Teaching Souls in Seoul (Cheonan, Jeju, Cheongil, Gapcheon, & Masan): Children's Day Weekend--in Taiwan (4.

As the title suggests, I had a long weekend from Saturday (May 4th) until Monday (May 6th).
Why? Korea celebrates May 5th as "Children's Day." On this day, the most notable thing is that kids don't go to school (and neither do teachers) and parents are given the day off to spend with their kids (at least, that's what I understand).

My friend, Greg, and I agreed to go to Taiwan together. I've gone once before (see my pictures here), and he has visited many times. He was excited at the prospect of showing me his favorite haunts, and I was excited to follow a friend around than having to figure everything out on my own.

We had a great time, even when the weather wasn't cooperating.

For this post, I focus on my food pictures.

I hope you're not hungry . . .

Food in Tainan

After arriving into Kaohsiung International Airport, we made our way quickly to Tainan, Greg's favorite city (and also where he spent the most time). After checking in to our hotel and getting settled in our respective rooms, we went in search of the central theme of our trip: food.

We came to this hole-in-a-wall that had all kinds of baobing. We wanted the mango and got it for 200 Taiwanese Dollars (about 6.40 USD). Below you can see her in all her glory before we devoured her.

Mango, ice, mango syrup, mango sherbet, and gelatin of some kind

I don't remember getting anything after that, until dinner.
Or should I call it "the first dinner?"

I don't know the restaurant's name, but it is a small, homey, charming kind of place. It serves a fusion of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The best thing about it is probably the freshness of the organic ingredients. The cooks/owners put so much time and effort into their meals, it's admirable. I hadn't felt so healthy while eating food in a long time. Now don't expect a detailed review given by a food expert, since I can barely taste anything beyond "good" and "bad." Just know it was worth the visit and the price.

Chinese-Japanese fusion (Before)

(After)

As good as that meal was, it wasn't filling. Greg and I left, looking for 2nd dinner. Greg was in the mood for a burger (as long as it was small, so was I). "Thefreen Burger" (sorry, the page is in a Chinese language) ended up being our choice, seeing the other 2 before it were too far or closed.

As we arrived and looked at the menu, I saw one item that caught my eye: Peanut Butter Daxia Beef Burger. Knowing me as the explorer I am, I had made my decision (or it was made for me). Below is the part of the menu with my choice and Greg's.

Don't freak out people: the prices are in Taiwanese Dollars. This means our burgers were $4.04 and $4.17 in US Dollars respectively. That's the price for the burgers only, so no fries/chips and/or drinks with them.

I had the peanut butter burger.
Greg had the bacon mushroom burger set.

Not gonna lie: a peanut butter burger is entirely random. Who thought of this? Well, whoever it was, was a genius. The recipe was excellent. I would go back and eat it again.

My peanut butter burger is to the bottom left corner.
It was pretty good! I was pleasantly surprised!

On Sunday morning, after visiting Greg's church, we went to "Autumn" for soufflé pancakes. You can see them on Facebook and Instagram.

Our sparkling drinks

Mine: Elderberry & Rose (back)
Greg's: Black Currant & Blueberry (front)

My Early Grey Pancake

See how tall these pancakes are?!

Greg's Seasonal (Mango) pancakes.

Mission accomplished.
Note: I ate all of mine and some of Greg's.

I remember Greg got some lovely bubble tea before heading out to church.

After Autumn's pancakes, we visited a cafe he used to frequent and whose owners he knew. We got some sort of tea with lime. I really don't know what it was, but it was good.

After that, it was a burger set from Mos Burger for Greg, and a few snacks from 7-11 for me before getting on the HSR (high-speed rail) train to Taipei.

Food in Taipei

Upon arriving at Taipei, we went and checked-in to our hotel. After getting our stuff into our respective rooms, we were ready to go out and eat Taipei--or so I thought.

Dinner #1: Din Tai Fung

Only now, as I was preparing this blog post and looked up this restaurant online, am I starting to get the understanding of how I have been introduced to mammoth restaurant chain of excellent food!

DinTai Fung
Wanted to make sure I didn't forget the restaurant's name.

Appetizers, clockwise, starting from the top:
bamboo shoots, spicy cucumbers, sweet potato leaves with garlic (yum!), and bean sprouts.

From the top left, and going clockwise:
hot & sour pork soup, pork xiaolongbao, and chicken xiaolongbao (the chicken was mine)

Steamed lamb dumplings (new dish)

Dessert: Chocolate xiaolongbao
My hand is for size reference.

It was like a chocolate-lava dumpling. Sooooo good!

The record of the damage done.
Again, Taiwanese $1,232 = American $39.77--and this was for 2 people.

Dinner #2. Fish Bay

Greg searched for this place the last time he was here and found it--2 minutes after it closed.
Tonight was his redemption.
I wasn't up for it, so I skipped.

Find more about this place on Facebook and googling "Fish Bay Taipei."

By the way, I remember the price being about $110 Taiwanese (or $3.55 American)