Lions, Tigers, and Snakes? - Day 15 & 16 - May 20/21, 2010

Day 15 - May 20, 2010

I decided to merge two of my days into one blog since I didn't do much on Thursday. Thursday was a rest day. All I did was run a mile, laundry, and eat haha. I usually have a rest day once a week just to save some money with transportation and temptations of shopping. Then of course, to rest my body from constantly walking and on the move. It's nice =)

My lunch box =) There was breaded chicken, cabbage, tofu with corn, and Chinese squash. All for 50NT=$1.60

I saw a lady selling this near Hi-Life and the bakery. A lot of people were buying the lunch boxes from her. So I thought it had to be good and for a cheap price. Well turns out it was alright. Some of the vegetables I got seemed old =\ The chicken tasted pretty good, but the breaded part was kind of soft because of the steam.

Korean Food



I went to a small Korean restaurant by the Shida Night Market. The restaurant is actually owned and cooked by Koreans. This is my second time at this restaurant. I went there last year to get bibimbap. The food there is pretty good, it just needs more flavor in certain dishes. But I'm not sure if that's how legit legit Koreans eat. I'm from America, so I like flavor =)

You get free seaweed soup! It was pretty bland. Is that how seaweed soup is suppose to taste like?


All this for 90NT=$2.87! The kimchi was really good. It had the right amount of spicy to it. The seaweed was pickled. It would have tasted better if it was pickled longer or more flavor to it. I did like the noodles though. Didn't like the beef as much because there wasn't any flavor.


Day 16 - May 21, 2010

I was hungry today and I mean hungry! I bought a hanbao jia dan for breakfast. I bought it last week for 20NT, but today they charged me 30NT=$0.96. I don't know why =( I guess I got lucky last week.

Hot & Sour Soup: 25NT=$0.80 and 5 Leek Dumplings (5NT each x 5 = 25NT) Total: 50NT=$1.60


For lunch I ordered suan la tang (hot & sour soup) and five steamed leek dumplings since I felt the need for vegetables. I was in a hurry so I only took a picture of the leek dumplings after I had two left. They were yummy in my tummy =)

Huaxi Yeshi (Huaxi Night Market AKA Snake Alley)



Why is Huaxi also known as snake alley? Because snakes are sold at the Huaxi night market! Nooo it's not for petting and for show. It's to eat!

Check out it out. You can even take a shot of snake venom. Not sure what the price is though. This particular worker was pmsing.


I'm guessing the giant one should be an anaconda.


The rats are definitely the snakes meals. I guess the chicken is on special occasions for a change in diet =( Poor chicken.


I'm not really sure what they're selling to eat... but it looks like the turtle's body and its' head? >_<


Some other things they sold at this night market. The vegetable and fruit juice stand is normal. Seafood are at certain spots.


I didn't try any snake, turtle, or seafood because I'm too much of a chicken >_< Plus I don't like seafood haha, unless it's Dim Sum and sushi (the rolls). But I did find a Banh Mi stand owned by actual Vietnamese people and bought deep fried dumplings.

The Banh Mi was really good for it's price. It could have used more mayo and pork liver pate. 50NT=$1.60


The deep fried dumplings were 6 for 30NT=$0.96. They had a tiny bit of meat and some vegetables in. Three of them were suppose to have a curry flavor to it but I didn't taste it. These dumplings weren't the greatest. The owner sprinkled some kind of spice over it, not sure what it was but tasted kind of weird.


Also passed by the Longshan Temple.


Trash truck with ice cream truck music?



Yup, the sub-title is true! The trash trucks in Taiwan play ice cream truck music. I heard the music when I was waiting for a green light to cross. I was looking everywhere for the ice cream truck. Then I realized and remembered that the trash trucks play music. So if you ever hear ice cream truck music, it isn't ice cream. Don't worry about getting money out. Just make sure you have your bag of trash outside =)

I got stopped by a cop!



Theresa and I like taking strolls to 7-elevens and exploring the area around our hostel at night. This was our second time trying different 7-elevens around the area. Our main objective is to find snacks and drinks to munch on. Then see what is around and what's open at night.



This time, we got stopped by the police! I saw two cops across the street from us, both of them walking towards our direction. In my head I was thinking, uh oh, they're going to come and question us. So yeah it happened haha.

The police officer said something in Chinese so I replied, "Uhh... ting bu dong..." (I don't understand). Then he asked where we were from in English. Responded, "Meiguo" (America) Then he asked for our age and our "huzhao" (passport) while flashing his flashlight at us. He probably thought we were drunk or something haha. But we didn't have our passports on us and told him our age. Luckily he believed us and let us slide since we were over 18.

What was my lesson today? I learned 18 and under cannot walk around at night. The police officer stopped us because he thought we looked really young. Yeah we pretty much do, even younger without make up on. And I was always wondering why there isn't anyone lingering around outside late. Now I know haha.

It was my first time being stopped and questioned by the cops!

P.S. I haven't written many fails lately... I did have one I was going to write today but I forget what my fails are about >_< I definitely have over 11 though!

Cravings - Day 12 - May 17, 2010

It's been 12 days and I am already craving for American food >_< I was actually craving for a burger for the past days now. I've been craving for juice, chips, snacks, and chocolate. Didn't think it would happy this fast.

I didn't sleep well at night because of the mosquito bites =( They kept itching like mad. I try so hard not to itch... but I can't fight my unconscious self.

Jiaozi & Suan La Tang

One of the cheapest lunch is to get jiaozi (dumplings) and suan la tang (hot and sour soup). The place I go to is right across of Shida. It's about a 2-3 minute walk. I always forget to take a picture of the store front.

I never liked hot and sour soup much until I tried it at this place! 25NT=$0.80. They give you a pretty big bowl =)


There is also a variety of dumplings you can choose. You can get fried dumplings or steamed dumplings. I always prefer the fried ones =) I bought two kimchi flavored, two pork, and one leek. Each are 5NT=$0.16.


Brings us to a grand total of 50NT=$1.60. Cheap huh?

Injuring your foot sucks =(



Even though I don't want to run a mile in the heat (oh yeah it's been getting warmer and sunnier here! Woohoo to the sun but boo to the heat and humidity >_<), I still want to exercise! I decided to take it easy and just walk around the campus since my left foot still kind of hurts when I bend it a certain way. I took some pictures of NTNU =)

Here are some shots of the campus. The campus isn't too big, but I like the landscapes.



Technology Building



After work, I went to the technology building located near the Zhongxiao Xinsheng (Blue line). The building has floor and floors of technology. You can get things ranging from laptops, cameras, to security cameras. Around the area of the building are blocks of stores that sell laptops and other technology. NTNU's Science and Technology is right across the street from these places. I didn't get to take too many pictures because I was in the rush to eat haha. But if I did take more pictures, it would look pretty similar to each other.

My Chinese Suck

So I was riding the MRT and I saw a Caucasian girl who looks around ten years old. Her Chinese sounded so good! She probably lives in Taipei though haha. I was jealous of her Chinese skills. She was talking to her friend perfectly fine. She will probably become famous one day in Taiwan or China, I can see it now.

Cheeseburger & French Fries



Didn't see anything good around the area of the technology building. So I went back to the area behind Shida to eat a cheeseburger and fries. I went here last year and remembered the burger was good. I forgot that the fries sucked though because there was no flavor. They don't add salt either. But they have really good garlic mayo. The garlic mayo this year seemed to have less flavor though just like most things I tried again in Taipei =(



I ordered a cheeseburger (165NT=$5.27) that came with lettuce, tomato, and onions. Then added the 50NT=$1.60 deal for fries and a sprite. The beef patty had a different texture since the beef is a lower grade that what I'm use to in the US. But it's still pretty good.


Mofo Burger

What I always found funny about this menu is the Mofo burger. Yeah you know what that stands for! They also have a mofo chicken too apparently haha. A mofo burger is basically the same as a regular cheeseburger but with bacon. I had it last year, it was good =)