week 91_Typhoons & Summer Treats

Now that I have reached 24 weeks (well past the halfway mark of growing Baby Gerock!), I have finally regained my previous love for all things food, and ~ good, or bad ~ I seem to be catching up for months of lost time spent on endless meals tasting something akin to sawdust.

Our office has not had weekly tea times these past few months, but we still manage to celebrate at least once a month for various birthdays/anniversaries with the company/etc! Here's an example of the spread for our June birthdays ~ Wow.

Chocolate Cakes from 'Black as Chocolate' ~ dark  bittersweet cocoa fudge icing,
Fresh fruit trays (including tomatoes - they are always included as a 'fruit' here!),
Fried Chicken and Assorted Pizzas, Coca~Cola Classic to wash it all down. 

I recently noticed the opening of a dessert shop on ZhongXiao E. Road named "Ice Monster". The location is along my path home if I choose to go that way, and when it's hot or muggy outside, something icy is the perfect way to beat the heat! Their reputation precedes them, and since I had heard such good things I just had to check it out asap! Ice Monster specializes in icy desserts. It's popular in Taipei to eat shaved ice piled with assorted fruits, syrups, jellos, and treats. I will be back to this place... repeatedly :) [Not to mention it's generally a light dessert ~ no heavy creams or chocolates]

Left: Complimentary Treat (because they just opened)
Taiwanese Bubble Tea Ice Cream complete with Tapioca Pearls,
Right: I ordered the Lemon Orange Freeze,
Lemon/Orange Ice piled on a mountain of shaved ice
drizzled with citrus syrup and a few jello cubes.

Summer in Taipei is creeping in on us. I feel like it has been mild so far (Wasn't last summer hotter?), but my memory may just be fuzzy. Or preggo brain has gotten the best of me! Either way, June has been a hazy blur of rainy days and muggy mornings so far. The heat hasn't gotten the best of me yet, but the humidity is killer - of course!


This week we had not 1, but 2 typhoons narrowly pass the island. One on each side! Luckily, neither typhoon hit Taipei and life/work has continued as usual... but I wouldn't have minded getting an extra "typhoon" day off work ;)

Typhoons are similar to hurricanes, and can certainly have dangerous side affects such as flying debris, power outages, and landslides in rural areas. Our life in Taipei city is quite secure though - only affected by these things minimally - and mostly on a typhoon day it is a good chance to stay home and read a book!

Despite the weather, and the humidity, I'm still counting on summer treats to cool me off. The Dragon Boat holiday is today, Friday, June 23rd. We are working as usual, but the office has had an influx of goodies delivered to us from clients and friends (just as we've sent gifts to them too, of course). This afternoon's sweet treat: lychees.

Lychee fruit: Red crusty exterior with juicy white inside

If you've never tried a lychee, you should! In our global marketplace, they have become more available even from supermarkets in the US if you know where to look. To me, a lychee tastes like a "fruit punch" flavored fruit. Very sweet. As the case would have it, they also make an excellent flavored martini or mojito... Will have to wait on that treat for a few more months!