Story of Time - 光陰的故事

The most recent drama that I am watching is NOT a Taiwanese idol series, but more like those TCS drama about Chinatown…haha! This story talks of a village in Taiwan and about the families that live there..(more details). I started to watch bits and pieces of it when ever I manage to catch the repeat on cable 255 at night. It is really enjoyable! The acting was great – I think this is partly due to the great cast as there were many veteran actors in the series, and the younger actors have done some acting work, so none of them were ‘green’ like many in idol series.

The plot was nice, with a good balance of human drama, humour, family & neighbourly relations and of course romance. I think the biggest draw for me was to see a side of Taiwan that I didn’t see before in the other dramas – how real people live as this story is written about a real place where the producer of the series lived. It does add a touch of reality to the show. There are a couple of themes in the story arcs that are quite nice – like one of forgiving and moving on ( for one family with an abusive father), about letting go ( of a long held crush), believing that happiness is the ability to be contented with what you have, and life as a series of MCQs - we make the best choice we can at the moment. It may not be what you want, but once it is made, we try not to regret what has happened. I think it has a more robust plot then most shows on TV these days! ( I realised I am not very good at conveying how good this series really is….sigh…just go watch it!)

On top of that, it has a great soundtrack! :)

Here is a clip of the “ending song” which has a soft-rock edge to it.

Happy Viewing!!

Food, Glorious Food

When I am in HK, I buy more, when I am in Taipei, I eat more.....in fact, I ate ALL THE TIME!
There were so many interesting street food to sample. I think if Steven went with me...I wouldn't have eaten as much cos he is VERY particular about eating street food....he doesn't like to! I did not eat ANY street food when I was with him in Hua Hin last year......so this time...I ate and ate and ate....you get the idea...
Here are some pictorial evidence of my gluttony! ( I would like to add that I did not eat EVERYthing by myself...Min & I share most of the food...expect for my favourite....pig's intestine!!!! I had to have them every day...in one form or another!)

We actually ate a lot more than this...but I was too busy eating to take photos....so....


From top Left.. Ah Zong 面线 Lunch at Basement Food court@ShinKong Mitsukoshi Dept
Dinner at Foodcourt @Taipei 101

Mixed veg, fish, pork in soya sauce Steam boat

Note :
(1) Ah Zong Ah Zong 面线 is at Ximending, it is not difficult to find as many people would be standing outside the shop eating it. There are no seats! Unlike Singapore's version, there is no osyters...instead they have pig intestines!!!!! Yummy!!!! I ate it 2 nights in a row.....

(2) Mixed Veg thingy is like Yong Tau Foo...you chose what you want from the stall, and then it gets cooked in the sauce. It is meant for sharing...They have a unique way of ordering the food...cos you have to watch when the guy puts it into the pot to cook as he cooks 3 different portions at the same time. When it is ready, you have to "claim" it, so if you are not paying attention...someone else may take yours! The one we ate was at Shida Market. It was a pretty big stall and you eat inside a bubble tea shop behind the stall.

(3) There are LOTs of Jap food in Taiwan! They are everywhere, each foodcourt would probably have about 3 Jap food stalls! And they are quite reasonable...the bento in the picture above cos S$14. I couldn't finish it...too much!!

(4) Egg custard (bottle next to the Sushi) from ShinKong Mitsukoshi Dept (A8) store basement is GREAT! It is in a nice glass bottle with a little caramel at the bottom. We wanted to buy some back but they only had 3 left, so i took everything! Steven ate one last night...he didn't even share with me. I need to remember what is the name of the stall......

Taiwan 101

Taipei 101

Yes, it is the tallest building in the world ( at one time I guess...) taken at dusk in Taipei...well the actually name of the building is Taipei 101. It looks very impressive, and you can see if from quite a distance away. However, my first impression of the building when I entered was ...." How come it feels like KLCC huh? Maybe all tall buildings have the same type of architectural...."

That's my impression of one of the finest building in Taiwan!
So this begins my tale of my trip to Taipei! :)

I was in Taiwan from 5-9 Sept, and since it was a short trip, we (Min & I) spend more of our time in Taipei city itself. I found the place quite different from what I imagined....it is a lot less crowded, and the air quality is not as bad. The people are orderly ( as in everyone will stand on the right side of the escalator, and wait in line for passengers from the MRT to alight before boarding) and very friendly. While we manage to visit some of the touristy sights like Shilin Night Market, Shida Night market, National Palace Museum, Ximending( where we stayed), it was the more unconventional places that we went that left the deepest impression.

Couple from Turn Left, Turn Right

We spend an afternoon at the Eslite Bookstore. It was a great experience. We visited an exhibition which showcase the work of artisit "Jimmy" He drew the pictorial "Turn Left, Turn Right" which has been made into a movie. This pictorial is also going to be made into a musical. The reason for the exhibition was also to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jimmy's work. It was by pure chance that we were at the bookshop to view the exhibition and to attend Jimmy's talk & book signing event :) As part of the 10th anniversary celebrations, they had also created Scriptures and made installations of pictorials and had them all over Taipei city! It was a really great experience, as I have read some of his works and have really enjoyed them. His pictorials are often accompanied by short phrases that really makes you think....check his website out...you will know what I mean.


We also visited this area called 九份 which got its name from the nine households that started the village. Since there were nine families, everything in the village was divided by nine...hence the name ....well Communists at its best! :) The place is worth at least 1/2 a day of visit. We went in the afternoon and had tea in one of the tea houses while watching the sun set behind the hills. It was quite an experience. We took the train there, but as we didn't know the time-table & the complicated train schedule, it was quite an experience!! Some nice 'uncle' came and explain the system for us and help us buy tickets! ( we must look really lost!). The train from Taipei Main Station will take you to 瑞坊 (Rui Fang) in about 1 hour for NT$52. You need to then take a bus from the station to get you to 九份. The bus journey reminds me a lot of taking the bus in HK to Stanley Market...the roads are winding up and down the hills and the bus drivers and equally....fast! We realised after arriving that there was a direct bus from Taipei City to 九份! We just had to take it from the Zhong Xiao Fuxing station ( outside Sogo Dept store!) for NT$90! That would have saved us a lot of hassle! But the view & the experience in 九份 was certainly worth the trip...

More about the trip in another post!