Shilin' on a Sunday

We usually find excuses not to go to mass when we travel but on this particular trip, we found the time to fulfill our Sunday obligation. Lucky for us, Alicia researched in advance for the directions to the Don Bosco Church. We arrived early for the 1030am mass and so we had to wait downstairs. No problem! The great thing about Don Bosco is that it had a huge covered playground where the kids could run around and we were even served coffee while waiting. The priest that celebrated the mass was Filipino and the whole choir was comprised of Filipinos as well. In fact, they even sang a Filipino Christmas Carol at the end of the mass (Christmas Carol??!! I know, I know, it's March and I'm still working on this damn post).






For lunch today, Alicia picked the restaurant which she thought best suited the requirements of Dad's craving for Hong Kong Dimsum. So even if we had to wait an hour to get two tables for our group, we persevered! Yes we complained, groaned, whined, pleaded and even threatened the head waiter with our vicious glares but we never left the Citystar 24HR HK Style Restaurant. For my impatient and always hungry family, that was indeed a feat! What a good decision that turned out to be! The food was absolutely divine! They had the best rice noodles and their spring rolls were to die for! Annika often brags that she ate 4 bowls of pancit canton in Taipei (as in, that is her best memory of Taipei!). This is the exact resto she ate it at.





To work off all the calories gained during lunch, we decided to indulge in some retail therapy. After being a virgin in KL last October 2008, I am now officially a certified Ikea junkie. Alicia led us to the Asiaworld Mall which houses both the Ikea store and Toys R'Us (something for the whole family! hahahaha!). The building was said to have been owned by a wealthy Chinese family in Manila whose last name escapes me. The mall is in the vicinity of the Taipei Arena, the site of the 2009 Deaf Olympics. We spent the whole afternoon in that mall. My kids are the best! They did not complain one bit. Hubby too! Siya pala yung talo dito because not one store was for him.


The hotel was a walk away but with numerous shopping bags in tow (naks), we decided to take the bus instead. So we took No. 307 back to Fullerton to drop off our goodies. As soon as we got in, we gave the children a bath, bought them dinner then made the necessary deposit to their grandparents room in preparation for the ultimate night market.


The Shilin Night Market is the first and foremost among all night markets in Taipei. It boasts of the most variety in tastes and products. The crowds are humungous, they have shops and stalls as far as the eye can see and the train stop is right in the middle of it all. How convenient! I am going to make the pictures speak for themselves. Feast your eyes on this!
















Everywhere you looked, there were people and there was food! It was absolutely chaotic to see so many things going on at the same time. We really had to control our urge to try everything! On this particular food trip though, we gave in to our crazy side and tried the infamous stinky tofu upon the insistent prodding of Alicia. Not only is the smell overwhelming, the taste just takes over you! I don't mean to offend the Taiwanese people because the stinky tofu is a delicacy and considered normal food for them but it's just not for me. After trying the tofu, I needed one whole fruit shake to drown out the taste it left in my mouth. Let's just say I won't be trying it again anytime soon.





The sad thing is we didn't even reach the actual market where the clothes, shoes and other retail items were! Hanggang food stalls lang kami. We gave up because of the sheer number of people at Shilin (braving ba naman this area on a Sunday!). We didn't feel like we missed out on anything though. Shopping wasn't really in the agenda that evening. Then again, so was having a massage! But this was just too hard to resist. Aaaahh! Relief!