While I continue to make minimal progress on the Apricot Jacket (henceforth AJ), I am making huge progress on the eating.
Last night my cousin Paul took us out for a Japanese bbq dinner. We cooked thin strips of sirloin, pork, fish, clams, vegetables on small grills perched atop a ceramic pot of coals. By far the most expensive meal we've had here, but who cares because we didn't pay, heh. Oh on the way there we walked by Chiang Kai Chek's great-grandson walking his dog. Ooo the closest I've ever gotten to a dictator sighting!
Advertisement: Getting around Taipei is a breeze with mass transit. This "easycard" transit pass is one of several issued with my uncle's name printed on the front. He's apparently famous around here. I saw him on the news the other day, after having just seen him in his pj's.
Today after buying our usual pastries from the shop next door, we headed to, um, Starbucks to eat them over coffee. I know, I know. This city is littered with all sorts of cafes fitted into every nook and cranny imaginable and we picked Starbucks. The problem was that the nook and cranny cafes we've visited were serving up exotic coffees doused with weird syrup or powdered milk (??) or ten feet of foam that there was no coffee flavor to be had. Apparently it's too little to ask for a simple cup of no-frills coffee, because everytime I do I'm barraged with 20 Questions - do you want froth, do you want bubbles, we can add chocolate syrup, do you want sprinkles, only $5 extra for blah blah blah and flah flah flah...Gah!
I also decided to refuse patronizing coffee shops with blatant Starbucks-rip-off logos. And man are there plenty of those. It drives me absolutely crazy. This city comes up with the most creative concoctions of eats like shaved ice drenched in cream and fruit, or topioca balls swimming in tea, or meat sausage nestled in another sausage of rice, and they can't for the LIFE of them come up with their own damn marketing campaign.
Today we went with my cousins to Danshui, a small harbor I guess with a boardwalk of various street food. We spent the whole afternoon eating this and that. Then we came back to the city and had shaved ice, and picked up a couple of scallion pancakes on the way home.
Duck with green-tea flavored gelatinous goo sprinkled with sesame, and (can't see it well here) cannibalistic Chinese sausage within a rice sausage.
Strawberry and mango shaved ice.
Thanks Blossom for the yarn shop tip - what color line is the MRT stop on? Hopefully I'll find the time between the eating and the family stuff to make the trip. I left the States in such a hurry that I didn't even bring appropriate funeral attire. Truthfully I just don't have anything appropriate. Why is everything sleeveless? And suddenly so frilly and so colorful? No doubt my Grandfather would frown in disapproval.
Comments [1] Filed Under: Life | Travel | Taipei
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