Coming in for a Landing

Thought of watching this film on Netflix since it appeared on the homepage.

Boy, it was a great decision!

"A Balloon's landing," is a Taiwanese film that's set both in Taiwan and HKG, two places that are close to my heart.

And heartfelt this film was.

It's a beautifully crafted and melded story of love, heartbreak, heartache and a dash of magic. It was well written and well acted, and it's worth watching again. And again. And again.

Yup, this film definitely landed.

Delicious in degrees

Two things that remind of of Taiwan: Boba Tea & Scallion Pancakes.

Now, these two things are just within arms reach!

I've been seeing Nineteen Degrees in SM Megamall for more than a year now, but never got around to trying their stuff. Today, I did! And I'm super glad to have finally tried them.

This combo of Orange Tea and Floss Scallion Pancakes brought me back to Taiwan.

This is awesome to an unimaginable degree.

Shine on!

Since RTD Tea drinks and Boba really came from and became popular due to Taiwan, I've always had high hopes and expectations for Taiwanese brands. For both products.

We all know that Boba Tea icons Chatime and Gong Cha are originally from Taiwan. And they're really good! In fact, there was a time that I'd drink a cup (or two) of these brands daily.

For RTD Tea drinks, I've never really seen a lot of brands here from Taiwan. So when I discovered this brand at my snack haunt last weekend, I decided to give it a go.

MineShine is from Uni-President, which is one of the biggest food and beverage manufacturers in Taiwan. I'm familiar with some of their products, particularly the noodles. I know they have bottled tea, but never really tried them. Even if I saw if often in HKG, JPN and SG.

So, I bought MineShine Green Tea with no expectations whatsoever. I bought it, chilled it, and tried it.

My reaction:

It's really, really, REALLY good!

It definitely outshines the usual RTD Tea drinks I buy here in Manila.

Dumpling Dreaming

The first time I saw this "Worth It" episode on Taiwanese Dumplings was almost a year ago. Since then, I've been watching and re-watching it regularly. About once a month. More than, at times.



Because of this series, I planned to go to Taiwan last December 2019 or January 2020. But because my Doctor said I shouldn't travel just yet, I held it off and planned to do it last March or April, with the go-ahead of my Doctor.

We all know what happened, of course. And the trip became just a plan and a future goal.

I'm still looking forward to go to Taiwan, if only for the Liu Jia Pan Fried Dumplings. I became so enamoured with these dumplings that the hotels I checked out were the hotels that were just walking distance from this stall. My plan was to stay as close as possible, and to have the cabbage and chive buns as often as I possibly could.

Then, I was also planning to go to that Din Tai Fung restaurant that they visited. Yes, I've tried Din Tai Fung in several countries many times, but I was hoping to see that waitress with the fabulous accent in person. I just can't get over how beautiful her accent is and how she speaks English!

Of course, these plans will have to wait. But I'll do so patiently. And after all this craziness is over, my dumpling dreams will definitely come true.