The Talkative Tortoise

There is a very famous story from the Jataka tales about a talkative tortoise who fell to its death when he opened his mouth to talk in mid-flight.

The story is known as Kacchapa Jataka (No 215). It has been the material for many Buddhist art work. While looking through my photos, I happening to notice this story being depicted in two different ancient temples oceans apart.

They are here for the interested reader.

This is a panel from Temple no. 2 in the Nalanda ruins in India. 

This is the carving on the stairways of the Mendut temple in Indonesia, which is located just outside the Borobodur temple.

A close-up of the flying tortoise.

For the full story, check out this link.

Garden burial

In the Jātaka story, a young woman tells her mother: "after I die ... collect my bones and bury them, and there plant a kaṇikāra tree. Then, as the winter comes to an end, and when the tree breaks into blossom in the spring, you will remember me and say: 'Such was my daughter’s beauty.'"
(Ja.V,302)

Ever since I read that story, I'd thought that when I die, I would like to be buried under the tree too. No tomb. No urn. No tablet. Just bury the ashes into the earth. Ashes to ashes. The garden shall be my cemetery. The tree be my tombstone.

I was thus fascinated to read that this is actually being done in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government had been promoting green burials. These includes mass cremations which are conducted twice a week and funded by the government, promoting a quiet and dignified funeral that minimize wastage, as well as sea burial and "garden burials".

Garden burials include "tree burials" (树葬) and "flower burials" (花葬). The government had allocated
land as burial gardens. The ashes are buried around the trees or flowers. The Taipei municipal government first experimented this in 2003. It has proven to be successful and has since allocated more land. One of these garden cemeteries is in the Yangmingshan national park, which I would be interested to visit the next time I go to Taipei.

While sea burial (scattering ashes into the sea) is occasionally being done in Singapore. I don't think there is such tree or flower burials.

Hopefully, when it is my time, there will be such burial grounds...

老梅绿石槽

无意间在网上发现老梅绿石槽，又逢石槽呈绿的季节到台北，于是特地去看看。石槽每年只在三、四月间呈现绿色。

老梅绿石槽不是知名的旅游景点，没有野柳的人潮。到这里的多数的台湾旅客。偶尔有些外国旅客，大多都是特地来摄影的。

要到老梅，可以先到野柳。从野柳搭前往淡水的基隆客运，在老梅站下车。回程可以搭客运到淡水或基隆。

Vegetarian in Taipei

One of the many reasons I like Taipei is that it is very vegetarian friendly. In fact, apart from India, it is the most vegetarian friendly country I've visited.

There is almost always vegetarian food somewhere round the corner. Even if you can't find vegetarian restaurant, you can find frequently find vegetarian options available on their menu.

The important thing is to recognize the Chinese word for vegetarian (素). This is different from many other countries which denotes vegetarian food with the another word (斋). This may be a bit difficult for non-Chinese speaking visitors. But if you try to recognize this word, you will find that vegetarian food is really quite readily available.

I found that increasingly, instead of labelling as "vegetarian" (素), some restaurants have labelled themselves a "vegetable crusine" (蔬食). I suspect the main difference is use of garlic and onion which is avoid in religious vegetarian food.

Just a word of caution, some non-vegetarian restaurants serve "花素" dishes, such as "花素饺" (literally "flower vegetarian", but it means mixed vegetarian). These are not pure vegetarian. This means that the ingredients are mainly vegetables, but it is likely to contain some non-vegetarian ingredients like dried shrimps.

Here's some of the food I've tried in my most recent Taipei trip in March.

So Free Pizza 柴燒窯烤比薩&起士

Great thin crust pizzas you won't find in Singapore:
http://laink.blogspot.sg/2013/04/vegetarian-in-taipei-so-free-pizza.html


Addiction Hazard 小心上瘾

Vegetarian mala hot pot
http://laink.blogspot.sg/2013/04/vegetarian-in-taipei-mala-hotpot.html


MOS burgers

They have a delicious vegetarian mushroom rice burger
http://laink.blogspot.sg/2013/04/vegetarian-in-taipei-mos-burger.html


Korean hotpot

If you like Korean food, vegetarian tofu pot is available in this Korean restaurant.
http://laink.blogspot.sg/2013/04/vegetarian-in-taipei-korean-tofu-pot.html


Vegetarian Sushi

I picked this up at a food court inside the underground mall in Taipei Main Station. A selection of sushi only for NT100. Good for day trips!


Fried buns

Looking for a breakfast join in Ximending, I came across this shop that was selling fried buns. One of the buns is a vegetarian cabbage bun. I bought one to try with a cup of soya milk. It wasn't as good as the vegetarian buns I get from Shilin night market or the stall near Long Shan temple though. This stall also sell various mixed grains gruel which should be vegetarian.

Ximending Vegetarian Cold Noodles 

There is a vegetarian stall in the Ximending area. It serves mainly simple noodles. It is run by an elderly couple. Available early morning for breakfast till late night for dinner.

One bowl of wanton soup, stewed tofu and Zhajiang Noodles. Simple hearty breakfast.

Vegetarian snacks at Jiufen

I never like stinky tofu until I tried them in Taiwan. Taiwanese just know how to make it well. This is the BBQ stinky tofu stall at Jiufen which I always try.

Grilled King Oyster mushroom. I ordered the deep fried version however.

Vegetarian meat ball pie.

Vegetarian in Taipei -- Vegetarian food at the Taoyuan Airport

The Taoyuan Airport has been renovated and it has now a nice food court.

I was at Terminal 2 and there is a vegetarian stall in food court at basement 1. The stall is called Li Pin (里品蔬食). Now you can have a hot vegetarian meal at the airport before you board the plane.

The buzzer to alert me when my food is ready.

Sichuan herbal soup with noodles. Not much ingredients in it, but the soup is good.

Vegetarian in Taipei - Korean Tofu Pot

The first time I tried Korean Tofu Pot was in the United States. It was really good and I remembered it. Unfortunately, I've not had a chance to try it again. I was not able to find any Korean vegetarian food.

In Singapore, there are a few eateries serving Korean vegetarian Bimbibap, but none serve vegetarian Tofu Pot.

In Ximending there are a few Korean restaurants. I happened to see that one of them had a vegetarian pot and had a try.

The restaurant is a chain called Jeju House of Tofu Pot (济州豆腐锅之家). There are 2 outlets in the Ximending area.

When I ordered the vegetarian pot, they check if I eat onion (many Chinese vegetarians do not take onion and garlic) and egg. I had a choice of udon or glass noodles (I choose glass noodle) with the pot and how spicy I want it.

I asked for the most spicy level, but it was not even mildly spicy by my standard.

The pot was no where nearly as good as the one I tried in the United States (or perhaps it was my memory). But it was quite good nonetheless.

This is another vegetarian option -- especially if you are travelling with non-vegetarians.

Each pot was only NT150. (About SGD$6.5)

It looked spicy, but is actually quite mild.

This is the shop front of the one at Ximending.

Vegetarian in Taipei - Around Taipei Main Station and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi

If you are at the Taipei Main Station, there are actually many vegetarian choices.

Within station's underground mall, there is a vegetarian eatery serving simple dishes cheaply. It is located at K area underground near exit Z3.

宥佑素食坊, 台北捷运站前地下街17-3号

This is what I had when I was there 2 years ago -- croquette curry rice with 2 side dishes.

This trip I found that along the Huai Ning street just across from the Taipei West Bus Station, there are a few vegetarian eateries. And you can have your vegetarian dumpling fixes here! Unfortunately, I did not get to try at any of the eateries this time.

However, I found two vegetarian places in the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi shopping complex.

I was actually looking for Daily Smile restaurant, when I found my way into the B1 food court in the complex. I was with a friend who wasn't keen on vegetarian food. So we settled at the food court. I was looking for vegetarian food and passed by a stall that seemed to sell meat dishes but looked like they had vegetarian options. When I asked them, I was surprised that they told me it is a vegetarian stall! The reason was that the dishes on display certainly looked meaty enough.

This is the menu. The prices are quite ok. Each order consists of the main course (in the pictures) plus a bowl of rice, drinks and 3 side dish. However, I got there late and had no more side dishes. I was charged NT100 for the main course plus rice and drink.

This is the stall. Legosu. 乐果.

Pork ribs in a hot plate. I didn't realize it is mock meat initially.

I had a hard time trying to decide what to eat. Everything looked interesting and good. I finally settled on this Hakka preserved vegetable with "roast pork" (梅干酱肉烧). I like Hakka preserved vegetable. Unfortunately, it turned out to be rather disappointing. The preserved vegetable's flavour was washed out and I didn't like the sauce. I should have gone for the mushroom pot instead. 

After I had placed my order, I noticed that they had cards for the Daily Smile vegetarian restaurant. （微笑元素）. I asked where they are located and was surprised that it was just one floor down at B2 in the same building. This restaurant serve baked rice, spagetthi, pizzas, "steaks" and hot pots. So it will be suitable for someone looking for some western vegetarian food. This is the website of the restaurant: http://www.dailysmile.com.tw/

In addition to these 2 vegetarian restaurants, there is also an stall selling Indian food in the B1 food court. Cafe India is not vegetarian stall, but it half of the menu is vegetarian. So Indian friends do have a choice too.

If you at Taipei Main Station and not sure where to get vegetarian food, do check out Shin Kong Mitsukoshi basement 1 and basement 2.

Vegetarian in Taipei - Mos burger

Mos burger is not a vegetarian burger chain. But I was delighted to find that they have a vegetarian rice burger on their menu and it was very delicious.

It was oyster mushroom burger with rice patty. What was nice was that when I ordered it, the waitress asked if I mind that the potato wedges are deep fried in the same pot of oil as meat and thus may not be "pure vegetarian".

Vegan mushroom rice burger

The fillings is not a patty, but rather cooked mushrooms in sauces. The taste reminds me of the canned vegetarian "abalone" (gluten) we get in Singapore. I must say that it doesn't feel like you are eating a burger. It is more like eating a mushroom dish with rice. But it is quite tasty nonetheless and a good option when you don't see any vegetarian restaurant around.

Each burger is NT70 (about SGD$3)

One morning, I was looking for breakfast at the Taipei Main Station before a train ride out of town. I found a MOS burger outlet and thought I could have the mushroom burger again. But they were sold out. Instead, I was recommended an ovo-lacto burger. They had a burger with omelette, tomato and cheese.

The breakfast burger is a little small. But the burger plus drink was only NT60! (About S$2.50). It was quite good, though not very filling.

Ovo-lacto burger (tomatos, egg and cheese)

Thus, if you are having problem finding vegetarian places in Taipei (especially if you can't recognize the Chinese character for vegetarian), do check out the MOS burger chain.

Vegetarian in Taipei -- Mala Hotpot 小心上瘾

This is a vegetarian hotpot buffet. I've tried this the first time I was in Taipei and I wanted to tried it again.

The restaurant is at Nanking East Road. It had shifted to a new location and it took me a while to find it as it is in an alley off Nanking East Road.

The Mala soup is not the same as the Mala soup you get in Sichuan. It is not as spicy hot, not numbing and not oily -- the mala soup you get in Sichuan is all of that.

The waitress told me the soup is with stewed with many herbs and ginger and indeed, the herbal taste does come across very strongly. The soup is supposed to have health benefits. Well, it seemed that it is popular enough that the restaurant sell just the soup for take away!

They provide the option of half mala soup and half vegetable soup or just non-spicy vegetable soup.

The selection of ingredients includes tofu, various greens, mock meat balls and different type of noodles.

As part of the buffet, they served a plate of konyaku with wasabi which I didn't particularly like. But they served a noodle dish tossed in Chinese Toon (香椿) that is very delicious. They also served a deep fried "chicken drumstick" which is a whole king oyster mushroom deep fried.

Desert was available as six flavors of ice cream.

At the end of the meal, they served a small shot of fruit vinegar. I like the vinegar very much and bought a bottle of it.

The bill was NT400 plus 10% service charge. (I had lunch. I think dinner is NT450.) Comes up to less than S$20 per person. Considering that you can have a hotpot buffet for NT110 in some Ximending restaurants, this is pricey by Taipei standards. But the steamboat buffets often cost more than that in Singapore (there aren't that many in the first place).

The name of the shop is 小心上瘾 (Addiction Hazard). You to need at least 2 person to start a pot. However, I saw that they do serve noodles for individual orders, ranging from NT40 - NT100.

Nice environment

The ingredients are kept in the fridge.

Mala hotpot

Noodles tossed with Chinese Toon. 

I really like this.

香椿面

Fried Chicken Drumstick (King oyster mushroom)

Grape vinegar

Shopfront

Their website:

http://www.sssy.com.tw/

台北市松山區南京東路五段61之3號

Taipei Nanking East Road, Section 5, number 61.

The location is a little out of the way. But an new MRT line passing through Nanking East Road is near completion. It will be more convenient after the MRT start running.

Vegetarian in Taipei -- So Free Pizza 柴燒窯烤比薩&起士

I got to know about this pizza place from a TV program interviewing the founder of the restaurant. I made it a point to look for this place because the pizzas look very special. I wasn't disappointed. I really love this place.

The pizzas are all thin crust pizzas of standard 8 inch size. They are all wood fire baked and the ingredients are all freshly made. The flavours are very unique, not your usual Italian or American tomato base pizzas.

I tried two of the pizzas. Green Lava Dragon (spicy) and Basil with mushrooms. Both are very good. I like the Green Lava Dragon very much. It taste a little like green curry with ginger and mushrooms. I am not sure what type of cheese they use. It is light and flavourful.

The crusts of the pizzas are thin and crispy. Each person can finish 1 pizza. And each pizza is only NT169 (about SGD7.40). By Taipei standards, this is a little on the pricey side, but we can't get such good pizzas in Singapore for this kind of price.

The decor of the place is quite nice too and there was a video on conservation of environment that was playing all the time.

There are two outlets in Taipei. One right in Ximending and the other near the university. The one in Ximending is not easy to fine as it's shop front is quite small and it is located in a small alley. Make sure you make a copy of the map from their web page.

http://www.sofreepizza.com.tw

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/SoFreePizza

http://www.facebook.com/SoFreePizza

The green lava dragon. Spicy and good! 

喷火海龙（有绿、红两种口味）

Basil with king oyster mushroom

罗勒杏鲍菇

初恋

《初恋之美》

初恋之所以美，
是因为那时
青春无邪
有天真的我
有热情的你

而后来才发现
再也不可能回到当初的
青春、天真与热情
留下的只有
美丽的回忆

《初恋之后》

初恋是一个季节

过去了，便逝去了

迎来的是一个新的季节

要给新的恋情一个机会

虽然不可能再有

初恋的体验与纯真

但要用从初恋的创伤中

而成长和成熟的你

去迎接一段新的恋情

取材自韩剧《Reply 1997》

The Karimun Inscriptions

I've never heard of the Karimun Inscriptions until Ven Dhammika mentioned it. When he organized a trip to see the inscriptions, I was eager to go along.

According to Ven Dhammika, the inscriptions are oldest archelogical evidence of Buddhism within the close vicinity around Singapore. It is found on the Indonesian Island of Karimun Besar which is about 2 hours boat ride from Singapore.

On the 9th March, we took an early morning boat ride to Karimun. The main town on the island is Tanjung Balai. The inscriptions are found within a granite quarry in the northern part of the island they called Pasir Panjang. According to the locals, the granite is exported to Singapore as material for construction.

We charted 2 MPVs for the return trip from the ferry terminal at Tanjung Balai to the quarry and it cost us S$100 (S$50 per vehicle). The drive is about 45 min.

This is the shrine housing the inscriptions

Ven Dhammika examining the inscriptions

A fresh water pool which Ven Dhammika speculated was the reason that ships might stopped at this part of the island.

Some one in the group came up with the idea of pouring water over the stone which made the inscriptions showed up more clearly.

This is the foot print near the inscription which was probably the foot print mentioned in the inscription.

Offerings at the inscriptions. Apparently, there are people who come here and pray at the inscriptions.

For information on what the inscription says, refer to Ven Dhammika's blog.

To get there, take a ferry from the Harbour Front Ferry Terminal to Tanjung Balai (Pulau Karmun Besar). There are 2 ferry companies that have regular ferry services there: Indofalcon and Sindo ferry. You can do it comfortably as a day trip, taking the 8am ferry there and return with the 4pm ferry operated by Indofalcon. Tanjung Balai is a very laid back town. Not much to do there, but there are quite a few hotels there if you want to stay the night.