TAIWAN: LAST DAY

Well, it was our last day in Taiwan (at least of me and Cathy- my parents are still there). For breakfast, by the time we'd gotten up, my aunts were already busy frying up the different cakes that we had purchased the previous day. Here's a pictures of it:The also laid out a bunch of foods like that stuff we'd been eating all week: soy milk, fried dough, guava, etc. It was all really yummy, and I already miss just going outside to pick up breakfast every morning.
After breakfast, we had some errands to run, but we were happy to fit in a last lunch with my little cousins. (ok, they're not little. The youngest one is 15 and the oldest one is at college at Wisconsin. But since I remember being there when they were born, they're still little to me). Anyway, they still had to be vegetarians, so my aunt picked a restaurant near her house called Vege. It was a more modern looking restaurant, and more Western, in that things weren't served family style, so we each got to order what we wanted and it was also at attempt at more Western inspired foods- they had things like pasta and pizza.

We each started off with a small salad:
And I followed up with a corn soup, which was quite good.
Here's my veggie pasta with linguini. It really wasn't Italian in any way- more like a stir fried noddle dish, the pasta was just too overcooked, but the flavor was pretty good.
And I finished with ice cream.
The service at the restaurant was pretty appalling, though. The restaurant was packed, but they were quite well staffed, so they should've been able to handle the crowd. The entrees and appetizers were very poorly timed and some in our party had finished their entrees and were onto dessert before others had gotten their entrees. We had to ask a waitress like 3 times when one my cousin's lunch went missing, but they never got it together, and we just had them take it off the bill.

After lunch, we wanted to do some last minute shopping, so we decided to hit the neighborhood around my grandmother's house. My grandma's house is located in a part of Taiwan called Ximen. It's where all the teenagers hang out- it's packed with movie theatres, shops, cheap food, food vendors and shopping. On Sundays, it's so crowded that they shut down some of the streets because there are so many pedestrians.

Here are some pics of the food vendors we walked by:

Someone selling fried foods like chicken and onion rings:A vendor selling freshly made mochi. I got 9 of these for $1 and they were great. Yummy, fresh and totally tasty. I wish I had some now. Someone selling a variety of Japanese rice bean cakes (thought they come in all different flavors, not just red bean).
We headed over to a candy store where Cathy pick up gifts for friends. They had silly stuff, like chocolate condoms, nipples, etc. And more traditional candies. The bins lined the walls of the store and the place was packed. I thought of buying Tom this marzipan donut, but decided he probably wouldn't finish it.
After the candy shop, we went to a store that was stocked with everything- like an enormous 4 story drug store. I picked up Tom some Lays that came in flavors like baked chicken and seaweed sushi. It was probably his favorite thing that I got him the whole trip.

Afterwards, we rushed home to finish packing and get ready for dinner. We were invited over to my aunt's house (a second cousin) for a big banquet dinner celebrating her husband's parents' birthdays. It meant that their entire family was there, so there were nearly 30 adults and 10 kids running around. It was a fancy catered dinner, so it was almost like being in a restaurant. We had servers and everything.

Once again, this was a dinner with a printed menu and lots of courses. I didn't eat everything I was served (I skipped the shark fin soup, roasted pork and sea cucumber/abalone courses). Everything was really great, and it was nice filling meal to have before we got on the plane. Here's what we had:

Chicken with scallions:
Fresh pancake filled with green beans:
A wonderful roasted duck, served in a pancake. This duck just reaffirmed how much better duck is in Taiwan than in the states.Some type of lobster related creature- roasted with chilies and other spicesFresh buns (one fried, one steamed- the fried ones are my favorite)And would you be surprised to see our very own shaved ice bar (once again). Here are the toppings.
As they were serving the last fruit course, Cathy and I had to leave for the airport. It'd been a great trip. And stuffed full, we headed back to the states. Here's a parting picture for you- they have a Hello Kitty themed gate in the international terminal, so of course we had to visit, buy candy and take pics. (Hey, I needed change for the water vending machines).