Hi everyone!
Guess Im terribly late this time!
I have about a million pictures in my Picasa & then there were more with my recent HongKong holiday! Just greeeeat...

Alrighty, I'll start off from my Valentine Day dinner - a lovely treat from the everso stingy Jungle Boy who is forever telling me he ate bread & water for 3 months just to bring me to Akashi. (-_-)''
Heehe!



There were no exchanging of presents this year between the two of us, but we might be planning a short weekend getaway if the both of us can make it.

I love holidays & Jungle Boy likes to eat snake.. so a holiday would be more apt a present than something material. Not only that... Im fussy so Im better off buying myself presents!

The men just dun get it...
A typical conversation between us goes something like this.

Jungle Boy: Why must buy so expensive bag?
Me: Why cannot!
Jungle Boy: NTUC plastic bag also can put thing inside wat... n its free!
Me: *kicks pull hair screams* Go away laaaa you!!!

But then happy days came... Taipei!

i've always loved Taipei.. for the food, the people and of coz the magnificent shopping areas!
People in Taipei shop til wee hours in the night becoz they love going out late & meeting friends for a drink or some dessert.

Night markets are abuzzed with activity even at 11pm, where long queues for food at roadside stalls can be seen.
Dessert shops are busy, with groups of friends chatting, or lovebirds on a date.

Day One in Taipei

Once we touched down, we wasted no time by rushing off to eat some typical Mala (spicy) steamboat! They come in an array of choices - Beef, Pork, Chicken etc.
U could either choose a non-spicy based soup, or like me, I opted for both kinds.

I like it also becoz its rather hygienic as each person has their own pot of soup and you dun share the food at all.
Esp when we were in a large group, and there were dietary restrictions for some.
Eg. No beef or pork eaters - so in the end, everyone is happy!
:)



After a hearty meal, what better to burn calories by shopping??
We went to Ximending, a popular area for the hip & the trendy.

Ximending is now called the “Harajuku” of Taipei. The local bookstores sell Japanese magazines, books, CD albums, and clothing, making it a heaven for the "Harizu", or Japanese culture adorers. Individual vendors gather in the streets as well as the large business buildings, such as Wannien Department Store and Shizilin Square in the early days, and Wanguo Department Store and Eslite 116 in the later period.

After walking and buying stuff, we trooped to another famous Taiwanese pastime.. Milk desserts!

Thinly shaved ice milk with various toppings like mango, kiwi & strawberries makes it a local favourite.. esp during summer when the weather is hot!

My favourite after-shopping activity.
What a great way to end the night.
Yum yum!

Taiwanese Milk Ice Dessert


Day Two

We woke up bright and early to shop!
As we had a day full of places to go, we set off by taking the train.

Most areas of interest are easily accessible from the transit system. The MRT (Taipei's Metro Rapid Transit System) has well-marked signs, in both English and Chinese, throughout the stations to get you to your destination quickly. They have above and below ground lines. The above ground lines are particularly good, and cheap, for sightseeing. An automated system tells you each station's name when approached in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and English.

And so we decided to go WenfenPu, a popular wholessalers market.



They are like Bugis Village, a smattering array of individual shops selling clothes, accessories & shoes.
I like how funky the owners there can be and I admire the artistic factors of some shops no matter how small or cramped the area is.

Taiwanese people are mostly animal lovers, so dun be surprised to see a dog or cat lazing around in the shop with their owner!

I love petting animals & buying clothes at the same time, hehee!

In the 1960s, many people from FangYuan (芳苑, a town in Chang-Hua County, Central Taiwan) noticed that it was easier to make a living in Taipei and came to rent houses from the veterans. They used the first floor as a pret-a-porter (ready-made clothes) shop and the second story as their houses and the tailoring place. After a few years, the veterans all sold their houses to these inhabitants from FangYuan and many newcomers, and as of today Wufenpu is still a special pret-a-porter wholesale hub for clothes retailers in Taipei.



After an afternoon of bargaining and walking.. we went for some oyster omelette done Taiwan style!
I like it coz its not as starchy as our local ones and they are accompanied by a rather sweet-spicy chili sauce which complements the dish very well.

Oyster Omelette


Then we headed for Shilin Night Market.

Taipei has many night markets, most famous of which is the Shilin Night Market in the Shilin District of the city. The surrounding streets by Shilin Market get extremely crowded during the evening. Most night markets in Taiwan open around 4 p.m. as students begin returning home from school, crowds reach their peak between 8 and 11 p.m. Businesses continue operating well past midnight and close around 1 to 2 a.m.

If there is anything NOT to do in Taipei.. its having a proper dinner becoz there are so many roadside stalls in Shilin, u would be spoilt for choice!

U can walk and eat.. shop then eat again.. walk somemore take pictures and eat again!
Its a dieter's nightmare, quite literally.



And dun be alarmed when you have to wait for 20 mins for something as simple as fried chicken in Shilin at 10pm!
The queues can be snake-long for popular food, like oyster mee sua or even smelly tofu.

I know some people would avoid the fermented beancurd snack like the plague, but there are really nice tasting ones in Taipei!
Dun let the smell fool you, they dun taste anything like how its smells. :p

Sometimes I dun find it smelly enough.

Smelly Tofu (Deepfried style)



Wide regional and individual variations exist in manufacture and preparation. Most typically, it consists of tofu which has been marinated in a brine made from fermented milk, vegetables, and meat for as long as several months. The brine can also include dried shrimp, amaranth greens, mustard greens, bamboo shoots, and Chinese herbs.

Stinky tofu can be eaten cold, steamed, stewed, in mala soup or most commonly, fried. It is often accompanied by chili sauce.

After filling our tummies and walking like mad for the whole day, we decided to go do something the Taiwanese people love... Dogs!

There are shops and shops selling these puppies and they are the cutest things ever.



I never agree with the commercial part of buying a puppy from pet shops but I guess the demand for something so small & cute will never go away anytime soon.
I strongly advocate adopting one from animal shelters, becoz puppy farms use mostly cruel ways to breed puppies for sale.

My heart broke when I saw how small the cages they were in, but I do pray for them to be bought soon by someone who would truly love and treat them well.
How ironic.

On a happier note, we went back extremely tired, extremely full.. but also extremely happy as we all had great fun in Taipei. These would be memories that I would relish forever.
:)

The Loots


Bye all, I have a thousand things to do this afternoon!
Need to wash clothes, wash toilet, mop room, declutter & unpack my stuff from Hongkong.

Will be back soon with pictures from my HongKong holiday next, take care everyone.

God bless.

xoxo
elaine

Tags Replied:
Im sorry if I cant reply to all.. there are too many tags dating from way too long!
For personal questions or quicker responses, I'd appreciate emails. :)
sugar_sweet7733@yahoo.com

Fan: Thank you darling! I hope u like my new updates!

Jace: Heehe! Heard u saw Jungle Boy last week? Keke... n I will update my link to ur new blog soon. Thanks!

Regina/ Ping: Thank you babes!

Ladysilver: Ooooh I miss enzo so much! That little cutiepie.. Take care n update ur blog more ok!

maggie: *hugs* I know u have been going thru alot this past few weeks, do take care n be strong! jia you!

Cupcake: Thank you! I guess I needed a change after having the same hairstyle for so long!

S: My hair is not coloured! Except for the streak in my fringe. :)

June: Thank you dear! Im not stylish.. just quite vain!:P

Wendy: LOL! Omg....Im not a taitai lor! But I did blow my hair that night coz it was my daddy's birthday and we booked a private room for celebrations, hence the blowdry.

piepie: Heehe! Thank you! Think its the new hairstyle laaaa!

junni aka diaster: Thank u too! But my curls are temporary one.. n I never rebond my hair actually too! Its just that my hair is naturally straight n heavy thus it looks rebonded! ;D

jace: Thank u! The Bible is my saviour at all times.. :)

Diane: Who is Jamie Yeo's new bf??? She got new bf already ah!!! *scandalous juicy news*

polarie: I miss u too!!! N yeah! Japanese bathhouses very nice! Thou quite paiseh to walk naked everywhere.... keke!

To Mag/T/Nana/Megan & everyone else regarding my new haistyle..:
I got it cut by a hairstylist in Japan Tokyo, at Narita Aeon Mall by the name of Takimoto Fusako. She speaks English so I usually look for her. The hairsalon is called Earnest, tel: 0476-24-5831

The streak in my fringe is dyed at Jean Yip, Parkway. The rest of my hair is not dyed.
This was inspired by my best friend Wendy from Twister, Monsoon.
(She flew to HK before I had the chance to dye my fringe thats why I went JY!)

Ok, bye bye!
Really got to go now.. back soon!
Keep reading, keep tagging!
Loves.
:)

A preview picture from my HK trip!(Maybe u can see the hair colour better from here.)
In airport express to Kowloon.



"A girl should be two things - classy & fabulous."
Coco Chanel

Bye all! *hugs & kisses*
:D