Back in mid-April, I purchased a new phone. Naturally, that meant getting a new phone case, screen protector, and lens protector as well. I bought all three at the same shop, and they also kindly helped transfer my data from the old device.
The salesperson recommended the accessories, and since there weren’t many other shops nearby - or many options to choose from - I decided to go with their suggestion. The total cost for the case, screen protector, and lens protector was close to 3,000 NT, so I didn’t consider them cheap.
After only two months, I noticed the screen protector starting to peel at the edges. It had a slightly raised border compared to the center, which was unusual to me - every other protector I’ve had before was flatter and fit neatly within the phone case’s edge.
Over time, more cracks began appearing. While it didn’t affect basic use much, it wasn’t ideal. From the beginning, I also found the raised edges slightly annoying as they covered part of the screen’s view.
The lens protector’s damage was harder to pinpoint. I noticed it about three weeks ago, but since the weather had been poor, we hadn’t been outside much. When I finally went out on a sunny day to take photos, I realized a large portion of my pictures appeared foggy! That’s when I realized the crack was affecting image quality or I should say makes everything unusable...
I decided to leave a review on Google - not a one-star review, but an honest one - explaining that the products seemed to be of poor quality. I also mentioned that my phone had never been dropped or hit by anything. Most of the time, it sits on my desk, or I carry it in a pocket or bag without any sharp objects.
For comparison, I still own another phone that’s 4–5 years old with an intact screen, and my husband’s phone is the same. Both of those have cheaper protectors purchased from a different shop (also fell on the ground before!), and they’ve held up perfectly. So, having an accessory break in under three months felt disappointing.
The shop replied quickly - but the initial response wasn’t what I expected. They straight away said that the products have not been bought from their store and suggested the damage could have been caused by carrying the phone with keys or coins. I was taken aback, as I never do those things, and everything was purchased from them directly.
Since it’s hard to sort these things out over Google reviews, we decided to visit the shop in person.
Once there, the conversation took a more positive turn. The salesperson was still trying to tell us this is not their product!! But in the end she offered to replace the screen protector for free, and offered to change the lens protector, and even exchange the phone case the next time I come back as they didn't have any in stock. I hadn’t expected that nor was I trying to get free replacements in the first place. My goal was simply to let them know that the accessories they sell might not match the price in terms of durability.
While the experience had its frustrations, I appreciated that, in the end, they were willing to make things right. Hopefully, the replacements will last longer and help prevent similar issues in the future.
Recently, we participated in a Father's Day event in Zhunan (Miaoli). It was a cake decorating primarily attended by moms and daughters, with a few sons joining as well. There were not many fathers, unless as photographers.
The government often organizes such events, providing parents and kids with activities like pizza making or kimchi preparation.
This time, they collaborated with a local bakery and invited a baker to lead the cake decorating event. For a small fee of just 200NT, we could decorate our own cakes and take it home along with a bonus gift of freshly baked bread from the bakery.
In the package we received were three layers of sponge cake, about 6 inches in size, with two fillings - taro and peanut. To cover the cake, we had a white icing / cream, and for decorating, we were given three vibrant colors and some marshmallows.
However, I noticed that many people seemed unfamiliar with cake decorating techniques. A mother-daughter duo sitting next to us weren't aware that they should separate the sponge cake layers before starting the decorating process. As a result, they attempted to decorate the top layer directly. Seeing this I asked my husband to tell them to separate the layers first.
Since it was primarily meant for children to enjoy and have fun, I can't complain about it. Personally I felt boring as it was too basic. It would be fun to join a more advanced baking class, but it's difficult to find something in English.
I have my cake decorating kit at home, but apart from my son's birthday cakes, I haven't made anything else. I usually make pretty small 6'' cakes, so after purchasing ingredients, which are usually around 1 kg or 1 liter, I end up with plenty of leftovers. Since I don't use the extra ingredients to make cakes for sale, I would have to finish them all on my own (with the help of my husband and son), but it still seems like a lot. Or maybe I'm just lazy and searching for excuses, haha!
Unfortunately, it happened – all three of us got sick with Covid-19 in the middle of July.
It started with my husband experiencing pain and having a high fever. Since it was a Sunday, all clinics were closed. He refused to go to the hospital's emergency room, thinking he could wait until Monday. We had some painkillers and fever syrup at home, so he took those and went to sleep. The next morning, I brought him to see a doctor.
We had to wait in line for two hours as there were so many patients, although most of them didn't seem really sick. The visit was not even five minutes long, and he received some pills to take for the next three days.
Unlike in Poland, in Taiwan, you have to pay for a doctor's visit, which currently costs 200NT, but it includes the medicine, making it really cheap. The medicine is packed in separate packages, just enough for the days you have to take it, so you won't have a whole package of each medicine like we do in Poland. I think this approach prevents a lot of medicine from going to waste if we get better before finishing the package, so it sounds really good. Also, normally three days of medicine are enough to get well.
My husband slept the whole day, only getting up for meals and medicine. At that time, my son and I were fine. Since there were no restrictions anymore, our son still went to kindergarten.
Due to our return to Poland earlier this year, my husband doesn't have many days off (2 or 3 only...). Additionally, there is only 1 other person working in his position, but he took time off due to his mother's death, so on Tuesday, my husband was already working. The good thing is he mostly works from home, so he just sat there and did his tasks. When there was nothing to do, he took naps as he was still feeling tired from COVID-19.
On Wednesday morning, I started feeling muscle pain, but other than that, I was okay. I thought maybe it was because I had slept on the sofa for the past three nights and didn't feel comfortable sleeping. I still took our son to kindergarten, cleaned, and cooked as usual. While I was on my way to the shop, we received a phone call from the kindergarten. Adrian seemed fine in the morning, but two hours later, the teacher called us, saying he had a high fever. We picked him up and went to the doctor together.
Once again, we had to wait in line for over an hour. It was pretty hot, and I started to feel unwell, lacking air. I went outside to sit, but instead of helping, it made me feel nauseous. Going back inside, with the sudden change from hot to cold, I felt dizzy and nearly passed out. After sitting for five minutes, I felt totally fine, as if nothing had happened. Nevertheless, we got medicine for me and our son.
Adrian slept for nearly two days straight as well, but after that, he was totally fine. He didn't have any other symptoms except for fever and muscle pain on the first day. It was the last week of his kindergarten before the (very short) summer holidays, and he was upset because they had planned to play in the water, but he had to stay at home. However, by the weekend, he was totally fine, and on Monday, he still went to kindergarten to say goodbye to the older kids who were going to attend elementary school.
Speaking of the kindergarten, every place is different, but our son's kindergarten only has one week of summer holidays and one week of winter holidays, as well as national holidays, etc. For Europeans, it may seem very short, but for kids his age, it's totally fine as they have plenty of toys and friends to play with. Our son loves his kindergarten, and even when he's off, he asks when he's going to go there again.
He stays for eight hours, but the kindergarten opens for 12 hours a day! The normal payment actually covers 10 hours, and the additional 2 hours from 5-7 PM have an extra fee (very cheap tho!).
We sent him to a public kindergarten, which is very cheap, about 2500NT per month, which includes all meals, snacks, and any materials they use for crafts, etc. The teachers are super nice.
We also have a Line group, so if there's anything important, they will send messages there with updates, or I can contact them if I need to.
Every kindergarten is different, so, for example, my friend's kids finished at the end of June and have a two-month holiday. Also, if you don't attend for five or more days, you can get part of the money back.
For those who may have kids in Taiwan but don't know the rules for attending kindergarten – most places have a lottery system, and often there are more kids than available places. Sometimes you have to register even two years earlier.
We moved during the school year and were lucky that they had space. Public and semi-public kindergartens are cheaper compared to private places. Kindergartens and schools in Taiwan require household registration, which can be troublesome as many landlords refuse to register (to avoiding higher taxes, etc.).
The difference between Taiwan and Poland is that if your child goes to school in Poland, you will still receive a government subsidy. In Taiwan, you can only get subsidies for up to six years, but if your child attends kindergarten, you won't get child allowance. I'm not sure what the price is now, but before he joined kindergarten, it was 2000 or 2500NT (280 - 350 PLN) per month.
In Poland, you can get 500+ PLN (3500NT), school fee 300PLN each school year, and some extra money for low-income families. Some of the money you can get until you are 26 years old if you study at a university, or at least until you are 18 years old! It's a huge difference, but also the tax in Poland is a lot higher than in Taiwan, so it's reasonable.
We finished moving to a new house recently and son went back to kindergarten, so finally, I'll have more free time. I recorded some videos, but they have been waiting to be edited for a couple of weeks. If you have children, you'll understand that usually, it's hard to get anything done around them...
It's so tiring to always change places, but there was no choice. The landlady is so greedy lol. We paid 27000NT a month, but when checking prices in the area, most of them were 21000-23000NT. Yet, the landlady wanted to raise the fee!
There are many unrented empty apartments in the area, and more are still being built. Therefore, it's not a situation of super high demand for rental places where you can increase prices all the time
There was no negotiation, she just straightforwardly told us that if we don't accept it, we should move out. So we did.
At least the new landlady is super nice and friendly!
Later, the building manager tried to push us to rent other expensive apartments in the building. It's a sales tactic; that's what they do. They attempt to find gullible people who would rent or buy something above the market price. They also often hide important information. So, if you want to buy a house in Taiwan, be careful.
We almost bought a house with a road in front of it that belonged to someone else, and they could potentially block it at any time. However, that probably wasn't an important detail they mentioned to potential buyers.
I would like to mention something that I've noticed during my life in Taiwan. It's my personal experience, and while some of you might be unhappy to hear it, I think most Taiwanese people don't clean their houses regularly. When we rented this place, it was dirty. The toilet was yellow, the kitchen stove was dirty, and I spent the whole day cleaning it thoroughly. The apartment looks way cleaner than it did a year ago.
This issue isn't limited to just this place. We have moved several times and visited many rental places as well as houses for sale. In my experience, almost all of them were really untidy. I understand that sometimes people don't live inside, and dust will accumulate, but we have also visited homes where families were living, and even there, we were asked to take off our shoes, but the floors were full of dust, hair, and other things. Wearing white socks, they turned grey afterward!
I also don't understand why many people don't paint their walls or change furniture after like 30-40 years. Nobody seems to take care of their houses properly but still asks for a lot of money in return. In contrast, going back to Poland, in just 3 years, I noticed huge changes in some of my family's houses - refreshed colors, renovations, and new furniture. Poland isn't as wealthy as Taiwan, but people take care of their property a lot more than they do here.
Selling cakes or any other food-related business can have its ups and downs. On one hand, I can partially control when I want to bake and take time off. If it's busy, I can refuse orders to give myself some rest. But there are also times when there are no orders and no income, like during the three-month-long lockdown in Taiwan. During those times, I worry not only about the lack of income (fortunately, my husband has a job), but also about ingredients that can't be stored for a long time. Cheese, in particular, poses a problem because I can't sell cakes if I have it in storage. Since everything reopened, people have started ordering again, but for the past month, I haven't been able to buy cheese, and nobody knows when the shipment will arrive.
Sometimes, my customers tire and annoy me. I never know what to expect from people. Some people book cakes and forget to pay, which is okay, as I'll just earn less. Some ignore reminders or cancel orders, while others promise to pay right away. However, "right away" sometimes takes several hours, or it simply doesn't happen at all. Sometimes, I'm short on time, especially in the evening when I need to bake for the next day, but I have to wait for someone to make the payment.
There have been times when people wanted to pay upon picking up their cakes, and we agreed on it. However, they didn't show up or respond to messages or phone calls. I don't want to be left with cakes that will be difficult to sell, but I also don't want to lose money. Now, I only bake after receiving payment, which not everyone likes. But if someone wants to order ten cakes and doesn't want to pay upfront, I'm sorry, but that's too much risk for me to take. How lucky can I be to sell the cake that was left? Some people ask for cakes that are already in stock, but when I offer them one, they say it's not the flavor they want and don't buy it. Nonetheless, my information is pretty clear that orders need to be made two to three days in advance. You can't expect me to have a hundred cakes for you to choose from at any time of the day or night. It's not a factory.
For Taiwanese people, being late is quite normal. I always mention the pick-up time to ensure I'll be available (with an extra 20-30 minutes in case someone is early or late). However, I can't be available 24/7. Cakes don't bake themselves, and ingredients don't magically appear at my home. I still need to take my child outside to play, shower, and put him to bed at night. But people only want to come when it's convenient for them, not during the times I said I'm available. Interestingly enough, the people who don't follow the agreed-upon timing are usually mothers themselves. About two years ago, when Adrian was napping, and I was in the middle of baking, a mother came to pick up her cake. It was totally outside the designated pick-up time, and she didn't even send a message earlier. Her excuse was, "because my baby just fell asleep." Well, my baby was sleeping and left alone at home for several minutes, but apparently, that wasn't important to her. Those several minutes could have caused my cakes to burn in the oven. Some cakes require constant stirring to prevent them from burning. I also encountered a situation where a girl messaged me at 2 PM, asking if she could order a cake and pick it up at 5 PM.
Several times, people didn't come on the day they chose. Some people book a month in advance, and I understand that unexpected things can happen that prevent them from being there. I wouldn't be angry about that. However, lately, people have been making me furious. About two weeks ago, someone booked cakes for Friday (our weekend off), but they didn't come and didn't answer my messages. As it was getting late, I told them they could only pick up until 9 PM because I needed to put my child to sleep. They promised to come the next day before noon. However, on Saturday afternoon, there was still no message from them, and they didn't show up. I had to remind them again, and I wasted the whole day waiting when it was the only day I could go shopping usually.
During this long weekend, there was an even worse story. On Saturday night, I received an order from someone, and we clearly stated that they could only pick it up on Monday or Thursday. They agreed to pick it up on Monday. We sent a message stating that payment needed to be made by 2 PM the next day. However, the payment didn't come, so I told them I had to cancel the order. They said they would rush to make the payment. An hour later, the payment was finally made, and I baked the cakes. Monday came, and everyone had already picked up their orders, so we reminded them to come that day because we wouldn't be available until Thursday. They informed us that they wouldn't be back until Tuesday night and asked if they could pick up the cake at 6 PM. I don't know which part of the message wasn't clear, stating that we weren't available on that day. 🤦 I was extremely angry at that time. I couldn't understand how they knew they wouldn't be there the next day but still chose that date. They weren't happy that they couldn't pick up the cake when they wanted to, or that we couldn't store it in the freezer for them (we only offer refrigerated cakes). In the end, they asked someone else to pick up the cakes that night. Just today, they left a one-star review stating, "I won't buy anymore." Well, I'm happy. I didn't want to sell to them anymore either. We posted the whole story on our Facebook page and were happy to see how many people commented and supported us!
I always worry about getting bad reviews, but there have to be some rules.
Still staying home, not only because of the virus but also due to plenty of rainy days. I'm starting to feel a little tired always needing to entertain our son, Adrian. He likes to play in the kitchen with me, although our space is really small, and it's inconvenient for me if he wants to cook together. Especially lately, he watched some videos with me where a little girl was helping her parents cook (or rather make a mess).
While doing some cleanup in the kitchen, I found many aiyu shells waiting in the cupboard to be used. Actually, I tried to make my first aiyu jelly two years ago, but it was a fail. After that, the remaining seeds were left unused. I was lazy to do anything with them, but now that I have a lot of free time, I have no excuses. This time, at least, it really condensed and made jelly, not just gelatinous water. Yay! Adrian was really excited to eat it.
We started by scrubbing the seeds from the aiyu plant and placing them in a bag. We bought the bag at a grocery store, specifically made for washing aiyu. After gently rubbing the seeds in water, they soon became more gelatinous and turned yellowish in color. I added some sugar melted in warm water, and then we cooled it down in the fridge. After about half an hour, it was ready to eat!
If you want to know what's aiyu, check my another post HERE.
Bad news, the lockdown has been extended until the middle of July. The good news is that I received a surprise package from Poland! Some time ago, one of my aunts sent me a parcel, and it finally arrived. Due to the pandemic, it could only be delivered by flight, so it took three weeks. In the past, I have even waited for four months, even when I paid for faster delivery.
A few weeks ago (June 3rd) marked four years since I came to Taiwan. My mood was a little down (and still is to some extent), so I shared my thoughts on my personal Facebook. Sometimes, I feel lonely and depressed. Living in a small apartment, especially now when it's better to stay home than go out, worsens my mood. Since we rent here, it's impossible for us to have pets. With the high housing prices in Taiwan, it doesn't seem possible for us to buy a house anytime soon. The prices are really crazy, even in our small town, which is close to Tainan Science Park. Apartment prices have skyrocketed to 10-16 million NT, and buildings cost over 20 million, and that's still outside the town!
It has been one and a half years since I last visited Poland, and during the pandemic, a lot has happened in my family as well. The lockdown in Poland lasted for a year, and some of my family members went through breakups during that time. I was particularly close to one aunt, so it was really sad to hear about her divorce. Some family members also contracted Covid-19. I worry that maybe after I finally go back, I won't be able to see some of them anymore.
One of my aunts, whom I don't even remember, messaged me after reading my post. She felt sad and said she understood my situation because both of her daughters also moved abroad, and she can't meet them either. She divorced my uncle when I was a kid, so I haven't seen or had any contact with her for many years. I don't even remember my cousins, but I do come across their Facebook profiles once in a while. After chatting with my aunt for a while, she insisted on sending me a gift. I felt uncomfortable since I don't even remember her and haven't had any contact with her in so many years. Nonetheless, she didn't let me refuse and insisted on sending me something from Poland.
Until today, I wasn't sure what was in the package. It's nice to receive something that reminds me of Poland, especially during this time when I have no idea when I'll be able to go back. I received a painting that was done by my aunt, handmade decorations for Easter and Christmas, a book, clothing, and a candle. Unfortunately, I don't currently have any shelves to display the decorations, so they will have to wait in the box until we move to a different place.
I've much more time currently, so I've started cooking different Asian and Polish dishes. Lately, I've been making dumplings (I don't remember ever making them from scratch before). Taiwan has plenty of options for dumplings, but they are usually savory, such as baozi (steamed buns), tangyuan (glutinous rice dumplings), or mochi (Japanese rice cakes). These are often sweet and filled with sesame, peanut paste, custard, taro, or red beans. While I enjoy them, there are still some flavors I miss from my childhood. In Poland, we have savory dumplings, usually filled with meat or cabbage and mushrooms. In the past, I wasn't a fan of savory dumplings and barely ate meat, so my all-time favorite was filled with blueberries, strawberries, and cream cheese. The only exception was Ruthenian Dumplings, which are filled with a potato and cheese mixture spiced with pepper.
Another difference in eating dumplings is that in Taiwan, they are often dipped in soy sauce, sometimes with added ginger. In Poland, we would cover them with sauce as well. For savory dumplings, we often fry onions with fatty meat or bacon. For sweet dumplings, we would use sour cream and sugar.
When it comes to dumplings, the dough is usually made of flour and water. In Poland, we have different types of food classified as dumplings in English, such as potato dumplings (kopytka), Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie), lazy dumplings (pierogi leniwe), potato plum dumplings (knedle ze śliwkami), or "Little Ears" dumplings (uszka).
Potato dumplings (kopytka) are made by mixing cooked potatoes with flour and egg. The dough is then rolled into thin rolls, flattened, and cut into little hoof shapes (kopytka). After boiling, they can be served sweet or savory.
Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie) are also made from boiled potatoes, but potato flour is used instead of wheat flour. The dough is rolled into small balls, flattened, and pressed in the middle to create a little hole.
Lazy dumplings (pierogi leniwe) can be made with or without potatoes, using cottage cheese (twaróg), eggs, and flour. They are rolled and cut in a similar way to kopytka.
Potato plum dumplings (knedle ze śliwkami) are also made with a potato-based dough. They are round in shape with a plum inside.
"Little Ears" dumplings (uszka) are made similarly to regular dumplings, but they are folded differently. They are usually stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms and served in beetroot soup (barszcz) for Christmas Eve.
Dumplings
Potato dumplings / Little hoofs (kopytka)
Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie)
Cheese dumplings recipe:
Dough:
- 250 g flour
- 150 g hot water
Filling:
- 250 g cream cheese
- 30 g sugar powder
Directions:
1. Pour hot water into the flour and mix it with a spoon until well combined.
2. Knead the dough until it becomes very elastic and smooth.
3. Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface.
4. Use a cup or any round object to cut out round shapes from the dough.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the cheese with powdered sugar until well blended.
6. Place a spoonful of the cheese filling in the center of each round dough piece.
7. Fold the dough in half, sealing the edges to enclose the filling.
8. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
9. Carefully place the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for about 7-10 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
10. Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and serve them hot.
Traditionally, dumplings in Poland use cottage cheese (twaróg), which is not readily available in Taiwan. I used American/Australian-style cream cheese (the type used for baking cheesecakes) and it worked really well.
Silesian dumplings recipe:
Dough:
- 300 g potatoes (after peeling)
- 60 g potato starch
- egg (optional)
Directions:
1. Start by peeling the potatoes, then boil them until they are cooked through.
2. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and mash them until smooth.
3. Add the potato starch to the mashed potatoes. If you don't have a scale, you can estimate the amount.
4. In a bowl, flatten the mashed potatoes and divide them into four equal parts.
5. Take one part out and fill the space with potato starch. Then, combine the remaining potatoes and knead the mixture until it forms a dough.
6. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut it into evenly-sized pieces.
7. Shape each piece into a round dumpling and flatten it slightly. Make a small indentation in the middle of each dumpling using your thumb.
8. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
9. Carefully place the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for approximately 3-5 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
10. Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and serve them hot.
Lazy dumplings with cheese recipe:
Dough:
- 250 g potatoes (after peeling)
- 125 g cheese
- 150 g flour
- 1 egg
Directions:
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Boil the potatoes until they are soft.
2. Drain the potatoes and mash them well with cheese until smooth.
3. Add an egg and flour to the mashed potatoes and cheese. Knead the mixture until it forms a dough.
4. Take small portions of the dough and roll them into thin logs.
5. Flatten the logs and cut them into diamond-shaped dumplings.
6. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
7. Carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for 3-4 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
8. Remove the cooked dumplings from the water using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a serving dish.
9. Serve the dumplings hot as a delicious and comforting dish.
It has been almost a month since the rise in Covid-19 infections and the implementation of level 3 warning. We have been staying at home and hardly going out. However, recently, delivery companies have been overwhelmed with orders, causing some shops to stop deliveries.
Towards the end of May, we ordered some mangoes from Pingdong. Initially, they said we would have to wait 7-14 days. After waiting a little over a week, they suddenly changed their response to after June. They also refused to refund our money, claiming that waiting one month is not that long.
On a weekend, a typhoon arrived, but it dissipated after entering Taiwan, leaving only rain on June 6th. We decided to drive to Pingdong to buy some mangoes since we didn't want to wait indefinitely. We stopped by the beach where several cars were parked, with people sitting inside, enjoying the sea view. Since there were no people on the beach, we wore our masks and went for a walk. It was a different experience seeing the sea view during a typhoon. The waves were big, but the sound of the water, even though it was a bit loud, felt comfortable and calming. Eventually, it started raining, so we stopped by to buy mangoes and drove back home.
Due to the government's urging to stay home, we attempted to buy food online. However, we have had no luck so far, neither with Carrefour nor RT-Mart. Carrefour had many items, but it always seemed that we couldn't place an order at that time. As for RT-Mart, they removed most food options from their delivery service. Consequently, we still had to go out to do our shopping. My husband didn't want to leave the house, so he hopes the food we bought will last us the entire month (although we only have a small fridge). Despite it being a month since people went on a shopping frenzy, there is still a shortage of instant noodles, and there is a limit of 2 packs per person. Fortunately, we are lucky to have a kitchen and the knowledge of how to cook, so we can rely on other types of noodles and food that are not limited.
Hi! I'm Żaneta, a Polish girl living in Taiwan :) I love cooking and baking. I have both a travel blog and a cooking blog, as well as a YouTube channel. You're welcome to find me on my social media - feel free to ask questions or just chat! ~
