Addiction Aquatic Development Review

After Jordan and I both posted some Instagram pics of our fabulous sushi dinner at Aquatic Addiction Development on Friday night, I feel like it's all I've talked about with people this weekend! I realized that it might be easier to just write about the place so people can get more info and see some pics. And what better way to spend a hot Sunday afternoon than doing some productive blogging?

Aquatic Addiction Development is apparently in the building that used to be the Taipei fish market but has been converted into a fairly upscale/posh restaurant and market (that description will make more sense once you see the pics, I promise!). It's near the Songshan airport, but not really within walking distance from any MRT stops, so we just took a cab from Tienmu. Here's the address in Chinese to show the cab driver:

No. 18, Alley 2, Ln 410, Minzu E Rd

台北市民族東路410巷2弄18號

(02) 2508-1268

The website has English on it, though once you actually get to the place there isn't much English on the menus. 

From the outside the building doesn't look like much, but once you walk in there is SO much to see! You enter into the fish tank area, which is fascinating and full of the biggest crabs I have ever seen. My suggestion would be to go immediately to the sushi restaurant to grab a number (our wait was about 45 minutes on a Friday night at 7 pm) and then kill time by exploring the rest of the place. 

View of the entrance from the outside. Easy to spot sign!

We first walked over to the cute wine bar to sit and have a nice glass of white. Not cheap, but good quality wine. 

Nice date atmosphere!

There were lots of different types of wines, champagnes, and sakes. We just ordered one of the whites by the glass.

Posing for the camera!

We then explored the home shopping section which was full of cute decorations like vases and candle holders. It is right next to the grocery store-esque section that has fruits, veggies, and fresh fish.

This area is right next to the wine bar. It's full of fun gift ideas!

Next we walked to the back and checked out the raw/seafood bar. At this point we realized that we could have gone there first since there was no wait and the raw oysters that people were slurping down looked totally magical. They also had steamed king crab legs (same crabs that are in the tanks when you walk in) that looked delicious. Definitely eating there when we go back! You can also buy some of the seafood and sushi to-go near the front of the building if you don't want to stand and eat.

The raw seafood bar at the back of the place. Look at those massive crab legs!

Then we walked back to the entrance area to look at the tanks. The king crabs literally look like an alien species!

Ahh scary alien monster crab!!!

Fresh raw oysters!

Watching one poor crab get carried to his death...

Finally our number was called! When we walked up to the entrance (i.e. a rope) the host asked if we needed help reading the menu - yes! We basically described the things we wanted, and he helped us find them on the menu. It's standing room only, which was kind of fun and different. We were lucky to get a spot overlooking the prep area so we could watch the chefs at work. They were super busy! The food was all amazing and of great quality. 

Our view of the chefs at work. It was nice just having two of us...I would say that the maximum number of people to go with is 4 otherwise it would be too hard to talk seeing as though you're standing in a row.

Get in my belly RIGHT NOW! All was delicious, but Jordan said the scallop was his favorite.

I've recently become enamored with salmon roe eggs, and these were particularly salty and delicious.

We were standing right in front of the miso soup man and could see him putting all of the extra fishy parts into the pot to make the broth nice and rich.

And here's what we were really waiting for! This was the $600NT nigiri set that came with miso soup. Great variety and totally fresh.

In total we spent about $2000NT for one sashimi bowl, two hand rolls, two nigiri sets, and two beers, and we both left feeling full and satisfied. Definitely felt like it was worth the money! My parents will be visiting in a few weeks and I'm putting this at the top of my list of places to take them as it's not only delicious, but also a unique experience. And if anyone wants to go in the interim, just let me know as I'll be happy to go back!

Beitou Squid Snack Review

I'm definitely on a roll...2 reviews in 2 days! Now that I have the Blogger app on my phone, it's so much easier to snap food pics and instantly upload them. Ahh the power of the SmartPhone!

Tonight's restaurant review is of Beitou Squid Snack next to the Zhishan MRT (exit 2). This is a chain and there is another one in Tienmu [on Dexing East Road between Zhongshan & Zhongcheng], but the one we always go to is across the street from where the taxis line up at Zhishan. It's hard to miss!

View from the MRT side of the street looking across.

Easy to see sign that's hard to miss!

This is a great place to grab lunch or dinner as it's super efficient, it's tasty, and it's cheap! The trifecta of success in a Taiwanese restaurant. You can tell that it's popular as it is pretty crowded during lunch and at peak dinner time. One issue: no English menu, but I have a photo of the translated menu (and would be happy to send you the translated menu if you want it). 

English version of the menu. Message me if you want the original!

Now on to the food...like I said, it's quite yummy! It is a pretty standard Taiwanese noodle shop with lots of noodle dishes, soups, and wontons. They also have grilled squid (I'm assuming that's where the restaurant's name came from) and other grilled dishes. And for the adventurous, there's always the spicy duck blood! (Jordan recommends it). One of my favorite parts is the fact that they have choose-your-own side dishes. You can just walk over to the shelf and grab whatever looks tasty! I usually go for the Japanese eggplant, the green beans, or the cucumbers. 

Food wall of choose-your-own side dishes. Love it!

Tofu on the left. Super delicious green beans and eggplant on the right.

Close up: Yummy side dish that I don't know the name of but I think it's tofu (fingers crossed).

Close up: These green beans are fantastic! Crunchy with the perfect amount of garlic. 

I'm also a huge fan of these cucumbers because they are served cold - perfect on a hot summer day!

Dry noodles with pork & shrimp wontons. I always get the small size which is plenty to fill me up, but Jordan gets the big one.

And, in the end, if you really need to you can just point at the pictures on the wall :)

This is definitely on the weekly rotation of restaurants that Jordan and I run through on a regular basis. For the two of us to eat dinner usually costs under $300NT - gotta love Taiwan prices!

Food post #2: Tianmu Kushiyaki Place

The first food post from last week garnered some interest, so here's a go at a second one!

Tonight's restaurant is another new one in Tianmu - a yummy Kushiyaki (or Yakitori) place! Again, the name of the restaurant isn't in English, so I don't know what it's called but it's pretty easy to find. It's down the alley that is next to Subber across from Carrefour on Dexing West Road. You will see the restaurant on the right immediately after turning down the alley. 

Front of the restaurant. Look for the large hanging lantern!

The interior is nice and new with a variety of tables and bar stools. There are even two tables out front, but no one was sitting at them when we were there. Best of all: there is an English menu! Ordering was not a problem as we just marked what we wanted on the order sheet. 

Bar stools over looking the grill area.

Another view of the bar from the other side.

The menu that has both Chinese and English - easy!

The food was quite good, although it did take awhile to get all of it. It's pretty standard for food to come out in waves at a Kushiyaki place, so it wasn't a huge deal...but probably not the best place to eat if you're in a hurry! We left feeling satisfied for about $840NT for 2 people. 

Kimchi at the beginning of the meal. Not a huge serving, but enough to feel happy about it.

Pork belly with leek on the left. Lamb rib (we think) on the right.

Japanese eggplant on the left. Green pepper (or capsicum) on the right.

Chicken thigh with leek. Really tasty!

Beef rib that was quite juicy but a little on the chewy side.

A great end to the meal - an entire grilled squid! Beautiful presentation, but we did have to ask for them to cut it up for us otherwise we couldn't figure out how to eat it.

We will definitely be back, especially since its literally a 4 minute walk from my apartment. It's nice to add a little variety to the weekly dining menu, and I don't know of any other Kushiyaki places in Tianmu! And hopefully they'll get a bit faster in the kitchen with a little bit of practice :)

Last thought: the only weird thing we encountered was the fact that they were playing Adele's "Someone Like You" on repeat...hmm. Maybe they'll have a better DJ next time!

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!

TAS does MUN in KL

April travels bring...wanting to stay home in May!! The past month has been a flurry of plane flights, different countries, and unfamiliar beds. First Korea, then Hong Kong, and finally Malaysia, but I can't complain too much, right? I signed up for all of it!

This past weekend was spent in Kuala Lumpur at a Middle School MUN [Model United Nations] conference at Mont'Kiara International School. I traveled along with 13 8th graders, 2 high schoolers, and 1 other coach to represent TAS at the conference. Last year was my first year having anything to do with MUN, and I felt like I spent the entire year confused. But THIS year I actually have a vague idea of what is happening, so I was semi-helpful! It was fun getting to know a new group of kids, especially 8th graders as sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in the 6th-grade-Twilight-Zone.

Ready to get started on the first day!

The nice thing about traveling with TAS kids is that they are super attentive and really sweet, so the weekend was a breeze. Our team represented France, and right away all the other coaches were asking, "What school are the French delegates from??" It's a nice feeling to know that all of the hard work the kids [and the coaches!!] put into preparing were well worth it. By the end of the conference, almost half of our delegates won awards - a pretty major accomplishment considering there were about 250 delegates there!

Looking classy and ready to dominate!

Official group photo

Helping out in the Advisory Panel room. Luckily I kind of know what to do this year!

Next week we our hosting our own MUN conference, and then it will be time for a breather before the cycle starts again next year. I'm definitely looking forward to a travel free May!