Taipei, Day 2
around 10:30 a.m., joe and i met with gabe. funny thing about gabe. other than the one time he came to visit me in my new malibu home, i've only seen him in foreign countries, last time in hong kong and now in taipei.
our first stop was the original din tai fung location off the dongmen stop. i have yet to get there early enough to get the mini dumplings that run out every weekend. if they know they are going to run out, why can't they just make more and more and more? instead, i had to contend myself with cucumber, hot and sour soup with pork, noodle with minced pork sauce, shrimp and pork pot stickers, and green squash and shrimp steamed dumplings and pork steamed dumplings as well.
the steam dumplings (xiaolongbao) are the signature dishes of this popular restaurant chain. you get a small dish of shredded ginger, and you are supposed to add soy sauce and vinegar to it in a 1 to 3 ratio. they even give you a little card with directions and pictures on how best to enjoy the dumplings. by the time we left, there was a small crowd waiting that was only to get bigger as the weekend continued.
then we wandered around taipei looking for electronics stores that would have a battery for joe's android nexus phone. no such luck, and the oppressive heat was already starting to get to me. fortunately, we were entering enough air-conditioned stores to offset the heat periods. i probably walked through three uniqlo stores, known for japanese casual wear. i call it the japanese united colors of benetton since they have so many designs and colors. i saw a small segment on them once about the strong leadership and very high work ethic they instill in their employees.
gabe wanted to visit the 24-hour eslite bookstore so off we went again on the metro to taipei city hall stop. turns out this was a massive mall, a lifestyle store with focus on books and lots of seating for readers. there are six floors above ground and two floors underground. not only were there books (with a large collection of english language books), but you could also get music, design gadgets, stationeries, clothes, toys, and food. after the bookstore, we went into another mall to the 2nd basement level to visit muji, a japanese ikea of sorts. by then, we were done with malls and decided to return to our hotels for some rest and relaxation before dinner.
anybody who knows me well enough knows i love peking duck and try to have it at least once a year, and if i happen to have a large group for a chinese meal, i'll also order one. at capital seafood in irvine, during the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. monday to friday, peking duck is only $12. usually, i pay over $30. the new chinese restaurant that opened in malibu has peking duck for $68. wp24, a wolfgang puck restaurant in downtown los angeles, used to offer peking duck served two ways for about $58.
in reading about the best peking ducks in taipei, i came across an article that said the taiwanese prefer duck in eastern taiwan because of the full-bodied appearance, crispy skin, and tender flavorful meat. they also prefer ducks to be about 60 days old with a weight of 2000 grams to ensure that the ducks have sufficiently high fat content. instead of the traditional plum sauce, some places use black bean instead, making it a cantonese duck instead of peking. the advantage of plum sauce is, if the duck is too oily, the acid of the plum helps break this down.
so for dinner, we met up with gabe again to go to celestial palace, known for their peking duck. the place is a little hard to find. you have to look for the royal inn taipei and then go to the third floor. the peking duck comes served three ways: 1) just the crispy duck skin, 2) meat slices of the duck with a light stir fry consisting of bean sprouts and small pieces of duck meat, and 3) the duck bones are cooked into a soup with rice noodles and vegetables. before they start with the three ways, they bring the roasted duck out for your approval. i really liked the flat pancakes that came with the duck because it was much thinner and less filling than the traditional doughy buns. i wished the scallions were sliced more thinly instead of chunks because it made it more difficult to chew, but the hoisin sauce was good. we also ordered three delicious stir fry and had some rice and almond jello dessert, but the duck was the best thing. after we got back to my hotel, we also stopped and had ice cream and some waffles.
now that i'm stuffed, it's time for bed. more adventures tomorrow.
our first stop was the original din tai fung location off the dongmen stop. i have yet to get there early enough to get the mini dumplings that run out every weekend. if they know they are going to run out, why can't they just make more and more and more? instead, i had to contend myself with cucumber, hot and sour soup with pork, noodle with minced pork sauce, shrimp and pork pot stickers, and green squash and shrimp steamed dumplings and pork steamed dumplings as well.
the steam dumplings (xiaolongbao) are the signature dishes of this popular restaurant chain. you get a small dish of shredded ginger, and you are supposed to add soy sauce and vinegar to it in a 1 to 3 ratio. they even give you a little card with directions and pictures on how best to enjoy the dumplings. by the time we left, there was a small crowd waiting that was only to get bigger as the weekend continued.
then we wandered around taipei looking for electronics stores that would have a battery for joe's android nexus phone. no such luck, and the oppressive heat was already starting to get to me. fortunately, we were entering enough air-conditioned stores to offset the heat periods. i probably walked through three uniqlo stores, known for japanese casual wear. i call it the japanese united colors of benetton since they have so many designs and colors. i saw a small segment on them once about the strong leadership and very high work ethic they instill in their employees.
gabe wanted to visit the 24-hour eslite bookstore so off we went again on the metro to taipei city hall stop. turns out this was a massive mall, a lifestyle store with focus on books and lots of seating for readers. there are six floors above ground and two floors underground. not only were there books (with a large collection of english language books), but you could also get music, design gadgets, stationeries, clothes, toys, and food. after the bookstore, we went into another mall to the 2nd basement level to visit muji, a japanese ikea of sorts. by then, we were done with malls and decided to return to our hotels for some rest and relaxation before dinner.
anybody who knows me well enough knows i love peking duck and try to have it at least once a year, and if i happen to have a large group for a chinese meal, i'll also order one. at capital seafood in irvine, during the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. monday to friday, peking duck is only $12. usually, i pay over $30. the new chinese restaurant that opened in malibu has peking duck for $68. wp24, a wolfgang puck restaurant in downtown los angeles, used to offer peking duck served two ways for about $58.
in reading about the best peking ducks in taipei, i came across an article that said the taiwanese prefer duck in eastern taiwan because of the full-bodied appearance, crispy skin, and tender flavorful meat. they also prefer ducks to be about 60 days old with a weight of 2000 grams to ensure that the ducks have sufficiently high fat content. instead of the traditional plum sauce, some places use black bean instead, making it a cantonese duck instead of peking. the advantage of plum sauce is, if the duck is too oily, the acid of the plum helps break this down.
so for dinner, we met up with gabe again to go to celestial palace, known for their peking duck. the place is a little hard to find. you have to look for the royal inn taipei and then go to the third floor. the peking duck comes served three ways: 1) just the crispy duck skin, 2) meat slices of the duck with a light stir fry consisting of bean sprouts and small pieces of duck meat, and 3) the duck bones are cooked into a soup with rice noodles and vegetables. before they start with the three ways, they bring the roasted duck out for your approval. i really liked the flat pancakes that came with the duck because it was much thinner and less filling than the traditional doughy buns. i wished the scallions were sliced more thinly instead of chunks because it made it more difficult to chew, but the hoisin sauce was good. we also ordered three delicious stir fry and had some rice and almond jello dessert, but the duck was the best thing. after we got back to my hotel, we also stopped and had ice cream and some waffles.
now that i'm stuffed, it's time for bed. more adventures tomorrow.