2014年5月29日 星期四

[食記] 呷米共食廚房 當令在地食物的好滋味 Eco-friendly Vegetarian Restaurant (Taipei Main Station)



        人來人往的台北車站商圈,這家新開的小店或許不起眼,但主打健康、當令新鮮、有機、和在地食材的呷米共食廚房,在平日用餐時間,也有不少客人。我是透過朋友的介紹來到這裡,店家供應的食物每天不同,但都健康美味。


         店內的裝潢以木頭家具為主,色調是象徵環保的綠色,清新簡單,桌上有許多養生和環保相關書籍。一樓的櫃台旁還有販賣部少有機食物。




         重頭戲當然是食物。我吃過兩次套餐。內用有主餐和三樣配菜,附湯和茶,220元。
店家似乎也有提供外帶便當、蔬果、點心、特調飲料,我沒有嘗試過。


胡麻乾拌麵
醬烤蔬菜



        我在五月分別去過兩次。整體而言,口味清淡卻不失美味。雖然食物以蔬食為主,但是不會像一般素料那般充滿人工加工的不自然感,反而都是採用最直接天然的烹調方式,呈現食物原味,是午晚餐健康的新選擇。我吃過兩次,最喜歡的就是南瓜、玉米、小黃瓜等,本來就有清甜味道的蔬食,在主廚的巧手熬煮之下更添風味。餐食風格中西餐都有,但形式偏向西式,也就是用簡餐方式上菜。菜單會不定期更新,畢竟他們採購的都是當令農產品,fb專業上會有每日菜單。

二樓用餐環境明亮寬敞

        除了有機之外,店內九成為在地食材,在環保方面可以減少不必要的運輸成本,掌握食物的新鮮度。經營者理念是和在地小農合作,店內食材沒有向供應商採買,而是用公平貿易原則一一拜訪農友而來。這麼做,可以避免中盤商的層層剝削。
        台灣外食普遍油膩,長期吃下來有害健康。下次經過台北車站商圈,何不放慢腳步,試試看這樣的飲食新選擇?

Mon.-Sat. 11:30am - 9:00pm

2014年5月21日 星期三

[隨筆] 一流學府該如何吸引優秀學者? How do top universities attract best researchers?

        星期三晚上的管一外頭下著大雨,老師急急忙忙走進教室才發現電腦連不上網,旁邊的同學到樓上樓下求的救兵還是沒辦法。
        It was a Wednesday rainy night when the teacher rushed in the classroom only to find the computer in the classroom was unable to connect to the Internet. Students around tried to help repair it but in vain.
        老師今天要講的是哈佛個案,不禁感嘆地說:「哈佛的教授們上課的教室富麗堂皇,有專人幫忙擦黑板,是用板擦擦完再用水擦一次。」又說:「教授去那裏備受尊榮,簡直就是大明星。」
        The lecture today was about a Harvard business case. The teacher sighed and said, " Professors in Harvard teach in luxurious classrooms. There are even assistants that erase the black boards. They erase it by using the eraser and then water. Professors are treated like movie stars."

Picture with my Swedish teacher

        我不否認優秀的學者對學校和學生而言就是大明星。但這段話讓我不禁想起在Uppsala所見到的教室狀況。我記得瑞典文課的課程簡介在大教室,老師用的是我小學二年級之後就沒見過的幻燈片。老師在第一堂課就叫大家不要叫他Professor+姓氏或是Teacher+姓氏,這裡都是直接叫名字。我的老師教作Stefan,我們大家都直接這樣叫他,就像是在叫朋友。
        I won't deny that top researchers are movie stars to students. However, my teacher's words reminded me of what I saw in the classrooms of Uppsala. I remember that, in the first Swedish class, the teacher was using an old-fashioned projector to project words written on a transparent paper instead of simply using powerpoint. I haven't seen this kind of projector since I was eight. Also, the teacher asked us not to call him by his last name (ex. Professor X or Teacher X). Instead, he simply wanted us to call him by his name, just as how we call our friends. My teacher is named Stefan, and that is how we call him.


        爾後上過很多課,有一門像是Uppsala的森多蓋,老師會帶大家到野外考察。我們是到波羅地海的海邊採集樣本,當時是由老師和兩個助教當司機開著九人座小巴士帶我們去的!台灣應該很難想像老師當司機開車帶我們去校外教學吧?沒錯,瑞典的人工很貴,不用想要請人來幫你擦黑板,司機都要自己當。上課的過程中,也不乏機器故障時,沒有工友,老師只能和隔壁教室老師求助,再來就是去問還有沒有空教室,真的最後不行就是自己去印講義。
        Besides Swedish, I took many classes. In a class called 'The Baltic Sea Environment', we had one lecture that is taken near the shore of the Baltic Sea. We had to get some samples there. The teacher and two teaching assistants drove vans to bring us there. To Taiwanese, this seems unbelievable. We can't imagine a teacher being a driver and driving students for outdoor lectures! In Sweden, labor is expensive. A teacher cannot afford an assistant to erase the blackboard. He/She has to be a driver him/herself. One time in class, our powerpoint projector was broken, our teacher went to the neighboring class to ask for help. However, the problem wasn't solved, and there weren't any extra empty classrooms, so our teacher printed handouts instead.


        或許大家會覺得:「天啊!這裡的老師也太沒尊嚴了吧?他們到底懂不懂得尊師重道?」但我想,優秀的學者需要的是良好的研究資源與教學環境。Uppsala有相當多的研究中心,而教學環境雖然稱不上富麗堂皇,但絕對是乾淨舒適又人性化。以洗手間為例,每個廁所都是像家裡那種廁所不分男女廁,不但有無障礙空間,在每間之中也都有洗手台和鏡子,紙杯和衛生紙從來沒有缺過。
        Maybe you will think that the Swedes show so little respect to their teachers, which is totally different from us, who emphasize the social status of teachers so much. However, in my opinion, what  top researchers need are sufficient research resources and nice teaching environment. There are many research centers in Uppsala. These centers are far from luxurious but are definitely clean, comfortable and humane. Take the toilets for example. Every toilet is like the ones we see in our homes, which don't have the separation of male and female.  The toilets are barrier free, and in every toilet, there is a private mirror and sink. Paper cups and tissues are never in shortage.


        當然,吸引優秀學者的原因還有千千百百種。例如瑞典社會普遍尊重多元文化,保障個人權益,因此在這裡可以充分享受學術自由。而不論你的膚色種族國籍,都不會成為研究或教學的重大障礙。我曾經旁聽一門課,老師就是上過TEDTalk的大師,由此可見,一個沒有把教授當明星的大學,一樣也能吸引優秀的學者。
        There are tens of thousands of ways to attract top researchers. In the Swedish society, they respect every culture and protect individual rights. Therefore, you can fully enjoy research freedom. Your complex, race and nationality will not become a great obstacle of researching or teaching. I have listened to a class, in which the lecturer was a famous researcher that had went to TEDTalk. From this example we can see that a university that doesn't treat its professors as movie stars can also attract top researchers.
        美國所展現的本來就和社會主義的瑞典是幾乎天差地遠的思維模式,沒有孰優孰劣,但當台灣人眼中看到的世界只有美國時,是否應該更全面的看見世界?
        Compared to Harvard in the US, Uppsala in Sweden has a totally different way of operating a school. We can't evaluate which is better. What I want to say is the Taiwanese often only see what Americans do, but we should hold a more comprehensive view and see what other countries in the world would do.

2014年5月12日 星期一

[留學] 美簽F-1學生簽證申請分享

拿到學校核發的I-20之後,盡早辦理,畢竟此時正值留學旺季。

Step 1.
請上網填寫DS-160
https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/

填表教學
http://findlifevalue.blogspot.tw/2011/07/usa-ds-160-visa-i.html

        註冊帳號後會有驗證問題的設定,每次登入都必須回答。請備好相關資料,以利填答速度。其中包含父母的英文姓名、生日、地址英文版、證明自己出國的兩位朋友地址電話姓名英文版。另外,需至照相館洗美簽格式的證件照,電子檔需上傳。填答過程中,如有需離開則下次重新登入需要帳號密碼和驗證碼。填答結束三十天內網路上會儲存之前的資料。可以save to file,以確保30天後還能保有之前填寫資料,以便之後申請美簽。

常見問題
1.如果還沒有確定住宿,我自己是寫比較有可能住的地方。
2.抵達時間是預計,而停留多久I-20上會註明。
3.當地聯絡人我是寫I-20上的。

Step 2.
填完表之後要你confirm,確認了之後就看不到之前填什麼,也無法再改了!會有張Confirmation,可要求他寄到信箱。請將該確認單印出來,印黑白即可。

Step 3.
至AIT網站註冊帳號,填寫Confirmation No.和其他資料,選擇一個自己方便的取件處。印出繳費單,至郵局劃撥$160。
http://www.ustraveldocs.com/tw_zh/index.html?firstTime=No
繳費後,需一至兩個工作天,可用收據上的受款編號136後面的號碼登錄,即可預約。記得列印預約確認單。

Step 4.
繳交SEVIS I-901 Fee $200,SEVIS編號在I-20上。可線上刷卡。繳交後記得列印確認單。

Step 5.
備齊資料,準備面試。
必帶:
護照
五公分見方的美簽照片
預約面試確認單
DS-160確認單
SEVIS繳費收據
郵局繳費收據

其他文件:
戶口名簿、成績單、在學證明、身分證、財力證明

我用到了一張照片,必帶都用到,沒有用到其他佐證文件。

Step 6.
面試。
盡早去排隊,我雖然預約八點,但跟7:45那批是一起進去的。
簽證官在我之前拒絕了兩位要去念語言學校的同學,讓我很緊張。輪到我時,他問我:
1. Why are you going to the US? Ans: Study Masters.
2. What are you going to study? Ans: Accounting.
3. What college did you study in? Ans. National Taiwan University.
4. Have you graduated from college? Ans: I am still in my final year.

All set.
過關。
終於鬆了一口氣。

Step 7.
簽證會被送到指定的快遞站,我收到簡訊通知來拿,只要去快遞站取件,就完成囉!

2014年5月2日 星期五

[食記] Look Me 巷口內的悠閒 平價的頂級滋味


        巷弄是台北的微血管,在巷弄間,沒有大馬路的快速奔騰,反而是一種眾弦俱寂的寧靜。在這種寧靜的氛圍間,一家小小的咖啡廳並不起眼,黑白的招牌閃耀的燈光並不炫目,然而天然實在的好滋味,平民的價格,卻讓人流連。



       這家餐廳的老闆是爸爸的同事,一圓兒子開餐廳的夢想,在台北市的鬧區巷弄開了這家咖啡店與攝影複合餐廳。爸爸同事的老婆從年輕時就手藝好,為了開這間餐廳,特地去向福華飯店的主廚學菜。餐廳內所有的食物都相當講究,從食材到設備都是選用最好的。當時福華飯店的主廚老師來試菜時,看到他們用頂級鐵板燒的干貝放在海鮮麵中,覺得不可思議,說道:「你們這樣會賠錢吧?」他們算了算好像真的會賠錢,最後才用好幾隻蝦子代替。


        也聽說他們開業之初,就遇到許多人來向他們推銷各種湯塊及調味料。用了這些東西,他們什麼都不用做,就有現成的食物,然而他們都拒絕了。由這些小故事就可以看出,他們是如何不計成本,重視食物的美味。


        故事聽了這麼多,最重要的還是要親自吃一回。兩次和親朋好友去吃,幾乎把菜單上的菜都點過了,果然名不虛傳,料好實在,又平價。第二次去吃點了下午茶,我點了接骨木玫瑰茶,表妹點了博士茶,同學媽媽點了水果茶,都是茶葉清香、口味酸甜,相當好呵。聽爸爸說,他同事用的咖啡豆相當頂級,下次有機會也想要一試。而最特別的非蛋糕莫屬。他們的蛋糕沒有用麵粉,而是用蛋白,因此巧克力蛋糕就是用可可、巧克力和蛋白打的,而百香果蛋糕就是用百香果和蛋白,味道都相當濃郁且非常特別。價格和外面一般咖啡廳差不多,可能經過的人還以為就跟外面咖啡廳品質相同,其實不然,Look Me不但物超所值,還是食安風暴下的避風港。

店家資訊
地址:安東街19-2號 Taipei, Taiwan 106

  • 電話:02 8772 6939
  • 提供 Wifi 和插座