taipei touch my heart (part 04): shin kong mitsukoshi, modern toilet, ximending

Shopping Shopping Shopping... It's what (my) life is made FOR!!

Shin Kong, Mitsukoshi... 'cos I saw some random advertisement of a Hello Kitty bike but couldn't locate it when I was there though I did feast my eyes on these goodies..!!

35th anniversary Hello Kitty Colors merchandise... woo limited edition stuff, ooh pricey stuff... I like the purple tumbler.

Now we're talkin', now we're seriously talkin': Hello Kitty 'Girl' fragrance!! Say Wooot!!

"A light, delicate, floral fragrance
A fruity fragrance with a hint of sweet chocolate

Top notes: red and green apple
Middle notes: cherry tree flowers, pulped jasmine pearls and coco balls
Base notes: sweet pralines, musk, power drops, vanilla syrup and candy sugar"




This is a typical Taiwanese style: bohemian, layers, hippy chic, blooms, nudes... I am, like, so influenced by Taipei street fashion right now!! OMG I'm super crazy in love with the way they carry off even the most extreme (well, in my fashion bible at least) cases, i.e: hareem trousers like it's just khaki shorts :) I mean we're talking Asians here and we can be absolutely hopeless when it comes to being bold. So anywaysss remember my favourite Tulip shop over at Shihlin? This is another of their outlet in XiMenDing and that one-piece in the middle? I shoulda coulda woulda bought it... damn!



According to PJ of 'A Touch of Blusher':
1. Many Japanese beauty items are cheaper in Taiwan (by about 5% and often more, depending on the brand).
2. There is usually not much delay in Japanese seasonal releases in Taiwan (many seasonal collections are launched almost simultaneously in Japan and Taiwan).
3. There are numerous GWP and value set events throughout the year with fantastic deals.





XiMen is really XiMenDing. I was almost confused with their MRT map. Well anyways, getting lost aside, can't exactly come to XiMenDing and not visit their infamous Modern Toilet made famous by massive forward mails and Cheesie. It took us a gazillion years to find that place but at least we found it :P

"In the beginning, we mainly sold ice cream – a big pile of chocolate ice cream sold in containers shaped like a squat toilet. This humorous spin became a great success. After much planning from all of our partners, we finally took the first step towards realizing our dreams in May 2004 with the launch of the “Marton Restaurant”. The restaurant immediately caused a stir in Taiwan with its humorous “out-there” design. At the start, many people peered in at the restaurant trying to figure out what we were selling – then had a big smile on their face when they finally worked it out. By continuing to come up with great ideas and making improvements on old ones, we have expanded over the past few years from just ice cream into a fully-fledged theme restaurant with stores all over Taiwan. Now we're known as Modern Toilet."




Shower decor, tub tables, bowl seats, sh*tty lighting (keke) came together to make this interior:

Tadaa!

People leave love notes in the table-tubs.

Yea, I didn't bother with that 'cos we've got truckloadsa those in my hospital toilet... and I don't need to pay for 'em!

Our big bowl of crap / poo / call it whatever you want: sh*t is sh*t *giggle*

Drinking from the urinal. Mmmy gagged, like, every sip she took from the straw which inadvertently made me feel slightly nauseated and then I started gagging!!

Me likes!

Modern Toilet
2F., No.7, Lane 50, Sining S. Rd
XiMenDing, Taipei
Tel: 02-2311-8822
MRT: Ximen

All these are knitted by a guy!~! Seriously. I watched him with my own eyes.

I really love the crochet teasets... ayo really regret tak beli... adoi.

There's a mini mall in the middle of XiMenDing that houses Vivienne Westwood and local Taiwanese indie labels which are terribly CUTE!! It has just so many many lovely stuff :)

Like this Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani fragrance line that is so much cheaper than back home!

These are mini Harajuku Lovers. I got G for myself... glee!!

"G
Never one to get lost in the crowd, G leads her crew in a white, corseted top and a blue miniskirt á la Alice in Wonderland. Quirky, unique, and undeniably cool, G is the leader of the pack. Her scent is an oriental, fruity, gourmand fragrance with notes of fresh coconut, jasmine, and cotton woods.

Notes: Mandarin, Coconut, Apple Skin, Jasmine Sambac, Freesia, Magnolia, Coconut Cream, White Sandalwood, and Cottonwoods
Style: Tropical. Sunny. Distinctive."

I love Gladee! Kawaii ne!

I am cuh-razy 'bout this label: Cuteland. It's a local graphic indie label that strives to make the best art for the public. Their animated figures are exceptionally brilliant. The chick working there was so helpful to run down to the next building to get me my T-shirt size. Loves her and her cutey face!

These are what I got us!! So *bisou* *gag* worthy rite?? Ahahaha me likes!!

taipei touch my heart (part 03): din tai fung + 5 dime boathouse

A tip: you don't need to know much Mandarin to survive te streets of Taipei, just enough: left, right, straight, traffic light, excuse-me-please-help-me... and use a map with a dash of instinct!

We had to go visit Din Tai Fung (rated top 10 by The New York Times) of course for their legendary xiao-long-bao. The queues are supposedly ridiculous, the food delicious and the patrons... politicians and celebrities wooo!!

We were there early morning on a weekday so the massive crowd had not poured in yet. Lucky!

This is Bao Zhai. Ayo so bloody kawaii,non? The cutey's Din Tai Fung's mascot :)







Steamed pork dumplings. I ordered the minimal amount of 5 'cos Mmmy wasn't too hungry (we ate some roadside fare that was super yummy while getting lost trying to get here). My MO told me if the xlb turned out to be empty aka soup-less due to a leak or whatever, they'll substitute you a new one on the house. Also each and every xlb is weighed to ensure they all have the same amount of isi. Crazy cool huh?


The correct way to indulge in a xlb! Seriously!





Every table has a cloth bag-stand to hold your handbags (pretty securely) while you dine. It's a brilliant idea! The waitress never fails to remind you to put your belongings away for safekeeping before covering your stand with a large napkin. Delightful!



7-Prosperity or something like that *shrug* glutinous rice dessert..




We were sitting around waiting for the souvenir shop to open when...

... we spotted these uber fantastic Alexander McQueen jelly flats all blinged-up at a shop just beside!! They really are Cinderella glass slippers!

Oooh..!!

Din Tai Fung
194 Shin Yi Rd
MRT Zhongsiao Dunhua

Xie Li-Xiang plays with the word 'daydream', 'fantasy', 'resourceful', 'driftwood', 'adversity', 'spectacular', 'ceramic', and most of all 'unique'. She was a self-taught architect who lived out her air sandcastles literally. She converted her first construction into a restaurant to help fund further projects.

She named it The 5-Dime Boathouse and everything is built from driftwood, huge trees and ceramics.

To me, the moment I stepped in, I felt as if I was transported into a building warp that was seemingly very Gaudi and Australian aboriginal art. It was a very intriguing experience!

The batik settee was highy comfortable and very much exotic.

When you order dishes, you get these complimentary. Super worth to eat there-lor. Even the free rice (+ yummy delicate sweet potato), pickled passionfruit and vegetable soup is so darn sumptious!

Tender beef + asparagus stirfry.

I. AM. SO. IN. LOVE. This is, like, the best thing I've eaten in Taipei!! It's a cold dish of scallop + dragonfruit + cheese in a tomato cup drizzled in passionfruit puree (BON YUM-YUMMMMMMM!!) and topped with a wee bit of caviar... *sigh*

I ordered a fruit tea which was delicious but turns out you do get a complimentary cold drink too. So you can so totally save on that too. Their milk mochi is excellent :P I love that everything is served in large heavy clay. Mmmy knows I love rustic earthenware!

Toilette *giggle*

Check out her white Jap carps. It's the first I've seen.

Mmmy says not to show this to Dddy or he'd get too crafty ;)

Five-Dime Boathouse
8 Lane 32, Nei Hu Rd Sec 1

MRT Miramar

taipei touch my heart (part 02): shihlin night market

My 2nd destination and the 1st reason why I came to Taipei is.....

To buy TRUCKLOADSA fancy costumes in Shihlin Night Market!!

Ever since I learnt of its existence, I was determined to make my way to Taipei to get myself cheap costumes. I'm an avid fan of playing dress up (if you don't already know *wink*) and I still don't have a Japanese schoolgirl uniform! I was all geared up to get one but in the end... I didn't get any :( The shop owner immediately detected my crappy Mandarin and charged me the dreaded 'tourist price'. Damnit. She refused to budge and so I dejectedly turned away. So no costume this time... boo...

..

Taiwanese fashion style is a fusion of Hongkie messy baggy layering and Korean pastel English print flutters. This Shelbulous shop sells the epitome of Taipei-ian style and I absolutely love it!! I don't know how to say the name but I can recognize the window-box tulips decor. I personally call it The Tulip Shop. One tricky business 'bout shopping for threads in markets and regular street vendors is that all their clothing is seemingly free size (??) and there is no changing room. Basically you gotta roughly know your body and be realistic with what you could possibly fit into. Since I'm no stick-insect alot of my purchases were a big gamble. I won most of the time. Yeayy!!

The street style is cutting edge and their designs are definitely a world above ours. I especially loved this shop which had military inspired Lego-like cartoon characters. I regret forgetting to get a polo T-shirt for Guy.

My sole videogame arcade weakness. Mmmy forbade me to play. Crappers. Just look at the brilliant catch (pun intended). Aaargh!!


OMG. So *bisou* worthy. Mmmy talked me out of getting a pair. Guess I tend to forget I'm 28.



Mmmy's a crazy Taiwan channel stalker on Astro so you can imagine her obsession with wanting to try out everything she'd seen on the tele. I figured this is one of them with snippets of his stall featured on that Taiwanese 'Jalan-jalan Cari Makan' kinda show on permanent rerun at the stall's tele. It's called Small-Sausage-Wrapped-in-Big-Sausage(?) which is really Taiwanese sausage wrapped in an outer sticky rice 'sausage' filled with condiments like pickle etc... Bon Yum-Yum!


This drink is called Frog Eggs. Goodness knows why. It's really a lemon jelly drink except that their lemon appears to be a bizarre hybrid of lemon AND lime making it taste extra zingy. Bon Yum-Yum!


Stinky Tofu! Doesn't take a genius to figure out why it's called so. It seriously is pretty foul-smelling. But damnit does it tastes good! It comes with unlimited special chilli+tauchu bean sauce supply. Mmmy says she finds this stall quite familiar looking (Astro alert!). Bon Yum-Yum!


Such an epic Shihlin dining experience: stinky tofu overlooking an immense stretch of pedestrian crossing and gargantuan MRT station stop.


We were hunting for Mmmy's ultimate desire: oyster mee-suah but were directed here instead. This is NOT oyster mee-suah, it's JUST mee suah, Ay-Chung mee-suah that is, but it has been here since 1975 so we figured a trial can't be wrong.


Modern day mee-suah haunts: flat screen tele with cubicle seats only. You eat your mee-suah while holding your bowl up like how they did in the old days except now there's digital entertainment and everyone's on their mobile phones.




Undeniably sumptious. No wonder they lasted all the way into the millenium. Bon Yum-Yum!


Their fruits are excellent and especially juicy. Just don't get duped into being charged a 'tourist price'. I was. Damnit WTF. Still don't leave Taiwan without tasting their persimmons, rock melons and mangoes. That and this bizarre drink...


White Bittergourd Juice. This lady makes it really nice. Tangy bitter taste with a boot of sugar to make the medicine go down.


Continuing our 'adventure' (I say adventure 'cos we literally trekked the entire food court in freakin' circles and my mood was turning fouler than a stinky tofu by the minute) in search of that elusive oyster mee-suah, we found a stall in the Shihlin food court selling that ware. Weird but you'd think oyster mee-suah would be abundant in Taipei given it's famous reputation but no wor.. Anyways that measly piece of seafood was a poor excuse for an oyster. Non bon.


Forcing a smile post-oyster-mee-suah disappointment. Turns out the good one is in XiMenDing. Crappers. Missed-lor.


On the way out we saw a long queue forming in front of this stall. People were waiting in line in spite of the heavy drizzle. I kiasu-ly needed to know why.


Turns out it was an XXX Fried Chicken stall called Hot Star that was crazy famous. I didn't really like the chicken though. It had a funny smell and taste. I threw half of it away. I actually think our XXX chicken tastes better *shrug*


You gotta taste authentic Special(?) Milk Bubble Tea. It's like regular bubble / pearl milk tea except their milk is different. Very candy-like. Bon Yum-Yum!

Shihlin Night Market

MRT: Jiantan Station Exit 2

taipei touch my heart (part 01): hello kitty sweets

Still reeling from my Taipeinization *wink* J' seriously adore that place. The shopping is so good. The food is pretty yums. The girls are so hot with killer style. Seriously. Not label whores like Japs, better put together and more colour than Hongks, braver than Sings, more diverse than M'sians... it's only Koreans i am unsure of 'cos Koreans are crazy stylo-milo too!

After 4.5 hours of zero entertainment, endless boredom and crappy food... we finally landed!! Chatting on air is crazy mundane (I'm sure you've heard or read somewhere 'bout the new AirAsia entertainment features) if everyone else on the flight is as interesting as a garden slug or absolutely old. Doesn't matter, I was too tired anyways: just finished a tiring work shift and spent the entire night doing last minute research on Taipei.

Note to those who know not Mandarin, it is advisable for you to research thoroughly on the places you wish to visit especially the address (road name and nearest MRT station as well as exit is extremely important) and opening times 'cos Taipei-ians hardly speak Anglais and have crazy opening hours. It's better to have a relatively vague picture of where to head to rather than wander around like a crazy headless chicken. The shops + markets (apart from 24-hour convenience stores) usually open close to noon but some of them hold out 'till 15:00... though they do close pretty late to make up for it.

Anywayyys, if you've just renewed your passport, like moi, do bring your previous copy of passport 'cos a fresh passport can be quite disturbing to immigration officers and they tend to be a little lengthy on the interrogation. I brought mine so they had zero qualms as to if I was gonna 'jump aeroplane' or not. Instead the officer was super keen on my profession and asked me a couple of work-related qs. It was fine. My minimal Mandarin sufficed.

From the airport you can either take a shuttle-bus to the main station, which if I'm not wrong, is free or take a cab.




There is no coupon system. You just go towards the taxi stand and get on one. It's pretty pricey and they've got additional charges on top of the distance you go. Either that or I got duped. It's about NT$2000 to get to XiMen where my hotel is: Chairman Hotel. Nothing much to shout about. 'Twas a recommendation from AirAsia for good rates (I booked mine at about RM120 per night) and turned out to be a old budget motel with beds as hard as a chopping board. Apart from that it has the basic necessities and is relatively clean so... OK kua. Don't skimp too much on hotels if you can, you really need good rest with all the walking and a good bed is luxurious at the end of the day.

My 1st destination and the 2nd reason why I came to Taipei is.....
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Burning with anticipation yet??
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Yes... we've arrived at The Mothership!! Je presente: Hello Kitty Sweets!!
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Yea baby. We've come home...

You may hyperventilate / drool / go outta your mind now. It is permitted.

There is no way you cannot like this place. There isn't. It's just a really really agreeable and charming place to be in. You could even say heavenly. This is the cafe's window display.

Luscious purple seats with lovely Kitty tiles. Check out the waitress' uniform.

Imagine hosting a party here. Aaargh!! It's like having your wedding at The Plaza!!

Chocolate seats... oooh.

Hello Kitty chandelier!

Where the magic is made :)

Their restroom's got a slimming mirror. Me likes!!

Dress: Zara; Jeggings: Topshop; Ugg-ish boots: Urban Outfitters clearance sale

Check out the placemats and super kawaii-cool napkins. I took as many napkins and stuffed them down my bag (or bra?) as I kiasu-ly could. Mmmy was thoroughly embarassed. I was least bit bothered. These are Kitty serviettes and you ain't gonna get 'em anywhere so what's a wee bit of klepto on something's that is sorta available for you freely?

Fruit tea. More fruit punch-like. Bon Yum-Yum. Seriously. I'm not saying it just 'cos it's a Hello Kitty fruit tea. Or maybe I am?

Mmmy's berry juice. Bon Yum-Yum too.

I kept thinking to myself: Whoah Hello Kitty burger nyamnyamnyam... Whoah Hello Kitty french fry nyamnyamnyam... Whoah Hello Kitty onion + bits of lettuce nyamnyamnyam...

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Complimentary cookie dessert.

I so so so so so so so so so so wanted to get a cake but I couldn't eat anymore. So all I could do is just look at it and despair...

Goodbye magical land of happy clouds and positive aura. Goodbye magnificent cakes which I bet are bites of dreamy heavens. Don't wanna go.....

there is no modern man without a modern woman

“I’m not excusing him. But look at what... what a man gives up to be with one of us. We make more money. We rise higher. We take up more space. We are far from the idea of a wife he grew up with as is possible to be and still wear his ring and go by his last name. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it.”

... Juliet, Cashmere Mafia ...

One evening, Guy turned around to tell me watching me go-go-go at life has brought upon him a new epiphany in life. I was doing A LOT of things what with wedding preps (including troubleshooting venue disasters secondary to failed first choice.. I’ll elaborate further next time), experiment turn hobby turn mini cottage industry all-goodness beauty line: *bisou* rose bonbon, raising funds via charity pre-loved clothes sales including the search for an appropriate orphanage and ironing details on which McDonald’s outlet as well as logistics to get the orphans there (Dddy says we can try manage by borrowing his company van, have afew go on his car and my car and whoever else who wishes to extend transportation contribution… I thought that was a brilliant idea ‘cos I’m pretty limited on budget considering I only have a certain amount of clothes that does not multiply itself in heat and time), trying (though still rather unsuccessfully bleh :P) to LOSE weight, buying a house, keeping the family chores in check as a dutiful eldest daughter, i.e switching Dddy’s Yahoo! back to Classic Yahoo! and typing out Sophekins’ visa renewing rules on email ‘cos she can’t load giant pdf attachments with her poor dial-up in London all the while making sure my boyfriend gets enough lovin’ anddddd BALANCING MY DAY JOB which drives me to the cliff of lethargy and fatigue despite the mere 7-hour episode per day. I sat back and thought to myself for awhile. We modern woman really do do so much more than the females back in the stone ages. It’s not just gathering fruits and flowers while breast-feeding the kid awaiting for the day’s kill. Nowadays it’s helping to sharpen the spearheads, organizing the lil ones’ arching practice, discovering metal and its uses, marinating saber-tooth tiger meat, joining the men on hunts AND gathering fruits and flowers while breast-feeding the kid. Phew! We’ve got a lot on our plates now don’t we? But what do men feel about this excessive shift in dynamics? More importantly what does my man feel about his recessive disposition as opposed to my LOUD ngejreng splashing colours of life? I feared the ultimate: male ego. I needed to know if he could take it. The fact that I enjoy success / Shelbulosity as I call it… that it may come with spent energy and loss of canoodling time… but despite that, that I love him and no trophy from World Vision amounts to the same joy he brings me by just holding my hand in front of the tele. See thing is, we are made to complement each other: man woman (and nowadays man man woman woman… see I don’t forget you babydolls). I always believe that greatness lies in having a wholesome life. Balance is the key don’t they say? So anywhooo, back to Guy’s epiphany: he wishes to do more in life too and not just drift daily in and out from his work as he used to. For now he is yet to decide on his personal goal (since his career path is pretty much written out for him) but for the life of him he’ll help me to achieve mine ‘cos he says making me happy is what makes him wholesome.

Dear Modern Man,

You know what this modern man wants for breakfast? Maybe oatmeal. Bacon and eggs if she’s craving protein. Definitely coffee, but relax. I’m not gonna have you for breakfast. So please don’t be such a wimp at work. It’s high time to accept the fact that a woman might not just be your co-worker. She could be your boss, and you’re gonna have to be prepared to deal, to be a man about it in the true sense of the word. Sure, more working women means more competition, but instead of being threatened by it, be challenged by it. Let’s bring out the best in each other. Win or lose, if you’re a good sport, everybody wins. Until you get your head around this, you’ll be on your road, and I’ll be on mine. I hope at some point we meet in the middle.

Cheers,
The Modern Woman

… Letter from the editor, Cashmere Mafia …

This entry is dedicated to Su Yin: Girl Who Loves To Cook, a beautiful and talented cake designer, who lost a man in the pursuit of Shelbulosity. I applause her refusal to be a dignified sufferer. He was brilliant but just not brilliant enough. 90210 lesson of the day: we all deserve to be with a person who is brilliant ENOUGH!!

Have a good weekend y’all.

shelbybaby goes: notting hill market

Nottinghill Market by shelbybisou featuring Alexander McQueen shoes

Items in this set:
3.1 phillip lim, 645 GBP
Ankle Boots with Fringe Detail, 610 GBP
Lanvin Happy Sac Partage leather bag, $1,965
DELFINA DELETTREZ - CROWNED SKULL EARRINGS, 288 EUR
a-morir by kerin.rose — LOVE / HATE CONVERTIBLE CHAIN SUNGLASSES, $250

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This is the beginning of a Shelbulous NEW WORLD. Big big thank you to Elizabeth of Can't I Blog If I want To? Loves your Polyvore sets, M.A.C hauls and cutes disposition!!

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P.S: I made a boo-boo 'cos I forgot to delete the default text. Oops. Good try for a first one though, non?

blog birthday giveaway

Been in such a flurry of things lately that it's been awhile since I stopped to smell the roses or even show people I care I do care. I was flipping through my lil' black book and penning down details of this + that project, this + that appointment, this + that parties when I realized come October 13th WE @ shelbybaby.blogspot.com would be yet another year old. We'll be 5 years old y'all!! Wow. Whoah. Weee!!

This year I want to take the time to learn about the existence of you sweethearts who visit my blog -be it everyday or once ever awhile / chick or cock *giggle* / local or international / friend or non-friend (note I didn't say the word foe... don't want any bad aura on an auspicious occassion)... basically everyone-lah!-

This is not a contest but there is a gift (or 2 or 3 *wink*) involved. So please let me give it to you! Just shout 'Pink' in the comments section + email me your postal address at khoshelby@yahoo.com. Mega loves.

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(update) Giveaway extended 'till Oct 31st-lor so quickly come say PINK!

"Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You are always on my mind..."

... Always On My Mind, Elvis Presley ...

*bisou*