Adventure # 13 - Taipei April 2014 Part Two

That was quite a hiatus in between this 3-parter post. My apologies—Work and life got a bit hectic. Actually, it still is. But I've been putting my updates on the back burner for faaar too long. So without further ado, might I, after a more than a month, present Taipei Part Two! :D

On our way to Yong Kang St., we passed by THE original Din Tai Fung. This was actually the first ever branch that opened and its fame was absolutely palpable. Just look at that queue!

Adventure # 12 - Taipei April 2014 Part One

Taipei, Taiwan was quite the adventure—In many ways, this trip wasn't like all the other trips I've planned (or micromanaged), seeing as I've had a relatively shorter time mapping everything out. This trip was more open-ended; more spontaneous; more susceptible to changes and spur-of-the-moment decisions (like suddenly visiting the zoo!).  It was kind of refreshing, not being bound by a physical to-do list I feel compelled to check off one by one. Of course, losing the actual physical copy of that list on the way to our first stop helped a lot. My trip to Taiwan will surely be the first of many—There's just simply too much things to see and do (night markets to cross off my list) that a few short days wouldn't be enough!

I guess visualisation really works! I drew these giraffes on the plane bound for Taipei (copied off the latest issue of Smile magazine) not really anticipating that I'll be actually meeting them on this trip.

Just look at the gorgeous architecture of the Taoyuan International Airport. Doesn't it take your breath away? I certainly paused and drank it all in before hurrying towards immigration.

Waiting for the 1819 Kuo Kuang Bus to take us to Taipei Main Station.

Adventure # 11 - Birthday Weekend Part 2

All it took was one suggestion and the next thing we knew, my sister was running back up from the car, grabbing scarves and jackets, and we were on our way to Tagaytay! With no absolute plan in mind, we managed to find our way to The Inn at The Cliffhouse Tagaytay. It was someplace we've always passed whenever we go there but never seemed to get a chance to stop by.

Were we glad that this (impromptu) opportunity came up!

Look at the gorgeous view! Too bad it was a bit hazy when we got there at around 5pm, but at least we were able to catch the last hour of daylight considering we left Manila close to 4 in the afternoon!

Adventure # 10 - Birthday Weekend Part 1

March 15, 2014 was quite a fun day! Chabeli and I both got our Saturdays off from our out of town shoot at Anvaya (Wednesday to Friday) so I get to enjoy a full weekend to celebrate with family and friends. 

First stop was Kimukatsu at Shangri-la East Wing. Their specialty is 25 layers of thinly sliced pork stacked together covered with fresh breadcrumbs. Their kimukatsu sets come in different flavors- plain, black pepper, garlic, cheese, negi shio (spring onion), yuzu kosho (yuzu fruits and green chilli pepper), and ume shisho (Japanese sour plum and shio leaf). Nox and I decided to try out the plain and black pepper flavors for our first foray. Couldn't wait to try out the more exotic flavors next time!

All kimukatsu's come with a rice set which includes unlimited rice, red or white miso soup, cabbage and Japanese pickles. The red miso soup has a stronger tangy taste to it than the white (which was your standard miso). Nox preferred the red while I still liked the white best.

I love the modern asian interiors—Especially that printed woodblock accent wall! I couldn't tell if the image was directly printed or stickered on though. I'll try sitting there next time.

I always love crushing the sesame seeds to be mixed with the katsu sauce. Its smell is so earthily good!