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I had so much fun on my trip. I don’t even know where to begin. I started my vacation with the intention of blogging photos of each day, but *pffffft*, that obviously DID NOT happen. Every day was like a whirlwind, & by the time I had gotten back to my hotel room, it was extremely late & I was exhausted. My two friends who got married had a beautiful wedding (with a few very minor glitches). I have never experienced a half traditional Taiwanese , half Western mixed wedding before, & my friends pulled it off wonderfully.
One part that really amazed me was that my male friend was asked to sing a song during the wedding reception. According to my female friend (who is Taiwanese), it is part of a newer type of wedding tradition where the groom is required to prepare & choreograph a special song (of one’s own choice) & sing to the new bride. I was so happily surprised to see my male friend, who is usually quite shy, get up to sing in front of the entire wedding party. He chose to sing a popular/well-known Chinese pop song, & he sang the lyrics in Mandarin…which was a feat by itself, since my male friend mainly speaks Cantonese & English & was not very familiar with the Mandarin language until he met his new bride. He was really great with the choreography too!
Overall, all of us as a group had a really awesome & memorable experience in Taiwan. For some of us, it was a first-time experience. For others, it was like visiting familiar territory. I didn’t go as crazy with the food eating as I had initially thought I would. However, I DID go a little buck wild with the shopping. I really wasn’t expecting to do that much shopping in Taiwan. I gave myself a budget (I did stick to it) & had planned to spend a majority of my shopping budget in Japan…but I could not resist all of the cute stationery popping up around every corner! I ended up purchasing quite a bit of postcards, greeting cards & sticker sets. (Yes, I was a bit of a naughty girl.)
I have a special use for all these things, I promise!
Here’s a quick rundown of all the things that happened on the Taiwan leg of our Asia tour…
A glimpse at the food we ate:
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01. Won Ton soup noodles
02. Ramen Kagetsu Arashi (花月嵐拉麵) – tonkotsu ramen with onsen egg
03. Japanese beef curry with rice
04. Lion Head meatball (獅子頭 – shi zhi tou)
05. Locally farmed organic chicken with sliced green onions
06. Mini soup dumplings (小籠包 – xiao long bao)
07. Rao He night market – a very popular fried bun filled with minced pork & veggies
08. Fong Da cafe latte – this place is very famous & has been open since 1956!
09. Ice Monster red bean shave ice with ice cream & condensed milk
10. Ice Monster (very popular) mango shave ice with mango sorbet
11. All-you-can-eat hot pot – side A = spicy broth, side B = mild broth
12. You can choose up to 3 types of broth for your hot pot!
13. We celebrated our dear friend’s birthday with a tiramisu Mille Crêpe cake!
14. Believe it or not, Taipei is known for some really good Japanese sushi spots. We topped off our sushi extravaganza with some Negi Toro hand rolls.
15. We visited a 50+ year old beef noodle soup shop to have 紅燒牛肉麵 (hong shao niu rou mian – red roasted beef noodles).
16. Yes, we also tried Shanghainese food in Taiwan. This was some good slow cooked beef with some veggies in a delicious broth.
17. Didn’t get enough veggies yet, so we ordered a steamed cabbage dish
18. Shredded chicken noodle soup
19. Shredded bean curd served cold
20. Small river shrimp with a special vinegar sauce for dipping
21. The best thin rice noodles I’ve ever had at the 阿宗麵線 (Ah Zong Mian Xian – Ah Zong Noodle Line) food stall. No tables, no seats. Everybody just stands around the shop & eats on the sidewalk. You can add your own fresh mince garlic or special hot chili sauce.
22. A plate of duck with a bowl of soup noodles at 鸭肉扁 (Ya Rou Bian – Duck Meat Slice). I found out recently that the meat is actually wild goose, not really duck.
MORE PHOTOS AND INFO TO COME…
My birthday is coming up towards the end of this month, and my companion has decided to take me on a road trip down to Southern California (Los Angeles to be exact). We are going to drive my new station wagon (which I found out is also categorized as a “shooting-brake station wagon” in car/auto language) down to Los Angeles for an extended 3-day weekend & just relax. I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping that the weather will be warm enough for a no-sweater-necessary weekend getaway.
Ok, so from where we live (near San Francisco), Los Angeles doesn’t seem like such an exotic or very exciting place to “get away”, but it’s a place very familiar to us that we want to explore more of. Plus, it’s the most affordable option, since April seems to be one of the most expensive months out of the year to travel, & we just want to go there dang-nab-it. Oh yeah… Also, my husband wanted to do something special for my birthday while saving some money by driving instead of flying, since we’re traveling overseas at the end of the year…again. Yes, we’re going to Asia again. Our friends are getting married in Taiwan, so we will be there for 1 week. Then, we planned a 10-day layover in Japan to lower the cost of the plane tickets. (It was less expensive for us to book a flight with a layover rather than fly direct.)
I chose to head to Los Angeles for my birthday & try the local food scene over there. I live near San Francisco & practically go there every weekend, so I’ve pretty much plunged right into the whole foodie culture/movement. I’m not quite at the organic-everything, gluten-free, açai, kale veggie, foodie level… BUT… I have sort-of gotten into the whole locally-sourced, small-batch, seasonal ingredients menu, phase. I thought it would be cool to try out some local (& possibly hip, but not hipster) places to eat. I’m also on a quest to find some tasty pastries & non-Starbucks coffee while we’re there. For my birthday, my companion & I made reservations at a semi-swanky restaurant close to the hotel. (I’m staying at The Standard hotel in Downtown LA by the way.)
It’s only a 3-day trip, but I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ve decided to treat myself to a special manicure with nail art at my favorite Japanese nail salon (Marie Nails), & my companion is going to get his hair cut at a traditional-style old school barber shop (Baxter Finley Barber & Shop) which he read also serves whiskey & other alcoholic beverages to its customers. The birthday getaway trip is only a few short weeks away, but I’m already anticipating it with a child-like excitement. Cheers!
My New Year’s resolution? Well it’s quite simple, you see. It involves a bit of traveling. Well, that’s my personal resolution for 2013. I am hoping to do a little more traveling before really settling down. This year, I am trying to plan at least one big trip (a final hurrah, if you will), possibly to one of these places:
1. LONDON! Yes, yes. I would indeed love to visit this rich city, one which I have never visited before. I have very much professed my longing desire to visit this city to my husband, but he has always been hesitant to travel to London. Instead, he prefers to travel to Asia (i.e. China &/or Japan) mostly to visit close friends & relatives. I think this year may be the right time for us…
2. RIO DE JANEIRO… For a number of years, I have been contemplating the idea of visiting this bright city, the foundation of my passion for Bossa Nova music. What solidified my lust to travel to Rio? Why, the animated movie RIO of course! That movie really painted an irresistible panoramic view of the city I long to visit someday… Maybe I could lay on the beach & pretend that I am that girl from Ipanema.
3. My husband & I have been toying with the possibility of traveling back to Japan again. However, this time, we would like to visit other cities besides Tokyo. I’ve visited Kyoto once before & would love to visit there again with my husband. Oh the possibilities! 2013, we’ll just have to wait & see.
4. Insert obligatory Breakfast at Tiffany’s photo here. Yep. It’s New York City. My husband’s best friend, Peter, shares a birthday with me. (His birthday is the day before mine.) We had some grand scheme to go to New York for our birthday(s) this year as a group until Peter & his newly wedded bride recently bought their first home & won’t be able to go. But…the show must go on, & I am currently trying to convince my husband to take me back to his old neighborhood in Manhattan. (I felt so cheated when I got severely ill on my first trip to NYC & was holed up in the hotel room for 3 days straight.)
2013 is a new year…a time to start fresh. Unfortunately, things have already gotten off to a rocky start. We will be moving out of our apartment at the end of this month (due to an insane rent hike & some specific family matters), & we will be moving into my parents’ house. We are not looking at this as a setback, but more like a step forward. Think positively. I guess you can say that’s one New Year’s resolution/goal that’s already been met. Cheers!
(All photos courtesy of: Wallbase.cc)
Rabbits & Foxes 
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