When I got back home yesterday from Taipei, I was surprised to see this in my Dad's tank...

Yes, the same pair of Parrot fish had laid their eggs. The last time they did was about 3 months ago when they laid their eggs at the opposite corner and on the floor of the tank. This time they had chosen the other corner and laid the eggs on the walls of the tank as seen above. I have read somewhere on the Internet that the male Parrot fish is sterile. True enough, the last batch of eggs have all gone rotten with fungus surrounding them. Guess that this batch will be the same. Nevertheless, the parents are fending their eggs aggressively, chasing away the rest of the Parrot fish which had swam to close to their eggs.

This time in Taipei, I didn't do much. Wanted to shop initially but since I have just done my Shopping spree in HK and that Taipei hasn't much for me to shop, I decided to give it a miss and save my money :D

Met up with my other colleagues for dinner at Shilin Night Market. The weather was much colder than when I visited Taipei about 2 weeks ago. The wind was very chilly. Though it was a weekday, Shilin was brimming with people. It's so crowded that moving around did take abit more effort and time.

Featuring here are some of the food which we had ordered to be shared among the 6 of us...

The Chou Toufu...Yes the smell is overpowering but when it enters ur mouth, you will fall in love with the taste....crispy on the outside yet very soft on the inside. Plus the sweet sour chilli sauce that were poured over the Toufu make it more tastier.

Guan Cai Ban...This thick bread was deep fried and you can get to choose what to put inside. I chose the Corn with Pork Floss....very fragrant and tasty. A must try!!!

The Ou Lua (Oyster Omelette)....its different from the one sold in Singapore. Here they added vegetables together with the Oyster to fry with the Omelette. They also put a sweet orangy sauce over the Omelette. Kind of sweet. Prefer the ones in Singapore though.

Besides all these, we also had our Da Da Ji Pa, Ou Lua Mee Sua and some Xiao Long Bao.

If you guys ever visit Shilin, this stall is a must to visit if you intend to buy some Taiwan Tu Chang...They sell very nice and fragrant Peanut Candy.

Now I shall bring you back in time to the my Taipei trip about 2 weeks ago. This Taipei trip was one of the best I had and as I have 3 days in Taipei, we did manage to visit a few more interesting places besides the usual Ximending and Shilin.

On the first night, Karen brought us to this famous restaurant that specialised in Hua Diao Ji. Though its not that cheap, the food was nice and the way they cooked our food is unique. Shall tell u why in a while.

The group of us minus Stella ( the photographer for this trip and someone who refused to be photographed ) outside the famous restaurant. Heard that it appeared on the news before and if you never reserve a table beforehand, you may need to wait for a very long time to get a table.

This is the Main Dish...Hua Diao Ji. The gravy was very thick and a bit salty and the cubes of chicken were very tender. It goes very well with the rice. Nice

Now this is the unique part...when half the bowl of the Hua Diao Ji ended in our stomach, the waiter came with a bowl of other assorted dishes...mushrooms, some meat dishes and some vegetables...and mixed them with the remaining Hua Diao Ji. Next, he would pour some 'Shen Qi Shui' (aka...Miracle/Magic Water) into the steamboat bowl. When the soup boil, its time to tuck in again. This whole cycle repeated itself for the next 2 times depending on what u order from the menu. Of course, with each new cycle came with a new dish. All in all, the new dish is cooked in the broth/gravy of the leftover dish. In the end, the soup may become very salty and its time to ask the waiter to add more water. Quite a unique experience I would say. The service was great too. The price, however, is on the high side.

The satisfied us after the meal.

So what's next after a sumptous dinner that made all of our tummy bigger ?

Time to head for Shilin Night Market !!!

Before we start our shopping spree@ Shilin....it's time for some desserts. We came to this shop that sell dou hua.

Karen feeding me *Shy*

Ordered the Duo Hua with Zheng Zhu (Pearl)....Initially, felt that it wasn't that great because the ice shavings were too hard and big...so it affected the whole enjoyment of eating the smooth light dou hua. However, it got better towards the end when the ice shavings have melted. I still prefer the one I had in HK though for it was much smoother and lighter :D

As usual, Shilin is brimming with people.

One thing that I will not fail to buy from the night markets in Taiwan is the freshly cut fruits. Their fruits look so fresh and sweet. Damn nice. After one bad experience the other time, I vowed not to buy from the fruit stall beside the road near the entrance of the shopping street. That time, the lady overcharged me...Some Guava, mango and Starfruit cost me S$20 !!! So expensive. I prefer to buy from the Old uncle who will position his stall further down the shopping street. One packet of his fruits as seen above cost approximate S$1.5 - S$ 2. Much cheaper than the one outside.

The Chou Tofu stall....U will know that its nearby before you even get to see it.

Shilin...We will back again !!!!!

Of course, before we head back to the hotel, we dropped by the Shilin food centre to TP some finger food to nibble on. Had my Da Da Ji Pa again !!! Shiokness!!!!!

Met up with Stella and Jas the next afternoon to shop at Ximending. Managed to buy for myself some T-shirts, a unique shirt ( quite like it ) and a jacket. Actually, there aren't much things for me to buy in Ximending. Prefer HK though. The girls, too, did not manage to shop much. Anyway, before we head to Zhong Xiao Dun Lu, we had our ...

Ah Zhong Oyster Mee Sua...Slurping the hot tasty Mee Sua in cold weather was damn Shiok !!!

Saw this stall selling Strawberries in Zhong Xiao...Big and very Red. Nice.

Instead of going to the usual Shilin or Tong Hua Jie, I suggested going to Shida Night Market. It's a virgin trip for the 3 of us and be honest, I really prefer this night market to the popular ones like Shilin. Like other night markets, its very crowded and because its located next to the University, the things sold here tend to be a little cheaper and cater more to students.

You will see more locals and students here than you will see at Shilin where it's infested with tourist.

Jas & Stella picking what they want eat at the very famous Lu Wei Stall. Had my favourite Pigs' intestines and stomach...Ooooiiiishiiii :P

We shared this plate of Lu wei noodles. Its quite nice and taste a bit different from the Lu wei sold in Singapore. I will definitely go back and have it again even though the queue can be put you off.

Brimming with people and there's lots of shops selling clothes. I saw a Paul Smith shirt that was selling for less than S$30 (Sales). Thought it was an imitate initially, after a closer look at the stall, it doesn't seem to be...hmmm...still quite apprehensive about it. Saw a grey jacket that I really like it and even the gals agree with me...but the jacket was too small for me :(

As usual, before we head back, had our usual dose of fried Taiwanese finger food...this time I bought my ji pa, tian bu la and cuttle fish :P

The next morning, Stella and I went to have our breakfast at

Famous for their Dou Jiang. Though this stall is located above the wet market (aka quite ulu and not visible from outside), the queue can tell you how popular this stall is with the locals.

Besides their dou jiang, their Fan Duan (above) is very nice too. Dough Fritters, chye po and pork floss wrapped in Glutinous Rice...really damn nice. Their Dan Bing and Hou Bing is nice too. A must try.

On the last night in Taipei, We had a very sumptous Shabu Shabu dinner at this popular restaurant that I heard even the celebrities frequent regularly. The moment you entered the restaurant, you can tell straight away that the dinner is gonna be expensive.

Lets TUCK IN !!!!

Shabu Shabu

The super fresh mussles....hey...do u know that its still moving ? Its ALIVE !!!

Poor Prawns...You may not notice in this pic but I can tell u that when they were presented to us on the plate....they were still MOVING !!!! NO JOKE....They were still alive with the satay stick piercing through their back...OUCH!!!!

In the end, we each paid about S$50 for the dinner...as expected. Very nice and good ambience, service was great, the food was nice and most importantly, the seafood was very fresh !!!!!

I miss my Taipei and the peeps whom I went out with.