Taipei - Modern Toilet Restaurant

When I was getting ready to go to Taiwan, someone suggested visiting a theme restaurant that they have there. I remember seeing these on the Travel Channel or something of the likes, so I was pretty excited to go see one for myself! The only that I could really get an exact address for was the Modern Toilet restaurant. It was quite an interesting experience, and I really enjoyed it!

I searched for a while, but when I saw this, I knew I had found it!

The entrance!

Some of the interesting decor!

My broccoli/tomato/chicken rice was served in a bathtub!

And my ice cream dessert was served in a squatter toilet!

More decor from the restaurant:

Bathtub table, toilet chairs, and a shower hose to top it off!

The people that designed this were very clever, and the place was packed, so obviously it's a fun place to go! I definitely recommend going if you ever have the chance! And the food was really yummy, too! :)

Taipei - Shilin Night Market

In Taipei, night markets are huuuuge!! They seem to be the 'thing' to do at night!! The subway to this particular night market was packed!! I visited the Shilin Night Market on three different nights...it was that happenin', and there was a ton to see! There were people everywhere and the aisles between vendors were full of people! It was a mix of exciting and overwhelming at the same time! In the main building, it felt like a carnival. There were so many food vendors and games and a few souvenir places. It was just insanity. I took some video so I'll try to upload that sometime for you! Alright, here are some pictures of the place:

The main sign outside...Shilin Market.

A view inside the main building

Rows and rows of claw games...I didn't attempt them though. I really awful at these games!

Some of the food...

Lots of sausages...

It looked delicious but I didn't try any of this!!

Fried food, anyone??

Lots of fresh fruit! Yum!

Just pick your fruit and they'll make you a smoothie!

I chose banana...yum!!!

 

That's just a general look at the market! I think I'll have more pictures later, but that's all

for now!!

Taipei, Taiwan - Overview

If you look at my blog or Facebook page often, then you know that I just returned from a 6-day vacation in Taipei, Taiwan. I'm back to Korea now and back to work, so I thought I'd share some of my adventures with you...that is what this blog is for, after all!

Traveling to Taipei was my first vacation alone. It was a little different, I have to admit. There were definitely pros and cons to traveling alone, as there are when you travel with others. I definitely enjoyed doing my own thing and doing it on my own schedule. The whole vacation was pretty laid back and chill, which is kind of strange, if you know me at all! On the flipside, it was kind of strange not having someone with which to share my experience. I couldn't say 'Hey, check that out' or 'Did you see that!?' and all of those fun things. Being in Korea, I rarely feel alone, but to be honest, being in Taipei felt a little lonely for me. I still had a good time, don't get me wrong!

Taipei was also my first hostel experience. I have always heard about people staying in hostels, but I had never experienced it until last week. It was ok. I guess living in the dorm during college really helped, but really, it wasn't bad. My initial plan was to stay in a hostel for one night and then find a room at another place, but I ended up staying at Taipei Hostel the entire time. The bunks had curtains, so it was almost like my own little cave. The only irk I had was with the Malaysian kid across from me clipping his fingernails at 12:30 at night! Besides that, all was peachy!!

Anyways, about Taipei...overall, I thought it was a really nice city. It was super clean...which is contrary to what I read online before my trip. I thought the subway system was great and super spotless. The people were nice as far as I could tell. If I could speak Chinese, it probably would have helped a ton, but as a definite foreigner, I was still able to get around easily. The city was really easy to navigate, and the subway went to all of the places that I needed. There was plenty for me to do in Taipei for the week, so I didn't visit any other cities. I decided that I didn't want to spend my days trapped on a bus!

Ok, I'm going to post pictures in my upcoming blogs. I'm going to break up the sights of Taipei into different blogs, so just bear with me! I don't want to cram it all into one long blog! So, sit back and enjoy! :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Wishing you a

Merry Christmas

and

blessed New Year!!!

I'm heading to Seoul tonight and Taiwan tomorrow....see you next year!!

Making Kimchi!!!

When I decided to come back to Korea, one thing topped my list of things to do that I didn't get to do last time...Make Kimchi!!

What is kimchi, you might ask?? Well, if you're in Korea for more than a second, you'll see this spicy cabbage dish on your table. Kimchi is [unoffically?] the national dish of Korea. It's everywhere!! In a phrase, it's spicy fermented cabbage. I think it's served as a side dish for just  about every Korean dish, and the Korean people love it. Actually, they swear by it. You know the saying "An apple a day...", well, in Korea, it's kind of like, "Some kimchi everyday..."

Do I like it, you might ask next? Well, that's a tricky question because I am not into spicy food...but they do have a version of this dish (baek kimchi) that doesn't have the spicy sauce and I really love it...too bad it's not very common!

Then, you might be thinking, 'how do you make this famous dish?' I'll give you a very brief description...since I'm definitely not the kimchi expert!! (Click this link for a really good explanation, if you'd like to read more.) Ok...here goes from my point-of-view:

• As the weather starts getting cold and the cabbage is at it's peak, it's kimchi-making time in Korea! This process is called 'kim-jang'. After gathering the heads of cabbage and cleaning them, the cabbage is soaked in salt water for about a day. This part of the process allows the cabbage to wilt and become easier for handling.  The following day, the cabbage is covered - leaf-by-leaf - by a spicy concoction. My suspicion is that each family has their own spicy recipe, but that has not been confirmed! In the kimchi that I made, the sauce had some ginger, oysters, red sauce (goh-chu), garlic, and probably more things that I didn't know about! Next, the cabbage heads will be placed in large kimchi pot that will hold the kimchi for an extended period of time (a year or more) until the family is ready to eat it.

 Ok, let's get to the pictures now! They're the fun part anyway!! :)

 Our ingredients - cabbage & the spicy red concoction



 Learning the proper technique

 Trying some of the [spicy] delicousness!!

Coating each leaf!

I was having so much fun!

The finished product!!

Of course, we shot a little video too! Enjoy!!



I had loads of fun, and I feel really happy that I got to partake in this Korean tradition!