on a good day

so we are reverting back to our old ways; going to bed when the sun comes up and waking up mid-afternoon. i really should stop this before i have to enter into the real world. but taiwan is known for its nightlife, and we are known for our commitment to sleep, so it makes sense we are waking up so late. yesterday was one of the best days we have had since we got here. partly because the weather was so beautiful, partly because of the food we ate, partly because of the places we went, but most importantly, because of the company we were in.

we started our day off kind of late, getting out of the house at around 4pm (pretty impressive since we had gone to bed at 6)...it was a perfect time to leave: the sun was shining and it wasn't as hot as it has been. we all agreed that it was the best weather thus far (well, chris just kinda repeated what we had already established 5 minutes later...UC).  we had read about this really good italian place on hungrygirl's blog, so were in search of Primo Trattoria...we had the address and a map, but everything on the map was in chinese. thank god mel speaks mandarin, but still it was almost impossible to find. just when we had given up on finding it & decided to just eat wherever looked good, we saw it!!! our excitement quickly died down when we were told that they had a 60 person party coming in & we had to sit outside. we tried, but couldn't imagine eating a whole meal in that heat...so the search continued...

Here are some pics of our walk to get dinner.

sunshine 

getting lost :)

primo trattoria-probably gonna go back if we have a craving

GUSTO: SPANISH TAPAS & COFFE BAR 


we walked around a little more & came across a Spanish (NOT Mexican...) place called "Gusto"...we were sold with the pictures (i love when restaurants show pictures of their food)!! this place seemed pretty authentic & i loved the decor.

            

it's a tapas place, but being the fatties we are, we didn't want to risk it by getting a small dish, so we all ordered paella. when i first had paella in Barcelona, i fell in love with it. i love seafood, i love rice, and i love sausage...it quickly became one of my favorite foods. when i tried it in the states, i was thoroughly disappointed with its bland flavors and the skimpy servings of seafood. i guess there's a reason spain is so famous for it & not america. i still wanted to see how taiwan measured up, so i ordered the seafood paella (mel got clam&meat paella and chris also got the seafood paella)

clam & mixed meat paella 

seafood paella

meat combo

the paella was pretty good...i was disappointed mine had no sausage though (i thought it came with it, but i guess i was wrong & this is only in mixed and Valencian paella) but it tasted pretty good. the seafood was really fresh (benefits of being on an island) and it was significantly better than the one i had in america. mel was telling me that when taiwanese restaurants are influenced by other types of food, they make a big effort to remain authentic. this seemed like the case & the flavor was pretty spanish. we all agreed that it could have been spicy, but then again, i don't think paella is supposed to be spicy. it is supposed to have a layer of the hardened rice at the bottom (my favorite part) which this rendition didn't have. it also used bell papers and i am not a huge fan of that. i'm definitely not complaining though, this meal was really satisfying & pretty cheap (300NT, $10). Chris also got this meat combo, which looked pretty cool when they lit it on fire (i swear the taiwanese are pyromaniacs), but wasn't very good. the meat was over-seasoned & under-cooked. if we were to go back, we would not get this again, and maybe try one of the tapas. but we were all happy with this meal :)

CHIN CHIN CAFE

we had some time to kill before meeting up with rea & an, so sat down at a cafe called Chin Chin Cafe. we were pretty stuffed, so just came for some coffee, but the desserts here looked incredible. honey toast and waffles are big here...for honey toast its bread with ice cream and toppings in it and waffles can be served plain or stuffed with ice cream. the best twist on breakfast food i've ever seen!!

mmm NEED to go back to get the chocolate&banana toast

i told you i love pictures of food

so many choices

mel's coffe

they had such a unique selection of coffees & teas. taffy candy latte, tiramisu latte, strawberry flavor hot cocoa, mexican milk scented tea, vienna mixed fruit green tea to name a few. i was deciding between the lavandar latte & rose cappuccino and went for the rose.

rose cappuccino 

THE TOP: HILLSIDE RESTAURANT & BAR 

rea made a reservation at 11pm for this lounge on top of a mountain called The Top. i was expecting something beautiful, but was completely blown away by the scenery & atmosphere at this place...we all loved it! it's all outdoors with these private "huts"...with couch type benches and silk curtains.

there are island-inspired roofs on both the huts and used as umbrellas on the outside tables (thank god the rain stopped & the sky cleared up in time for us to enjoy the night!!)

the walkways are all surrounded by water tinted blue by the lighting. along the walk there are stone designs of thai gods (i have no idea what they are actually, they just look thai...)

there are torches and lamps making the lighting subtle and really romantic-we saw one of the guys we met at luxy the night before there with his gf & beagle :)


so im guessing it's thai inspired based on the music & designs around the place:

enjoying the view

bathroom sink-glad the cockroach wasn't there when i went in ;)

looks thai, right?

the food wasn't thai however, it was hotpot. it's funny because most Americans don't really know what hotpot is or that you can cook your own food. the first time i had hotpot was with mel & chris at this place in san diego called Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot. you get all the vegetables & meat & tofu raw and then you cook them yourself. it's a lot more fun than just getting your food served to you and it's a lot more social. we ended up staying there for 4 hours, enjoying the view, getting drinks, eating & our time together :) 

top two: noodle balls & corn

hotpot!

drink #1-sex on the beach

mai thai & food in our private booth :)

drink #2: mojito 

group pic

one of the chillest nights we have had...being on top of a mountain looking at all the lights of taiwan really makes you think about the important things in life. if u know me, you know that sometimes i just get really quiet and its not because i'm bored or sad or anything like that...i just get caught in my own head sometimes, which is what happened here. it was just a beautiful atmosphere to relax in & a beautiful night.

i'm so thankful that i am here with mel and that her friends have been SO helpful and kind in showing us all the best spots around the city. they have had plans for us every day since we met up with them, and that combined with the warmness of mel's family, i feel like i am getting the royal treatment here. excited to go to Patisserie La Douceur to get macaroons!! an is so cute & called them to make sure they had the macaroons! i wish i could speak chinese so that i could talk to her more, but you don't always need language to communicate :)

hopefully i don't come back too drunk...all you can drink @ twiice :/