Today was another delicious day. I’m a bit disturbed about how much eating I’ve been doing since I’ve gotten here.
We woke up early to attend a ceremony hosted by one of the higher branches in the family tree. Apparently, it was a ceremony to give out scholarships to deserving students in what I think is the medical field, but to me it’s really an excuse to eat a huge 10 course meal. (And meet the family, of course).
Short version: That was a lot of food, most of it pretty good, some of it amazing. Probably the most interesting thing is this:
Carrot phoenix, rising from the ashes.
Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to eat it.
Although I enjoyed stuffing my face, that ceremony took forever. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t the ceremony but the meal itself since the dishes came out one-by-one. Didn’t even get back from the ceremony until around 4pm.
We decided then to go visit more family members. Along the way, we stopped by the Dayeh Takashimayeh department store. I’m still looking for a beanie or something in preparation for going to Japan (because I hear it’s cold), but damn, they had a beanie in there for 3650NT. That’s over $100 for a beanie! I think it was made out of cashmere, but still!
After the family visits, we went to the Shi Da Night Market in search of Beef Noodle Soup and bookstores.
I’m now kinda regretting not taking more pictures of the night market. If I visit another night market, I’ll be sure to snap some more.
On another random note, there were a surprising amount of white people wandering around the night market.
After wandering around some, we found a beef noodle soup shop called “Niu Lao Da”.
Niu Lao Da: Beef noodle soup shop
Food Report: Beef Noodle Soup.
The short version: Hand-cut noodles are amazing. The rest of it… not bad.
We wandered a bit more after eating in search of a bookstore. Apparently, this bookstore is really cheap with around a 30% discount, but, the owner will randomly give out discounts. For instance, walking in with a pretty woman could get you a 40% discount. Or, striking up a good conversation with the guy could also get you a 40% discount.
On the way there, I bought a bike-mounted LED flashlight on complete impulse. Not bad though, at 120NT ($4).
Impulse buy: Bike-mounted LED Flashlight
Another regret I have is not taking pictures of the bookstore. The place is packed with books with little room for anything else (including people!).
On the way back we randomly stopped by a bakery. My sister got pudding bread, which is… well… a bread with flan in the middle. I got this ice cream-cone-looking thing which is not really ice cream but chocolate, whipped cream, cake, and a waffle cone with a side of diabetes.
NOMNOM Pudding Bread
Ice "Cream" sans bite
Anatomy of a baked ice cream cone.
That cream on my lip is totally intentional. Totally.
If there’s one… more thing that my sister and I love about Taiwan, it’s the bakeries. I’ll do a food report on them after we visit a few more.
I finish with this sign found at the Shi Da night market:
Spinnah's on my FEET
Hell yeah.
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