Month: January 2017

Miss Taiwanese World celebrates National Flag Day at Barnes Park 

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Recently it’s been pouring cats and dogs in Southern California, but back when I attended the Double Ten National Flag Day at Monterey Park it was the exact opposite. The sun was out and about and I was all sweating bullets – scratch that I was glistening from head to toe. Beauty queens don’t perspire o:)

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The National Flag Day event began with a mini parade and presentation of certificates by local and state representatives. We then all moved towards the flag podium and the ceremony concluded with an epic ending. Speeches were made, doves were released, and three private jets flew above the crowd as patriotic music blasted the stadium. Unfortunately, I didn’t snap photos at those times (as I was enjoying the moment) but it was quite a spectacular sight!

Afterwards the program transitioned to a vibrant line-up of various entertainment including: traditional lion dance, Taiwanese song and dance among other performances. The royal court also prepared for a runway show. Here I am backstage getting ready for the catwalk! 🙂

img_4149Among the events I’ve attended I was incredibly impressed with the community involvement and the patriotism instilled by all the attendees and participants. It was quite a celebration and while I may need to apply more sunscreen in the future, it’s an honor to represent my home country at this annual gathering. We also all got to cool down with some shaved ice, condensed milk, and boba. Yum!

What’s your favorite treat to snack on during a hot day?

XOXO,

Rockstar

 

 

 

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Kee Wah’s newest bakery branch in Arcadia

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Gong hei fat choy!  And for my non-Cantonese speaking readers – Happy New Year (again!!). The Lunar New Year is just around the corner (January 28th) and what better way to celebrate than by stuffing our face with yummy Cantonese food. Mmmm…

Now it’s a tradition in the Chinese culture to gift rice pudding to family and friends during the Lunar New Year, and while making it from scratch is a very laborious process, Kee Wah Bakery has them packaged and ready to go!

They offer five different flavors including the Original, Maltitol (a sugar substitute), Coconut Juice, Ginger Juice, and Red Date and the gift boxes range in size and assortment. The single gift box set starts at $15.

But if you’re like me you probably will be hungry just by waiting in line and lucky for you the baked goods at Kee Wah Bakery is authentic and delicious. They offer three different styles of egg tart – the Portuguese Egg Tart being my favorite, as well as savory and sweet breads. Yum!           I love eating fresh bread and coming to this bakery gives me access to a ton of yummy treats. Salty? Sweet? Crispy? Soft? There’s a ton of variety to eat carbs and it’s very true to authentic Cantonese style baked good. nom nom….

Whats your favorite carb?

 

XOXO,

Rockstar

Miss Taiwanese World proudly celebrated at the TECO Double Ten National Day reception at the Universal City Hilton

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Double Ten is one of biggest and most important dates for the Taiwanese culture. The royal court was invited to several celebrations that week; however,the annual National Day Celebration at the Hilton in Los Angeles was a black tie event fit for a queen.

img_1036Local and regional government officials from California and Taiwan were present for this extravagant celebration. From the bouquets of flowers to the ice sculpture, the organizers went all out to make it a very snazzy event.  Above we’re photographed with a former Taiwan official in front of one of the biggest cakes I’ve ever seen – and yes we did snag a bite at the end of the evening.

The evening was filled with a program full of live entertainment including a military processional, lion dance, various skits, and the presentation of certificates by council and congressmen. Plenty of photos were taken throughout the night as individuals networks and enjoyed an expansive buffet featuring a mix of traditional Asian and western cuisine.

img_1009People from all walks of life were present for this event ranging from young high school students to elders who played an integral role in Taiwan politics. Also in attendance were members of the Taiwanese American Professional  (TAP) organization as well as other Taiwanese related non profit organizations. It was a great night filled with people who love Taiwan and I was happy to enjoy the festivities in good company.

If you threw a party what would be the highlights?

XOXO,

Rockstar

 

 

 

Miss Taiwanese World supports World of Dumpling Cooking Demo with Celebrity Chef Theresa Lin at Skirball Cultural Center 

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Back in September 2016 (I know this is super late), I had the opportunity to work with Celebrity Chef Theresa Lin, the Julia Child of Taiwan at a Dumpling cooking demonstration at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA.

img_0686You may not recognize her name, but she’s a household name in the Taiwanese food community as she’s written countless cookbooks and partnered with movie director, Ang Lee on a number of his productions. She was his food stylist for the movie Eat Drink Man Woman and the catering director for Life of Pie. Now she travels the world and works with local restaurants in promoting Taiwanese cuisine.

In essence she’s successfully combined my love for food and education and turned it into a wonderful career. She’s a great role model and one who’s adventurous spirit is still alive and strong. Before the workshop she told me that she just came back from Peru and will be back on the road again! Whew! I hope I have that much energy and spunk when I’m her age.

During the workshop patrons learned how to make dumplings, including the skin from scratch. She instructed us on techniques in how to roll out the dough as well as a step-by-step process in making an excellent traditional filling. We made two different types to accommodate food allergies (a vegetarian and a meat), and both were absolutely delicious.

While I do make dumplings from scratch at home, never had I made the dumpling skin from scratch. It definitely has a chewier texture that store bought can’t mimic, but it’s a lot of work and I think I’ll leave that to the professionals 😛

Overall, it was a really educational and delicious night. I learned tremendously and it reinforced my pride for my heritage and the amazing food that my culture brings. Cooking and eating is a wonderful way to share one’s ancestry, and it’s my hope to bring more people together by celebrating our similarities rather than our differences (over a good meal of course!).

What kind of food do you enjoy sharing with family and friends?

XOXO,

Rockstar

Miss Taiwanese World brings in the New Year at TECO – Orange County Branch 

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Can you believe it’s already 2017? I hope that you all had a wonderful start to the new year! The royal court certainly kicked it off in full force.

This year I spent New Years Day at the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Orange County. While the venue was a more intimate one it was a full house (standing room only!). Many local Taiwanese business owners and representatives from different organizations attended and the royal court welcomed patrons and presented flowers to the esteemed guests. The afternoon was filled with entertainment from local talent and finished with traditional Taiwanese snacks and photos.

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This is also a popular time of year to make new resolutions and mine for this and for many years has been to have fun and make new memories with family and friends (and to floss more – an annual resolution). As Miss Taiwanese World Queen I get the opportunity to share my cultural heritage through this platform and I hope in addition to my annual resolution that I will post blog entries more regularly.

My hope is to consistently post an entry once a week. Miscellaneous Monday will either showcase a Miss Taiwan event from 2016 or 2017 (as I do have a huge backlog of entries), or highlight one of my recent travels/food destinations. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll do a second blog post on Wonderful Wednesday.

What kind of goals do you have for 2017?

 

XOXO,

Rockstar

Miss Taiwanese World reflects on 2016 and the year to come

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2016 – you sure were a year of surprises and at the beginning it was a rough start. I had challenges in all aspects of my life and felt trapped. I went to bed wishing that the emotional turmoil of life would go away and woke up knowing that I would get a new helping of it. I hated feeling burnt out and so unhappy, and I didn’t understand why any of my efforts didn’t change the situation.  Yet, this was a year where I felt that God told me to just be still and let go.

I couldn’t really comprehend the idea of not having a plan and knowing my next steps, but I unwillingly trusted and went for the ride of my life – mind you I was TERRIFIED as I have always been a planner, but the next couple of months really showed me things that I could have never expected.

Never did I expect to represent my cultural heritage as Miss Taiwanese World Queen and attend some amazing events including a Dumpling Making Night with Taiwan Celebrity host Theresa Lin and the Annual Double Ten Celebration on behalf of the organization. (I’m sorry I’m still backed up with some of these events so stay tuned on those entries)

 

I also didn’t expect a new day job and also going back to school to take three graduate school classes at night. The teacher/student role combo wasn’t easy and there were periods of time where I wanted to throw in the towel because I was just exhausted, but I successfully completed the classes with straight A’s!

Visiting two new states (Washington and Oregon – absolutely gorgeous) and more than a dozen new cities on my West Coast Roadtrip was also another 2016 accomplishment. I did a second budget roadtrip a week ago and am excited to share with you all some new hidden gems in my upcoming entries!

Locally I explored my own town and attended multiple TV Tapings including: The Voice, America’s Got Talent, Family Feud Celebrity Edition (Team Lance Bass vs. Team Kellie Pickler), Jimmy Kimmel Live (Special Guest Elton John & Usher), and the last season of American Idol – seriously one of the coolest FREE things you can do in SoCal. I also got to be on TV during on the day of Kobe’s last game in LA. Can you find me in the picture below?

This year LA welcomed a new attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood and while initially I was hesitant about getting an annual pass without anyone to go with I can say now that I’ve visited both the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Grinchmas for the first time (and many times after that).

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Suffice to say that this was a year of adventure and it’s not where we start, but how we finish. I’d like to say that my story is still unfolding and that I’m continuing to write it 🙂

I wish you all a wonderful and prosperous New Year and hope you all make beautiful new memories for 2017.

Take chances and make the most of every moment.

 

XOXO,

Rockstar