il Giardino Romantico

If you come to Taiwan, you simply cannot miss out on the night markets. There are so many night markets in Taiwan. Many of the stalls are similar, yet it is difficult to get bored, because there are still major differences among them. Shilin Night Market is probably one of the most famous Taiwan night markets. The reason why it's famous is because of its large scale. Personally, Shilin is not my favourite. Because of its grand scale, no matter when you go, it is always bombarded with crowds of locals and tourists. It is also a bit far from where I live. But nonetheless, I cannot deny the fact that it is quite a night market, and no tourist can say they have been to Taiwan, without visiting this night market.

如果外國人來台灣旅遊，最不能錯過的我想應該就是夜市了吧！雖然大多數夜市都大同小異，但是大家還是都逛得不亦樂乎。因為雖然都很類似，但還是有很多不同的特色。士林夜市應該是全國最大規模的夜市吧！正因為它的大規模，也成了台北最出名的夜市。不過我個人不是挺喜歡就是了。因為規模大、受歡迎表示人潮一定很多。而且又加上他離我實在很遠。但即使如此我還是不能否認它真的是個很不錯的夜市，而且來到台灣的觀光客，若沒來逛過士林，就不能算有來過台灣啊。

It's quite hard to believe that in the midst of Taipei City, there would be such a cost efficient restaurant. These fry-up restaurants are the perfect place for a quick meal and a few beers. I guess, as opposed to pubs, this is as close as we can get to the English pub culture. 

實在很難想像，台北市中心裡會有這麼一間經濟實惠的快炒店。上面英文中解釋到，我其實發現台灣的快炒店是最接近英國pub文化的部分了！可以吃飯可以小酌，只是有時醉漢會讓這些地方吵了點。

Dian Shui Lou offers Shanghai and Zhejian cuisine. We owe this meal to a visit of a former teaher of ours. My friend who recommended the place was pretty familiar with the menu, so we took no time to fuss over what we wanted. He took care of it all. The only request I had, was that I wanted "drunken chicken". This is a dish where the chicken is soaked in Chinese wine, and eaten cold after it's been prepared. My friend told me that they had another chicken dish that was also quite unique, and asked me if I might consider that. I replied, that although drunken chicken is more ubiquitous, decent drunken chicken is difficult to come across. When I saw the restaurant, and my friend's continuous approval of the restaurant, I knew that they would definitely have decent drunken chicken. 

點水樓是融合上海以及浙江佳餚的餐廳。其實要不是託以前的老師來訪的福，天仙才不會有機會吃到這一餐呢！帶我們來的大哥呢，很了解這裡的菜色，所以點菜我們都不用煩惱。我唯一的要求就是要有醉雞。大哥說他們還有另外一種雞也蠻有特色的，問我不考慮試試看另外一種嗎？因為醉雞哪裡都有。我回他說：我堅持要醉雞。原因是醉雞很容易找沒錯，但好吃的醉雞真的很難找！我一進門看到店內裝潢以及大哥他一在地強調說這裡真的很不錯，我就相信他的醉雞一定很棒！

Hi Sushi is one of my favourite sushi joints in Taiwan. It is a lot more pricey than Sushi Express, but the quality of the food is, of course, incomparably better, too. We got together a group of six this time, to try out their new set meals. 

海壽司是天仙最喜歡的連鎖壽司店了！雖然比爭鮮貴很多，但品質上當然也比爭鮮好很多！畢竟爭鮮走的是平價路線嘛！這次我們聚集了六個人，來嚐嚐他們新推出的套餐系列！

This is the new Chinese restaurant on Academia Sinica campus. Reviews of the old restaurant can be seen here and here. The contract they signed ended around the end of September. Many of us were very distraught by this, as we thought they offered very decent food. Fortunately, they moved to somewhere else close by. But since this new place started, we thought we might as well try it out. Even though I had been quite disappointed with the lunch boxes they sold, the restaurant might be another story. Well... 

這是中研院新的中餐廳。約今年九月底的時候原本的餐廳合約到期。聽到此消息很多同事與我都非常的失落。因為原本的餐廳還不錯！還好他們只是搬到附近的其他地方去營業。但既然新的餐廳開了，沒有理由不去試試看。因此同事們相約到此聚餐。雖然對他們出的便當感到極度失望，但心裡抱持著：餐廳可能不一樣的心態去嘗試... 結果... 

This place was first recommended to me by a colleague of mine, for their huge dumplings. But you see, there is pork in dumplings, so I had to pass on them. I'm sure they're great! The reason why I felt obliged to come back so that I could write an article on it, however, was because of their noodles. I had never, ever had noodles spicy enough that I had to give up the last few bites. Their noodles really took me down. 

北大荒是我同事介紹的地方。他推薦的主要原因是他們的大顆水餃。不過水餃有豬肉啊。我就得pass。我相信不錯啦！但我會想回來為了寫食記多吃幾次，原因倒不是因為水餃（廢話）而是因為我從來沒吃過一碗辣到我吃不完的麵！他的辣是真的把我給KO了！

Hot chilly noodles, braised veggies, dumplings, and hot and sour soup.

This was another spur of the moment decision. I was meeting a delegate from the University of Liverpool, to get to know our new officer in charge of the Taiwan market, and also to remind myself of the good old days in L'pool. It's always nice to meet someone from the Uni. I would never get tired of sharing my experience there with people. 

I met up with the delegate at the hotel she was staying at. Unfortunately, I did not know the neighbourhood so well. And judging from our special dietary requirement, our choices were a little limited. But seeing that we both eat seafood, Japanese food seemed like a good choice. We saw the sign to this restaurant from across the street where we were standing, and decided to have our meal there. 

I had left the office in a hurry the previous day, and did not realise until leaving that I had not brought home my camera with me. Thank goodness the camera on my phone takes rather decent pictures. 

I've passed by this place a couple of times before, and was waiting for a chance to try it. When I heard my friend was going to be in Taipei for the day, and we were sorting out where to have dinner together, I suggested this place. My friends agreed to try it out with me, so here we were. 

經過這個地方兩三次，一直在等機會嚐試。當我聽到居住高雄的友人會來台北，可以共進晚餐，我則推薦了這間。友人們同意與我一起嚐試這間居酒屋，主要原因當然是因為可以喝賣茶！

How do I put into words how much I miss authentic Thai food? Most of the Thai food restaurants found here in Taiwan are a fusion between Yunnan, Burmese, and Thai style cuisine. It's been a while since I had Thai food of any kind, so I thought anything resembling Thai food would have to do. The reason why we decided to come here this time, was because the previous day, we were also at another Thai food restuarant, but because there were a couple of people in our group that could not take spicy food, almost the entire meal comprised of non-spicy Thai food. And if you enjoy Thai food enough, you'll know that no Thai food is Thai enough without its spicy taste. 

我不知道該如何表達我對泰國菜（道地）的思念。雖然台灣有很多間泰國餐廳，但大多數都是參入了雲南跟緬甸的風味。不是很道地。但離我嚐到道地泰國菜也好一陣子了！所以任何接近泰國味的料理我都能夠接受。我們這天會來這裡的原因是剛好前一天晚上也去吃泰國菜。不過不巧，當天晚上有一兩位不能吃辣的朋友，所以幾乎滿桌都是不辣的泰國菜。如果你愛吃泰國菜，就會知道不辣的泰國菜，根本不能算是泰國菜啊！

It was completely by luck that I found this place last time. But it turned out to be quite a nice place for brunch. The only downside is that because it's always busy, seating can be very limited. There were three of us this time, and the only places left to sit were at the bar, or outdoors. Seeing it was a hot day, we decided to stay indoors. 

上次會找到這個地方實在是碰碰運氣而已。但會來第二次顯然是還不錯的關係囉！唯一的缺點就是他總是擠滿了人，所以座位不太好等。這天我們有三人，剩下的位子只有戶外跟吧檯。由於當天很熱，我們就選擇了做室內的吧檯。

I think I have become notorious for procrastinating blog articles amongst my blogger friends. But surprisingly, this article had not been put off for that long. Last weekend, a rather interesting group of us got together for lunch. After lunch, it was suggested that we come here. Initially, I didn't aniticipate much, as most of you may have realised now, that it's really the company that is much more important than the places themselves. As this article will show, this place turned out to be a very pleasant surprise in the end. 

我覺得我在部落格屆裡面已經算是出了名的會拖稿了。不過這次呢，沒有拖很久喔！（才一個禮拜！）上週我們一群有趣的組合，約好了一起吃午餐。午餐過後，友人建議來這邊續攤。原本我沒有期待太多，因為你也知道，這種聚會，人總是比地點還要重要。不過到了之後才發現，這裡真的是個很特別的地方呢！

Wow! What a meal! To be honest, though, this meal happened like a month ago or something. I just haven't had the chance to come around to the write up until now. This was one of those meals that I had together with my colleagues after work. I remember the meal, because of the crazy drive... The quickest way from the office to the restaurant was through a mountain road. My colleague got so excited because it was raining, and drove us there in no time. What was so crazy about the drive? Well, once we reached flat road, he started to slow down! Insane! 

Anyhow, it was a delightful meal because I got to befriend one of their former colleagues. Well, and also because the food was really good!

Very cozy-looking entrance to the cafe. 看起來就很舒適的大門。

I had not been here before. This was yet another place I found through the internet. I was meeting two of my former students, and had to pick a place for us to spend some quality time together. When I saw this place on the net, I thought it would be the perfect place for a quiet chat, light meal or snack, and most importantly, playtime with kitties. Yes, there are kitties here in the cafe. 

現代上班族，很多人生活圈都太小。需要借助聯誼活動來認識新朋友。CAPT每個月都會舉辦一次周日早午餐會。第一次得知CAPT是由朋友的朋友介紹。我得承認剛開始有點猶豫到底要不要去。畢竟只要是跟聯誼有關的，好像都有可能變得不太妙。後來想想去了也不會少一塊肉，就去了～ 第一次是五月份的餐會，這篇文章要介紹的是六月分的餐會～

CAPT meets for Sunday brunch once a month. I first heard about CAPT from a friend of a friend. I was a bit reluctant at first, because I know how these things can turn out to be like. But I thought, it didn't hurt to give it a try. So I went, and had a really good time meeting new people. My first CAPT lunch was in May. This article is about my second CAPT brunch. 

One Friday afternoon, I suddenly felt the urge to have some Japanese sashimi rice. But there weren't any decent Japanese restaurants near the work place, so I grabbed two of my friends to explore one that we have never been to. 

某個禮拜五下午，突然好想吃生魚片蓋飯。只是工作地方附近沒什麼好得日本料理店！既然要吃就要吃好一點的啊！於是我就拉了兩位朋友與我一起去我們從未去過得一間日本料理店去探險。

This was a very special meal. What was special about it, was not because the food was extraordinarily delicious, although it was pretty good. But it was because this was a reunion with a friend who we have not seen for more than ten years... 

這是一個很特別的一餐。原因倒不是因為餐點特別好吃（雖然還不錯）。而是因為這次見面的，是一位十年以上沒見到面的朋友。

Drink Responsibly! 開車勿飲酒。飲酒誤開車～



It's probably quite unexpected, but here is a follow up on the Chinese Restaurant in Academia Sinica. There were a lot more people this time, so understandably, there were a lot more dishes on the table. I'm sure you'll enjoy this even more than the previous one! 

Hi Sushi is one of my favourite sushi joints. Although it's a lot pricier than Sushi Express, the quality of the food is incomparible. This is not my first visit, but it is the first time that I actually remembered to take photos. 

海壽司是我最喜歡的壽司餐廳之一。雖然比某間平價壽司貴上許多，不過食材的新鮮度跟多樣化是不能比較的。雖然這不是第一次拜訪，卻是我頭次有記得要拍照的一次。

When I wrote the previous article, I suddenly realised that I have photos of Cafe Sinica. Since I have them, why not share them with you? Although you'll have to excuse the mediocre quality, since these were taken by my cellphone camera. 

寫上篇食記突然想到我是有哲思軒的照片！不如就趁這機會一起介紹囉！不過這些是用手機拍攝的，品質就不如我的愛機FP-8，還請見諒囉！

There are a few options to dine on the Academia Campus. There is the canteen, which offers very cheap food, Cafe Sinica, and Beiyun Chinese Restaurant. Beiyun is one of my favourite places to dine, but unfortunately this is the kind of place where the more would be merrier. I guess that goes with most Chinese cuisines. Above is the picture of my all-time favourite chicken dish. 

中央研究院裡用餐有幾種選擇：便宜廉價的自助餐，西餐廳，以及北雲中餐廳。北雲算是我最喜歡用餐的地方，不過這種合菜，真的是要人多吃得才划算。上圖是北雲餐廳佳餚裡我最喜歡的一道：鹽焗雞。