Taqueria Juquilita

I have a new favorite taco place! It’s Taqueria Juquilita in Ottumwa. Thanks to Skye for the recommendation.

This restaurant is small, and the setting is casual. I love their colorful chairs!

Shrimp tacos & roasted jalapeño

Shrimp tacos & roasted jalapeño

My favorite is the shrimp taco. $1.50 for one taco, and I can eat ten of them. The roasted jalapeño goes perfectly with the taco.

Eat, piggy, eat!

Eat, piggy, eat!

Melbourne Fun – Day 3

My sister complained that the walking that she has done in these few days is equivalent to the walking that she usually does in a year.

So, we decided to take it easy today. We only planned to go to Queen Victoria Market (QVM) today, and let everything else unfold on their own.

We tried different foods at the market, walked the streets in downtown and chatted with the locals.

At QVM, we met Auntie Liu who immigrated from China and she gave us a ticket to go to Shen Yun classical chinese dance show at the Arts Center. I had to buy another ticket for my sister but we saved $108!

Did you know that Chinese classical dance is among the most comprehensive dance systems in the world?

Shen Yun show was dazzling and exciting. I’ve learned a few years of Chinese classical dance when I was younger, so it was special for me to see the masterful display of Chinese dance and music.

Some of the performances can’t be seen in China. Those dances are about Falun Gong and the brutal persecution of its practitioners by the Chinese government.

Auntie Liu’s brother also has been jailed due to his Falun Gong practice. She was amazed at how much freedom the people have outside China.

To be honest, the religion thing in the dance was a turn off for me. But I didn’t regret to see the show and was glad to have met Auntie Liu. I tried to always have an open mind when traveling.

We shouldn’t take religion and speech freedom for granted. I pray for more peace and love in the world.

Makan-makan anytime

People in Kuching love to makan (eat in Malay) and you could be forgiven for thinking about food all the time. Malaysians enjoy eating out and embrace food from different cultures.

There’s at least one cafe on every block. The cafes here are called kopitiam (coffee shop) in Hokkien. Every kopitiam carries not only drinks, it usually has stalls selling noodles, roti canai, chicken rice, etc. The prices are very reasonable. A bowl of noodle can be as cheap as RM2.50 (USD0.80). I am in noodle heaven!

2pm at Boulevard and it was still full house

2pm at Boulevard and it was still full house

My Sunday breakfast: seafood noodle soup & roti canai. It's totally fine to have noodles and curry in the morning.

My Sunday breakfast: seafood noodle soup & roti canai. It's totally fine to have noodles and curry in the morning.

steamy hot clay pot noodle soup for lunch

steamy hot clay pot noodle soup for lunch

Organic food products are available in Kuching

Organic food products are available in Kuching