Once you shop, you just can't stop - Day 20 - May 25, 2010

I love it the feeling of exchanging money. Why? Because I feel rich in Taiwan haha. But it's not true of course. I just feel baller with a bunch of 1000 bills. Well the money I exchanged on Monday went bye bye in a span of two hours.

Let's start with lunch

At Shida, there is another student cafeteria (located on campus) that is similar to the one in the housing area. Except I think this particular one is a little more expensive. I should have taken pictures of the inside, but I keep forgetting. The cafeteria on campus has a mini grocery area as well.

Similar to the cafeteria in housing, it's somewhat of a pick and choose buffet. I had no idea what I was doing. The cafeteria ladies kept yelling what do you want, oh you need to take three kinds of vegetables. I had to tell the lady twice that I just wanted that chicken haha. I don't know if there was a deal or something but I needed my protein.

I ended up getting a chicken thigh, Asian vegetables, and Chinese squash. All the food here was kind of bland. But cheap =) 65NT=$2.04


After work, I tried to run a mile but my side started cramping a lot. I managed to run a lap with the side cramp, but had to stop afterward. I tried to walk a lap and start up again, but it kept hurting =(

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast: 69NT=$2.16


But the good news is after the "run", I got to eat some subway! The sub of the day here is super cheap! The only sad thing is you can't choose the type of cheese you want =( There is also a limited amount of vegetables and sauces. But the sauces (at least the honey mustard) tasted like the U.S.

I went to a really cheap shopping area called Wufenpu. This place is absolutely amazing and huge. You definitely need at least two days to get through the whole area because there are that many stores. I mean you could go through it in a day if you want to spend the whole day there. But for the most part, you will end up buying something from each store if you really search. The best part is you can bargain like crazy and I mean crazy! I bargained the price down from 150NT-90NT ($4.70-$2.82) for the things I bought with the help of Theresa.

Let's check out dinner first!



Shopping for four hours will make you hungry. Found a food stand with yummy looking food at a cheap price! The bowl of rice with side dishes was really good! There was an egg, pickled vegetable, pork, tofu, and some kind of dried thing that tasted sweet.

It's really fulfilling for 45NT=$1.41. They give you a lot of rice as well.


All the things I bought this night

I accidentally bought a lot of black colored clothing >_< I didn't notice I did that until towards the end. I couldn't help it! Black looks so nice! I'm done buying black clothes (unless they're simply irresistible) for now.

300NT=$9.41


Two tops for 480NT=$15.05


100NT=$3.14


190NT=$5.96


I forgot how much this is. But I like the dress =)


I forgot how much this is =)


200NT=$6.27


Forgot the price for this too haha.


400NT=$12.54


450NT=$14.11


More to come =D I am resisting 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 =)

Laundry takes so long! - Day 8 - May 13, 2010

Doing laundry in Taiwan takes forever. I seriously mean forever. The washer is about the normal time, but no matter what, the dryer is the longest. I remember last year I had to wait for over an hour and a half for a small load to get done. It's happening again this year!

Except the dryer door is broken. So what do you do when the dryer door won't close to start the machine? Find heavy stuff to make it close. WIN! Well half win really because the door gradually opens and it would stop the dryer from going.

Piggy piggy piggy



I saw the BBQ restaurant yesterday when I had lunch with Theresa and Xiao Wang. The piggy and ducks looked so good! It had to be lunch for today =D

95NT = $3.03


Even comes with all you can drink soup if you dine in!


Exercising in the Park



There are machines at the park that you can exercise with. What you do is sit on there, and push the handle bars. You pretty much lift your weight. It was kind of cool because the seat goes up when you push.



Took some shots of the area behind Shida (NTNU).


I love dinner

I went back to the area behind Shida for dinner. Went to a restaurant that makes dumplings, xiao long bao, noodles, congee, and more. The food there was so good! At least what I ordered was really good!

I forgot to take a picture of the storefront but here is how the inside of the restaurant looks like. I was sitting on the second floor.


I ordered Mung Bean Noodles with Shredded Pork for 60NT = $1.92. It also had onions, vegetables and shredded ginger in it. The broth was simple, not much flavor, still pretty good though.


I'm not much of a fan of a lot of sesame seeds, but the Fried Onion Cake: 20NT = $0.67 was still good. The middle had so much flavor. I like =D


The best for last, Xiao Long Bao! They are steamed dumplings with a flavorful soup inside. This one is made out of pork and it is just amazing. You have to be careful when you pick it up with your chopsticks because you don't want the wrapper to rip. If it does rip, all the yummy soup will come out. It was good like how people said it. I still have to go to Din Tai Fung (Famous for xiao long bao). It's suppose to be the best there. Can't wait to see how much better it's suppose to be because it's already so good!

It's steamed in the container with a cloth underneath so it would be easier to pull off. I failed once because I let the xiao long bao get too cool.


For the rest of the night, I just went around Shida Night Market for a little shopping. Found even more new stores there. Even this frozen yogurt place! It looks really good, haven't tried it yet because I was too stuffed.


I wish I can eat forever and for free too haha.

Last but not least, a picture of the shared living room at the hostel. Cute little painting =)