Taipei, Taiwan - Part 1

Dear Friends:

This week, I'm 7,800 miles away from home, in Taipei, Taiwan.  I'm here on a business trip - my first international trip in 10 months!  The journey here was quite a long one.  In all, I spent about 26 hours traveling.  To get a decent airfare, I had to connect through Seoul, Korea.  I spent a couple of hours in that airport, and tried to find anything that would show me actual Korean culture - and not just duty-free shopping ; )  I did run into a unique area that showed traditional Korean clothing:

There was a tiny art exhibit in the terminal.  I found this lovely replica of an ancient incense burner - the carving was quite intricate:

I finally arrive in Taipei and headed directly to the hotel.  It was late in the evening, but I wanted to stay up as late as I could, to help my body adjust to the time-zone.  I went for a short walk and discovered that 7-Eleven is quite a popular chain in this country.  I stepped inside one of many and started checking out the food.  I found this lovely product:

I couldn't resist trying it.  As you might expect, it tasted exactly like a combination of seaweed and potato chips.  Oddly pleasing ; )  I also found these cookies, which reminded me of Amanda, right away:

How cute...

I can tell you that Taiwanese Skittles are no different than American Skittles...everyone is equal!

At a corner grocery store, I found this GIANT apple.  Hard to tell from the photo, but it's significantly larger than my hand, and only cost about $3:

After working the next day, I found myself alone in Taipei.  I decided to hunt down one of my favorite restaurants.  I decided to navigate the subway system, and found it pretty easy...because it operates much like the Tokyo system.  I guess I hit the commute rush, as it was tough getting on a very crowded train.  After waiting in line for the third train, I was able to make it:

I arrived at the destination and finally located the restaurant - Din Tai Fung.  This place is famous for its dumplings:

There are locations all over the world, but it started here in Taipei.  At the front of this location, you can actually view them making the dumplings by hand:

And...of course the restaurant has it's own cute mascot.  It's Asia, for heaven's sake...it's a dumpling that is serving dumplings...

There are a few different variety of dumplings.  This restaurant is most well-known for the xiaolongbao variety:

I was so excited to start eating that I forgot to take a picture until after I had two ; )

Inside the dumpling, you'll find a small amount of soup broth, surrounding a wonderful mixture of chicken and spices.  You dip the dumpling in a sauce of soy and vinegar, with ginger mixed in.  It's a fantastic combination!

Another type is the shiaomai.  This looks like a little dumpling volcano that is erupting.  In this case, it's about to erupt with some shrimp and pork inside...

Yet another type of dumpling - that most people are familiar with - is the jiaozi - which is a round piece of flour dough, folded in half, and pinched along the semi-circle:

After dinner, I wandered nearby and found a pastry shop that sold some unusual items:

Gotta love Angry Birds...

Restaurants nearby use the Japanese method of displaying their dishes in plastic form, just outside the door.  This way, you can pick what you want without actually reading a menu. There's an entire industry dedicated to making plastic food look like the real thing:

It seems that the Christmas spirit is already alive and well here.  However, to be honest, it's much more of a shopping holiday than a religious holiday (I guess that's not too much different from North America). This tree is brought to you by Cartier:

That's it for part one.  More on the next post, as I continue my meetings here in Taiwan!