They aren't actually frog eggs, but they look quite like them. They are placed in tea just like tapioca and jelly in Taiwanese, made from a type of seed grow on the mountains of Taiwan. All natural, it can be considered a health food, at least that's what the teacher said. Either way, with the tea, it tasted quite good. Chewy on the outside, with a crunch on the inside!
Mandarin class is from 8 in the morning 'til 9:40. The cultural classes (for me, the dizi) start at 10 am, and goes until noon. We didn't do much today either, mainly forming groups for a final performance this Saturday (six classes in total) and learning a few new notes (high A, B and C).
Today's afternoon and evening was free time. Lunch was provided if needed, though it was simply a boxed lunch. Instead, with a couple friends, we headed down to Ximending, a shopping/cultural district in downtown Taipei, just south of their main station. The area is also the place to be for Japanese and Korean culture in Taipei; appropriately, we went to a Korean restaurant.
Cost: 180 each. Comes with rice and a drink (plum juice)
We were warned earlier of likely rain, and soon enough, after about an hour of browsing shops, the sky opened and a downpour started. Nevertheless, the thriving shopping area only became more busier, as shoppers were forced from the streets to the stores.
Minutes before the rain started.
We decided to return to Jiantan, partially due to the rain, and also because some of my friends had reserved dinners, also provided if needed. The meal was also boxed, with a piece of fried chicken on the side and a large milk tea that looked refreshing. They ate their lunch on the third floor lobby as we used our computers for about half an hour. I then joined another group of students at the program as they were heading to the arcade at Shilin Night Market.
The night market is much more than bustling alleys and street vendors. Many of the buildings have several stories below ground, including restaurants, more shops, arcades and bowling lanes. We headed to the arcade, and played two rounds of bumper cars! Note: driving and taking video at the same time doesn't work. Especially when people are intentionally crashing.
Right: Billiards at the Night Market; Left: Giant Tetris
Another floor below the arcade, we played an hour of pool. We had fun, though we (mostly I) had the problem of accidently sinking the 8 ball. Anyways, we managed about four games, and the hour cost us only $180 NT (~$6 CAD) for six people (cost was for the table).
We then headed for dinner at the "Pasta Bar", a Taiwan franchise with around nine branches, centered around Italian food. It was pretty good, though much spicier than I had expected. Partly my fault though - when I had ordered, they asked if I wanted it to be 小辣 ("small spicy") or 大辣 ("big spicy"). I replied 很辣 ("very spicy"), and I got what I wanted. Regardless, it was still very good.
Pasta Bar franchise. We also met other people from the program in there.
Spicy Chicken Spaghetti, with Garlic Bread and Drink = NT $190
Lastly, we decided that a dessert would be appropriate - to end the day and to cool down our tastebuds. There's nothing really more appropriate at a Taiwanese Night Market than shaved ice, or chhoah-peng (Taiwanese). I had a craving for grass jelly (so that's what I ordered), and here are some pictures of all of our chhoah-pengs.
Left: Grass Jelly; Right: Assorted Fruits
I dunno Austin, sounds like Taiwan is just one degenerate food experience after another! Do they talk about ECFA and politics (like not as if half the guys in this thing even cared?). Anyway, keep up the great blog - I hope you and Kysen get to this interesting street church experience in 228 Park. If you do get there tell people you are good friends of mine - I preached there ALL IN TAIWANESE on June 13. The Museum there is pretty good too. The Camphor exhibition is actually really significant - it determined the history of northern Taiwan for decades in the late 19th c. The Japanese film in the exhibit is worth a watch -m after going on bout the wonderful aboriginal people it talks about how Taiwan is just the first stop on the Japanese conquest of SE Asia and all its resources. Banzai!
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