Taiwan Tourist

Taipei is really becoming a tourist attraction with new hotels popping up all over the place. We wanted to be tourists and check out the buffet at the newly opened Le Meridien. It was completely booked so we instead took a tour of the hotel. We found it to be quite nice except some of the deco hanging on the wall was a bit strange looking. Like the creepy beehive and painting below. I guess I'm just not artsy enough.

the hubby sweats..

every time he eats super spicy food. Below, we are at a food court eating Tokyo Curry. The lady from the restaurant had to come over and give him extra napkins to wipe away his sweat. Weirdo (the hubby, not the lady).

curry omelet rice

Another New Year's Celebration..

The Chinese New Year Celebration here in Taipei is a very big event. It feels like we just celebrated New Year's and then we'll be celebrating it again! The decorated streets and shopping areas are full of people walking around, buying gifts and prepping to go home and celebrate with their families from afar. I haven't been back here to celebrate Chinese New Year since high school. I can't wait to pig out with the family!

matcha time

road trip

The hubby and I took our first road trip in Taiwan this past weekend. We drown down south to Taichung for his cousin's engagement banquet. We arrived Saturday evening and walked around a famous night market. Like Taipei, Taichung is full of people and food! We couldn't decide on what to eat - but we did end up getting a chocolate covered banana. I was bummed that it didn't taste as good as it looked.We'll be going down again in two weeks to attend another cousin's wedding banquet and hopefully next time, we'll discover something better.

villa 32

This morning, the hubby and I visited Villa 32, a secluded hot spring hotel in Beitou city. It was quite a beautiful place - very different from the usual city life. However, our private hot spring room wasn't so great. It definitely was not worth paying $100 USD for 90 minutes of soaking in a bath tub. Boo.

hola, amigo!

Finally, my first taco in Taipei! A new hole in the wall called Macho Tacos opened up not long ago. I ordered a fish taco while my friend ordered a carnitas. I actually thought it wasn't too shabby. But because we were headed to a ShabuShabu dinner, we weren't able to try much stuff off their menu. I will return next time for a better review. I do like their site though - anything with Mexican wrestlers, I'm down!

exploring..

I've been walking around Taipei these past few days and have been spotting many yummy looking cafes and cute little shops. I'm quite impressed by how much more modern the city has become.  My to-eat list has started to expand beyond my eating abilities ..but I'll manage somehow.

fobland costco

The costco in Taipei definitely has been modified for the fobs. Below, Doraemon's favorite snack and frozen Ding Tai Fung!

dorayaki galore

frozen Ding Tai Fung

cute box of mushrooms

Happy New Year!

Poor Shady and I have not been out of the house since 2010.  I guess it was about time we did. Below, cute stuff we found on our walk.

patterned toast

madelines - my favorite

tree stools