lucky #7

not really keeping track of the date or time here (not that i was too avid about that back in san diego), but i know that today is august 6, 2011...today is the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. Translation? it's Valentine's Day here!! If you know me at all, you know that I'm a sucker for love, so did some research on the story of Chinese Valentine's Day. Legend has it that after leaving heaven to marry a cowherd, the 7th daughter of the goddess of heaven was called back to heaven by her mother, only to be released to see her husband annually on the 7th day of the 7th month. Apparently this day has something to do with the position of stars. love & stars, clearly my type of day, partly explaining why today was my favorite day here so far, and probably one of the best days I have had in a while.

for starters, we had fan tuan for breakfast--rice ball with pork in it :) ill take a picture soon!! next on our agenda: lunch. we don't waste time. we went to a place called "Seafood King" with mel's grandparents, uncle & aunt, and 3 younger cousins. her family has been so welcoming and generous so far, and have taken care of ordering all the food to make sure we are tasting unique taiwanese dishes while also indulging in the traditional ones.  i don't even know where to begin, so i'll let the pictures do the talking...

the freshest sashimi in the world 

the eyes & long whiskers kinda freak me out...

my favorite dish there: mussel (or oyster? they look the same to me) & bok choy  

fish soup with rice noodles 

pork feet (yes, i tried it, & yes, i know my jewish ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves...)

chicken in boiling water...

+ add veggies to make chicken soup

green mango, served on ice (way sweeter than regular mango) 

now sufficiently FAT, we headed over to KTV for karaoke. this place was insane! it was like an arcade for adults, with food & alcohol that could be bought with these coupons you get when you first go in. each party gets their own room (thank god no one had to hear our rendition of Toxic, My Humps, & Hero) fully equipped with karaoke machines, really nice speakers, couches, tables, & disco balls (nice addition). it was like multi-story maze with all different types of food and drinks. i think i might rename this blog "indulgence from taipei" because honestly, we just didn't hold back...

nomming at its finests

 

definitely starting to notice how important family is in Asia. just seeing Mel's uncle interact with his kids, it seemed like there was no where else in the world he would have rather been than singing chinese pop songs with his family. 

sorry4creeping

so cute (not pictured, jonah, the most adorable 12 year old in taiwan & justin, with the typical dgaf attitude and that every male has at age 14)

gahh! i'm usually not a fan of kids, but something about little asian chubby cheeks gets me!! how could you not fall in love with her?

did i even mention how much i suck at karaoke? sorry mommy, no operas for me ;)