SYS memorial spicy noodle shop

I don't know why i'm doing this in three parts. I just felt like it. So...
Part 1> Today's plan was to eat lunch with my friend. But she showed up with the whole female portion of the flat. So it was lunch for 6. We went to this small chinese noodle restaurant near SYS memorial MRT station exit 2 (國父紀念館). I forget the name, so I'll have to remember it for next visit and edit it in. But it's a small shop that specializes in spicy (麻辣) noodles and dumplings. There's usually a long wait during the weekends. And I'm sure it'll only get longer and longer as the popularity grows. This small street just outside of the number 2 exit is relatively new. Google maps doesn't even show it's current renovated form. Back to the noodles shop. It's a medium sized place and the interior is clean and organized. However it has a very plain no non-sense design. Which is perfectly fine. Service was great and prompt, especially when they mixed up our drink orders. Drop by some time. It's not too expensive, as depends if you have a big stomach. As for the spice. I'm not one to take opinions from, I can handle my spices. Afterwards, there's a great bakery, sandwich place, and a desert place nearby if you want more.


Part 2> We dropped by Emperor Love Tea Boutique. Yuki and I discovered it one day when we were strolling around the ZhongXiao DunHua MRT station area. It's an elegant two level (ground and basement) Tea House that serves very tasty tropical fruit infused teas. They have traditional green, oolong and herbals teas too. But what I think sets it apart from other places are the tropical fruit infused teas. Some, like the Hawaiian fruit tea, actually taste more like juice though. But it's good to have that option when your tired of the typical oolong and green tea. The atmosphere is very comfortable, delicate and elegant like a banquet room for a wedding. The waitresses are very kind and happy to help you choose a tea flavor that suites your taste buds. There's fee wifi and prices range around $200 a pot. Great place!

Part 3> Dinner with my family at a famous Japanese restaurant in TianMu. Nothing much to say here. Private family stuff. But the food was delicious and rich, so do enjoy the few photos I did take of my meal. That black/brown stuff is whole abalone.

麻膳堂
106台北市大安區光復南路280巷24號

Emperor Love Tea
106台北市大安區仁愛路四段345巷4弄2號

Macho fish tacos

I haven't been getting proper sleep lately, so we slept in pretty late. But after getting up, Yuki and I went to Macho Tacos near the SYS memorial station again for a very late lunch. Near closing time around 3 pm. But we got in right before and enjoyed a quiet lunch experience in the normally crowded and busy establishment. I got the burrito...again. If you even make it here, you really only want to order the tacos and burritos. The other items on their menu aren't very good in my opinion as I think I've mentioned before. Her fish tacos this time turned out perfect! Crunchy! And I loved the special sauce they add on top. I wonder if they'll make me a fish burrito next time. Afterwards we made a short trip to Laetitia near Zhongxiao Dunhua. If you remember from my older posts, it's a small pastry puff shop, similar to Beard Papa. Excellent little pastry puffs. A little expensive, but very very delicate and silky in taste. I recommend to drop by and try one or two. After that, we went shopping around for more shoes for Yuki. I have no idea how many pairs she owns now. But it seems every time we go shopping it's for shoes. haha maybe it's not that many. We don't always walk away with a pair every time. For dinner, Yuki didn't recollect that she ever ate at the Dunhua Fuxing SOGO food court. So we grabbed a cheap dinner at the food court of the new SOGO. I have some sizzling pork over pasta and an egg. Taiwanese food court staple. I think just about every food court here has a sizzling "steak" stand. And every food court at a mall is always so packed. Good food, cheap eats attracts everyone! But we were fortunate to scout...wait for a couple to finish and steal their seats. Then we got a big bowl of shaved ice dessert afterwards which ended up being pretty expensive. So not so cheap after all. But I always enjoy the food courts, so many choices.

Aunt Su's Pizza House

Yuki and I was looking for a quick dinner after class because we had a 8pm celebration with my friend that just got a job. So I remembered a pizza place I saw several times near the Sun Yat-Sen memorial. It always looked packed and the pizza smelled divine. I can appreciate a good pizza. So we took a bus ride over to the Aunt Su's Pizza House (蘇阿姨比薩屋吃到飽). The place was packed and busy, but we didn't have an issue getting a seat promptly. They have two ways to order. All you can eat or by the pie. All you can eat is around $380 NT. And they do it, brazilian style. As in, a waitress walks around to each table and asks you you want a piece of whatever flavor she happens to have. The flavors rotate. We decided against that. That just sounds like ALOT of food. We ordered a small pizza that comes with three crust options. Thin, Medium and Thick. As a Chicago-an, I'm obligated to select the thick crust. Also, I'd like to mention, they have fried chicken too. Odd, but it looked just as good as the pizza. It took about 15 minutes, before our pizza arrived. Definitely thick crust, not Chicago stuffed/Deep Dish, but thick none the less. It was flakey and buttery! Perfect. For being in Taiwan, this is pretty damn good pizza. And the old 1950's Coka-cola advertisement interior design really hits it home. It's bustling with enjoyment and laughter like a real pizzeria. Cost us $400 for the small pie that can feed 2 people to FULL. I want to make a return visit with more friends!

No. 300號, GuāngFù South Road, Daan District
Taipei City, Taiwan

Macho Tacos

Today, I found another mexican food place near the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館). It's called Macho Tacos. I think the founder is an ABC like myself. The food was excellent. They were out of beef, so I had the pork instead. The pork was tender, tasty and shredded. AND they use the proper mexican rice with options for refried/black beans. Now this is the fresh-mex that I have been missing since California. My heart is content, I've found my Cali-mexican joint to satisfy my burrito cravings here in Taiwan. They're chips and salsa are also excellent. To top it off with a cherry, they serve Horchata too. It's a mexican cinnamon rice drink. WIN! Afterwards, Yuki and I visited an old concrete military residence museum/village. This relic has since been converted to an art park. We found many people here browsing the limited trinket stores, taking pictures, eating ice cream and sitting around chatting. On my way back, my parents called me up for a dinner invite to Beijing Do It True (北平都一處). It is also near the S.Y.S. memorial. They have two famous and frequently ordered meals. The Peking Duck and sour cabbage hot pot. Peking Duck of my favorite dishes. And so hard to come by in the USA. Many places say they have Peking duck, but unless it's a REAL peking duck from Beijing, it's fake. Most restaurants in the US can't justify the cost for the real thing and substitute it with another duck. Most patrons can't tell the different. To be fair, I can't either. I have to ask. Sorry, no pictures of the Peking duck. Why, because we didn't order it. The waitress was speaking too fast for me to understand, but I believe they sold out. So we had to order another type of meat that was still available. It was still tasty and we devoured it way too fast. The sour cabbage hot pot was so-so according to my mom.



www.machotacos.com, Yanji St, Lane 126, #3.
Beijing Do it True, 506 Renai Road, Sec. 4.