Month: August 2016

New Role for 2016 – Miss Taiwanese World Queen! Pageant Photos (Part 1)

Published on by Insider Irene4 Comments

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in entires, I’ve took on a new project this past month and well I guess you can tell from the title of this post what I’ve been doing. Yup! I competed in an ethnic-oriented pageant and was crowned Miss Taiwanese World Queen. Yay! I’m still recovering from the weekend excitement and a new counseling job that I started recently (crazy right?!), but I thought I’d give you a few photos from the pageant.

img_8572Here I am with the Pageant Chairman, Jack Liu, and Senior Pageant Director, Cindy Wu. The chairman founded the Miss Taiwan World organization back in 2000 and the Pageant Director ran this show for the past 10 years. Essentially without these two people this show would not have been possible.

img_8574Here’s a photo with me and the Miss Teen titleholder. Isn’t she a cutie 🙂

I think she kinda looks like my younger sister, what do you think?

img_8578A group shot of the 2015 court, judges, and 2016 royal court (Miss, Teen, Preteen, Jr, Mr etc)

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Here’s I am with the 2015 Miss Taiwanese World.

I’d hardly consider myself a “pageant girl,” but fate decided otherwise. As the 2016 Miss Taiwanese World Queen I’m honored start my year of service to promote my Taiwanese heritage where yes I’ll smile and “wave” in parades, attend ribbon cutting ceremonies, and mix and mingle with politicians and community leaders, but I hope that through this experience I can also share my platform “Education Through Travel” to encourage everyone to explore and learn. There are just some things that a textbooks can’t teach you and as an educator and foodie I believe that traveling is the best way to learn about a new culture.

Follow hashtag #MissTaiwaneseEats on my instagram account @YuRockstar to get the latest scoop on my foodie adventures and #FollowYu to see the world through my eyes.

What type of entries are you looking most forward to read? Food? Travel? Pageant events? Comment below!

 

XOXO,

Rockstar

 

P.S. I will intertwine my #MissTaiwanese2016 series with my #SleeplessinSeattle series for the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

Frugal Finds, West Coast Roadtrip: Seattle,WA (Part 2)

Published on by Insider Irene1 Comment

A trip to Seattle isn’t complete without a visit to the iconic Space Needle. I also heard some amazing things about the Chihuly Garden and Glass Musuem, and with some extensive research my friend and I decided to go with the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass Musuem package deal (versus buying tickets from each attraction). It’s definitely worth it in my mind.

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Think about it… A single day ticket at both the Chihuly Garden and Glass Musuem and Space Needle is $22, so if you bought both it’d be $44. However, if you purchased the package deal it starts at $36 (general adult) – so you save $8. If memory serves me correctly I believe you had to pick times that you wanted to visit and the different time slots were different prices. The beginning of the day and the end of the day were the cheapest with the mid-day charging the premium. We chose to go right at the beginning of the day for three reasons

  1. A cheaper rate
  2. A greater opportunity to take nice photos without crowds of people and
  3. Good lighting for photos

Alternatively you could also go with the CityPass which allows tourists to visit 5 attractions for $74.

But first we went to Lola, a local breakfast spot with a national reputation. Featured on Food Network, Chef and TV Host Giada De Laurentiis raved about the fresh and made to donuts on the “Best Thing I Ever Ate – Fried Food Edition.” I generally like to start my day with something savory so I went for one of their most popular dishes the Eggs benedict and smashed potatoes.

The entree was quite substantial and easily could feed two people. The Bavarian ham was on the saltier side, but the poached eggs were perfect and I popped it open to allow my crispy potatoes soak in the ooey gooey magic. I was extremely full even though I only ate one portion. It’s a $20 dish and they add a 20% gratuity on all items.

With bellies full we took a short stroll and headed towards the Space Needle. We gave our ticket printout to the greeter and bypassed a huge portion of the line (mainly school groups taking a class field trip). I think that’s another advantage of buying a ticket early on.

We were then directed to the elevator and flew up 605 floors until we hit the observation deck. The sight was beautiful and it’s definitely a destination that all tourists should visit at least once. After a few shots and selfies we walked around the deck and headed down.

The Chihuly Garden and Glass Musuem is absolutely a must see destination. The glass blown masterpieces are breath-taking and while I think I captured the essence of their beauty I think everyone NEEDS to see this in person. Photos and words can’t really express how glorious and exquisite these art pieces are.

Within the museum each room is dark and reflects a certain theme. I think the under-the-sea rooms were my favorite as I felt as if I was swimming with the little mermaid, but each exhibit had a charm that really could appeal to anyone.

img_6458After you finish the museum interior you are invited to the gardens where they infuse flowers with glass sculptures. It’s so majestic and I’m convinced that when I win the power-ball I’d want this Dale Chiluly (the glassworks artist) to design my backyard. But until then this museum definitively tops my list on one of the best places to visit in Seattle.

Do you have a favorite place to visit in Seattle? Leave a comment.

XOXO,

Rockstar

Frugal Finds, West Coast Roadtrip – Seattle, WA (Part 1)

Published on by Insider IreneLeave a comment

Oregon was a great state to visit (click on the hyperlink for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 for those entries) with fresh air and the slightly off the wall quirky culture, but I was ready to explore a new territory. I met up with a native Californian who recently moved here to explore this part of Seattle and suffice to say there’s a ton to do and see!

Welcome to my #SleeplessinSeattle series! where I’ll be hunting for my frugal finds and visiting some of the cities best hot spots. First destination is the Pike Place Market- home to a bazaar, the first Starbucks, and the Gum Wall!

img_6327The Pike Place Market is similar to many bazaars. There were various stalls selling food and souvenirs, but it was a nice covered area to take a nice stroll. It rains often in Seattle and while I wasn’t use to random sprinkles, I noticed that virtually no one brought umbrellas or seemed to care that it was misting. I guess I’m a fish out of water 😛

The offerings in this market showcased many local vendors and I appreciated the spirit of the entrepreneurs here. After walking through the area my stomach started to growl. Looks like it’s time to eat!

I saw a crowd of people in front of what looked like a bakery. It was called Piroshky Piroshky, hmm. What’s a piroshky? I figured with a long line that it was worth checking out. While perusing through my phone I found out that that this Russian bakery specializes in savory pastries. My friend and I decided to split a Beef and Cheese piroshky and you know it sorta tastes like a Chinese beef bao but with an American bread. Ha! I enjoyed it but was eager to try some other items.

Next we waited in line for the first Starbucks. I think the line spanned across 2 stores, but it moved relatively quickly. With the popularity of Starbucks there’s actually another nearby with zero line, but as a tourist it was obvious that a visit to Seattle is incomplete without a visit to THE Starbucks. Now I can cross it off my bucket list 🙂

With bellies relatively full we decided to further explore the area and found the gum wall, which you guessed it is a wall chalked full of gum.

Some tourists and locals would be completely grossed out by this site and as a teacher I should probably discourage what could be conceived as vandalism on the property, but I’m off duty and *gasp* I even bought a package of gum to add to the artwork. I’m such a rebel, lol

The tradition of sticking gum on the wall started around 1993 – I’m actually shocked that it’s a relatively new attraction. Personally, I think it’s a pretty cool place to leave your mark and take selfies, but each his own.

After enjoying the novel attraction my friend and I decided to try a local restaurant for Happy Hour. I did a quick search and found Chan Seattle – a local Korean and American fusion bar only a few streets up Pike’s Market Place.

 

Happy Hour is from 5:00pm-6:30pm and we just made it to enjoy their offerings. We sat at the bar and sampled four dishes: Fried Rice Cakes ($3), Bulgogi Beef Sliders ($6), Chicken Wings ($6), Fried Pacific Oysters ($6) to tantalize our taste buds. Flavor wise it was on the more salty and spicy side, but with a glass of beer I can imagine many patrons enjoying these tapas.

Have you visited Pike’s Market Place? What’s your favorite attraction there? Comment below.

XOXO,

Rockstar

 

Frugal finds, West Coast Roadtrip: Portland, OR (Part 4)

Published on by Insider Irene1 Comment

Good morning Portland! Yes, most people would probably sleep in on their Saturday, but this girl definitely wanted to check out everything this city has to offer.

Our first stop was the Saturday Market – a large outdoor bazaar where local vendors and artists showcase and sell their quirky gadgets, hand-made creations, and unusual artwork with Portland flair.

img_6275Located in the historic Old Town this venue is home to over 250 vendors. As I took a stroll down each aisle I couldn’t help but smile at some of the offerings. Many of the vendors had immense Portland pride as it was evident in their products and merchandise. I bought a heather grey t-shirt with each major city’s landmark (ie. Statue of Liberty for New York, The Space Needle for Seattle etc) and at the center was a Redwood tree for Portland. It’s a great design and I always love supporting entrepreneurs – support small!

I wore the shirt later on in the trip if you’re interested  see what it looks like.

I regularly visit craft fairs and festivals, but the Saturday Market here just has a really great quirky feel to it. There’s just a ton of unique items and designs. If anything this is a great place to get inspired by the inventions and for those of you who couldn’t make it on a Saturday, no worries because it’s also open on Sunday. With a name like Saturday Market, it’s quite confusing, but it’s open every weekend from March – Christmas Eve (Saturday 10:00am -5:00pm; Sunday- 11:00am -4:30pm). It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re here on the weekend.

I also completely lucked out as the weekend I visited happen to be the weekend for the “Grand Floral Parade” – the largest floral procession in the North East. See one of my instagram video’s here.

There were many participants including different branches of the military (Marines, Navy, Coast Guard), various interest groups (ie. Rotary, equestrian club) and entertainment personalities all parading down the 4.2 mile route. The flower celebration also featured various marching bands, ornate floats, and vintage cars. And what Rose Parade would be complete without a rose court. I’ll post the video on my instagram. It was a nice surprise to be a part of an annual celebration.

Next up we hit up Nong’s Kaho Mangai to sample their famous Chicken and Rice dish ($8.75). Featured on a number of media outlets including Food Network and The New York Times (just to name a few), this humble restaurant is no secret to the Portland community and with three locations it’s clear that this is a fan favorite.

The dish is a simple one, but the taste is anything but. The chicken is moist and tender and the rice is cooked in chicken broth, which really brings out a nice earthly flavor. It also comes with their signature ginger sauce to which I would slather all over my chicken and a side of soup. It’s a tasty entree and for my LA readers it’s very comparable to Savory’s Kitchen in Alhambra – although I do think I have a slight bias to enjoying the later just a tiny bit more.

How do you spend your Saturdays? Curled up in bed or out and about? Comment below!

 

XOXO,

 

Rockstar