january 2025 - Wanderlogue

01.2025

Another year. This one came quietly. A bilingual countdown in an upstairs room of a homey bar that felt as casual and comfortable a living room, on its last night. A new year, filled with anticipation. And not the good kind. Uncertainty looming. It felt as much as end as it did a beginning. Staring down the reality awaiting on the other hemisphere.

The countdown started on January 1. From there it felt like an elongated goodbye. The final days of a fleeting moment of relief. Of effortless play in a familiar place. Everything felt blurred, hurried.

And then it was back to reality. A long flight that finally brought my back across the Pacific after so many flights dancing around the other way around. I stared at the winter down below. Beautiful, but numb, bracing for the cold to come.

Back in New York, home felt less like home for a bit. Falling back into routines. Triple digits, zero digits. Rainy grey days that eventually made way for the first blanket of snow. And another new year, for the year of the snake.

January moves quickly. It always does, when you spend half of it extending the holidays. A much needed ease into the real winter.

THE FIRST DAY

The first day of the year was spent on one of my favorite streets in the world, decked out for another New Year and in full swing. It was a rainy day, but that wasn’t enough to deter a day out. We shopped our way from the north end of Dihua Street. Popping in and out of the lantern adorned shops. Collecting trinkets and books and treats along the way.

And as the day fell to night, we wandered our way over toward Zhongshan for some thrifting and shopping before a leisurely bbq dinner. A solid, solid first day.

THE FIRST (AND LAST) WEEKEND

A little getaway to Jiao Xi. Hot springs and small town pace, just an hour and change away from the city by bus. It’s easy, lazy. Minimal planning required. Just one night. 24 hours. Hitting up some favorite spots for scallion pancakes and crisp black pepper crackers and plush castella cakes. Walking up and down the same few sleepy streets. The lingering vestiges of holiday lights twinkling along the tiny night market. Lounging and snacking and light bites until it was time to train back into the city.

only in Taiwan would a lobby restaurant at a Four Points by Sheraton be atually good. This one came with a perfectly roasted duck, served four ways. And honey roasted charsiu pork served with thinly sliced lemon.

Finished off the trip with a perfectly lovely cafe (why are there so many cute cafes in the eastern townships?) and a final lunch at a hole in wall noodle shop.

MARKET MORNINGS

But sometimes the best moments are the quotidian ones. Waking up early to go into Dongmen market. Shuffling through crowded streets, filled with the rhythm of everyday life. Errands and small business hustle. Intergenerational intersections. Vibrant produce. Freshly fried tofu. The comforting aroma of braised foods stewing away. These are the scenes I love most.

current obsessions

Current obsessions are still the same obsessions. Nail art, this time in the form of metallic watercolor nails.

And the familiar comfort of my favorite basement bakery. The spread still hits after all these years and I’ll never not go.

And a new winter hobby: collaging in my new traveler’s notebook. something so comforting about cutting paper while binge watching PBS Masterpiece series.

NEW FIND

Popped into a bookstore that I’ve so often walked by on Dihua Street. Kuo’s Astral Bookshop is a gem. With a wonderfully curated selection of art books and indie publications and exhibitions upstiars.

culture fix

hell of a movie to watch on the way back from the motherland

the thrill of having netflix access again, like candy

hell of a movie to watch while landing back in nyc

hooked on PBS Materpiece mystery series

damn it really was a musical no one asked for

bonus points when it is also a British crime series

one thing about me is i’ll never not love a journalism movie

same format, different city setting

good bites

Any month that is spent partially in Asia is a month filled with good bites. From a first day Rice & Shine lunch and AYCE BBQ dinner, to cafe hopping in the little alleys, to a nostalgic Japanese-era dessert shop to hide from the rain, to department store sushi. Tons of street food (whether we’re actually going out into the streets or ordering UberEats) – found a new favorite in Sanchong, and ventured over to Shui Yuan Market for the first time. And of course a final airport breakfast of Mos Burger.

simple comforts, no name noodle shops.

izakaya bites for a slow night.

Back in New York, food was a means to an end. A need to find somewhere to escape the elements and catch up with a friend. Kept things close with a determination to spend time in Brooklyn on the weekends. Saraghina Caffe for a European feeling breakfast. Rucola for the coziest pasta dinner. Decadent chocolate cake and hot chocolate to heal the misery of winter. Kellogg’s Diner on a cold rainy evening with a passion fruit curd pie to brighten up the darkest of winter.

year of the snake

I was inspired by the traditional togetherness trays for Lunar New Year. Except I don’t actually like any of the traditional sweets on those festive candy trays. So I took some creative liberties, arranging 8 of my favorite sweet treats from Taiwan.

Mini pineapple (and mango) cake, black sesame crisps, matcha nougats, sesame balls, caramels, fruit candies, dried pineapple and dried guava.

Lunar New Year felt rushed this year. Going through the motions, anxiously, almost preventatively. Perhaps fitting, for the year of the snake.

Calling in sick to cook on a cold Tuesday night. Checking off the boxes for dinner. Fish, soup, mustard greens, dumplings, radish cake, rice cake in two ways. 有蛇有得

But real New Years dinners should be at a large round table. I held out long enough not going to the giant, fancy, underground Din Tai Fung in midtown. There in the private rooms, it was friendly chatter among new acquaintances. Shedding the burdens of the past for a new layer of anxieties that started on the 20th.