Follow the Notes Upon a Journey to the Night Market
Sis felt ill on the morning on the 3rd day and declined to join us for breakfast (another bowl of Ah Chung mee sua!), so Fern and I browsed at the shops in Ximending and ended up blowing our money on facial masks (of all things!) at The Face Shop. The salesgirl was a good small-talked. She informed us that the day before, it was the coldest that Taipei had encountered in 20+ years (7 degrees Celsius), in all her years of growing up. We were "lucky" to experience the abnormality.We met Sis on our way back to chuck our harvest back in the hotel room, then made our way down to Taipei City Hall again, this time to the famous 24-hour Eslite bookstore (seen the Welcome to Taiwan ads where Jolin Tsai lounges in a bookstore? That's the one!).
I spent about S$200 here, but not a single cent on books! There's a Sports b. store (opposite Starbucks on the 1st level), a line from agnes b., which cannot be found in Singapore (yet), so I got him a basic black polo tee and a charm key ring for myself. Then I spotted a distinctive Keith Haring barking dog picture in an art corner on the 2nd level of the building within the bookstore, and ended up splurging on a set of coloured Dancers wall stickers (shown below taken from the website) which I thought would look good around my ceiling light. *Happy*
After we applied for tax refunds on our purchases, we got into a cab to go to the Medical University Taipei (台北市信义区吴兴街 250号). The cab driver dropped us at the Medical Hospital instead and we wandered around for a short while near the wards before an aide came to our, erm, aid. She probably recognized us as tourists and was used to people asking directions to...
Mr J's Restaurant.
Opened by Jay Chou, this particular outlet is the only one in the line to feature the piano from his hit movie "Secret" (不能说的秘密, 2007). Decor aside, the food was value for money. I ordered the sliced beef carbonara set meal, and the carbonara came raw and so thinly sliced, that I could cook it using the heat of the pasta. The chocolate sauce that came with the cake was dribbled in the shape of a treble clef, which Sis apparently did not get. Overall, the dining experience was great. But it was time for more shopping, back to Wufenpu (忠孝东路/Zhong Xiao Dong Lu) again to complete the rest of the alleys we did not have the time to browse the night before.
Fern can really shop for accessories. She and Sis took soooo long choosing their purchases at a pushcart stall tucked away in a side alley, while I switched into screensaver mode at the back. The atmosphere was definitely better than Shilin's. Once, we walked by a store, and the very good-looking sales assistant called out, "进来看看吗？(Come in for a look?)". We all shook our heads but after a few metres on, we all huddled and giggled that we should have said "OK" to him, then stand in front of him to gaze at his face.
Eventually the biting cold forced us into a cab back to Ximending, and we settled into our beds for another night of Taiwanese and Korean dramas, Corner with Love for me, and Coffee Prince for Fern and Sis.
posted by Addy @ 5:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home