Drains of Taipei

My last drains diary in Taiwan was back in 2012, and I looked forward to updating it with a couple new finds:

The breakfasts of Zhong Hua road

My absolute favorite thing to eat in all of Taiwan (and maybe the world) is breakfast, specifically the salty soy milk soup. This is a breakfast dish that you will find in many places throughout Taipei, and some are better than others. Places that serve salty soy milk also serve the accompanying foods, like sweet soy milk, fried dough, taro pastry, and bing.

On this trip I decided to catalog all of the breakfast restaurants I tried near our home on Zhong Hua road.

Many of them are traditional soy milk shops, and a few others are western-style breakfast, which sell sandwiches and burgers. These few shops are only a small sampling of the dozen or so breakfast places within 5 blocks on this one street.

If that  gives  you a sense of the sheer amount of restaurants in Taipei….

We tried this shop on the first morning in Taiwan because the one closest to the house was very busy. It was alright, but I ended up finding another place I liked more so this was my one and only visit. 

the entrance to the shop

taro cake and salty soy milk

salty soy milk with fried dough

This was my favorite place to eat salty soy milk, and it also happened to be the one closest to my house. Once I discovered this place, I only had the motivation to try two more on the same street, before I made a commitment here and returned every morning. 

the best salty soy milk

a great jian bing

This is another breakfast place that intrigued me. It specializes in America-style sandwiches, which sounds boring, but when you order one with ham and egg, you find out it's pretty different from an American sandwich. I also ordered sweet soy milk as a drink and a jian bing.

My American ham-and-egg sandwich

sweet soy milk drink

jian bing

This restaurant is on the corner by the elementary school and is super popular in the early morning.  Again, they specialize in sandwiches, but instead I ordered soymilk, jian bing, and a taro cake. 

my sweet soy milk drink

jian bing, very simple version

taro cake

Second Letters from Taipei

In Taipei one is never without an umbrella. It blocks the sun and the rain. All the harsh elements come from the sky.

This morning I put Jonason’s hand on my bely and he felt the baby kick. A big powerful kick. It makes me happy feeling the kicks - my healthy little girl. I think about her all day, in every child’s face I see.

Taking refuge here again from the heat. We returned to the house early today - around 5:00pm. It was too early to stay home, so I insisted we return again at night…to the Starbucks.

I’m still a foreigner here but at least I am at Starbucks - the most global non-place in the world. Its easy being here. familiar. Modern. The more time I spend in the house, the more I notice how everything is gritty and crumbling. Paint it peeling off the walls. The floor is black with dirt, sheets and pillows smell moldy, the iron gate is rusted. I see all its flaws now whereas before I only saw its beauty. I realized today that I fell in love  with the house when I first saw it on Google Maps. It may have been in 2010 or 2011 , but the photo - I remember - was from 2008. The balcony was covered with green vines. It looked radiant. Jonason’s father must have been alive then to water the plats. I never realized how much care was needed to maintain the lovely home. I took it for granted. I even made Angie take me down here on our trip to Taipei in 2012 to take a picture of it. That’s how much I wanted to be in  - no live in  - this house. And now I am here in the tiger summer heat and miserable by all the stoic suffering and uncomfortable furnishings and retreating to Starbucks.

Now I am large and uncomfortable in this pregnant body. Not trying to impress anyone anymore. Perhaps pregnancy is a lesson in humility. No longer trying to impress strangers, I must find a new purpose for my body.  It no longer belongs to the strangers it does not belong to their opinions or judgements. It doesn’t belong to their wishes or refusals. I don’t know if I am released from their gazes, but somehow I am freer. I move ignored through the crowd. No one stares at me like they did in 2012. I am more anonymous. More discreet. More covert. I can be my own story. I can be any story now that others have not written it for me.

- Excerpt from my travel diary, September 21, 2018

Photo Diary: Best of Taipei

I have been to Taipei so many times and done so many "best of" albums, it seems silly to do one more. Still, there are images that keep being uncovered in this city, so another attempt feels justified.

Admittedly, most of these photos were taken by my partner. I was too busy complaining about being pregnant in 100-degree humidity, I let him have the camera. Having grown up in this city, he has a different perspective than I do, and I am fascinated by what he chooses to photograph. 

A Grocery Store in Taipei

In every city where I spend considerable time, I try to complete my Golden Trifecta, by visiting a cemetery, library, and grocery store. In this way, I can come into contact with the culture through all the basic and primary functions of life. 

I have family in Taiwan, so I've long ago completed the Golden Trifecta but thus far have only blogged about cemeteries and libraries there, not grocery stores. So this entry I wanted to devote time to all the interesting things  about Taiwanese grocery stores. 

First, I happened to be in Taipei in the fall, around Halloween, and I could not help but compare the tradition of carving the Youzi - or "super grapefruit" - which they do to celebrate the mid-autumn moon festival, to the American tradition of carving the pumpkin.

The foreign aisle of the grocery store is an interesting place. What made it over: peanut butter, jelly, and cereal. 

This particular store had two floors, with abundant advertising and products along the staircase. 

I was exciting by these Pringles from Japan, which are Yakitori - BBQ chicken - flavored. The fireworks are in celebration of Tanabata, a summer festival. 

My favorite aisle: the milk tea aisle. I love milk tea so much and you just can't beat Taiwan's variety. 

It's always been a disappointment of mine that you can't feel the bristles of a toothbrush before buying it. But in Taiwan, they keep a sample of the brush out for you to feel. Genius!

Starbucks Taipei HanZhong store

Last trip to Taipei I visited the iconic Taipei 101 Starbucks. This trip I wanted to explore some other unique stores in the city. 

The HanZhong Store is located in the bustling street in Ximending, but the ordinary facade reveals nothing of the exciting architecture that awaits inside. 

Spanning three stories with tall ceilings and wrap-around balconies, this store is very unique in its design and vibe.

My favorite part of the store is on the third floor, were you get a 360 degree view of the balconies as well as people-watching opportunities from above. 

This store has plenty of space to have big group gatherings or small intimate meetings.