[2013TW] Day 16 Part 1 Twelve Yaki 十二燒

Twelve Yaki & Breeze Night 十二燒

Recommended? Yes, but remember to bring money

Food = 4/5

Price = 3/5

   I've been busy the whole day. Totally crazy... woke up at 8 am and went to interview at 9 am, went home at 4 pm then went to Breeze Night.

  Breeze Night is a special shopping event for VIP (aka upper class people). My auntie happened to have an invitation, and she was not interested, so- my cousin took my sister and I there.

  My cousin wasn't really that interested either, but my sister seemed like she wanted to go, so I chose to go to Breeze Night over Shi Lin Night Market. (Actually, I was a little curious as to what a VIP event is like, as well)

  At first, we came to the back entrance, on fuxing Nan(south) Road 復興南路

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 they were letting some people in, but they were really strict on how many people gains entrance. Their rule was 2 guests per invitation, we only had one invitation, so only 2 out of 3 of us could get in. We decided to go have dinner before we enter the "expensive zone" (what I think of Breeze Centre).

  After walking pass a few restaurants that are completely full, we came across this restaurant (Japanese styled) 十二燒 "Shi Er Shao" (Twelve Yaki) and it had some empty seats, so we entered and sat down.

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Address:
【市民店】台北市市民大道四段36號 = No. 36, Section 4, Shìmín Blvd, Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E5%8D%81%E4%BA%8C%E7%87%92/137775906256820
Phone: 02-27791185 (Shi Min Store)

The price was on the high side, but still affordable... I think the food justified the price lol, the food was quite good and there were plenty on each plate.

  It is really dark in the restaurant, but it's a good thing, combined with the good food, it kinda justifies the price- I think it could be cheaper... I mean, it's cheap compared to Canada (duh!!) but it's only decent price in Taipei...

一夜干 ( BBQed Japanese Scad [One Night Dry --oh, god, my Chinglish translation]) - This one is quite good. Crispy and nicely BBQed

清炒水蓮 Stir Fried White Water Snowflake --- I told my cousin, I don't really wanna eat any veggies lol so she picked this~ as good as the one I had last time at San Ben Wei

紫蘇炸雞 (Fried Chicken Cartilages) - I like this a lot! Great taste and cracker-like crunchiness XD!

鮭魚茶泡飯 (Salmon on Rice in Tea) $100NT=$3.33CAD-  I didn't think this one was tasty, the picture on the menu gave me too much hope...

和味牛肉串 (japanese flavoured beef skewer) $150 NT=$5CAD - the beef was nicely seasoned and cooked.

味附干貝 (Japanese Seasoned Gallop) - a bit too sweet for my liking, but great taste.

魚卵炒烏龍 (Fish Egg on Fried Woolong Noodles) please combine the top 2 plate and one more bowl

I After the good meal, we went onto the front door of Breeze Centre, where I've never been to and had never seen.

  I'll talk about Breeze Night tomorrow, on another article in Part 2.

[2013TW] Day 14 & 15 三峽夜市&三峽老街 San Sia Night Market and Old Street

  Yes, I've been lazy, but my schedule had been really full over the past few days. Reason is very simple: my mom wants me to find a job... I've spent the past Friday interviewing for jobs...  I think I've landed one- but there's still some uncertainty. The major one being I don't like it...

  Oh, well, my auntie took us to San Sia and we had lots of fun-

First, San Sia Night Market:

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  We took the bus there. Normally you can take the MRT there - it's very convenient.
  Lots of stuff we ate here and saw here are pretty much the same as those at Rao He Night Market. There are a few good shop that are like stationary (like pens, erasers) shops that sells like everything (including make-up, stuffed animals, kitchen ware, etc.). The stuff in those shops were cheaper than any of the shops in Taipei City (some of them).

  The next morning, we went to San Sia Old street:

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  There's even a website:
 http://www.sanchiaoyung.com.tw/about?Lang=en
  This is the first time I've been there. My auntie told us, the most famous food there is this: Golden Crossant Ice cream (金牛角 冰淇淋 "jin niou jiao bing qi lin")

  Mine was Yogurt Strawberry flavoured ice cream. The cone, as you can see above is made of a special type of crossant bread~SOOO GOOOD--- must try.
  We bought it at this store: (there are a few same ones in the street and around the street)

  There are many souvenir shops there, as well. Good thing we didn't go on a weekend, so there's not a lot of people. It's a good place to tour. Be ware of huge amount of people on weekends and holidays.

  For lunch, I ate short rice noodles (米苔目 mi tai mu):

Delicious~~~

  The restaurant was so full.. and it was so hot lol- the air conditioning is a life saver inside:

  Fun times! :D Think I'll have more chance to go there again with my auntie~

[2013TW] Day 10 - 12 Been Lazy Till Today

Ok.

   So I've been lazy and busy over the last few days.

  I had started job hunting just today and got 3 interviews within 12 hours of posting my resume on 104.com.tw (a huge job hunting website in Taiwan). Good enough.

  We checked out the Bread of Life Church in Song Shan, Taipei- which I kinda like lol. I tried on AMEI shoes also, on Sunday- I looked gorgeous in them so I wanted to buy them... too bad, I can't :( - $11290NT (=$376.3CAD) is too much. This one:

  My auntie's finally healthy again! Her cold lasted for a week or so... she's the only member who truly knows how to have fun in our family at this moment. She's the best :D. Just saw her yesterday and she already got the whole week of fun planned for us. If we weren't supposed to go to hospital today, she was gonna take us to Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市) one of the most famous night market in Taiwan. She also gave me an invitation to Breeze Night (apparently an upper class social party at Breeze Centre I mentioned another day)... I'm never that good with those kinda thing where I have to act like a lady >"< ... the worst thing is- I don't know where I've put that invitation- beep beep beep *facepalm*... I kinda wanna go...

  Today- like I said, we spent our whole day at the hospital. The doctor we saw 3 years ago has not changed one bit- still so young and beautiful! omg. I wanna be like her lol! Chinese medicine does work wonders. As long as you can endure the bitterness of the medicine, you'll be conditioned from the inside out. Losing weight and looking younger is no hard tasks when you're body is in good shape again. I really like this doctor :D I admit, a major reason because she's pretty hahaha- along with her other qualities like attention to details, caring for the patients, soft tones ~ oh, I wish I'm like her now  hahahahhaha

  Tomorrow, I'm going to sing K at my auntie's house- can't wait!


P.S. Today, I kinda regretted that I didn't go to med school (which I rarely do)... all because those nurses are so pretty hahaha- Taiwan has the prettiest girls! I swear, something went wrong w/ me= = I chose the wrong gene set... dang!

[2013TW] Day 09: Nicely Priced Japanese Food Restaurant - 三本味 San Ben Wei

三本味 San Ben Wei

Recommended? Yes

Food = 4/5

Price = 4.5/5 

Phone: (02) 2721-7729
FB page: http://www.facebook.com/japanmma
Address:
台北市大安區延吉街131巷2弄5號

No. 5, Alley 2, Lane 131, Yánjí St, Daan District,

Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Map:

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We've made reservation a few days prior through phone, because usually they're full. It's hidden inside small alleys, I don't think it's easy to find at all. But, it's really close to one of the biggest shopping circle in Taipei, near the underground shops (connecting MRT stations) and SOGO department store. As you can see in the map above, it's pretty easy to get to with public transit.

  Decoration inside is warm, cozy and Japanese styled:

  The owner Mr. Huang was very friendly and welcoming. My sister had a different view, though lol,  she thought he talked a bit much hahaha. I like him, he's nice and warm. This is how the menu look like:

We went with his recommendation when we ordered:
Starting with the combined deluxe sashimi (綜合生魚片拼盤) $480NT=$16CAD

combined deluxe sashimi (綜合生魚片拼盤)

All the fishes are pretty fresh, salmon and tuna are not cut too thin (thanks!) while bream and golden menhaden are cut quite thin. I love the salmon - like always, the sweetness of the oil, jelly-like feeling when chewed -  but, Taiwan salmon cannot be better than Canadian ones, sadly, even though this is quite fresh. Tuna is a bit on the harder side and plain taste - as good as it gets for this type of tuna. Cutting and freshness are two big factors that governs how good the sashimi is, I think they nailed both of these. I don't like the golden menhaden (I mean the fish in general) it's sour and sweet with the texture of dish scrubbers= =" really can't like it. Many Taiwanese like this type of fish, though~ well, just not me. Bream taste great, it's a bit sweet and with the fish scent Mmmmm :P.

  Grilled Pine slope pork with salt (鹽烤松阪豬) The salt they used were the rose sea salt, which enhances the pork's taste. $160NT=$5.33CAD

鹽烤松阪豬 Pine Slope Pork

 Tofu Skin Sushi (豆皮壽司) $20 is not too sweet, smells great and taste even better. They've put sesame and seaweed sprinkle inside that helped the aroma :D

豆皮壽司 Tofu Skin Sushi

 炒水蓮 Stir fried white water snowflake $120NT=$4CAD. I have no idea what this is before I've eaten this today. Taste surprisingly great XD it's got a special taste, doesn't taste like regular green veggies. I think they've cooked it in fish soup or something.

炒水蓮 Stir Fried White Water Snowflake

 Then comes the bento (定食) Comes with side dishes, salad, miso soup, and the rice dish. We chose the Terriyaki Chicken Leg bento. Their terriyaki chicken is a bit dry, but the chicken is not overcooked like many other restaurants', the chicken is soft with its elasticity intact. Rice is cooked just right, not too sticky or too dry.

照燒雞腿定食 Terriyaki Chicken Leg Bento

 I forgot to take picutre/ start video before the owner started stiring our Oyako Don (親子丼) $110NT=$3.66CAD The raw yolk add to the wetness of the rice and gives off the aroma. This is probably my favourite rice dish since I've came back to TW! Kudos :D

親子丼 Oyako Don

Lastly, their special dish- Cheese Salmon Nigiri (起司鮭魚握壽司). Actually, I didn't want to eat it at first, because I don't really like cheese... especially in Asian food... I don't think the mixing of Asian and Caucasian food styles is a good idea (most of the time, people's attempts fail badly). But this time, it turns out to be delicious. I cannot taste the bitterness and fatness from the cheese, instead, the milky cheese added onto the salmon oil's aroma. The rice they used for their nigiri were a little sweet which balances out the taste of fish oil and cheese. The burning process of the top layer also gives the salmon a texture gradient (from cooked to raw), and nicely brings out different tastes of the salmon oil (from cooked to raw). LOVE it!

  The owner noticeably liked our family a lot more than others, probably because we were the first customers there today lol. He even took a family photo for us before we left the restaurant. The videos I uploaded- these things, he only did them for us--- hahaha other people had the food already finished in the back. I felt good~ The whole meal with 10% service fees and all costed $14XXNT which is about $45CAD for 4 people- really good price for Japanese food :) I really like this restaurant and I would recommend it for my friends!

[2013TW] Day 08: Rao He Night Market

  I finally get to meet my good highschool sista after like one year- we study different majors so we didn't have much chance of seeing each other.

  We laughed and talked throughout the whole hang out- no awkward silence, which is awesome :D! We actually finished walking through the whole 五分埔 Wu Fen Pu area... without buying anything O_O" I should've bought some of the things lol... I need to go there again some time next week.

  She had to leave by 6 pm because she already agreed to having dinner with her auntie. We arrived at Rao He Night Market, she's never been there before O_O! I basically grew up in this area, so I've went to this night market for sooooo many times.

  We got there early, around 5 pm, entrance look like this:

We just walked through the night market (people are just setting up). We went to Rainbow Bridge (彩虹橋) just a few steps away from the night market. You'll see a sign ahead in the night market pointing to the bridge entrance. Apparently this is like the first S shaped bridge for people to walk on.

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  Very pretty bridge, a get away place inside Taipei city, a silent place away from all the noise- great place for a date! :) I think it looks even prettier at night, but I was alone, so I didn't wanna go after it was dark.

  I went to the Rao He night market alone after I couldn't find anyone to come meet me... I've forgotten to import my contacts from my old phone = =" gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! I hate myself, but I didn't want to go home then come again since I've already went all the way there. So I stayed and walked along the night market for like 4 times lol eating foods. Many foods here have again became famous through TV programs in recent years - few years ago, they weren't this popular...

  First thing we noticed was this Pepper bun that lots of people were lining up, each bun is $45NT(=$1.5CAD)... I thought it was great so I bought 6 ---

Well, it turns out, pepper buns are too spicy for me, and I didn't really like it. (Later when I got home and gave them to my mom, she told me no one in my family likes them either...) Tsk- got tricked by the line up- this is like the most popular item throughout the night market judging from the line up. But in my opinion, it's hardly on the most delicious food list for this night market- Don't think it's worth the time, effort, and money.

  I've also ate stinky tofu, there are many stands that sell the same things. How do I know which one to eat from? Do not look at the line up (lesson one up there), because as soon as a line started to form in the front (due to a group of friends buying or something) , it will get longer and longer regardless of how bad/good the food is. Look at how old the cook is (usually old cooks are better), then look for how fast they work, then look at how clean they are (how they keep their working space hygienic). I spent $45NT on my spicy tofu (not my favourite item, so I will just comment on the taste). It's spicy and sweet mostly. Saltiness is just right. The sauce is more sweet than salty. Overall, a decent dish for its price.

  Then I came across 陳董 藥燉排骨 "Chen Dong Yao Duen Pai Gu" (Chairman Chen's Rib Soup in Chinese Medicine). Taste the same as it did when I was little. There's another stand with more seats called 十全 (Shi Chuan) which is not as good : less meat, less soup, not as tasty.

  They gave me so many pieces of meat (see these bones?), by the end of the bowl, I was so full I thought I might puke lol!~ Felt great to eat so much! Remember to eat their ribs with their spicy bean sauce- best ever!

  After this, I was so full already, I went home. XD then watched TV (like always hahahahaha). Great day, great food, great trip!