First attempt at food blogging!

For about a year now I have contemplated the idea of turning my blog into a food blog...so here is my first ever attempt at posting about my dining out experiences in Taipei! I don't think I'm ready to fully commit to solely food blogging, but I do want to keep track of some of the yummy restaurants I frequent and the meals I consume. If you're reading this and you're IN Taipei, feel free to contact me for any additional info regarding the places I post about. I'm not good with addresses, so I'll try to give details of the surrounding area. Here we go!

Restaurant #1: New Ramen Place in Tienmu (no name in English that I could see)

This place literally opened like 4 days ago and is at the intersection of Keqiang and Chung Shan on the east side of the street. 

Sign in front of the restaurant

There is a big red sign with lanterns underneath (see above). It's not a huge space inside, but there is a counter to sit at where you can watch them cook and some tables along the side that seem to fit between 2-4 people. There's no English menu, but it didn't matter as there are pictures on the menu for the majority of the food. And the owner speaks English!

View of the inside from the outside

First page of the menu - no English but lots of pics!

Jordan and I both ordered ramen, though there is other stuff on the menu like soba noodles and grilled fish. We chose two different ramens that ended up having slightly different broths, but were both quite tasty. The real centerpiece of both bowls was the PORK! It was nice and tender with crispy edges and they put big chunks in the broth. Totally fantastic if you're into pork. 

The $170NT ramen at the top of the first page...I blame the iPhone 4 for the slightly blurry pic.

Check out that crispy pork! Drool worthy for sure.

I can definitely see this becoming a staple in our Tienmu restaurant rotation, especially when it starts getting cooler (I will admit that I started sweating during dinner, but I'm used to that going into year 3 of this humidity!). Solid menu options, great broth, and once again, totally yummy pork.

Voila! First food post done. Now to contemplate the next meal...

Summer Recap

It seems fitting that I'm writing this as I watch the rain come down in torrents from my apartment window on our surprise "Typhoon Day" off from school. I can't believe the summer went by so fast! I am already into my second week of my THIRD year in Taipei. Time really does fly when you're having fun :)

I decided to use my time off today to organize pictures from the summer (i.e. reminisce about all the fabulous moments) in order to actually get back into the blog world as I have been noticeably absent since...errr...April? So what better way to start a new year than with a look back at the past three months! Here we go (mostly in picture form, of course)...

Summer 2013 consisted of three major events:
1. Anna's wedding in Virginia Beach and my surrounding East Coast travels
2. My three week-long Europe trip bouncing from London to Rome to Ireland
3. Ben and Amanda's wedding in Cville for one last hurrah before returning to Asia

Let's start with Anna's Wedding:
There is no better way to start the summer than with old friends! The Bachelorette Party in Charlottesville was a blast and the wedding two weeks later was just gorgeous.

Loving my time on the Lawn with the bride-to-be!

TEAM BRIDE ready for action!

All of the ladies at the Rehearsal Dinner

Couldn't have asked for a better date!

Just about ready to walk down the aisle <3 

Next it was off to Europe for three weeks:
The purpose of going to Europe was for a Professional Development (teaching) course in London. The BENEFIT of going to Europe was getting to travel around and eat my weight in delicious food! Jordan joined me after the course, and we made our way from London to Rome and finally to Ireland. Rome has always been at the top of my "to visit" list, and it didn't disappoint! And to be honest, there was no way any of those locations could "disappoint!"

Stopping for the iconic Buckingham Palace photo while on our bike tour of London

Enjoying one of many pints during the London experience :)

At the Trevi Fountain! Good thing the crowds are cropped out of the photo...

Stop #3 on the most amazing food tour of Rome

Bringing a little bit of Asia to Rome

Biking the oldest existing road in the world: the Appian Way!

The best first stop to make in Dublin

Stopping for a scenic pic along the "Ring of Kerry" in Ireland

And finally the summer ended with one more wedding...for Ben and Amanda!:
This was definitely the summer of weddings! I flew back to Virginia for one more celebration the weekend before coming back to Taipei. It was for my friends Ben and Amanda from college, and it was a great way to end a fabulous summer. Having the chance to revisit my favorite restaurants, bars, and vineyards was just icing on the cake.

The happy couple :)

Beautiful friends on a beautiful occasion!

And that wraps up the summer of 2013! Here's to the next one!