Shilin Night Market

Shilin Night Market is Taipei's most famous night market. For those of you who don't know, night markets are very popular, packed full of great street eats and cheap goods. We went a bit early in the evening, but there were still lots of people getting dinner.

Lady making stinky tofu

More stinky tofu: a Taiwanese specialty!

Oyster egg pancake: Dan's favorite. It's like an omelet with oysters and topped with a sweet red sauce. I don't normally like it in the US (I especially hate the sauce), but it was pretty good here!

This is translated as "Large Intestine Wrapped Around a Small Intestine". It was a small hot dog wrapped inside a larger hot dog, with lots of toppings to choose from. We were a bit deterred by the name, so moved on. ;)

Spring rolls with your choice of fillings!

So cute! These are the cream or red bean filled cakes that you see everywhere, but these have adorable shapes!

Yummy bao-zi's

And of course, the fruit in Taiwan is legendary. I bought some of those pink-fleshed guavas.

Pandas!

Dan had the chance to go to the Taipei Zoo to see Taiwan's new pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. These pandas arrived early this year and set Taiwan off into a panda frenzy! There were so many visitors back then that each visitor was allotted two minutes to watch. Luckily, by the time Dan went, the craze had died down and he could spend as long as he wanted with them. These pandas are very politically charged, and were given by China as somewhat of a political gift after the new president was elected. I won't go into the details here -- just wanted to show you how cute they are!

Here is the panda being lazy!

Time to wake up and stretch!

Playing with a towel!

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan together. So cute! :)

Guess where?

Sichuanese Food

Our last meal in Hong Kong was a delicious Sichuanese one. I usually don't like Sichuanese food (too spicy!) but this one wasn't too bad. The menu was very extensive, and we were able to order non-spicy foods as well. :)

Chili shrimp! Delicious!

Water-cooked fish: see the amount of spice on that? I can't handle this one at all!

Spicy eel: also not a huge fan of this dish -- the eel had too many bones, and it was a bit too salty.

We also got some dan-dan noodles, which were very good, and some other small things. Say goodbye to Hong Kong and hello to Taiwan!

Day trip to Macau

While in Hong Kong, we decided to take a day trip to Macau. The ferry is only about an hour long ride. However, if you happen to get seasick, I highly recommend taking another route. This ferry ride was choppy and I felt ill the entire time!

At Macau, we stayed at a lovely hotel called Pousada de Mong-Ha. A definite must-stay if you are in the area. It's run by tourism students, so it's extraordinarily cheap (our hotel room cost about $40), but the service is great because the students are so enthusiastic! Only caveat is that it is quite far from the 'downtown,' but cabs are so cheap that it's not a big deal.

Beautiful gardens!

Look at our lovely room! The decor was quite nice for $40! They even gave us complimentary cookies.

They also run a restaurant, which we decided to try. The prices are good, and why not support the students a bit? Look how gorgeous the restaurant is! The only odd thing was having 5 student waiters surrounding you at all times...and not always understanding your English. :)

Dan's appetizer of foie gras

Scallop salad with Portuguese sausage

Lobster cappuccino bisque

African chicken: a specialty in Macau. It's very tender chicken made with coconut and spice, over a bed of rice pilaf. A bit oily, as was everything at the restaurant, but not bad for the price.

Beef stew: not recommended at all, very salty

The next morning we ventured out to the casinos. Mornings aren't really the best time to gamble, but we were too tired the night before. We played a few games, broke even, and then left. Mostly, it was a bunch of Cantonese folks. Besides the casinos, there are the usual brand name luxury goods stores.

Ceiling of the Wynn: Chinese zodiac!

The rest of Macau is small and easily seen in a day. The contrast between the indigenous Macau and the 'European' part is quite stark. See here, it looks just like you are in Europe! Nice sidewalks, beautiful buildings, quaint stores, and huge churches. Just a few blocks away, things look vastly different.

Portuguese egg tart! Of course we had to try one. Dan thought it was pretty mediocre, though.

Dim Sum in Hong Kong

That's right, that's Hong Kong!  And in Hong Kong we had to have dim sum!  Dan and I looked up a few places and ended up at Victoria's Seafood Restaurant.  It seems like most HK natives don't have a particular dim sum restaurant that they frequent; they all seem to be pretty solid. Anyway, Dan and I ordered enough food for 4 people (!)  -- it's not my fault, Dan wanted to try everything!  We ordered a few more dishes that aren't pictured below because we forgot to take pictures before digging in.  ;)

 

Goose something or the other

 

String beans

 

Fish maw (what is fish maw anyway?)

 

Tripe: didn't really like this dish, too much sauce

Dumplings: my own personal favorite :)

Guess where this is?