Elves in my kitchen day 3: all day breakfast

Once again, I woke up to the sound of ruckus in my kitchen.  It was 7:30am and both Dyson 2000 and J were hard at work.  Dyson 2000 was chopping up water chestnuts, trying to make a water chestnut pudding (馬蹄糕) for mom without the right ingredients.  We had tried in vain to look for water chestnut starch around town, but ended up settling for tapioca starch instead.

After a few rounds of steaming in the oven, we had a product that hopefully will be reasonably close to the real thing.  We'll see in a few days when mom gets her hands on it...

Meanwhile, J was making some gougères with cheese, spring onions and some of the leftover diced smoked chicken from yesterday.   I do have to say that adding the chicken was pure genius... these were simply divine!

My contribution this morning would be in the form of eggs.  Soft-boiled eggs, to be exact.  I filled my new toy, SousVide Supreme, with some water and dropped 3 organic, free-range eggs inside.  With the temperature set at 62°C, the eggs were cooked for a little more than an hour.  With a sprinkle of finely chopped spring onions and a little soy sauce, it made for the perfect breakfast.

J also made another batch of canelés, which turned out a little better than the ones from yesterday.  There were a few that came out whole.  Very yummy.

Of course my guests weren't gonna just stay cooped up in my apartment all day.  It was time for lunch, and we headed for Fu-Hang Dou Jiang (阜杭豆漿).  One of the most famous of breakfast shops - in part due to its row the government last year for tax evasion - this place is popular with both locals and tourists alike.

I ordered a bowl of hot soy milk, and then the specialty of the house.  You can't come here without getting the baked flatbread (燒餅), either on its own or with stuffing between the halves.  The flatbread is baked in a fiery oven not unlike a tandoor, and sometimes we see flames shooting out.  There are two varieties here : one which is thicker than the ones that you'd find at most other breakfast shops, and another that's thinner.

For myself, I got the mac daddy of them all - baked flatbread with deep-fried crullers and omelette (燒餅油條蛋餅).  This is a giant pile of dough, crispy thanks to both the baked bits as well as the deep-fried bits.  Absolutely delicious.

Just for kicks, I also got a baked caramel puff (焦糖燒餅).  I can't resist anything with that many sesame seeds on top, and the fact that there was a liquid, sweet filling inside made it even better.

Our appetites satiated, my guests spend the last remaining hours they have in Taipei doing some last-minute shopping.  I think they had a good time this weekend, and I look forward to welcoming them back soon.