Blog

In the morning we pack and get ready to leave Hualien. The kids walk the dog then sit in Azhou’s garden. When we’re ready we drive to Shoufeng train station and say our goodbyes. We love Azhou so much! We are so grateful to my uncle and aunt for their hospitality. And we are especially forever grateful to my dear cousin for showing us so many fun places and things to do. She took a whole week off from work and planned and prepared so many amazing activities plus drove us around and spent so much time with us each day. She is the best and we love her dearly! From Shoufeng station we train back to Taipei. Kids do school work on the train. V sleeps. C works. The ocean is blue and sun shining bright. We arrive in beautiful sunny Taipei. It’s a gorgeous day! We go get Bao So Hard then taxi to Yong Kang Jie. We arrive nearby the original location of the first Din Tai Fung restaurant. We pick up breakfast at SUNMERRY Bakery. It smells so good! There are so many delicious choices and the bakery is packed with customers. We walk to a famous cong you bing (scallion pancake) shop. There is a huge line down the street and around the corner. We enjoy our cong you bing at the park while the kids play at the playground. It’s piping hot and delicious! We walk from the park to Dong Men Jiao Zi Guan, my family’s favorite place for dumplings in Taipei for over 60+ years. The kids like watching the koi in the pond at the entrance to the restaurant. We’re seated right away and start picking small dishes of veggies – tofu noodles, pickled cabbage, pickled daikon, egg plant, pickled cooked string beans. So yummy! We order guotie (pot stickers) and shuijiao (boiled dumplings), stir fry spinach, and doufu gan (dry tofu with pork and spring onions) just like how my Azhou used to make it. The food is so delicious! After dinner, we walk over to the Taipei Taiwan temple of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints as the sun is setting. It is so beautiful! We see the temple, church building, and apartments where my parents first met. It gets dark and we walk down the street to get mango shaved ice desserts at Smoothie House. W order mango ice and strawberry ice with all the delicious toppings like fruit, tapioca, and more. It is totally amazing! The kids love it and ask to listen to Grandpa tell stories because he has so many! After dessert we decide we better head back to the hotel. We take a taxi back and get the kids ready for bed. Goodnight!