Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

二二八人文咖啡館 Relax 228 Coffee Shop

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009

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二二八人文咖啡館 Relax 228 Coffee Shop
#3 Ketagalan Blvd., Taipei, Taiwan
886 (02) 23897228

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My mom and I had our merienda here. Relax Coffee Shop is located at the 2-2-8 Memorial Museum. We ordered some desserts and rested here before we started touring the place.

True to its name, the coffee shop’s ambiance really gives this relaxing feeling.  That’s why we opted to have desserts there before touring, right?  There were lots of mature (hehe!) men and women hanging out there.  I also saw a big group of officemates dining together.  Some of their visitors seemed to be there for hours just talking about stuff.  Relax 228 Coffee Shop just has this welcoming feeling that guests would want to stay and have coffee in.

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I ordered their cake+nai cha bundle (99NT).  The Nai Cha is just normal.  Nothing special, but I surely prefer this over the iced teas served here in Manila hehehe 😛  The cake is lemon-flavored, very unique.

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My mom, on the other hand ordered 2 scoops of Movenpick Ice Cream (79NT per scoop).  The ice cream was just too expensive!!  My mom said that Movenpick is an expensive brand of iced cream (I guess the same as Haagen Dazs here?).  It was nice to see my mom’s face lighten up when she saw that the coffee shop has Movenpick 🙂

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Rest of the pictures here.

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Azadi Persian Kabab

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 20, 2009

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Azadi Persian Kabab
95 Bungad, West Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 481-6244 

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Azadi Persian Kabab is a restaurant that is similar to World Class Persian Kabab and Mister Kabab.  A cheaper alternative for Persian and Mediterranean food lovers.

Was looking for a place to eat for dinner last night and saw this accidentally on our way back home.  Ambiance is just the same as other Persian restaurants.  I was hoping that this could be better than the other cheap persian restaurants.  So i ordered the same menu item I usually do.

Here are what we ordered:

  • Ripe Mango Shake (Php 30)
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I’m really glad theat these restaurants serve cheap fresh fruit juices. I love those! For Php30, I was in for a treat! You won’t feel guilty if you want to order one more! 😛

  • Chelo Kabab (Php 155)
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This is usually what I order when I go to a Persian Restaurant. I was very disappointed because I couldn’t mix the butter well with the rice. The rice wasn’t hot enough, so the butter wouldn’t melt!!! The kabab itself was very dry too. I know, I can’t expect too much as this is a cheap version.

  • Shawarma Rice (Php 75)
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Instead of having the ingredients wrapped, they served it with rice instead. That’s basically it for this dish. Nothing special. My friend preferred this over the one I ordered, so I guess, if ever I do go back to Azadi Persian Kabab, I’ll order this instead.

I’ve tried and reviewed many restaurants that I started to have high expectations of this one. This is also added to the list of restaurants I don’t plan to go back to. Sad 🙁

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國家圖書館 National Central Library

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 19, 2009

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國家圖書館 National Central Library
No.20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan
886-2-2361913

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Located just across the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, this library is the only National Library in Taiwan.

To enter, you’ll either have to leave your ID to get temporary pass for the day or you can also get a permanent card by showing your passport & submitting a photo.

As I was just a tourist, I took the temporary pass to get in.  When I entered the library, I started taking pictures (no flash).  One of the personnel approached me and asked me to stop taking pictures as it is not allowed in the library.  They’re very strict but I understand why there is such a rule.

In åœ‹å®¶åœ–書館 National Central Library, we’ll be able to find extensive collection of magazines, books, newspapers, art & a lot more.

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Highlights are the ff:

  • Chinese Studies Resources
  • Microform Materials
  • General Books & Periodicals
  • Electronic Resources
  • Chinese Rare Books/Special Collection
  • Government Publications & Law Collection

This 6-floor library, would you believe, has internet access available.  It offered a number of computers for free use & also provide DSL ports for those who came with their laptop.  Cool, isn’t it?  A high-tech National Library! 🙂

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More pictures here.

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Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 19, 2009

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Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant
101 N.S. Amoranto Corner Speaker Perez St., Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 711-2248

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A friend of mine kept mentioning Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant to me.  Beni said I should try it out & blog about it.   The food is good, he said.  I really thought that he was one of the owners or something! hahahaha!

Last night, I finally found my way to Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant.  I must say, I’m impressed.  The restaurant was well-lit.  It has this calming effect.  You’ll notice all my pictures are greenish lolz — That’s because of the green & yellow theme, which I’m sure helped give a calming ambiance.

Here are what we ordered:

  • Bibimpop Fish Fillet (Php 175)
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Of the two rice toppings we ordered, I like the Korean Bibimpop w/ Fish Fillet best.  Everything just went well together.  If you like traditional Korean dishes, then you would love this rice topping!

  • Creamy Bibimpop (Php 175)
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This is rice topped with seafood white sauce.  The idea of putting the rice toppings in a stone bowl is genius.  It makes the dish more appealing to customers.  I’m not a cream person, but those who love cream would enjoy this.  I prefer the Bibimpop Fish fillet (see above menu item).

  • Seafood Chapchee (Php 175)
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We ordered Korean glass noodles (sotanghon, some might call it) with shrimps, squid, kani, cream dory, button mushrooms, spinach and beansprout.  This tasted just normal for me.  It might be better if they had put in a little more sauce to make it tastier.

  • Korean Beef BBQ (Php 225)
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I just love this one!  I can’t help but mention it over, and over that this is dellliiiiciiiiooooouuuuuussss!!!!  It was just overly tasty and yummy.  It was cooked perfectly.  Wrapping the beef with lettuce is perfection. I definitely recommend this dish.

  • Buko Juice (Php 55)
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It has a good amount of fresh juice inside.  It is cold too!  I really hope there is an unlimited version for this, i know, i’m dreaming but hey, a girl can dream right? hehehe.

I told you earlier that my friend recommended Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant.  The story goes that two restaurants had already closed at the same location.  My friend really liked the food at Asian Twist and he felt so much pity for the establishment and doesn’t want it to close down.  Asian Twist Fusion Restaurant must be doing something right with such interest and loyalty their customer is giving.

Photo Album can be found here.

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中正紀念堂 (Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 18, 2009

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中正紀念堂 (Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall)
21 Zhongshan S. Road, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
886 (02) 2343-1100-3
Admission: FREE

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My mom accompanied me to CKSC Memorial Hall & at that time, the weather was unbearably HOT!  You can’t even open your eyes that well as the sun was shining soooo brightly.  We arrived at around ten thirty in the morning but found out that the Theater & Concert Hall where the restaurants & coffee shops were would open at around eleven thirty in the morning.

Mom sat around the corner, she was hiding in the shade! hahaha!  While I bravely embraced the sunny weather and took some pictures of the amazing CKSC Memorial Park.

Chiang-kai Shek was a leader who strived for modernizing the Republic of China.  When he died in 1975, the Taiwan nation grieved when they lost such a great leader.  The citizens proposed to establish a memorial hall for Chiang-kai Shek to show their utmost respect to the leader they missed.

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In order to reach the statue, you will need to climb up 89-step stairs.  The number of steps signifies Chiang Kai-shek’s age when he died.

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The bronze sculpture of Chiang Kai-shek dominates the main hall.  If you noticed, there are inscriptions on the wall behind the statue.  Those 3 words are the 3 principles of the people and of Chiang Kai-shek’s political thinking.

  • Ethics – Principle of Minzu (the People’s Connection/Relation, Government of the People or Nationalism)
  • Democracy – Principle of Minquan (the People’s Power of Government by the People)
  • Science – Principle of Minsheng (the People’s Welfare/Livelihood or Government for the People)

There are also inscriptions on each side of the walls.  They say:

  • the purpose of life is to improve the general life of humanity.
  • the meaning of life is to create & sustain subsequent lives in the universe.

On the ground floor, you’ll find a museum dedicated to Chiang Kai-shek’s life.  It has paintings, medals, uniforms, manuscripts, etc.

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The 250,000 sq. meter ground also includes the National Theater (where we had our brunch) & National Theater Hall w/c I found sooo astounding!

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National Theater Hall

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National Concert Hall

National Theater Hall even have a section where we can see what’s in store for the month.  They provide LCDs in the walkway and there’s a preview for every upcoming show!  Coolness.  Here’s one:

The rest of the pictures can be found here.

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