Saturday, September 24, 2011

Taiwan - Day 8 (shabu shabu)

On our last day we convinced my Grandma to come out to lunch with us. She hasn't been out of her apartment since she fell a couple months back, but we busted out the wheel chair and walked her over to a shabu shabu place nearby - her favorite! Shabu Shabu is very popular in Taiwan - there are 4 places practically right next to each other. But my Grandma likes this one best because they have free ice cream ^__^


This is Maddy's first time going to shabu shabu.



They start you out with a basic plate that's full of veggies, a slice of pumpkin, mushrooms, fake crab meat, potato, corn on the cob, tofu, fish ball, and some other stuff. I was pretty much full on that alone. But they also make you pick a meat or seafood as a main dish.





Maddy got to ride in my Grandma's lap on the way home. She loved it.





Andy and his fiancée (who works with him as an assistant) were supposed to join us for lunch, but they got busy at the clinic, so we stopped by on the way home to say goodbye before our flight.



It was time to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to my Grandma as always, but my mom was staying back for another week, so that helped. My uncle has some connections at the airport and was able to get us into the EVA airways VIP lounge. This was my first time in a VIP lounge, and I have to say it was pretty nice. They had an entire buffet line of hot food - dim sum dishes, rice dishes, fresh fruit - you name it they probably had it. Plus free drinks - soda, coffee, wine and hard liquor (hey whatever floats your boat). Too bad we just had such a huge lunch. The only thing I could manage to eat was some guava.




It was pretty spacious inside with all the comfy sitting and Maddy had plenty of room to run around and explore. Before it was time to leave we stopped by their changing station to give Maddy a quick change. Even the changing station was nice.



As we were heading from the VIP lounge to our gate we passed the Hello Kitty gate and had to take a picture with Maddy.


Thursday, September 22, 2011

Taiwan - Day 6 (Andy's Pet Hospital)

On Friday we spent most of the day hanging out. We went by to our cousin Andy's vet clinic, Pin An. He just bought the place last year I think, and completely renovated it. It's definitely one of the nicer store fronts on the block.


At the front there are various pet products for sale.



In the back there's a small examination table and a lot of equipment. There's an upstairs too where they can house pets overnight.



Let's see how much the Maddy weighs...



The clinic keeps Andy pretty busy. He even has a bed upstairs for the late nights. Not in the same room as the animals though - I already asked ^__^

Hopefully in a couple of years after he's paid off his loans he can afford to hire a second vet to help him out so he can take some vacation.




Maddy and her great-grandma. Maddy's thinking: "red envelopes are tasty"




Calvin couldn't make it out this time since I was travelling for work beforehand, but my Grandma keeps a picture of him with her. She says it makes her smile everytime she sees it. Hopefully we can bring him out in April for Andy's wedding.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Taiwan - Day 5 (Hospital)

On Thursday it was my cousin Andy's day off, so we were going to go out to lunch with him, his fiancée, and my cousin Vera and her kids. That was the plan, but then Maddy fell off one of the beds and hit the tile floor pretty hard. She had a huge bump on her head. Aside from the bump (and the 5 minutes of crying) she seemed ok, but we wanted to take her to the doctor just to be safe. But the regular doctor said we had to take her to the emergency room. So we took Maddy to the emergency room where she proceeded to warm the hearts of all the doctors and nurses. Luckily, after a couple hours of observation, they said she was fine.

After the hospital we were still able to catch a quick lunch with Andy and his fiancée. We went to a Thai restuarant that was inside a large mall. Maddy got her own place setting. She's not old enough to use it, but it was a nice thought. She seemed to be doing better already.




Andy's fiancée, poses with Maddy and Mandy in front of one of the clothing brand mascots in the mall.



Not exactly how we had anticipated spending the day, but luckily Maddy seemed to be OK.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Taiwan - Day 3 (Relatives)

On our 3rd day we went to visit some relatives. First it was out of the city a little ways to visit my youngest aunt. We always make sure to visit her every time we're in Taiwan. I know she must have been excited to meet Maddy.



We took my aunt out to lunch at the hot spring club that my Grandpa used to belong to as a perk from the bank where he used to work. Maddy liked watching the fish in the fountain outside.



The restaurant is very small and there's only one person in the kitchen. The food is decent, but nothing super amazing. This is their fish ball and melon soup.



I ordered a beef curry. It was better than I was expecting. It was a little weird because it seemed like every dish came with a fried egg. Nothing against eggs, just not the first thing I think of when I think curry.



After lunch my uncle ordered this puff casserole dish. It was kind of a cross between a cheesy casserole and a soup...



After we dropped off my aunt we headed back into Taipei to meet up with my cousin, Vera at her new place. She has 2 kids of her own so Maddy was able to find lots of fun toys to play with.


Her daughter, Kuan, was a little shy so she had to hide out in her brother's room with her grandma and grandpa. Every time she saw us she would burst into tears.



Right before we were ready to leave Kuan finally started to warm up to us - in other words was able to be in the same room with us without crying. I think it had to do with the TV being on. Apparently they're only allowed to watch a limited amount of TV. Even Maddy joined them for some cartoons.




For dinner we decided to stay in so we could spend more quality time with my grandma. Even at home though there's plenty of food to eat!


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Taiwan - Day 2 (Maokong)

On our 2nd day in Taiwan we went to Mao Kong to ride a skyride to a temple. We went with my Uncle Robert and his wife, Mera.

It was a pretty ride through the mountains. There were a few cars that had glass floors so you could see the forest beneath your feet, but the line to wait for it was way too long. The view was still nice though.




My Uncle and Aunt still in love after all these years. So sweet!



Maddy on her first skyride. She seemed to enjoy herself.




As we got closer to the other side you could see the temple on the side of the mountain.








While standing at the temple facing out you could see straight out into the mountains. The view was amazing.



There was a staircase leading down from the temple that lead to a garden opposite the temple, alongside the mountain. We found some good photo opportunities for Maddy.








In the distance you can see Taipei. That tall building in the distance is Taipei 101.



Maddy was even more excited and hyper on the skyride back.



We stopped by one of the many tea houses on the mountain for dinner. The food was good and it was fun until it started getting dark and the mosquitos started to come out...


Saturday, September 17, 2011

Taiwan - Day 1

After a week in Japan for work, I took the 3 hour flight to Taiwan to visit some relatives. I met up with my mom, my sister and my niece who were flying in from the US. My mom and my sister arrived with my niece on Saturday morning. They rested at my Grandma's house for the morning before we headed out to a city called Zhong Li to visit my mom's two older sisters. My oldest Aunt lives in a fancy apartment complex. It has a little garden out front where we took some pictures with Maddy - looking baby fresh and super cute even after the 18 hour flight.


Maddy got to meet her great Aunt for the first time.



We went inside to chat for a little bit. Maddy got to meet my Aunt's dog. We thought she might be afraid of it, but the dog was actually more afraid of her. I think it had to do with the fact that she kept trying to pull his hair.



We also met up with my cousin Peter and his family. He has 2 boys, Mark and Neria. Maddy and Mark got along very well. I think Maddy was flirting with him a bit.



For dinner we met up with a few more family members - my mom's other sister and her husband.




This is my cousin peter and his dad.



My mom and my cousin Rebecca (Peter's sister).



Apparently this was the same restaurant that my Aunts and Uncle took my Grandma for mother's day this year. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think my Aunt ordered a 10 course meal. There was a lot of food... This was a salad with corn and some kind of sweet mayonnaise sauce. I know it probably doesn't sound good, but it was.



Braised beef in a sweet sauce.



Spicy soft shell crab deep fried.



Shrimp, which was also followed by a sweet and sour pork type dish, steamed fish, and a couple other dishes. Sorry, too much eating and not enough picture taking...



And just when I thought the food was done they came out with a giant pot of a tomato based stew/soup.



Peter's son, Neria, apparently loves food. He reminded me so much of Calvin and what he might be like in another year. It made me miss Calvin even more.




My uncle being weird...I think I bring out the silly in him. ^__^



It also happened to be Peter's wife, Mimi's, birthday. We celebrated with a cake that my Aunt bought from a nearby bakery.



The cake was so pretty. The gold flakes on the side of the cake were actually gold dusted white chocolate. Everybody's mouths were covered in gold after eating them.




The whole family.



Once we were done with dinner all of the kids started to get silly. Neria kept flashing us with his tummy.


The brothers, Mark and Neria. They were so cute, and they seemed to get along so well. If only Calvin could have been there to meet them! Maybe next time...