an awfully long post

I'm back from TAIPEI!

It was kinda like the right time to go there because it coincided with the dragon boat festival.

During the dragon boat festival in taiwan, the people are given two off days to celebrate. (which is so totally cool bcos we don't even have a day off in spore to eat ba zhang =X) Read this post and I'm sure that you'll salivate... it's time for FOOD GALORE!!

Arrived at Taipei on Saturday (16 June) evening. It was sis's burfdae! Happy belated burfdae sis! =) It's not the first time that we're travelling on her burfdae. She even celebrated her burfdae on board the plane the other time we went to HK. =X UNFAIR. hurhur~

There was a coach that ferried us all the way from the airport to our hotel. See? We're heading to TAIPEI!! wheet~

Alright... foong yi decided to give mama and my grandparents a surprise by bringing michelle along as well (from HK). Lol. You should have seen the elated looks on their faces... They were so happy that michy was there too. It was definitely much more fun *(for us) and much of a hassel (for her parents). Haha.. It's not easy being parents to a small kid. You should just see the way foong yi and uncle gary handle michelle. Whey... i scared scared already la... not easy lei... Lol.
Some images of the 捷运in taiwan... ... it was the most frequent mode of transport that we used whilst travelling in taipei.

We went to the birth place of PAO PAO CHA!! It started off as NAI CHA (milk tea). I tell you.. once you drink the milk tea or whatever tea concoction you can find in this tea hut, you wouldn't want to waste your time drinking the bubble teas you see on the streets in Singapore. These glasses of tea are so authentic, topped with a layer of foam... This is what you call PAO PAO CHA (bubble tea)... Oh ya, the best part... THE PEARLS! Small and Chewy! woots! I'm already missing it... see.. even gong gong looked really happy sipping his glass of tea =P

Eveyone who has gone to taipei would usually try out the DING TAI FUNG there since Taiwan is its birthplace. This branch that i went to is also the first Ding Tai Fung ever... hmm...

Er... you'd expect the authentic taste and fragrance from its xiao long baos and whats-not. However, i thought it just tasted so-so. Not really much of a hoo-ha though, considering the fact that we queued up for as long as 30min and in the midst, getting shoved around by glutony-looking people from all over the world.... =X slow down guys.

After lunch, we headed to this ice house. Heehee... lovely deserts. Just look at the amount of pride Taiwanese take in their food. In my opinion, the amount of pride taken in one's food reflects alot on the serving and the generosity in one's ingredients being served. Yup, you get to see such delicacies in Singapore but how often do you get LARGE CHUNKS of mango?? Seriously... i think it's time we do something to our local servings. Hurhur! Anyway, after patronising this shop, I'm kinda like psychoing my ma to open such a shop in Singapore. Will you be our first customer? Haha...

Went to Taipei 101 after lunch. I guess it was just any other skyscraper.. it didnt give me the 'oooo' and the 'aaaa'-s...

It was more exciting after sunset when we headed for the ever famous SHI LIN night market. Woots! It's definitely a MUST-VISIT... It was like as if the whole taipei was there... The joy was in the squeezing and jostling. Haha... Really. It can be gross if a really sweaty man brushes his arms against yours... but you can absoulutely feel the festive mood in the air. I tell you.. it was AWESOME!

you see all the food here? honestly, why aren't taiwanese FAT?!!?!?! GRRR.. they consume like unhealthy food but are still slender... PUI! You see the way the food were being prepared.... fried... brushed with multiple layers of oil/butter... OMG. =X Anyway, there's this particular taiwanese snack that i'd really love to introduce to you out there... Look at the stick with 'rings' around it? It's actually potato chips... kewl eh? There's this special machine that will split the whole potata fruit apart giving the shape that you see above.. the guy then sprinkles powder (you get to choose... cheese, seaweed... etc..) over it.. TADA! Crispy and flavourful (instant) potato chips for you! =)

The next day, we headed to the outskirts of Taipei... The above is a little town in Jiu3 Fen4... wooo.. food and more food... well, the air out here is definitely fresher than that in the city of taipei and life here is more slow-paced too... It's amazing how many people actually depend on selling foodstuff for a living... Almost every other shop sells nothing but F-O-O-D... i ask myself again... why aren't taiwanese fat... well.. maybe bcos they prepare the food for tourists and not themselves? oh wells.... not a very acceptable answer though but i choose to dwell in it....

Now now... something more interesting... ernnie gets her personalised CAP! wheet~ it takes less than 20minutes to draw, dry... well... the design may not be that punky, funky or whatever word you may choose to describe a cap... but at least you get your name on the cap which i totally heart. It's so meaningful. Foong yi bought it for me. THankew!!! =P They had couple caps... those that were designed for couples... (duh~). Nice lei... but too bad la... no one to wear it wif. Haha... I only had the priviledge of VIEWING. Too bad mum and dad do not wear caps.. or i'd gladly buy it for them! How sweeeeettt~

Ye2 Liu3. With beautiful scenery and rocks, all beautifully weathered and carved by nature...

Sweet! There's this particular rock face that looks really like the head of a queen when you look at it from a certain angle. Rumours say that it will topple soon and hence many people see the need to take a photo with it before it crumbles. From my geographical point of view, i think it would take at least a few decades before the head crumbles. Please. Look at its neck. The rock face doesn't erode like 10cm a day, does it? Rumours are meant to be rumours....

Woots! it was Xi1 Men2 Ding1 at night! I tell you.. it's one of the bestest place to shop. Though the products may repeat from shop to shop, there are still nice tops and shoes here and there for your selection. Was feeling sian at a point in time because I wasn't able to locate the Onitsuka Tiger shop... oh wells.. decided to take the nearest lane to head back to the hotel when the SHOP APPEARED *fairy wand* oh man.. you should have seen how elated i was... Cheekeong told me that Onitsuka shoes in taiwan are cheaper... yes, i think they are... and they bring in newer pairs... bought a pair... not the new design as the handsome shopkeeper (hee) told me that the one with blue and red strips were safe and the colours could last thru the seasons.. (oh well, like as if there are seasons in spore... lol)... anyway, got myself an ORIGINAL (hurhur) pair without much hesitation. Then, mum decided that she'd get a pair too. Lol. Sis also had a pair and we bought a pair for aunt. Man.. 4 pairs of onitsuka shoes... and we were immediately awarded a Membership card. However, as the card was only usable within taiwan, the (handsome) shopkeeper gave us NT600 off... woots! that meant that my pair of shoes cost only about 100 sing? Alright baby! =P *glees*

One of our final stops before heading back to the sunny island of Singapore. Dan4 Shui3. I'm sure many of you out there who catch snippets of taiwanese variety shows would have heard of this place. There's even a song named after this place. Cool. We missed the scenic sunset because we were too busy shopping. Lol. No one else to blame. By the time we arrived there, the sun had set and it was time for food - again =X Lol. See the tall ice cream that i have in my hands? It's only NT20 (S$1). Lol. It takes skill to make such a tall ice cream alright. But em... ask me about the taste... It's neither ice nor cream... It's somewhere in the middle. You get what i mean? Ice cream is supposed to be creamy. It's either you give me cream or you give me ice (which is sorbet...). But what i have now is neither ice nor cream... OKay.. i dont know if you can get the hang of this but ya.... All in all, i only liked the 'ice-cream' for it's unusual height. Lol.

Alrighty, this has been a long post. F00d food and more food! Shopping wise... Not bad... But like what i said, you really have to be selective... Bought quite a number of items from this trip and i so totally heart em. Can't wait to put em on... =)

Am back now with a sore throat, flu and cough. Oh wells, shixiu said it's worth it. Haha.. Okay. There's this flu bug going around. People, please drink more water and get more rest ya? Fruits!! Don't get 'bugged' and fall ill... especially those of you out there who are heading for camps...

Do take care and I shall see all of you really soon!

cheerios.