il Giardino Romantico

首先上桌的是這一道清澈的燒酒菇。這次當然不是第一次做。畢竟自己沒吃過的東西，豈能隨便拿來請朋友吃？所以當然是天仙有自己實驗過，不僅得到自己的青睞、也獲得了別人的讚賞，才敢拿出來露臉的囉！

先來看看燒酒菇需要用到的材料：

My friend and I had actually thought about going to Shinshou since before I left for the UK.  But because time was limited then, the trip finally fell through.  This time, we planned ahead of time.  We were supposed to go on the Christmas weekend, but seeing that I had too much luck at the time, I had to go up north to Taipei to attend an awards ceremony, they kindly postponed our trip to the following weekend.

新社行，其實早就在我去英國之前就跟同學約定好要去。不過當時因為時間越來越緊迫，導致最後出國前還是沒去成。這次雖然也是規劃了一陣子才終於成行。原本是要在聖誕節那一個週末去的。不料天仙那一陣子因為好運太旺，要北上參加頒獎典禮。好在兩位好友好說話，將日期延到跨年後的那一周，讓我能夠順利跟到。

I didn't really know what to expect there.  I've only heard of some Lavender garden in that area.  But initially I was quite sceptical about spending one whole day here.

 

I've written about Chinese and Thai cuisine in the UK, but I think this is the first time I've written an article about Japanese cuisine in the UK.  Aren't you curious about what Japanese food's like there?

之前天仙有跟大家分享過英國的中國餐廳，也有跟大家分享英國的泰國菜。不過我們台灣人也很喜歡吃的日本料理好像還沒介紹過吧！今天就來瞧瞧，在英國的日本料理店都長什麼樣子。

Located at the heart of Cardiff City, is this magnificent castle.  However, my local guide surprised me when he told me that he had never been inside.  Among his friends, only a few had actually been inside.  Although I was immensely curious about the castle, I had to consider my budget, and chose only one to see.  That's why I've decided to listen to my local guide, ditch this one, for a supposedly better one the next day.

位於卡地夫市中心，就是這一座看似很壯觀的卡地夫城堡。不過天仙的當地地陪竟然跟天仙說，他從來沒進去看過。連他朋友進去過的也沒幾個。雖然天仙對城堡非常感興趣，但是又基於經費上的考量，還是決定聽地陪的話。捨棄進去逛這座城堡的念頭，留著隔天再去逛更棒的！

While in the UK, you must take advantage of the museums that do not charge any entrance fee.  It is the easiest way to learn about local culture, and if the weather's rough, it's also a nice way of keeping warm and dry.  But seeing that the weather was so glorious while I was there, plus the fact that the collections in this museum was not exactly what I had been interested in, we didn't spend much time in there.  Despite the short duration of my visit, however, I still highly recommend a visit.  After all, you can enter for FREE.

在英國旅遊時，一定要好好把握良機，逛透所有不用花錢參觀的各大小博物館！這是了解當地文化歷史最輕鬆的方式。而英國又時常天氣不佳，也不失為一個避雨暖身的便宜好方式。不過看在當天抵達卡地夫天氣晴朗的份上，再加上這個博物館裡所展覽的文物並不是我最有興趣的範圍，因此我們其實沒有逛太久。雖然如此，我還是強烈推薦一定要進去參觀一下。畢竟是免費的呀！

I've actually heard about Grandma Nitti's since ages ago.  My expat colleagues would always talk about how they'd come here, enjoy the food and chatter here.  Its location is actually not far from where I used to live.  At least it's quite convenient to get to on the MRT.  However, this is actually the very first time at Grandma Nitti's for me.  Unfortunately my lunch appointment started and ended late.  Plus we had a bit too much to eat, which resulted in the fact that I had little interest in any of the dishes on the menu!!

很早以前就曾聽過外籍同事說Grandma Nitti's很好吃。他們都很喜歡去那兒聚會、吃飯。其實離以前台北住的地方不算太遠。至少捷運可以到。但是不知道為什麼，一直到了這天，我才第一次進去這間餐廳。結果，因為這個飯局之前的午餐飯局有點晚吃，導致我抵達後對於菜單上的任何食物都不會感到太大的興趣啊！！

This is a gathering among me and my co-workers from my first-ever job.  We try to set one gathering up each year.  But because we all have different working schedules, it takes a lot of planning for each gathering.  Because of this, however, we cherish each and every one of our successful gatherings even more.

 

Generally speaking, I have a rather petite appetite.  However, when confronted with heavenly cuisine, or my favourite food, I will still devour everything set before my eyes.  After adopting a vegetarian diet, there are a lot of cuisines that I do miss.  Like these Shanghai style 'dim sums', which are more commonly found with pork stuffing, are among those that I really miss.  Although it is not impossible to find restaurants that do make them, often, I find the taste disgusting and inedible... I guess this explains why there are so many people out there who actually 'despise' dining at vegetarian restaurants.

The place we came to today, however, will absolutely blow your mind away.  It is tucked away in a narrow alley.  You may find it difficult to get yourself to give it a try if you had no idea what you would be missing out on if you just walk away.  Their veggie buns and other cuisines are absolutely heavenly!

 

I detest finding venues to meet people.  Especially after becoming a vegetarian.  I don't like coercing people into eating veggie along with me, which makes it even harder to find a place to have meals.  Therefore, out of the six meals that came out of this one trip to Taipei, only one of them was set up by me.  All the others were set up by my lovely friends.  When I heard that we were having hot pot, I thought, Great! This way, he will be able to have as much meat as his tummy desires, and I can happily devour my greens.  However, it was not until I got to the restaurant, saw the 'zen' and 'Buddhist' style decor, that I realised the place was a strictly 'veggie' hot pot restaurant.

*To understand the concept of 'hot pot', you can think of it as 'Chinese/Oriental fondu... with clear soup (usually) instead of cheese or chocolate.  

 

I had no idea what to look forward to until I arrived.  This coffee shop is unique in every aspect.  I came here with a previous student of mine, who had studied with me for over three years.  She's now studying in the States, and I knew that she had come back to Taiwan for Christmas.  I called her and set up a date to meet, but I left the venue completely up to her to decide.  After having been a student a year myself, I told her when I met her, that I am no longer her teacher.  I'd like to think that the relationship we have is pretty much like the concept of this coffee shop - finding a balance in a lack of proportion.  I accredit the reason why we are still able to remain in contact with each other even until to day, to this reason.

天仙這天是在完全無預警之下來到這間無論是食物或是店內裝潢都非常具有特色的咖啡館的。原因是因為得知以前家教的一個學生因為美國聖誕假期有回到台灣，因此除了日期以外時間以及地點我都交給了這位可愛的學生決定。不過經過一年的學生生活下來，見面時我對他說：我現在已經不是你的老師了～ 其實我們平時的相處方式就很像這間店的設計理念：在不對秤當中找到一個彼此相處的平衡點。所以無論是在以前家教上課的過程還是我們雙方都遠赴國外繼續進修後，仍然可以將這段緣份一值維持下去。

St. John the Baptist is located right at the centre of Cardiff city.  It is the oldest church in the area.  It's also within close proximity to Cardiff Castle.  Although I did not get a chance to visit the inside of the church, I thought the way the church was surrounded by modern elements interesting.

這間聖約翰教堂位於卡地夫市區的正中央。是這個地區裡歷史最久的教堂。他離卡地夫城堡也不遠。雖然無緣進去參訪教堂內部，不過從外觀就可以看出這間小教堂的特色。整座教堂是被現代文化所包圍著的。光是想到這點，就覺得何仿不是一種特色呢！