il Giardino Romantico

這是我2010年旅遊英國三周的最後一站 - 牛津。這一站有一位摯友相伴，讓我這次在英國旅遊的最後一站充滿了言語無法表達出的意義。在拜訪了劍橋之後，牛津似乎也就成為了必逛之地。兩者比起來，我比較喜歡牛津。不知道是不是因為造訪牛津時，那不太做美的天空，讓整座城市多了點灰暗，照射出我內心對於這塊土地不捨的心情。或許是因為這樣，比起烈陽高照下的劍橋，反而是牛津比較深得我心。

This was the last stop of my 2010 three-week travel in the UK. I had the pleasure of having a good friend as my company this time, adding a bit more melancholic delight to this last stop of mine. After seeing Cambridge, it became obviously that Oxford was also a must-visit. I think I prefer Oxford. I'm thinking it's because of the almost-grey cloud that gives it a sort of melancholic touch that makes it even more attractive than the sunny Cambridge I saw. 


這樣的天空似乎更能襯托出古老建築的味道。

牛津, 英國

誰說在台北就不能有像在英國的feel啊！在台北下班後同事們也是可以這樣約在pub裡，晚餐、小酌一次解決（雖然那不是當晚的重點，不過卻是本篇食記的重點！）這間天仙已經來過好幾次了（因為有啤酒又很英國）但就是還沒機會好好嚐嚐他的餐點。這次同事們下班的約，因為是我起頭要約的，大家對我都很好，這樣的安排大家也都不敢有沒什麼意見。來到餐廳裡才想到，咱們同事聚餐好像都是吃中餐來著。印象中沒啥機會吃到西餐。那也算是這次晚餐約的特色了吧！因為大家看著玲瑯滿目的英文菜單（明明就都有中文）都傻了，所以就很信任的交給天仙來點餐。不過餐點其實真的不是重點。重點是cider（蘋果酒）。

Who said Taipei couldn't be English. Here we are in Taipei, and we still manage to have some pub food and a few pints after work! Of course, we had another agenda that night, but that's not the focus of this article. I've been here quite a few times, but had not had the chance to really try the food here. Because I came up with the plan to get together, everyone indulged me by letting me plan the entire night. The group of us, my colleagues and I, always seemed to have oriental cuisine. This might be the first gathering where we had western food instead. Everyone was rather confused by all the English on the menu, despite the fact that there was actually Chinese translations... So, boldly, they let me order all the food! However, the food was not the main point, cider was.

 
這不光只是cider！這叫「舌吻」，是一半白啤酒，一半蘋果酒！（很威的）年輕人不要輕易嘗試，天仙阿姨是有練過的... 

On Tap, 英式酒吧, 英式早餐, 炸魚薯條, fish and chips, 蘋果酒, cider, 調酒

朋友，還真的是跟酒一樣，越陳越香。其實天仙算是很幸運的吧！除了常常有機會可以認識新朋友，也常常有機會可以與老朋友聚聚。其實兩種都給人不同的感覺。雖然老朋友可以很了解你，所以可以隨心所欲地談，但老朋友不也曾是新朋友來著？想一想，這天與我同行的友人原本也是半生不熟的同事來著。但因為當時我們同是社會新鮮人，在戰場上產生了一種革命情感。咱們兩有很多相像的共同點，但也有很大的不同。朋友不就這樣嘛！若兩者之間有太大的差異，會導致個性不合。又如果兩者太相像，那還有什麼樂趣可言呢？進入主題前會說這麼多廢話，其實是因為，我與這位友人，說常見面也不常，但我們卻能夠從出社會到現在都一直保持著連絡（即使在FB成為好友之前）。我想這並不容易。這段緣分也可說是得來不易，值得珍惜。

The longer the friendship, the better it gets. I suppose I am rather fortunate in that while I get a lot of opportunities to meet new friends, I also get  to spend a lot of time with old friends. These two types of gatherings give me very different feelings. Although an old friend may know you well, and you can talk about almost anything, these old friends had once been new friends, too, no? The friend who was accompanying me for this meal used to me a colleague of mine. We were both fresh college graduates. In facing the 'battlefield', we developed a friendship that would last a life time. There are many similarities between us, and many differences also. I guess that goes with all friends. I mean, if two people are so drastically different, they'll never agree on anything! And if two people are so similar, what fun would be in that!? Although we don't get to meet often, we always kept in touch (even before we became Facebook friends). I think that certainly says something about this friendship, don't you think?

其實說要吃飯說好久了。只是每次回台中不巧都是有事，不然就是快閃根本沒時間。終於等到了這次可以好好聚餐聊聊。友人找了餐廳後問我：居酒屋可以嗎？我回說：有酒當然okay啊！友人怕自己不能陪我喝我會掃興，我回：如果你不讓我喝才會掃興！

日式居酒屋, 御三家, 串料理, 台中, 生魚片, 牡丹蝦, 土瓶蒸

Are you sick and tired of the corn on your pizza? Well, why not try YaoSao Pizza for a change. This little pizzeria might be just the thing you're looking for. Located close to Zhongxiao Xinshen MRT, this pizza place has no indoor seatings. There are less than a dozen seats, and the seating surrounds the kitchen area. You can see exactly what they're doing to your pizza. It's a pretty interesting place for a bite of quality pizza, but when it comes to rainy days and hot mid-summer days, few people might have issues.... 

以前常聽外國朋友抱怨說：怎麼不管什麼口的pizza都會有玉米啊！？今天天仙推薦一間很不錯的pizza店。這間小小的pizza店位於忠孝新生站不遠處。他沒有室內座位。總座位數也大概只有十個。這些座位圍繞著廚房，所以你可以隨時盯著你的pizza看。其實是間很有趣的小店，不過若遇到下大雨或是仲夏的大熱天，可能就會覺得有點麻煩啦！

富品窯燒pizza, Pizza, 比薩, 窯燒

 01

這天的天氣雖然沒有說烈陽高照，但對於北部來說已經算是從一月至三月初以來算是不錯的了！畢竟難得一個沒雨的周末日，對那陣子的北部人來說真的是可遇不可求啊！因此，在我拍完貓咪以後，我決定繼續往下走。從來沒去過平溪，趁著這次就一路順著走下去吧！

The weather had been horrible for months in the beginning of the year. This had been one of the few weekends that did not have rain. It was because of this, I decided to go on with my day journey. I had never been to Pingxi. It was time to take a look. 

 02
可愛的小朋友在車站外迎接著我

平溪, 嶺腳, 瀑布, 天燈, 三貂嶺

 

這是我第二次來到侯硐。第一次與友人相伴來到此地，不料天公不作美，因此根本沒見到幾隻貓。這一次，我帶著和朋友借來的50D，再次造訪貓村，除了跟運氣賭賭看能不能見到更多貓，當然也還想要體驗一下代單眼出遊的感覺。不過其實此行，事實上是為了更重要的旅行做準備。有在留意ＦＢ專頁的朋友應該都知道倫敦熊在三月中旬時曾經來了一趟幾乎是環島的行程。其實天仙是為了此行而與友人借來他的寶貝50D。不過又怕不熟悉就上戰場，失敗的照片比例會佔太高，因此安排了侯硐．平溪行，來讓自己與這台50D培養一下感情。除了以上第一張照片是用我原本的Lumix FP8拍得，其餘都是用我朋友的50D所捕捉到的畫面。

This is my second trip to Houtong. During my first trip, I was here with friends. Unfortunately, very few cats came out because of the weather. This time, I came preapred - with a DSLR and a determination to win the bet on good weather. I wanted to see a lot more cats than I did last time, and I also wanted to get a grasp of what it feels like to travel with a DSLR. However, this trip was only a precurser for an even more important trip. If you had been following the blog on Facebook, you'll know that in March, London Paddy took a trip that could almost be described as a tour around the island. I didn't want to risk taking too many crappy photos with my friend's 50D, so I organized this one-day trip for practice, and also to see cats, of course! The picture above is the only picture in this article that is taken by my DC Lumix FP8, the rest of them are captured by my friend's DSLR, 50D. 

 01
倫敦熊與貓 London Paddy and kitty

侯硐車站, 侯硐貓村, 貓咪, 50D

越南味是我一直覺得很陌生的料理。不敢輕易嘗試，也是怕若第一次就吃到不好吃的，以後就都別想吃了。剛好友人有推薦的。雖然不是什麼大餐館，但有時這些東南亞料理，店越小，反而會越道地越好吃。其他我不敢說，但針對泰國料理，就的確是如此。

Vietnamese cuisine is a taste with which I had never been acquainted. It takes an effort to try something new for the first time, because you fear that a bad first experience might just ruin the rest of the potential future experiences to come. Fortunately, with a friend's recommendation, it was time to try it for the first time. Some of the best Southeast Asian restaurants are just like this one - small and simple. I can't say about others, but it's definitely true for a lot of Thai places. 


The menu. 菜單

越南料理, 甘蔗蝦捲, 海鮮咖哩, 涼拌木瓜絲

My guests aren't usually very demanding - meaning they'll basically go / eat at anywhere I take them. Only, this group of guests had been to Taiwan several times, and I was running out of tricks! They did, however, give me a keyword - dumplings! And I let Google deal with the rest of the magic. 

其實一邊來說我的外賓都不太挑（我帶他們去哪裡他們就去哪之類的）不過這批客人已經來好幾次了，我已經快要沒有什麼好地點可以推薦了捏！不過還好他們給了我一個關鍵字：水餃！所以剩下的，我就交給Google大神囉！

Of course, I did my share of work, as well. I mean, I couldn't possibly take them to any random dumpling shop. So I searched for one that had pretty good reviews. Sounds like everything's been taken care of? I had even marked the location of the place on Google Maps on my phone, so I know exactly how to get us there. HOWEVER! Half way through our hunt for the restaurant, the battery died, AND I forgot to bring the right plug for my portable battery! How silly of me! We ended up going round and round Yung-kang Street before we finally managed to find the place! 

東門餃子館, 水餃, 蒸餃, 麻婆豆腐, 素蒸餃

本年度利物浦校友餐會於民國101年03月24日在臺南大學舉辦。本次餐會由2011年應屆畢業生主辦，校友會幹部協辦，當天並共有31位校友共襄盛舉。

The annual luncheon of the University of Liverpool Taiwan Alumni took place this year on the 24th of March at National University of Tainan. The main coordinators of the event are the fresh graduates of 2011, and the alumni association assisted in organizing. There were a total of 31 alumni attending the event this year. 

利物浦大學校友大使台灣代表Sandy於02月初開始與主辦單位籌備本次餐會事宜。基於本屆會長為國立臺南大學校長黃秀霜校友，希望能夠藉此機會讓各位校友與會長能夠有更貼近的互動，因此將本次餐會地點訂為臺南。籌備過程中，校友大使擔任學校、會長、以及主辦團隊之溝通橋梁。當天活動是由主辦團隊負責，地點、餐點則是由會長負責張羅。

Alumni Ambassador for Taiwan, Sandy, convened meetings at the beginning of Februrary to discuss related matters. Since the President of our Alumni Association, Ms. Huang, currently hold the position of President of National University of Tainan, Tainan became the ideal place for the luncheon this year. The alumni ambassador played the role of bridging communication among Liverpool University Alumni Office, Ms. Huang, and also the coordinators of the event. The new graduates of 2011 formed a team to design activities during the luncheon, and Ms. Huang kindly took care of the venue and catering issues.

利物浦大學, 校友會, 台南大學, 利物浦大學台灣校友會

*This article is a recipe for sesame oil chicken, and is presented in Chinese (Traditional) only.
*本篇文章無英文。



麻油雞可以說是天仙最愛吃的菜了！因為可以補身又可以喝到酒，一石二鳥啊！自己喜歡吃得當然會想要自己學來做。多次經驗累計下來，麻油雞真的可以算是天仙的招牌菜了。雖然天仙會的菜不多，但麻油雞可是每個人吃過都說好吃的唷！

一般我們做麻油雞，大家可能熟悉的做法就是：麻油熱鍋，老薑爆香，雞肉下鍋翻炒過後就下米酒了。不過最近看到阿基師在電視上親自示範，驚覺原來有更好的方式！其實阿基師在節目中就一直強調「麻油不耐炒」。最初聽見這句話的時候就已經在思考：可是麻油雞不用麻油去爆薑，翻炒雞肉，那要用什麼呢？後來看到他親自示範，才有種恍然大悟的feel！

麻油雞, 阿基師, 青江菜, 米酒料理