Din Tai Fung

Found a local place for breakfast near our apartment and tried a breakfast hamburger, imagine a regular hamburger but with egg instead of cheese and cucumber instead of tomato, and some milk tea, if i havent talked about milk tea yet i will later.

The rain is keeping us inside instead of going sightseeing so we are working out our visa issues and our other time sensitive items.

We went to the Grand Hotel to eat at their Golden Dragon buffet and continued our over eating. Luckily the week in Miao Li stretched out my stomach so i was able to do some serious damage and try everything i wanted, including the ice cream and the chocolate fondue fountain among other deserts. The hotel is amazing. I didnt get a photo of the outside due to the rain but i will try to attach one so you can check it out. We walked around inside and found some cool little bits of history and art work, they go hand in hand in Taiwan.

Dinner at Din Tai Fung, a restaurant known for their pork dumplings. They are well known for them for a very good reason, they taste great. Still full from our 5 plate lunch we didnt eat as much as we would have liked but sampled in addition to the Xiaolongbao, pork dumplings, the drunken chicken. Each bite of drunken chicken feels like a shot so make sure you share if you ever plan on ordering it. There is a few locations in the states and i recommend find them.

back to taipei

Someone brought over a block of the turnip pancake goop so we had them for breakfast, just cut off the block and fry in a skillet. Best when extra crispy.

Tried Durian, smell wasn't bad at first but the longer it was out and the warmer it got the worse it began to smell. I can understand why some places make it against the rules to bring it inside. This is most likely one of those things i can say i have eaten now but wont do again. Good flavor but not worth the smell.

Lunch and dinner were basically the same since we ate the left overs from lunch, bamboo shoot soup and roasted whole fish, for an early dinner before we caught our train back into Taipei and our home.

Started raining on our way to the station and the rain was still going when we got up into Taipei. Glad to be back in the city where there are fewer mosquitoes. Regrettably i had become accustomed to the hard mattress in Miao Li and now the one at home will take some work to re-accustom myself too.

Old Streets

These breakfast sandwiches are a great way to start the day. We had a sandwich today with 5 pieces of bread, they all said i was to skinny so this coupled with lunch yesterday i think i have filled in to their standards. We were planning on going hiking but due to rain and weather forecasts we decided to go to some Old Streets with Jennifer's cousin Frank.

Our first stop was Shenkeng. My first old street. Very smelly due to all the stalls selling stinky tofu. As soon as we got there the first food up was the smelly stinky tofu. Deep fried then roasted with a brown sauce then stuffed with spicy kimchi, this is one thing i am going to eat again. Had a coconut with a straw in it and picked up random little bites on our way through the street crowds. Had my first taste of Taiwan sausage on a stick, another item i will be eating a lot more. We ran into a couple who was walking along with a flying squirrel as their pet and had to take some photos of the little guy. I also had some quail eggs on a stick. Taste was the same as fried eggs.

Our next stop was Sanxia old street. Recently renovated but still displaying its authentic old time architecture. Here we tried Horn Bread and Shaved Ice. Frank got ice cream on his horn bread. Too full to try it myself but it looked good. I also had some blood cake that was spicy to the point i couldnt taste anything but the peppers. On site they also have a very old temple that we were looking at right before the sky opened and started raining even harder than it did back in Sitou. Good thing i saw it coming so i could get my camera in its dry bag.

So after our shower and made it back to the car we headed to our next destination Dashi. This was more of a visual feast rather then a regular one due to our constant state of fullness. We did find a vending machine that dispenses coke that will create ice after you open it though. A rather nifty trick if you ask me.

Before we left we got some spicy bean curds to go and to share with A-Po for dinner. Very spicy indeed. Worth taking in the spice for the taste that went with it though.

Stinky Tofu

Sanxia Old Street

South Market

Started the day with a cucumber, corn and egg sandwich, before heading to the south market to check out the stalls of clothes, food, shoes and other random goods. Tried out sugar cane juice, squeezed out of a sugar cane. I also tried out a red bean stuffed pancake. We tried to walk as much as we could to make room for the upcoming lunch with the family.

We had a 14 course LUNCH! INSANE!! ITS LUNCH! I was full by the second dish and they just kept coming. It was a marathon of eating. Lots of great food and new food to me but i dont think i could do it again. The best one was the deep fried tripe. Nice and crispy and salty.

After our monumental eating achievement we walked home and sat around and talked until it was dinner time. Literally eating myself to death. Cant wait to get back to Taipei and start school so i can get back to small meals. I never thought i would ever wish for small portions. For dinner A-Po made a Taiwanese favorite oyster omelettes. Still not much of a fan of the oysters but done this way i can eat them.

Produce Market

Walked to the main street for breakfast on our way to the produce market. Had some more of the breakfast sandwiches, i am getting quite attached to my morning sandwich. This was of the ham and tomato variety. My first asian market experience was exciting, smelly and made me really hungry. Lots of new sights, smells and sounds. There are some very interesting looking vegetables and fruits here. The carrots here are short but are really fat.

We took our fresh foods home and prepared for lunch. Had some squid, chicken and had my first taste of bitter melon. Watched the news and heard about the Typhoons blowing and and then watched the Taiwanese equivalent of american idol, i think. Had a dinner of Laa (little clams with peppers that taste like pepperoni) and some more fish ball soup.

Breakfast Sandwich

Miao li main street

Hiking in Sitou

Woke up to a sunny sky and no rain. Hurray!! Had an asian breakfast buffet. Gained near 10 pounds and couldn't be happier, until i learned i had to go hike and carry the extra 10 pounds i just gained. FAIL! So we headed for the Big Tree. Another poor choice. I cant truly express had uncomfortable it is to hike through a bamboo forest and then a conifer forest and then up a mountain. We headed way up the mountain and eventually had to turn back to make it to our check out time. After we checked out and had lunch at a local restaurant, fresh fish and other assorted dishes, we took a golf cart tour of the park and it turns out we missed the tree by a few meters, before going up the mountain. At least i got rid of those 10 pounds.

Instead of taking our van of death back to the train station in Taichung we took a van back. Much smoother and uneventful, just the way i like it. Caught our train back up to Miao Li and had a home cooked dinner of Duck and fish meat ball soup.

One of the forest trails in Sitou

University Pond

Breakfast buffet

To Sitou!

We had homemade pork, egg and corn breakfast sandwiches that A-po made before helping make salad rolls, spring rolls, for our trip to Sitou. We rode a train to Taichung and wondered through the city looking for our bus taking us the rest of the way to the national park.

If someone invites you to go on a trip in Taiwan and it involves a chartered bus ride be prepared to die. imagine playing chicken on the road with other buses. As we traveled on our way we got stuck behind another bus that was moving much slower than we were traveling. So we go to pass it. Driving on the wrong side of the road now I look through the front window and low and behold another bus is driving at us. Umm... I appear to be the only awake passenger so i am the only one with white knuckles from squeezing the chair underneath me as my last living act. Luckily i did survive and we in fact reached our destination in one piece and on time. I found out that this is the normal driving style and they actually expect their drivers to be this aggressive when they quote the drive times. Crazy country.

After our harrowing experience on the bus we had a picnic style lunch outside while we were waiting to check into our hotel. Tried my first Wax Apple, i dont really think they are apples. Maybe an hour later is started to rain. Almost immediately after that it started to rain like i have never seen before. it was incredible how much rain could fall in so little an amount of time. When you here the phrase its raining buckets its because if you were to put a bucket outside it would literally be filled in seconds. We eventually got our rooms and sequestered ourselves inside until it was time to head back out into the rain for dinner. We should have just stayed inside. Poor service, boring food and nothing to drink, not even TEA!

On the whole it was a very entertaining day.

Salad Rolls

Rain in Sitou

School Registration/Miao Li

We took care of our school registration today so our first semester is now taken care of. We wont get our class schedules until the 3rd. We ended up applying for regular instead of the intensive classes by mistake but this way we will be able to take cultural classes as well so we may be coming back with more than just language skills.

Had breakfast on campus while we were waiting for the registration to open. Breakfast sandwiches are popular and I can see why. I ended up getting the egg and bacon sandwich.

We went to Taipei's central train station early so we could get our tickets to Miao Li and then do some sight seeing. As I quickly found out eating is very important and is done to a level that I can barely keep up. We got Spaghetti with breaded chicken at Pasta Picnic upstairs in the train station before heading to Eslite, a bookstore encompassed within many floors in a high rise. Got some postcards but have yet to figure out how to do the sending. Walked to Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world, and took pictures and got a cramp in my neck looking up to the top.

On our way through the station and onto the train we got a few bento boxes for the ride and set of for the South. Made the trip in about an hour and a half and got a good look at the country side. We will be staying in Miao Li until Monday. Met Jennifer's A-Po (Grandmother) before finding my bed, a bed shaped piece of plywood is more inline with the stiffness of it, and passed out.

Taipei 101

First Day in Taiwan

So I was awake for the entire flight to Taiwan. All 12 hours of it. I watched 3 movies 2 tv shows and played pong. It was a very long night. Since we were leaving ahead of the sun and traveling in the same direction it was dark the whole time. Near the end of the flight we could see the sunrise and at 38000 feet its pretty awesome. As a bonus since the rate of travel and direction the sunrise lasted about an hour.

We got through all of our security check points very quickly since the world was still asleep at 5am and there were no problems what so ever. Walked outside at 5 30 and it was already 80+ with at least 70% humidity. Looks like it is going to be a warm year...

We had breakfast at Royal Host inside the YMCA in Taipei and had a few hours to kill so in addition to regular breakfast we also had breakfast desserts. In my first meal I could have gone without eating for the rest of the day.  But, this being Taiwan and everyone apparently can eat until they explode (although they are the size of 16 year old girls) so we found a Teppan Yakki place that is located in our grocery store. Since i was full from breakfast I declined to order. DON'T DO THIS! Even if your not hungry order something so you can avoid the angry looks and shoddy service.

We moved into our new residence for the next year and are very pleased with the use of space. I will have to take pictures later on a slower day.

Went to my first night market but was to full from breakfast, lunch and dinner (Du Hsiao Yueh) that I didnt get to sample the weird foods through out the market.



I will have to come back and add pictures later, I will let you know when they are up so you can go back and check

Made it to Taiwan

temporary delay

i wont be updating regularly for awhile. Getting settled in and all that. Taking notes though so i wont miss anything

LEAVING!

We are waiting at terminal S11 for our plane leaving tomorrow morning. It is currentyl 11 30 and we leave at 2 10. a bit of a wait. We drove up from Milwaukie, Portland area at 7 00 so it has been a trip in itself getting up to the airport. Can't wait to get off the plane and be in Taiwan. I have updates for yesterday but i will have to put them up later due to battery life at the moment. Going to miss everyone, hope everybody has a great year and has loads of fun for me. Eat up that California sun if you can for me!!

2 Days To Go

Somewhat in disbelief that we are leaving for a year in two days. It feels like the time leading up to this has flown by so quickly. I have had a great few days exploring before we leave and have a list of places i want to make time for when we comeback. There is so much to do up here and also up in the Washington area that i could be here for months and still have new adventures everyday. Very eager for Taiwan though. I have continued my reading of the Taiwan travel book and am trying to memorize and learn everything i can before we head over.

We had lunch with a friend and dinner with Jen's mom and Phillip before heading back to Chopsticks III, one of the restaurants the Chow's operate. Had a drink and Phillip and i both got Tee shirts with their branding on them.

We also went to Grand Central for a bowling birthday bash for Ame. Really neat place. Pretty small but a great find since it was in downtown Portland and a large space, such as the space required for a bowling alley, is somewhat hard to come by.

New Comment Settings

I know I know I am posting a lot right now. Well at least you will have a lot to read. I am changing the settings on the comments for the posts so that it will be easier to view. At the bottom of each post is a link/button "COMMENTS," usually proceeded by a number, then click the link/button "Post a Comment" we would greatly appreciate it. To make this work I have to remove the e-mail list from my site so it will no longer automatically send to you after I put up a new post.

So please add my link to your favorites so you don't forget it and check it on a regular basis.

http://mattghop.blogspot.com/

3 DAYS!!

So it finally dawned on me that I don't have to post the day after anymore since I have internet access at the apartment I am staying at. Woo hoo for me. Now I don't have to try and remember what I did the day prier. This will be much easier for me to do. At least for the next few days. Once we arrive in Taiwan, at 5 am, we are going to be dropping our luggage off at the YMCA, its a hostel in Taiwan, and having breakfast. Hopefully we will then be going to get the key to our new apartment for the year and be temporarily home. After this brief stay I believe its back on the road for us as we ride down to Miaoli, where Jennifer's grandmother lives. After our stay there we will be taking a guided tour around the island that will last a few days. We will be back in our Taipei apartment by Sept. 1st. For this period of time I will either write my dailies and upload them later or try an remember. Depends on the reliability of the electricity and time to work on it.

Anyways, went back into Portland today on the MAX line to go to Powell's and continued our exploration of this labyrinth like book store. They also buy used books and sell them again second hand, our third or forth or for the one hundredth time. I found a tome like copy of the history of Portland and was to afraid to pick it up just in case it fell apart.

Had hot dogs at Costco and Crepes at MoJo Crepes. We got the Five-O crepe with kiwis, strawberries, vanilla ice cream and nutella. Still don't really like crepes but this one was alright. They also had free hot tea and board games so we stayed awhile and played Sorry and Othello.

Going out tonight to one of Jen's parents restaurants for Wig Out. An event help to raise funds for The American Cancer Society. I believe it involves foolish wigs. Here is looking forward to another silly thing on my head.

4 DAYS!

Only 4 more days of America. That is so strange. It seems like the time is flying by and we are leaving sooner than i felt. Very excited and can't wait to get the flight done and over with. I don't know where my camera is at the moment but I don't believe i have any pictures to add. If I do I will out them up later after I get my computer back in touch with my camera.

We went out to lunch at Pannera's with a few friends that Jen hadn't seen in awhile and they got caught up and we had a fun conversation about where we are all going and the trips we are planning.

We made our trip to Costco to bulk up on vitamins. We are bringing them to Jen's relatives in Taiwan since they are so cheap for us (very expensive and hard to come by in Taiwan.) We also went to Wallmart to stock up on deodorant and shaving supplies. Like most Asian countries, deodorant is very prevalently used by the native people. I suppose if no one uses it you don't notice as much as it is the norm.

Had dinner at Sushi Land with Jennifer and her mom and most assuredly over ate. Sushi land is a funny place if you haven't been to one before. We have them down in California and I know there is one on 17th street down in Newport. It is a sushi place that uses conveyor belts to convey to food around the restaurant, like the train in the old Wienerschnitzel in Costa Mesa.

A storm started blowing in last night as well (remember I am a day behind still doing this blog) and presented us with an amazing sunset. Didn't have my camera at the peak of the awesomeness but I did my best to get out as fast as I could to get the picture. I felt like my dad when he would go out and spend 20 minutes taking a picture. Used to drive me nuts. Now I understand, I have found the error of my ways and apologize. :D (<-- smiley face)

Camera Found! View from where I am staying.

5 DAYS

Today was mainly just another day to make sure we have everything ready and that we have settled all of our accounts here. Continuing my Taste of Portland self tour and also a tour of the local Starbucks for the internet access. Had lunch at Pizzicato and sampled their Pizza Fresco. There are a few locations in California so if you find yourself in Encinatas or San Diego, GO! It really is that good. You can buy it by the slice as well as the whole pie so it is great for lunch.

I am enjoying my snoops so far and believe i have found the Oregon equivalent to In n Out. Its called Burgerville up here and taste like a combination of In n Out and Burger King. Don''t know how they do it but its worth the heart attack waiting for you at the end of your meal. They use only local stuff so everything tastes fresh and since they are in Oregon they use Tillamook cheese straight from the factory. They have really great shakes as well so it is easy to understand why it compares to In n Out. Fries aren't as good but they do have onion rings!

I moved to my new lodging today and that marks the mid point of our stay in Oregon. My new roommate is a 7 month old Shiba Inu named Kiya. Very cute. Pictures will follow.

Oregon's In n Out

Mocha Perk

Tillamook Cheeseburger

Saturday Market! On a Sunday?

We went into Portland today on the MAX line which is a combination of bus and subway. It is actually free if you are traveling within a certain distance of the center of town. I believe that southern California should adopt this free form of transportation. You guys make sure its in place when i get back. We went in for the Saturday market which appears to be more than just a Saturday market since it is Sunday. Its a lot like the swap meet at the fair grounds but there are no limits on the perimeter. It just goes on and on throughout the city. We decided to be adventurous with our food and tried Polish Hunter's Spicy Sausage Sandwich and washed it down with a Mango Guava drink from the Horn of Africa. I have to admit this was probably the best sausage sandwich i have ever had, and it was HUGE!Well worth the $5.

While walking through Portland in our search for the Umbrella man in Pioneer Square we discovered Peace Tea. I think it is Arizona Ice Tea in disguise. Tastes exactly the same and everything.

While waiting for one of Jen's friends to meet us at a coffee shop i tried out a Sun dried tomato, goat cheese and onion tart. It was very cute but the picture is on a different camera so i will show you later, possible.

We finally saw Despicable Me and watched it in 3D. It was a really cute movie if you haven't seen it.

We had our final mexican food dinner today. Only Chipotle but mexican is mexican. Soon i will be completely cut off and suffering from guacamole withdrawal. Less than a week now and we are very excited.

Arizona Ice Tea incognito

Hunter's Spicy Sausage Sandwich

the MAX line

Umbrella Man

Saturday the 14th

Had a pretty leisurely day yesterday (in case you haven't figured it out i have been most doing this the day after the day i am talking about.) Had a nice brief dim sum lunch with Jen and her mom at their favorite place Wons King. I have noticed that some of the food that i find normal now isnt food that most people would pick out on a menu. Tripe when prepared correctly is easily one of my favorites. We worked on some of our last minute details for our trip and are getting ready to go now that it is less than a week away.

We also celebrated our friend Phillips birthday at The Chart House. Located half way up a mountain that is covered by a large forest. Views were amazing and so was the food. I was to hungry to snap the pic this time so i cant make you envious but it was really good. We had the Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and the Miso Glazed Salmon paired with a tasty Riesling. 

All in all a nice relaxeful day that was relaxing and just what we needed.

some Dim Sum dishes

Tripe w/ Carrots

Friday the 13th

So to celebrate Friday the 13th we went to (cue the spooky music) VOODOO DONUTS. Actually we just happened to be in Portland yesterday and have been wanting to try this place out since we saw it on Man vs. Food, our favorite travel channel show. They are a bunch of tattooed crazy people who make the most unique donuts i have ever seen. All very tasty.

We walked all over the downtown area of Portland and did some snooping, i have infected Jennifer with the snooping bug, and went to some great places. One of my favorites still is the giant converted parking structure book store Powells. It is a very large place with a floor plan that is hard to navigate to those unaccustomed to the building.

Another of Jennifer's favorite places is 23rd street. Its a fairly long street and is full of small boutiques and restaurants that are all very cute. We ended up getting Rose Milk Tea with Lychee jelly at Tea Chai Te. They have board games that you can play while drinking your tea so we spent a large amount of time playing checkers and In A Pickle. If you want a new game that is really fun and changes every time you play find this game and buy it.

After our extensive search of the city we went to a friends place and just relaxed and played with his puppy and got some dinner at Gustavs. Had really good swiss cheese fondue and Beir and Bratworst sausages.

Voodoo Donuts!!

Just a few of the strange donuts

the "Old Dirty Bastard" donut

the "Voodoo Doll" donut

Just a funny sign we saw

TO SEATTLE!!

So it looks like it is going to be 3 states in 2 days. At this point i am pretty sick of driving or sitting in a car. That being said. LOOK AT ALL THE TREES!! There are a lot of trees up here people. It took 3 hours to get up and into Seattle and i believe our visa applications went through smoothly. Should be getting them back in the mail in a day or two.

Since Starbucks was started in Seattle and this being my first trip i felt obligated to make a Starbucks run and of course take a ridiculous amount of pictures to meet my "Tourist Quota."

The Space needle was not visible when we got into Seattle due to heavy fog but once that burned off it was surprisingly close. Just goes to show how foggy it gets up here in the North West.

Had lunch in China town and everyone was speaking Chinese and i am still pretty clueless. So i can't really tell you what we ate but i can attest that i was really good. Nothing weird or anything yet but i am sure i will get my fill soon.

On our way out of the city we crossed a "Floating Bridge." Not sure how this works since i didn't see any pontoons or other floaties but sure enough the sucker doesn't sink.

The Space Needle

Starbucks' and a crazy caffeine fiend

Floating Bridge

Santa Clara, CA to Milwaukie, OR

We got a good start on our drive up. Leaving at 5:15ish and arriving at 4:15 pm. With few briefs stops we made it surprisingly quickly. Not to much excitement due to the 11 hours in the car but we did have a nice dinner with Chow's mom and a family friend at Olive Garden. We set our plans for Seattle to get our visa's and what to do while in Washington. Worked out my bedding arrangements and finally after what felt like the longest day ever i finally FINALLY got to sleep!

The road into Oregon

Tree i pushed over as my "Mark" on Oregon

Last Day in California

We had great weather today for our last day in California. We went back to Stanford today and on the way got lunch at the Mogo Truck, a Korean/Fusion cuisine food truck that drives around and people have to find on a daily basis.

After our foray at Stanford we went to the Stanford Shopping Center (the mall they have on campus) and did some extensive window shopping. Made a stop at Sprinkles and had a Peanut Butter Chip  Cupcake. I had never been to Sprinkles before and have to recommend it as one of the best places to buy cupcakes.

Planning on leaving for Oregon tomorrow morning at 5am and we are getting the car ready now so after we come back from our last dinner experience in California for a year we can go straight to bed and be awake and on the road before the sun comes up. Looking forward for driving through tree lined highways and my stay in Oregon.

Kimchi Quesadilla

BBQ Short Rib Burrito

SPRINKLES Peanut Butter Chip Cupcake

Alligator at Roux

We went to Roux today and had an amazing lunch of blackened Catfish Po'Boys  a very large drink and DEEP FRIED ALLIGATOR! Surprisingly tasty. I will have to find a location in Southern California where I can find some. Taste like a mixture of pork and chicken with the texture of fried clam strips.

Took a brief walking tour of Stanford today but it is much to large too explore in such a short amount of time.

Hurricanes at Roux with Victor

Deep Fried Alligator

GOOD BYE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

So after an hour and a half delay before leaving this morning, planned Escape From (more like through) LA time was 5am but didn't finish packing and loading the car until closer to 7am. Never the less we have made it to Santa Clara and are no longer in the car. Feels good to stand up again. There was no traffic and we made great time through the Grapevine and the other bleak areas along our route. The most exciting event of the drive was the strong winds we encountered while on our way to Gilroy (smelled like garlic.)


I also had a brief altercation with a squirrel on the San Jose University campus.

1 Week

Only one week left at our place in Orange. Packing up the last of our stuff today and putting our lives in boxes. Woot! Excited to get on the road and being done with all the prep (most of the prep anyways). Looking forward to eating some stupid hot wings and snooping a new city.