is, the rice doesn't have to stand out. For $6, you could do much worse. Actually, let me put that in perspective... I normally tend towards Asian food, but I will go out of my way to visit Biryani cart. Plus Meru is super nice.
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Pizza... take 2

So on another day of boredom, Chris and I decided to make another pizza. Partially because our first one was pretty damn awesome, but also partially because our crust was overly... pillowy the first time. Anyway, experimentation is always good. This time we found another pizza crust recipe, of which I'm not sure of the details (this was all Chris), which called for us to make our dough, let it rise, beat it down... basically the same routine as any other dough. This one differed from our last mainly because it asked us to bake for 15 minutes prior to adding sauce and cheese. So we went about our business, made our dough, heated it beneath the heat lamp (borrowed from the turtles), and baked it. Oh yeah, this time we had a pizza stone. Maybe that helped a little. Maybe.


See our dough... laid out freehand on the pizza stone, dusted lightly with basil and coated with olive oil (I think there's something I'm forgetting since I distinctly remember seeing Chris crumbling something). It looks so... naked. I failed to snap a picture of the baked crust, but there was a moment of worry when we saw a giant bubble in the oven. I proceeded to pop and flatten that, and also burn myself. My hand hates me btw. There's also probably the element of my impatience to add to that equation. I was in a real hurry to pile on sauce and toppings, so I completely forgot about pictures.


Look at Chris go. I don't think he ever realizes I'm taking pictures until they show up on my blog. For the record, if he looks dazed, it's because I had just woken him up 5 minutes before that so we could continue our pizza making.


Pizza is no longer naked. We liberally spread sauce, 1/2 a pound of mozzarella cheese (shredded by Chris), sausage, green peppers, and chunks of chicken breast. I know what you're thinking... this is stupid not too exciting, those are boring/traditional toppings. Well you know what? This is my blog, and I'll post stupid stuff as much as I want.


Into the oven that went, and 10 minutes later, we were greeted by this gorgeous, non-symmetrical pie. You know, I think I liked how this one looked better than the perfectly rectangular pie we were planning on making. It has character.

Also, btw... to the person who made me listen to Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift... if you're reading this, I absolutely hate you. It's really embarrassing when someone walks in when I'm listening to 'Party in the USA.'
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I told you I eat when I'm stressed right?

I should also mention I'm getting seriously chubs... like, shouldn't even talk about rowing at coxswain weight chubs. I felt like I needed to justify my long absence from posting, so here I'm gonna bitch and moan explain why I've been lazy lately. First off, you don't understand how hard it is to get professors to write you recommendations on time. I thought it'd be easy, since I see them everyday (LOL not really), but yeah... once you do get a hold of them, they tell you they will, and a week later... still nada. So I've been racking my brains over that. Also... I've had a few trying midterms lately. Intro to statistical reasoning was a toughie... so was E&M properties of solids, but it was mostly that damn statistics class. Anyhoo, what comprised of studying for me was eating chocolate chip cookies, a burger with fries, buffalo wings, and ice cold cream soda. I think I failed that E&M exam btw, so clearly... my 'studying' failed. On a related note, don't ever talk to me if I'm actually studying. I rarely do, so if I'm actually studying... it's probably because I'm actually going to fail.


Reason number 2 why I've neglected myinnerfatty... PUZZLE CHALLENGE. I don't know if I ever explained this (probably not, since I started this blog after CPC last year), but imagine being in a room for 12 hours (well 9 this year...) just solving puzzles. Basically it's a nerdfest to the highest order... and it's something my suitemates and I pride ourselves in more than anything. A little backstory. Sophomore year, 4 fresh faced sophomores formed a team, under the banner, thought of by none other than yours truly, 'IdHitThat,' probably the single most offensive puzzle challenge name to women everywhere. Backstory to that... I was supposed to be on another team, but kind of bailed on them and asked my current suitemates behind their backs (I'm sorry about that! Oh wait, no I'm not... we're awesome, almost as awesome as spandex. Almost...). Anyhoo, sophomore year... we snipe 1st place at Columbia in the last hour of the contest, winning on the basis of points alone. We finished 56th in the nation? Junior year, full of confidence, we almost gave up halfway through since we were losing to another team 'Lorem Ipsum' with about 4 hours left. Once again, we charge through in the final 2 hours and win, again, on the basis of points. So many points in fact, that we were the highest point finisher who didn't solve the final puzzle. We were 28th in the nation. Senior year, we once again feel dejected about halfway through, trailing 'Lorem Ipsum' by 60 points. In the next 2 hours, we stopped dicking around, overtook everyone at Columbia on points, and then solved the final puzzle with 3 hours left. We finished 1st at Columbia and 3rd in the nation. Take that MIT (I'm joking... I love you guys and I'd love to study there next year). See that picture? Super sweet senior squad. Like that alliteration?


I'd also like to add that our team got this stupid puzzle without finishing the set. Take that... everyone who actually took the time to dick around and finished assembling. Graceful winners? No. Awesome? Yes... almost as much as spandex.
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The absurdity of Koronets Pizza

Remember that giant slice from Koronet's? Yeah, well Dominic came up with this awesome idea of getting a full pie. Just because it'd be super epic. Or as Daven would say... "stupid epic." Anyhoo, enjoy the picture of the pie in all its glory. Total cost was $31.50, but only because we got a full pie + 1 slice for Chris haha. The plan was for Dom and myself to finish 4 slices a person, but after pulling a 5k moderately hard, I could only bring myself to eat 3... which is not to say I couldn't have more, just I didn't want to feel like crap after eating. Contrary to popular belief, I actually like enjoying my food. Why did we get Koronet's instead of going to that place in Brooklyn? Well... because Davenport Sutton had a 40 page thesis he had to submit, and we felt guilty going without him. Super brolove.


Dom with the pie, I have to give him full credit as getting Koronet's was his idea. Pretty winner. Almost as much win as spandex. Almost.


Oh, and there's me with the pie. Just as a mention, it should be noted that the Brooklyn pizza challenge is a 16" pie to be completed within 10 minutes. That is approximately 201.06 square inches in pizza. Koronet's slices are 14" in radius, therefore, with 3 slices, we're already looking at 230.91 square inches of pizza. I did not finish in 10 minutes, but I did do so in roughly 30, savoring every single last inch of greasy cheese. Rocco's pizza... come January, I'ma make you my bitch.
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I'm still here... I swear

I realize I haven't been posting lately, and for that I apologize. Actually nevermind, I don't like apologizing, even when I've done something wrong. It's a pride thing. Whatever, the point is, the reason why I haven't been posting... well, there's midterms for the next 2 weeks (so maybe I'll post, but not as often). There's also puzzle challenge, which means I'm in super serious concentration mode (haha not really true). There's also me trying to learn failing miserably at how to write an iPhone app for seriouseats, so yeah... my palate's pretty full.

Oh, and also that nonsense about me building a bike... almost forgot about that. Continue to check back on that if you're interested, saddle arrived today, and the remaining parts got accidentally shipped to Chris' house. Super win.

Since this post has become a giant whinefest about how busy I am, I should also add that I'm now also training to compete at CRASH-B's. Basically a giant erg'off in February so rowers have an excuse to wear spandex, and talk about how awesome wearing spandex is, and possibly purchase more spandex. No seriously, I'm gonna drop weight to 130 and try to win a hammer as a coxswain. Let's be honest, I'd get smoked in the collegiate/open division, but coxswains... it'll be awesome. Almost as awesome as spandex. Almost.

And the picture... remember, I said I hate making posts without pictures. As most of you are unaware of, my suite is in the possession of 2 turtles, most graciously given to us by a friend of my sister (thanks Ben! Even though you probably don't read this). They provide us with a moderate source of stress relief in our otherwise hectic lives. I like to take them out and chase them around as if I were Godzilla and they were small Japanese children. I would tell you their names, but that's embarrassing. If you're part of Columbia housing services, everything I wrote in the past paragraph is fiction.
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Domination of Kenka's 'Jumbo Curry'

So yeah, this post is super heavy on the images, so I apologize in advance for that. Also, if you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably already seen half these pictures. Anyhoo, for no apparent reason... Chris, Han, and I decided we were going to go to Kenka for dinner. I mean, it was Halloween and it seemed way lame for us to stay at Columbia for another weekend night, so what better way than to get our faces stuffed with curry! Okay, so the original plan was to head to Kenka early (around 7ish) to polish off the lame curry challenge, and then off to a sports bar around St. Mark's Place to watch the Phillies destroy the Yankees (only in Chris' head). How's J.A. Happ doing btw Chris (I know you'll read this eventually)? So yeah, we walked to 96th since there was no service for the downtown 1 at Columbia, since, we figured more walking would just make us hungrier. In fact, this was all going to plan since I had erged a 10k with Chris earlier that day (for the record, I could still smoke most of the walkons). I had a feeling that it would be tremendously epic.



So what follows deserves a little back story. We get to Kenka and order up. The jumbo curry for Han and myself, and the simple katsu curry for Chris, who didn't want to play. As far as how this was... I think it was about $8 (actually I know for a fact Kenka has a stupid $8 minimum per party at the table, so there's no way it was less), and Chris said it was overpriced compared to Go Go Curry. He was slightly irked that they only gave him a spoon (probably because he's White haha) so he couldn't cut his katsu. His exact words were "it wasn't memorable, but it was good for what it was." In any case, the waiter returned to the table with two small servings of just curry rice and plopped them in front of me and Han. We were super confused. We thought, maybe this is just part of the whole challenge. Good thing we asked though, the waiter who took our order misunderstood, and thought we just wanted the curry rice. He then proceeded to go down to the basement to grab 2 giant silver trays to confirm that's what we wanted. They were pretty mediocre sized. I felt ready to piss my pants pretty confident.


When our waiter returned with our massive contest sized curry dishes, I was greeted by this. A pile of rice with a smiling face... filled with curry. Han's didn't have the face, and I swear he had less rice, although he'd tell you otherwise. This is what I had to finish within 20 minutes, or else I'd have to pay $25. Pretty good deal actually, 4 pounds of food for $25, but I really didn't want to pay. Now that I look at that picture, it's almost as if the curry is mocking me...


Anddddd... we start! I covered my mouth in the very beginning because I wanted to keep table manners. I don't like chewing with a stuffed mouth in front of others. I quickly abandoned this, when I realized I cared more about speed of eating than about outward appearance.


This is Han at the very start. Notice the golden glow of curry on his cheek. I mean that in the straightest way possible. He tried pacing himself, so his start was a little bit slower. In the first 5 minutes, all I kept hearing was... "how are you doing this?"


My plate about 5 minutes in. I went nuts at the very beginning, shoveling way more food into my mouth in that time period than I probably should over the course of an hour. In any case, 5 minutes in, I was about halfway through my plate. I was just cruisin'. In fact, I was almost sure that I could finish in about 10 minutes.


I don't think it's very obvious, but if you notice the 2 plates of curry, mine is significantly smaller than Han's. In retrospect, a slow and steady wins the race approach would've probably been better.


Then about 10 minutes in, reality sets in. I only have about 4 or 5 bites left to take (albeit a lot of potatoes... which suck... and also a lot of carrots and assorted meats). I distinctly remember feeling some of it coming back up, then insisting to Chris that I had to take a breather. What happened exactly was that, I asked Chris to tell me when it reached 14 minutes, then I'd finish the remainder. Seriously... too much, too fast.


Then within 2 minutes of hitting the 14 minute mark, I finished my plate. All 4 pounds of it. There was a moment within the last 4 bites that sucked. I ate what I thought was a piece of chicken breast, only to discover that it was soft... chicken... skin. Imagine feeling insanely sick, then slowly gnawing on a piece of pure fat. Yeah, that was the pinnacle of the night.


Whatever, I finished within 17 minutes. Something close to 16:30 or 16:40. When I asked the waitress what the fastest time they'd seen was, they said someone did it in 12 minutes. What kind of freak does that? Honestly, I want to know.


Here's Han... throwing in the towel. The last minute was pretty entertaining. Han kept insisting that everything was fine, that he'd shovel everything in his mouth in the final 10 seconds. Which is when our waitress (who had the hugest grin on her face) began counting down for 30 seconds, and then for 10 seconds. Immediately after she said he had 10 seconds left... his response? "Actually can I get this to go please?"


And the front to the shirt that I won. My curry was free (thank god) and I can always claim that I've beaten Kenka's Jumbo Curry Challenge. Also, I think the Asian girls at the table next to ours were super impressed (or disgusted). Either way, when they tried to make their boyfriends do it, they refused... probably because they knew how badly they'd fail. In retrospect, no one really won. I felt like death for the 2 hours following (although I ultimately did go to a sports bar later that night), and Kenka lost $25 and a shirt. I feel like a winner today though haha.
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Happy Halloween everyone!

So today's Halloween. No I'm not going to make a real post because I'm still super tired. So instead, I'm just gonna post a picture of the pumpkin that Chris and I carved. I'm an engineer and he's a biochemistry major, would you expect us to carve anything different (No μ does not count)? Actually, even such a simple shape gave us a surprisingly difficult time. First off, we don't really have the appropriate tools for this job, so we're just stabbing blindly into the pumpkin with a really sharp knife. Second, my fine motor skills need refining, so that probably adds to the difficultly level as well. In any case, this took us much longer than it probably should have. On a related note, this is our smaller pumpkin, we have another that's maybe 3 or 4 times the size... any suggestions on what to carve into it? We were thinking the rowing lion, but there's so many jagged edges that it seems overly complex like something we'd mess up so yeah... still haven't decided on that.


Here's a bonus picture of Chris washing the inside of the pumpkin of its seeds. Specifically for the one deviant who has something for looking at pictures of Chris (yes I'm exploiting my friend for readership...).
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This doesn't even really deserve a post

Except I'm super excited to have gotten my ramen Woot shirt. It epitomizes my very being to a T (get it? haha super cheesy t-shirt joke). Ahem, sorry. Anyway, I don't actually fall in love with all that many Woot shirts, actually, a lot of them are really stupid (random shirts especially... sorry Wayne). This one was so freakin' awesome that I had to have it. Anyway, in all it's glory there on the left. Also felt like I should mention, Chris got a pumpkin. So amped about carving it, except we have no clue what to do with it. If you can't tell already, we're all insanely childish. It's incredible that we're done with college in just a few months. So yeah, be prepared for a slew more of short stupid posts on what we do with the pumpkin. To the cyclists who actually read my blog, be prepared for a complete build report on a bad weather bike from spare parts found lying around. So epic that it'll probably weigh less than the CAAD9. Go figure.
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I absolutely hate being typecasted

Nope, not a food post. I'm not even sure this qualifies as a real post. I just wanted somewhere to vent my frustrations? Nah, not really frustrated, I guess they're just annoyances. As an Asian kid, growing up, I've always been stereotyped as 'good at math' and 'liking rice.' Yeah, both of those things are true, but whatever. Just because something is true doesn't mean I want math problems and rice shoved in my face all the time. I've found the same thing happens even now. In everything I do, somehow I always become the guy who should do things on a computer or something scripting related. Case in point, I applied for a web company at the beginning of the year as an operations intern, and somehow they offered me a job as a web developer. Not that I don't love web development, but at least have the courtesy to respect the fact that that's not what I wanted. I mean, I don't mind doing the job, in fact, I applied to other places for that very position. It's just a bit tiring.

As for why I haven't been posting lately, this week has been an absolute killer. Most none of you probably care, but I've been hammered between problem sets, applying for graduate school, senior design, and dealing with other peoples' nonsense on top of that. So if I've been a jerk lately, well... you probably had it coming I'm sorry. Laters.

Oh the picture... I don't like making posts without pictures. Yes I do in fact use a toothbrush that says 'white person toothpaste.' There's absolutely nothing lost in translation.
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Why yes... I would like hot dogs in my crust

So those Asians... (I mean we Asians) really know how to change something. Not always for the better I might add. I like pizza. I really do. As one of those comfort foods when I'm crazy stressed, I don't think there's anything that can really match pizza. So whenever I'm given a chance to try a twist on it, I'll always be open to it. That's where Pizza Hut in Taiwan steps in. Over the Summer, they had this promotion called the 摩天倫(?) or 'mo tian lun.' If I'm wrong on that, someone please correct me. Basically it was a pizza that had hot dogs in the crust. If that were it, I don't think it'd be that special. No, on top of that was a pizza filled with ham, broccoli, cheese, and get this... Kewpie mayo and scrambled eggs. Yeah. Let that sink in for a second. It sounds disgusting right? Oh it is. The hot dogs were cool, it saved me the trouble of having to get hot dogs in Taiwan, and I love the Kewpie mayo, but I could do without eggs.


We also got a Kimchi Beef pizza, since it was b1g1. I think the total order came out to something like 699 NT ($23) for 2 pizzas, a thing of wings, and another of star shaped tater tots (which were really just frozen and refried). The Kimchi Beef pizza was pretty good. Instead of using tomato sauce, they use sweet bean paste, so it adds a semisweet aspect to a traditionally savory dish. It's not for everyone, but I certainly liked the twist.


Just an side comment... their wings suck. You get like 5 pieces of the smallest drumsticks and wings possible. They're also kind of cold. Seriously not worth it if you have to spend extra to get them.
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Shut up, it's still 7-11

So I've finally come back to this post. I should be studying for 'Biochemical Separations,' but that doesn't seem too important at this very second... it's not until Wednesday anyway. Anyhoo, 7-11 in Taiwan, you never fail to impress me. Know what that is on the left? It's a giant piece of fried chicken cutlet. In the past I've already mentioned how Taiwanese fried chicken is different from its American brethren. Pounded as thinly as possible, breaded with unknown spices (I have a hunch that it includes 五香粉 or '5 spice powder'), then fried to GBD. The crunching sound of the exterior is one of those things you just can't replicate. Yet again, a challenger appears (stupid gaming reference). I know what you're thinking... 'that's gross, 7-11 microwaved fried chicken.' Well, don't be so quick to judge. I mean, they've surprised me numerous times before with their microwavable bentos, so I wanted to at least give them a fair chance.


Oh what a mistake. Let's revisit the checklist for delicious fried chicken. Piping hot? Yes. Real chicken? I think so. Adequately oily? Oh yes. Crispy delicious skin? Uber fail. The problem with the chicken isn't in the taste. Actually, it tastes pretty damn good. The spices are more or less correct, and the clogging of the arteries factor certainly exists. No, the problem is, once you microwave something this oily in a plastic bag for 1 minute, the steam collects, and the chicken skin is rendered soggy. Sorry 7-11, this is one time I'll have to say... you screwed up big.


Yay, another bento. I should probably explain the naming system they have for their bentos. They do pork, chicken, or 全民 'everyday value' bentos, with maybe 7 variants of each. What they do is, they will call it pork A, pork B, and so on. I think this was chicken C. I'm not sure why I just explained the 7-11 bento naming system, but whatever. It was delicious. The chicken cutlet here was not soggy (I'm not sure why), and the side dishes were passable. Still the greatest thing about their bentos is the fact that it's 59 NT (<$2) for this and a 700cc bottle of tea.
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Lychee Slurpees! (More 7-11 love)

I lived off 7-11 when I was in Taiwan. Now this might sound stupid given the culinary options available on the island, but when you realize that this exists... well, I don't seem so foolish anymore huh? Yes I realize they spelled Lychee in a retarded fashion (Litchi? Where in the hell does the 't' come from anyway?), but does it really matter when you can enjoy a cup of liquid ice + fruit syrup? Oh and the best part, the super sized cups were only 25 NT (67 cents). I can't even buy a bottle of water for that. For that, I salute you 7-11 <3.


How does it taste? Yeah, um, about that authentic lychee flavor... maybe it was artificial, but it did taste kind of like the fruit. You could most certainly tell the difference between this, passion fruit, mango, and watermelon (they rotate flavors every month in case you couldn't tell). In all seriousness though, at way under $1, getting this much Slurpee of any flavor is a steal. Did I mention they had a raffle where if you bought 2 or more drinks you could pull for a discount of 11%, 21%, 51% off, all the way up to both costing only 1 NT? That was most definitely part of the reason I drank maybe 50 or 60 this past Summer.

In case you're wondering, additional flavors I got to try... citrus soda, 黑松 sarsparilla, and pina colada (on top of all the fruit ones listed above). An additional note... there will be more 7-11 posts to come, so those of you bitching to me in person about how stupid these posts are... you can suck it I'm sorry.
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Giant chocolate bar!

I've been told that I take things too far sometimes when it comes to food. That certain combos of flavors and ingredients shouldn't be mixed. Well, it should be obvious by now that there is virtually no standard for most of the people in my suite with regards to what we eat. If there wasn't enough proof of this already... yes, that is a triple decker sandwich made with peanut butter, frosting, and Nutella. It came about because we had left over frosting from a cake we made the night before (finished off in a single night between Chris, Daven, and myself, if I remember correctly), because Wayne graciously bought a jar of Nutella (gone within 2 days I might add), and well... peanut butter goes well on everything (if you say otherwise, we're probably not friends... and I hate you).


As if that weren't enough proof. That's a 5 pound bar of Hershey's chocolate. Courtesy of Chris. The rate at which it disappeared was incredible too. I think we got to the R within 2 or 3 days of opening it. Keep in mind that only 3 of us have been eating it on a daily basis. To answer the questions that you're probably asking, no I don't have a death wish, and I feel fine.
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