Taiyang Bing

A suncake (Chinese: 太陽餅; pinyin: taiyang bĭng) is a popular Chinese dessert originally from the city of Taichung in Taiwan. It is made of flaky pastry, with sweet fillings. They are normally packaged elaborately and meant to be given as gifts. Many different pastry stores claim to be the "original" store that first produced suncakes.

If you were wondering why you didn't hear from me yesterday, it was because I was in Taichung for work. I gave an early morning training, then had lunch, went shopping for Taiyang Bing... then back to Taipei. It seems that in Taiwan, as in Japan, each locality has it's specialty food item. (Like Kobe beef in Kobe, or basashi - raw horse - in Kyushu... or Dojang - hot soy milk- in Yonghe). But I am digressing. Yesterday I brought back a box for my new landlady who is very kind (and works in her father's business on the main floor of my apartment building). I wanted to say thanks becasue the other day, she did my roomate, Tommy, a favor. He was on his way to his old apartment to pick up a few items and she not only gave him a ride, but also waited for him to pring several loads down in an alley so narrow, you have to keep backing up or driving forward to the entrance of the alley let cars pass in either direction.

Anyway, after dropping off the cakes, I climbed the 4 steep flights to the apartment to crash. I was exhausted after the long bus ride. Then the phone rang. It was Tommy asking me to come and help him buy clothes to attend a gala thrown by the Mexican Trade Council - an event I was not invited to! I had to decline, but I did offer him my VIP shopping cards for Mexx. (I had better things to do anyway... like go home, take a bath and eat the whole box of Taiyang Bing I brought back for him!)

Anyway, now Tommy has just called again and is now insisting I attend the gala (He can't understand why anyone would pass up free champagne). The event begins at a very early 6:00 pm. Do you think I can leave work at 6:00, wash my hair, iron something appropriate, fix my broken nails (I have recently been nailing up cupboards, scraping paint, and cleaning my apartment from top to bottom) , put on make-up and still arrive at a reasonable time? The box of Taiyang bing is looking very appealing!