Taiwan Day 3: Meeting My Nieces, Din Tai Fung, Taipei 101, Dinner, & Night Market

Tammy has a brother than I have only talked to through email. She hadn't seen him in six years and it just happened that he was going to be in Taipei for Chinese New Year as well. He works for Apple and works in Shanghai. He also has three daughters... which makes me an uncle and I had never met them. Tammy made plans to meet them for lunch at Din Tai Fung. Originating in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung prepares xiaolongbao made to order and they're delicious. You can watch them prepare them by hand through glass.

Bottom left is drunken chicken, above that steamed kong ching tsai (Chinese spinach), above that noodles,  and above that three different types of steamed soup dumplings

On left are the traditional steamed soup dumplings, the top dumplings are filled with vegetables, and on right is a pork cutlet on top of vegetable stir fried rice.

Most of this was already pictured above. Top is the chinese spinach, middle is the pork cutlet and the rice, bottom is the third type of steamed dumpling, and on the right is a spicy dumpling.

The hot & sour soup here was legit.

Abby & my three nieces

Again.

And again.

After lunch we walked around Taipei 101's shopping center. I think it was six floors of expensive (one jewelry store had stuff in the window for 1,000,000+) shops. Steve Madden was from The Wolf of Wall Street.

Another example of the amazing signs you'll find all over.

Din Tai Fung add. The location we ate at is located in Taipei 101.

Taipei 101 is covered in these Damper Babies. Just another example of how odd the culture can be here.

I went into this store and the service was super quick... You should be laughing now.

Happy New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

The year of the sheep.

Middle dish is Lion's Head Meatballs, to the left is Chinese spinach, to the right an assortment of vegetables, top middle is fish that I did not eat, and top right is chinese eggplant.

Top middle is curry chicken and potatoes.

This was the smoothest Scotch Whiskey I've ever had.

Filled cakes. Could be filled with creme, chocolate, or red bean.

Entrance to the night market we visited.

Fried sweet potato and yuca balls.

Grilled flayed squid

Grilled whole squid bodies.

Probably the best thing at a night market.

Another shot of the market itself.

Bubble Tea