END OF THE WORLD

I lied! One more thing. 

Can you spot me (you have to be quick!) I must say that even now that I see the finished product I don't really get the concept, way too highbrow for me. 

Now, finally here I come.

THE LAST SUPPER

Now, off to the airport!!

TAIPEI TIMES

This (rather unfortunately) is what first comes to mind when I reflect on what the past six months here have been like. My teacher kept harping on about how we just got a bad year, apparently it doesn't usually rain this much but....

Anyway, irrelevant now - here I come!

NATIONAL DISH OF TAIWAN

Same as Lanzhou actually, beef noodles.

Slow cooked beef (cheap cuts but if cooked right falls apart in your mouth), noodles, a little cabbage and spring onion in a beef stock broth. The ultimate beef noodle place to me has super tender cuts of meat, a really flavourful broth and a chewy noodle. A bad bowl can be totally inedible, a good one, the perfect thing to eat on a cold and rainy Taipei day. Needless to say, I've been eating them quite a lot lately!

Looking forward to that NZ summer (I hear it's waiting for me to arrive...)

HOMEWARD BOUND

I am leaving this fair city and coming home in 4 days and counting down...

I can't say that I'm sorry to leave, my bags are packed and I have already made a list of all the things I'm going to do once I'm home!

Very excited to be living somewhere new (Auckland), not so excited about the prospect of finding a job, I've been looking for a month so far to no avail... I think it may still be a few more months until something happens. Anyone have any ideas?

In the meantime I can busy myself with home decorating, cooking, reading, finding my way around Auckland etc, I don't think unemployment will be too too horrible :)

These last fews days will involve going to school (finishing my last pesky time card, I will not be missing those), eating froyo, vegetarian buffet, drinking green tea with milk (just discovered this weekend, weird but totally works) and generally counting down the hours...

See you soon!

CHEESY DELIGHT

I really am leaving Taiwan with a bang.

Tonight: a vegetarian pizza shop, with toppings such as "Ginger Superman" "Apple and Cinnamon" "Kimchi" alongside more classic options such as "Rosemary Potato" and "Cheese".

Not much indoor seating (one table that seats 6?) but a lot of customers, there is always a huddle of people standing on the street outside awaiting take-out and groups sitting in the park opposite eating these delicious cheesy wonders. The thing I like most? The size. Each the size of a modest dinner plate - the perfect serving. A good thing too as within 3 minutes walking distance are Froyo AND the cookie store and if you're in the mood for more savoury, those yummy potstickers.... It's a great area to just wander around, picking up snacks at your leisure (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.)

FRIDAY NIGHT FRY

It's been too long since this has happened!

Guo Tie, or potstickers, whatever you want to call them, are pretty delicious. Dumplings that are fried on the bottom, one of the many reasons why I got so fat in Shanghai and thus, not a regular feature in my current diet. Third time since I've been in Taiwan perhaps?

These particular specimens are pretty near perfect, golden brown, crunchy on the bottom but chewy on top, yummy pork filling. Plates and plates were going out of the kitchen, big plates. How do these little people stay so svelte when they eat this way?

LATE NIGHT SUGAR

Now back in the big city.

Consumed the night before I left for Vietnam (not all by me!!!)

More "American Style" chewy cookies and cupcakes with "frosting" (read: icing). Such a Taipei trend right now, particularly nearby university campuses. It's bad.

THE COLLECTION

The sound of an ice cream truck in the distance...

 but here this announces the arrival of the Taiwanese rubbish truck. It comes most days and makes for a very social time, everyone comes out onto the street to throw their rubbish onboard. A truck for household garbage, one for plastic, one for paper and cardboard. Mine in Taipei comes at 9pm Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri and Sat. This one in Kenting came while we were having lunch.

BECAUSE I'M ADDICTED

Sportswear is big in Asia.

All the department stores have stores for the major brands and lets not get started on the 3 storey flagships. They have a selection that NZ customers could only dream of, colours, styles, limited editions releases, and it all looks so pretty in the displays!

I was never very interested in this kind of thing at home but now, I never miss an opportunity to pop into the store and see what's on offer. 90% of the time there is some kind of sales promotion happening and like I said, everything is so pretty!

I'm going to have a large influx of cash in the last few days before I leave here so I think I'll have to shop for a new gym outfit. For now though, I'll make do with the gym bag!

FOR G

I ate lunch at the vegetarian buffet for you today :)

They had a fabulous "Greatest Hits of the Eighties" type soundtrack happening today so I lingered over the complimentary green bean soup.... perhaps I will miss being able to eat like this for under NZ$4.

MID WINTER

Taiwan is gearing up for the election this weekend and the campaigners are in full swing, banners like the ones pictured are all over the show (it looks kind of messy in my humble opinion.) I did like this fellows name though - "Smiling George." 

In my recent news, C and G are long gone and I've spent the week trying to catch up on class after 3 weeks of absence/no studying. 

I'm finding myself just going through the motions really, there is that mid-winter lethargy affecting everything and everyone right now, it is tough to find the motivation.

Luckily this funk can't last long, next weekend marks the beginning of a week long holiday for Chinese New Year. I'm very excited. 

As anyone who has spent lunar new year in an Asian country knows, everything shuts down and everyone goes home, it is not fun at all to stay in the city so I'm going to Vietnam! My last hurrah before my homecoming and inevitable joining of the workforce. Also a good chance to hopefully get some sun, I think I am suffering from a Vitamin D deficiency....

Happy Weekend

FESTIVE QUINOA

I just learnt this new trick today, mix red and white quinoa together to make it look super pretty! Thanks to G for bringing the red quinoa from NZ, it is hideously expensive here.

I am loving this blog for recipes right now, I've bookmarked so many already to try when I get home.

AU REVOIR TAIPEI

Off to Hong Kong I go!

I saw this movie last week, a cute rom com set in Taipei, it gives you a pretty good idea of what Taipei looks like - scooters, night markets, noodles etc. Just make the addition of constant rainfall and you'll have the Taipei I'm living in right now.

If you have nothing better to do then you can watch the full thing, but here are the first 10 minutes.

Au revoir Taipei, see you in a week (that is if C & G successfully manage to get me on the return flight back. I warn you now, you've got your work cut out for you!)

BACK AGAIN

This is where people who live in Taipei, only have one set of bed linen and no drier at home spend their Saturday afternoons. Damn this weather! It's actually taking over my life... all I ever seem to talk (or think) about anymore.

My apologies.

HAPPY FOOD

Today I visited my favourite vegetarian buffet for the first time in a couple of weeks, it was so good! I haven't enjoyed a meal (that was not of my own making!) this much in months. I think I was actually  grinning ear to ear as I was eating.... What has become of me?

Particular favourites here, the mushrooms (why do the Chinese do them so well?) and the imitation meat front and center, it tastes really good - now there is something I thought I would never say. I hate to think what the nutritional information is....

POLAR OPPOSITES

Lately when discussing the weather with people here, everyone says that a good dehumidifier is a must for spending a comfortable Taipei winter. My AC has this function, but then it makes the room unbearably cold, I think I'd rather brave the elements than make the investment, unless my clothes start to suffer of course!

It's ironic that back in Lanzhou, we used a humidifier to increase humidity! A rabbit that emitted steam from it's ears! Only in China.

MV #2

Last Friday evening was spent freezing in an abandoned bottle top factory filming another music video. The concept was "it's the end of the world and you are the only ones left, you're sad.... but happy too."

I spent most of the time mucking around with Instagram... too addictive!

WEEKEND WARMER

This weekend has been deadly cold, one of those weekends that makes everyone rush out to the shops to buy more clothes. Case in point, the line outside Zara today stretched for 100 metres, no joke.

I spent my time far more wisely, eating.

THE NIGHTLIFE

The Taipei nightlife scene. I have gone out a bit but.... let's just say it's not Shanghai. At least they know how to make a good Gimlet.