il Giardino Romantico

這間位於後山埤捷運站附近的滇泰色彩，雖稱不上道地，價格也只是在合理範圍之內，但味道真的很不錯。雖然天仙之前貼過，不過當時無論是相機跟技術都爛到不行。雖然這些照片是去年拍的，但卻一直把它忘了！趁這一陣子又矛起來吃泰國菜，就趕快把它拿出來清倉一下。最近一直都還有去光顧滇泰，每次去品質都很平穩。所以不用擔心天仙拿舊相片來占版面啦！

This Thai restaurant is located not far from Housanpi Station. I wouldn't exactly label them as 'authentic', but the price is within a reasonable range, and the taste is truly, not bad at all. I have posted a review for this place some time back, but I was still using a crappy camera. Since (hopefully) my technique had improved, I thought the place was worth one more introduction. These pictures were taken during a meal about a year ago, but we've been having so much Thai food, I thought it was a good opportunity to get rid of these photos. Don't worry about the quality, because we'd been back many times since this visit, and proved that the quality was, in fact, very stable. 

說到碗粿，其實天仙不是特別愛。但是對這間卻特別有感情。之前還不吃豬肉的時候，嘴饞會把裏頭的肉挑掉。到底什麼原因？讓天仙這麼愛這間碗粿？

其實又要說到天仙的童年了。在還沒離開台灣之前，天仙媽就在附近工作。當時還沒蓋捷運，而現有的捷運站上方原本是市場。這間碗粿當時就在市場裡。無論是陪著媽媽上班，下班後一起來吃，還是媽媽下班後打包好幾份回家，這味道就是天仙的童年。

當全台都在瘋全Ｘ芒果霜淇淋、全世界都在瘋Häagen-Dazs、Cold Stone等...，天仙心理念念不忘的還是小時候在清邁熟悉的Dairy Queen。上次參加Canada Day慶祝活動得知原來台灣已經有開分店了！這天像發了瘋似的直接跑來遠的要命的天母來一探究竟。當時看DM得知在天母設立第一間分店的時候，我就覺得真的是個好策略！因為這裡就離美國學校不遠。即使孩子們不知道，家長們一定都會知道。從這裡先開發市場，測水溫的策略其實滿聰明的說！開玩笑！這間可是標榜「股神巴菲特最愛」的冰淇淋店呢！

When the entire world goes insane over Häagen-Dazs or Cold Stone ice creams, the only ice cream I really missed was Dairy Queen. I used to have their ice cream all the time back in Chiang Mai. When I found out on Canada Day that Dairy Queen had already opened up in Taipei, we were so excited that we took this exlusive trip just to get a taste of it! They couldn't have chosen a better location as their trial... as this one was right by the Taipei American School. Even if the kids don't know about it, the parents would no doubt miss the taste of this scrumptious ice cream. There is no kidding in saying that it is, after all, Warren Buffett's favourite ice cream place (allegedly).

雖然還有好多食記／遊記還沒刊登，不過孕婦難得頂著大太陽以及中暑的風險跑出室外參加活動，所以就先讓我插播這一篇吧！

話說，我們都知道7/4是美國國慶日。但應該比較少人知道加拿大的國慶日是7/1。而這天在台灣的加拿大人都會舉辦一場大型活動慶祝。往年好像參加過一兩次。除了有喝不完的啤酒（要付錢的），還有吃不完的美食！少不了的也有音樂，當然，也有加拿大籍的帥哥美女一飽眼福！

 

是的！經過了好幾次的撲空，吃到了莫凡彼，也吃到了Ikea... 只差還沒吃到Hooters... （還有幾次根本都懶得紀錄了）這次終於被我們吃到了！

讓我來解說一下為什麼會撲空這麼多次吧！第一次剛好店裡在裝修。在公車上查資料的時候不知道是哪個豬頭輸入的錯誤訊息說這間公休日是禮拜二。等到他裝修完工後，我們周末一有空就會去。歷經好幾次撲空之後，我覺得事情越來越不對勁！因此決定還是查一下網友們寫的食記應該會有比較精準的消息！後來果然發現，這間店公休日根本就不是禮拜二，而是例假日都公休啊！（難怪我們每次都撲空啊！！！）

自從嘗過了小塊／小片的牛肉之後，天仙覺得可以開始挑戰整塊牛排了。這肚子裡的孩子真不愧是他老爸的孩子（證明不是偷生的XD），當我開始吃牛肉後，就讓我常常很想吃牛肉。不過我們小資夫妻可是吃不起太貴的牛排。那種醬料很多蓋住原味的夜市牛排，我又會怕肉質本身不好，吃了對北鼻也沒好處。所以這天想到之前發現的這間CP值超高的平價牛排。為了凸顯這平價牛排的CP質，還特地帶了單眼來拍！

So! After I'd had a small nibble of beef, I decided it was time to upgrade! This time, I was about to challenge an entire chunk of steak! I have the baby really takes after his/her father - I've been craving for beef ever since I'd had a bit of it! However, steaks at posh steakhouses were way beyond our budget. The night market cheaper steaks were covered in so much sauce that you can barely enjoy the original taste of the beef. So, we decided to go half way in between! We remembered this place that we had come across one time that had pretty nice quality beef at a very affordable price. And to really show its quality, I even brought my DSLR! 

杭州小籠包店算是小有名氣。記得第一次來，是天仙媽帶著泰國來的遊客一同來品嘗。當時還沒開始吃豬肉，因此並沒有嘗到這裡有名的小籠包的真正滋味。不過天仙媽畢竟也是聽人家推薦，才會帶著遊客來這兒品嘗。天仙心裡想：應該還不錯吧！之後因為懷孕初期食慾不振，看到平常愛吃的雞肉就覺得反胃，然後又加上書上都說海鮮多吃北鼻容易過敏，因此就漸漸地開始吃豬肉。於是，這天有事來到附近，與朋友相約在這兒，終於可以好好品嘗小籠湯包了！

This is no Din Tai Fung, but I reckon it's still pretty famous. The first time I was here with my mum and some Thai friends. My mum heard about the place from her friends. At that time, I still didn't eat pork, so I didn't know what their xiaolongbao tasted like. After I found out about the baby, I started to lose interest in my favourite food - chicken. The books said that too much seafood might cause allergies, so I had to start eating pork for a balanced diet. So I had an errand to run in the neighbourhood, and asked my friend to join me this time, to finally get the chance to taste some yummy xiaolongbao.

As it is almost Dragon Boat Festival, this post is a review of two types of rice dumplings that can be found in Nanmen Market. There are many kinds of rice dumplings, but no matter how much ingredient they try to stuff into the dumpling, I only fancy one kind - Huzhou rice dumplings, which has simply a chunk of meat (sometimes yolk). Another type of rice dumpling introduced here is one with red bean paste as its stuffing. Both of these were quite good! But be forewarned that as the festival comes closeer, it'll take a longer wait in line to get what you want! 

隨著端午節快到了，天仙難得有篇應景的食記。雖然說是在辦公室用手機拍的，不過因為真的很好吃，所以還是分享一下囉！

這幾年來，到處都可見各種店家發明各種不同口味的粽子。可惜無論是南北粽，或是五星級飯店出的頂級食材肉粽，天仙一律都不感興趣！不管裡面加了多麼高級的食材，天仙只想吃從小吃到大的「媽媽口味肉粽」。不過因為包粽子費工，天仙媽還要上班，很早就跟天仙說明沒辦法包。於是就有請姑姑代勞。不過比肉粽更費工夫的，就是豆沙粽了！姑姑不想這麼累，我們也捨不得她這麼累。於是就講好，豆沙粽就吃外面買的（反正豆沙粽不會有多少變化），而肉粽就享受姑姑的手藝就好！

 

據說這是一個美麗的誤會。這天我們依照約定來到所謂的「阿美飯店」，等到指定地點的友人到來，他才說他好像誤會了！其實他原本想約的是隔壁間的！不過因為當天我們來的早，我們看見了這兩間似乎是姊妹店。有些菜是從這兒端出去到那兒。又有些菜是從那兒端到這兒。其實我們也沒來過，也不知道差異。但覺得應該坐哪裡都一樣吧！

Apparently, this was the result of a misunderstanding. We arrived at the place, and when my friend who picked the place arrived, he told us that he had wanted us to meet at the place next door. However, since we arrived early, I observed that these two shops seemed to be the same place after all. Plates were coming to and fro each place. Since we had not been here before, I didn't know the difference. I thought it didn't make any difference. 

唉！這天原本也是要去吃慶城街的海南雞飯，結果不知道是去的太晚了還是怎樣。店內空無一（客）人，只有員工在忙東忙西。只好再度作罷。只是上次才吃過莫凡彼，我又還是不想去Hooters。想到之前看了IKEA的菜單發現其實沒有想像中的貴，又還沒吃過（只吃過他們家的冰淇淋），於是就改變計畫來吃IKEA的瑞典料理了。

Originally, we were going to eat at this chicken place that was under renovation when we were there last time. I don't know what happened, but the entire shop was empty this time. There were only a few guys in the shop doing their stuff. Seeing that we'd already tried Movenpick, and that I still didn't want to go in Hooters, we had to pick another place. I then recalled seeing the menu at IKEA and thinking it wasn't as expensive as I thought it'd be. So I suggested that we try it out. 

我本來只知道莫凡彼的冰淇淋好像不錯吃。這天經過本來很不以為意，因為原本我們是想去吃慶城街的海南雞飯。念了很久，但始終沒有去。這天逮到機會，就搭公車去慶城街一探究竟。沒想到，這天不是公休，而是正在裝修！（昏倒）

不過走著走著肚子也餓了。老公本來苦苦哀求說要去巷口的Hooters（根本就是想看辣妹）。不過當然是被我拒絕了！拜託！裡面都是一堆臭男生，誰想進去啊！所以想了半天，決定來莫凡彼瞧瞧。原本以為價位會很高，但研究之後發現其實也還好而已！這種價位只是比伯朗、丹提高了一點。但打著莫凡彼的招牌，我想CP質應該是比前面兩家高出很多！因此就決定進去吃吃看了！

TGI Friday's 雖然是老字號的店了，不過算一算，這好像還只是天仙第二還第三次光顧。其實這裡要人多才好玩。這天我們人不算多，剛剛好四位。不過也足以點份套餐。

TGI Friday's has been around for ages. But this is only my second or third visit. It's more fun if you get a massive group of people. There weren't too many of us this time, but sufficient. There were four of us - enough to order a combo for four. 

會來訪台灣的外籍朋友，其實都來過台灣很多次了。剛開始聚餐地點還蠻好找的。只要是道地的他們都會覺得很新鮮。一開始天仙都會找遍台北各地好吃的熱炒，讓他們一次吃盡各種台灣美食。不過隨著他們來台次數多了，聚餐地點就越來越傷腦筋了。好在這次我的新加坡友人有聲明想吃鐵板燒，天仙才開始有了點方向。不過天仙第一個想到的就是滿街都有的大浦。她會吃的慣嗎？還是找點特別的吧！這麼一找不得了！如果不是平價的，價格都不是我負擔的起的。雖然友人沒有指望我會請客，但總不能找間連自己的餐費都出不了的高檔餐廳吧！

因此天仙在網路上搜尋了一會兒，終於找到這間王品集團開的hot 7。網路上評價似乎蠻兩極化的。不過除了上菜順序有點問題，餐點本身似乎是還可以的。因此就與友人相約來這裡冒險。之後我聽格友說他一個月前訂才有位子。我們這天倒是挺幸運的！因為前一天才訂位，就剛好有位子。

Many of my friends from abroad has been to Taiwan many times. At first, it was easy to find places to take them. As long as it's some place with unique local features, they are bound to enjoy it. But after a while, it gets more tricky... Fortunately, my friend from Singapore has suggested that she would like some tepanyaki. That gave me some sort of pointer! But when I started to search for a decent place, I realised that the cheaper places were quite lame... (not the food, but the environment and what not). There were those, and then there were really expensive and posh places. I couldn't rely on my friend to pay for the meal! Even if we were going dutch, I had to find a place that I can afford!

吃完了無法令人滿足的中與志海鮮丼飯後，很不甘心的還是回到了最能令人滿足的魚饌。第一次來的時候只是單純覺得他CP值很高。價位不會太貴，但又吃的到美味。後來發現老闆每次的熱情招待，讓我每過一段時間就會開始想念它。

令我印象最深刻的一次，就是我心情極差的那次。恰好老娘當時正逢生理期前，情緒起伏大不說，又剛剛好準備帶著腳架夜拍時發現下了捷運忘了拿！雖然腳架也沒多少錢，但我真的很不想再浪費錢。跟捷運人員說了之後，心想可能要到了終點站我才有可能拿到（而且還得從後山埤坐到不知道是亞東還是永寧的）。因為還沒找到也不能馬上就去。值沒多少錢的麻煩東西，應該不會有人想偷拿吧。只是這下子整個心情就很差了。就算拿到了腳架，也外拍不成了吧（晚了，也沒feel了）當時真的很想哭啊！

雖然不是第一次在中與志用餐，但這應該是頭一回寫食記。我吃過他的迴轉壽司，也吃過他的定食。感覺上迴轉壽司比較優，但定食確實是比較划算。

This is not my first visit to Nakayoshi. I've tried their conveyor belt sushi bar before, and I've also had their teishoku (set meal). I reckon the sushi bar has better quality, but the teishoku has more value (more filling). 

遇到冷氣團來襲的周末，唯一能夠覺得還不賴的就是可以躲在被窩裡睡晚晚。要不是這天剛好有事要外出，可能就會一整天窩在被窩裡吧！既然要出門，而過年期間也因為假期短，所以根本沒花到什麼錢。我們才有機會奢侈地外出享用一下早午餐。Cafe Cafe天仙並不是第一次光顧（舊食記附在文末）。所以信心滿滿的帶著蔡同學來到這裡。一走進店裡就發現不太對耶！怎麼跟我印象中的Cafe Cafe不太一樣？

The best thing to do in the morning of a cold weekend, is to stay in bed until... whenever! However, we had missions to accomplish this day, so we had to leave our comfy duvet and get out of the house. Since we had a very short Lunar New Year holiday, that meant we still had plenty left in our monthly budget. We decided to treat ourselves to a scrumptious brunch. This was not my first visit to Cafe Cafe (go to the links at the bottom of the article to see the old posts). I was quite confident that my companion would enjoy this meal! But when I saw the place, I was a bit shocked! It looked nothing like the Cafe Cafe I remembered!

繼聖誕節那天嚐過了三本味的招牌起司鮭魚握壽司之後（看舊文），每一天都在想著要再找一天來補上用650D拍他重新篇食記。恰好與朋友相約時，她也看到了那篇食記，就讓我逮到機會回來補拍。不過這天還是有點小遺憾。原因就是因為我實在太小看他了。原以為就只有兩個人，位子應該比較好喬。不料人多的哩！我們能有位子就不錯了！只是食用時間只有短短的一個小時不到。不過我們也接受了。因為我們並不打算吃很多。重點是要來嘗嘗招牌握壽司，其他都不重要了！

After my first visit to this Japanese place, and tried their cheese and salmon nigiri sushi, I craved for my next visit! I wanted to come back and re-take the photos, since I only had my phone with me last time. My friend and I were discussing where to eat, and she happened to see the last article I wrote about this place. We decided to come here, so I got my chance to retake these photos. However, I underestimated the place, thinking that it was a weekday, and that there were only the two of us, getting a table wouldn't be that difficult! We did manage to get a table, but we had less than an hour to dine. It was okay, though. We accepted the condition, for we really wanted to have the nigiri sushi! 

雖說每座城市的車站周圍都是最熱鬧的，不過天仙卻鮮少來這附近。這天剛好有事來到這塊區域，雖然已經下午了，但肚子也開始餓了。附近選擇很多，但不想踩雷（這天原本沒有什麼冒險精神）本來想要選一間連鎖店，至少吃的安心些。後來因為第一選擇還須排隊（都下午了），懶得等就另外看看。走著走著想說前頭不是有Burger King嗎？Burger King分店不多，若今天選擇吃Burger King也算是挺新鮮的。後來看到這間平價日式料理，肚子已經餓扁了就把漢堡王拋到腦後了。一進去，才想說：這...就是原本的Burger King吧！？（這樣算有吃到嗎？）

It's always busiest around train stations. It's true for every city. But I rarely come to this neighbourhood around Taipei Main Station. We came here running an errand, and got hungry soon after. There were a lot of choices, but initially, I didn't intend to be adventurous. We initially picked a franchise, but we had to queue up, and I didn't feel like waiting. We remembered a Burger King nearby, then got distracted by this affordable Japanese place. It wasn't until we came in that we realised: this, indeed, used to be Burger King!

*This article contains Chinese (Traditional) only.
**本篇僅有繁體中文

自小接受西方教育一直到大學念了間基督教學校，至今出社會...這麼多年來我都堅持著聖誕節這天一定要放假。原本我的特休早就因為出了一趟國用光了。沒想到得到了個假日加班的機會，讓我聖誕節這天又能夠輕鬆休息一天。其實做什麼我都不在意。只要不工作就好。即使什麼都沒做，只是在家睡覺我也開心。哈哈哈！

【飲酒勿開車．Drink Responsibly】