Shin Yeh Part II (Taiwanese Cuisine)

J. arrived into Taipei early the morning after hubby and I did, so we all went out to lunch together at Shin Yeh. It was a beautiful, clear, and sunny day before a typhoon hit the city. Great timing for a short vacation, right? ^.^"

We picked the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi branch on the 8th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. I'd made an advance reservation so we didn't have to wait. The moment we got there, we were ushered in right away and placed at a table by the window. Here's the nice view that came with our lunch.

Tea Atop Maokong, Taipei (貓空, Picture heavy!)

Hubby was dying to go up Maokong (貓空) to take a peek, so off we went on a misty afternoon before it started raining non-stop, for how long, almost 2 weeks now? Sigh...

Of course we had to go on the Maokong Gondola. It would be a crime not too! There are 2 separate lines, a super crowded one for a standard cabin, and less crowded one for the "crystal cabin," with a fiber glass bottom so you can see beneath your feet ^.^ The line for "crystal cabin" isn't less crowded because no one wants to ride in it. You have to buy a ticket for either lines, but with the "crystal cabin" line you have to get assigned to a time block in addition to the general ticket. Hubby and I didn't know this as there was not a sign or any instructions, perhaps on purpose because otherwise everyone would line up for it?. We and a bunch of other folks wasted time standing around until we all realized they were announcing time blocks for the crystal cars! 

Shin Yeh (Taiwanese Cuisine)

Oops. Just realized I had forgotten to publish this post :X

For my sister's 1st dinner in Taipei, our old college friend A. and her fiance S. booked a table with Shin Yeh at their Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Branch (8th floor, building A9). As A. puts it, if you want to sit down and slowly get acquainted to traditional Taiwanese dishes before diving into the fast paced, rough and tumble night markets, Shin Yeh is a good start. Also, it helps that their website is available in English, providing a small glimpse of their extensive menu with names of some of the dishes in English!


There were actually 8 of us, with another couple and their young son arriving later in the meal. But by then, we had already ordered some 12 different dishes, with the waitress reluctant to keep taking our order because she thought we had ordered way too much. Actually, I have noticed this trend when dining out in Taiwan, that some waiters and waitresses don't just politely suggest you've ordered too much but will actively try to convince you to stop ordering LOL!

Had a bit of a bad hair night there...

We got cabin fever! (Picture heavy!)

A few weekends ago hubby and I got a bit of cabin fever and so we went out for an afternoon stroll through town ^.^

It was about 2PM, and having only snacked a bit for brunch we wanted to find a place to sit down for another snack. We got off at MRT Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station and walked around. Unfortunately, the place we wanted to try was closed (Kiki's, many restaurants are closed between 2-5:30PM to rest) and so we went across the street to this Fifteen Pizzeria Napoletana. 

Fifteen Pizzeria Napoletana

Hubby was thrilled for a slice of pizza as he was starting to get homesick and, well, sick of Chinese food LOL!