Bitter Melon Shake

We've seen so many bitter melon juice stores all over Taipei. You can tell by the white bitter melons that are displayed in the storefronts. Hubby doesn't eat bitter melon and absolutely loathes the stuff and was physically cringing at the idea of drinking bitter melon (amplaya). Yes, in front of the store, he was cringing.

I, on the other hand is braver than my knight in shining armour. The bitter melon in Taipei is white, as opposed to a vivid green here in Manila. That alone got me curious enough to try a cup.

When the lady handed me the drink, and as I brace myself for the onslaught of extreme bitterness, I was surprised to taste just a tini tiny bit of bitterness and a whole lot of sweetness.

It turns out that they add a jigger of honey to sweeten the concoction. I suspect also that the Taiwan bitter melon is much milder than ours. Hence, the white color.

After my urging and my assurance that it's not as bitter as he thought, Hubby took one sip and declared it unpalatable.

 Chicken.

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall is one of the  quintessential Taipei tourist destination. Almost all first time travelers to Taipei visit the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. The architecture is quite lovely and will produce really nice pictures on a clear summer day. It was a rainy winter afternoon when we arrived, but we had so much fun taking pictures anyway :-)

I love chasing the pigeons there, they don't fly!

Miramar Mall Ferris Wheel

If you browse some pictures about touring Taipei, most often than not, you would encounter some photos about the Miramar Mall Ferris Wheel. It is an imposing structure on top of a high end mall. The ferris wheel certainly makes a stunning photo on a clear summer night. We went last December when it was the winter/rainy season in Taipei.

The Miramar Mall is quite nice, filled with some middle and high end brands. It's a bit far from the city center. The Miramar Mall also has an IMAX theater and can get full on weekends.

There is also a food court at the basement of Miramar Mall, with a wide selection of Asian and Western cuisines and fresh fruit juices.

The Miramar Mall Food Court also has a taho (silken tofu) stand that sells taho with any topping of your choice like peanuts, various beans, tapiocca and so many others. Hubby had two, because he loves taho. You can have your taho either hot or cold.

The Miramar Ferris Wheel itself makes for nice photos. The view on top of the ferris wheel in pretty unexciting since the mall itself is situated in the suburbs, with no view of the Taipei city lights.

If you are a first-time tourist and pressed for time, I suggest you skip the Miramar Ferris Wheel because you won't be missing much.

To get to the Miramar Mall, the simplest and the least confusing way is to take the MRT brown line and get off at Jiannan road station, exit 3. You can't miss it.

Modern Toilet Restaurant

Ok, this Modern Toilet Restaurant is getting some buzz due to it's "uniqueness" and "gross factor". We went to the one in Ximending. Ximen station Exit 6. From there, I can't remember how we went to restaurant, what I remember though is that it's just a short walk from the MRT station.

The restaurant interior is all about the toilet and its accessories. Toilet seats for seat, glass tops cover tubs and bathrooms sinks and serve as tables. Showers hang on walls and serve as decorations or art.

Your food orders are placed in uhhhmm, body discharge receptacles and the like.

Orders are placed in the cashier. This lady here tried to explain to me how to order, but she hardly speaks english and I don't speak Mandarin. Again, lost in translation. But by sign language and a lot of pointing, I managed to order some food.

We ordered some pica-pica of French Fries, Mozzarella Sticks and a chocolate ice cream for Hubby. Our orders were placed in miniature squat toilets.

I ordered some tea as well, served in a miniature water closet.

Now, the food at Modern toilet is not that exceptional. Although I've read some good reviews on the Beef Rice Bowl, we didn't try it because were still quite full when we arrived at the restaurant. My stomach isn't as accommodating as it was in my teens, he he he.

My experience in modern toilet restaurant is ok, a nice novelty experience but I won't be coming back again. Unless, I'm trying to gross out other friends.

Modern Toilet Restaurant's real bathroom facilities are anything but modern, or clean. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me wanna hurl my breakfast.

I don't usually get grossed out but, but moist, dirty and smelly squat toilets are nasty. Ugh.

Hello Kitty Sweets

After our Taipei 101 adventures, Hubby and I decided to go back to the hotel. As we were weaving our way back, we decided to look for Hello Kitty Sweets, which is located close to our hotel anyway, per our research. I had a map on my phone, which I photographed from a print out. Very few people speak English so it's very hard to ask for directions.

After a few minutes walking and making wrong turns. Hubby was getting very cranky. I had to bite my tongue and contain myself from screaming my irritation. You can see from this photo, how excited Hubby is to be surrounded by pink.

Hello Kitty sweets, I've been told, used to have a branch in Megamall, years ago. But it didn't fly. I wasn't able to go then because I didn't know it existed.

Hello Kitty sweets in Taipei is a novelty. It's not going to win any culinary awards, but, the sheer cuteness of the place and the abundance of pink just calls for your inner teen inside. Come in, sit down and get comforted in this pink fluffy cloud, the place seems to say.

Hello Kitty everywhere, even in the bathroom. Love it! Pink is my favorite color and it's such a treat to be surrounded by it once in a while.

The menu in Hello Kitty sweets is written in Mandarin, no English translation and the people working there cannot speak English. That's what's so frustrating with our Taipei trip, everything gets lost in translation!

Hubby pointed to a tiramisu-like cake, which turned out ok.

The best part though is the strawberry flavored white chocolate hello kitty head. That's very yummy. It tastes like strawberry ice cream. The presentation of the dessert is just awesome.

I ordered the strawberry mousse, which was surprisingly good, light and fluffy. Again, the Hello Kitty strawberry flavored white chocolate was really nice.

We got two free flavored sodas with our order and a complimentary Hello Kitty gelatin. The sodas were too sweet, the gelatin was just average.

Overall, Hello Kitty sweets is a nice place to visit, just to experience the cuteness of the place. The cakes are more expensive if you dine in. Take out is half the price :-)

To get there, take the MTR to Nangang (Blue Line), get off at Zhongxiao Fuxing station, exit 3. Exit 5 is farther and is a bit of a walk (and you might get confused, like we did), better exit at 3, it's closer and less confusing. Hello Kitty Sweets is just along Da'an Road. You can't miss it.

Deja Vu Hotel, Taipei

This is the first of many blogs about Taipei. I hope I can squeeze in a lot of blog entries during this super busy Christmas season.

Hubby and I stayed in Deja VU Hotel, in the Zhongzheng district. What I love about this hotel is its excellent location. It's walking distance from two SOGO malls and just a hop away from the MRT, Fuxing station, Exit 1. The airport bus is also near, just across SOGO (the green one).

The hotel also is within walking distance from Da-an district which has a lot of interesting restaurant, boutiques, street food stalls and a healthy smattering of branded retail stores.

The hotel itself is old, dated and small. Deja Vu Hotel consists consists of two buildings joined together to become one hotel. The flooring is "multi-level" to say the least. That's a bit weird even for me.

The rooms are small, but clean. Ours had a queen-sized bed, TV, desk and a chaise. I love the Butler coat rack.

We got the room at the end of the hall, which has the escape sling, hidden inside the curtains. First time I've seen one, frankly. I have no idea how it works. Hubby explained it to me, but I did not pay attention, he he he.

The bathroom was generously sized with two showers. Not really sure why that is so. There are some basic toiletries, but I suggest you bring your own.

I read some reviews prior to checking in that there are mosquitos in the hotel. I brought my trusty electric mosquito repeller, just in case. I only saw one in our room and one in the restaurant. Other than that, I was bite-free.

For Deja Vu's location, cleanliness and proximity to the airport bus station, we would most likely stay there again. I wouldn't suggest it for company trips though, since it's quite old, and not "swanky" enough.