Walking Around Yongkang Street, Taipei

Yongkang Street has a special place in my adventure's list as this is the first place I explored on my solo trip around Taipei. I stayed in the area for three days, getting a chance to go walk around at a leisurely pace for hours. The easiest way to get to Yongkang Street is by train. The train station closest to it is Dongmen Station. It helps that it's an interchange station, meaning two rail lines pass by here, the MRT Red Line and Xinzhuang Line. It won't take many steps from the station to reach Yongkang. There are also bus stops in the area, but I was too afraid to ride and miss my stop on buses here, considering I know zero Mandarin.

The street at first glace is this busy mix of tourists and locals, thanks to the popularity of some restaurants in the area, including the michelin star restaurant Din Tai Fung down at Xinyi Road. They're known for their dimsums and xiao long bao. The vibe of the area is more of this artsy back alley that has a mix of popularly staple restaurants with small independent cafes and shops. It's a hip residential area with price ranging at roughly mid-to-high price points with a meal that can cost for around 100TWD for up to over 700TWD per person. The best time to be in the area is either before lunch or late afternoon to avoid the crowds. As early as 9pm though, you'll find yourself almost alone as tourists tend to disperse right after dinner, leaving a couple of young locals just chilling within the area.

I'll walk you through briefly with some of the photos I took along the way. And fyi, I travel to eat...so the ratio of images of restos to other shops is 3:1 in this post. 

Quarter Life Crisis Moment #12

Ever reached that stage in life wherein you kinda want an adventure of sort, but then you don't want to be in a position of too much discomfort? It's like, "Yeah! Imma go somewhere and have the best time...but I can't be hassled with anything impractical or too tiring...so maybe next time?" It's one of those moments that goes with the saying The mind is willing but the body is not. I can feel my body slowly aging and tiring too easily, occasionally giving in once tested to its limit. Like oh-ehmm-ghee, I got a massage a few days prior after a week of continuous physical and mental activity, and in the massage I heard several bones cracking...now I've come down with a flu AND THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK AT JUST 30! D: 

Me and my friends when planning on trips now begin with the question, is it worth the effort? We had talks of seeing mountain peaks but it mustn't require extensive hiking time...so until now, I haven't been close to a hiking trail nor a mountain peak. We wanted to go glamping as well, but the idea of sleeping in a tent sounded uncomfortable in spite of the supposed glamour of it...so we ended up checking in a room with a jacuzzi. Even when it comes to and fro a particular place, I'd rather close my eyes at the amount and get a Grab rather than having to endure several transfers and wait lines in transit. Right now I am appreciating the value of paying for practicality rather than saving a few bucks in exchange of wasted time and energy. This comes at a price though, and it does not come in cheap. But at the end of it all, we are getting a little older, and standards must get a little higher as we age. It's all part of bettering ourselves and aging gracefully. After all, we can still be grounded, at the same time live marvelously as long as we are working on what we can demand to deserve. 

Pet Peeve # 236

I just arrive from an hour-long flight home, my parents come fetch me and the first question that often pops up the moment I close the car door is, "Are you hungry?" I never say no to that question. And before my mom asks if where we should eat, she briskly hands me over a piece of chicken pocket pie, "Here, it's good." This has been our ritual over the years whenever I go home. I eat the pie in the car on rare occasions, but oftentimes I take the pie home and eat it at our dining table. Over the years, I have learned to eat ceremoniously that it's uncomfortable whenever I am in a non-ideal position to dine properly. This includes having to eat in the car, in movie theaters, in stadiums, on a blanket by some scenic view, in my room, or any non-dining area that does not set the mood for a proper eating position. I don't know...I am somehow distracted and hassled by the idea of having to eat while not having the right table nor utensils to do it. I guess aging gives us the option of not being practical, instead having a sort of sophisticated standard that gives us less option of having fun. But for me, I take it that I prefer to do things one at a time, if I go watch a movie I watch the movie without smearing butter all over my hands. If I am to sit through a game or concert, I don't want having stuff on my lap nor my armrest that I will have tolerate as rubbish the moment I finish the stuff. If I'm by the beach or watching over a mountain with the most scenic view, I want to just be there in that moment to stare at it and not chew on a sandwich. If I'm in my room, I want to be not eating because the ants will come. 

Now take note, I said eating...drinking is something completely different. I bring a bottle of beer or a cup of coffee and stare at a view in serenity. Now that's the perfect situation for me. 

Snippets: Rainy Night at Dotonbori, Osaka

Taken last September 6, 2017 along Dotonbori street in Osaka. I had initially meant for this photo to be posted last year as a sort of reflective piece on a rainy night. This image stood dormant on my desktop page for many months to the point that I am now reflecting on how much I miss the rain. 

Petrichor...a poetic word that defines the scent the earth emits after it's been doused in rain. I love that smell. I miss those moments when I can just sit still and watch as the world is being cleansed off its dust. One of my most favorite sights of nature, a kind of simple pleasure you get no matter where you stand. Even in the middle of a concrete metropolis. Rain, the soft patter of water down metal roofs and the hazing sight of the falling raindrops...I miss them all.

As for the image, I remember leaving my family at Don Quijote just so I can walk along the street of Dotonbori on my own. A short breather from the chaos of merchandise, and out into the open chaos of vividly animated shops around. It started raining midway, and I'm glad a had an umbrella with me that time. It was liberating to be walking alone that moment, yet I totally felt secured knowing that I had my family with me to go home with at the end of the night.

I miss Japan. I miss the rain.

Chicken Studio Pacita, San Pedro

Classic New Yorker: A staple favorite of a classic buffalo sauce.

The last few weeks had been a whirlwind, and it all started out with a message, "We found a place in Pacita. It's perfect for our second branch." Of course there were a couple of banters here and there, considering that it has only been 9 months since we opened our first. We sort-of knew we were ready for the second one, but financially speaking, the budget left our savings needing some serious resuscitation. My partners had been scouting for a location where we can open our second branch since October, and repeatedly I had been praying that they didn't; casually delaying their intents by passively taking their enthusiasm with restraint and disinterest. Instinctively and logically, I knew scrambling to open a second branch within the same year would be suicide, and a downright ludicrous move that could have possibly caused a lot of self-inflicted liabilities. 2019 felt more reasonable and safe, also, astrology approved. 

When the news finally arrived that they may have found "the one", my initial reaction was shit. I had stirrings at the start, but then again the overall disposition of the place was light, a kind of unsured-reassurance that it could be a start of something great. The risk though was high, like I can feel Evard Munch's painting screaming in me internally as I realized the task that laid before us. The schedule was tight, the budget was tight, the options were tight. It was a scurry to the soft opening date. We aimed to open our doors in time for Valentine's last Feb 14...but as sure as we were with our lovelives, it didn't happen. So we opted for a better date than hearts day, we opened on a Payday Friday. 

Day Trip to Molocaboc Island in Sagay

After my friend saw me swimming in Manjuyod for the third consecutive year; envious, she made plans for another beach trip a day after. Our conversation went something like:

Her: "Let's go to the beach!"
Me: "My schedule's packed, I can't do another overnight trip."
Her: "Just a day-trip to the beach then."
Me: "Where? Lakawon again? I don't feel like going there."
Her: "Sagay?"
Me: "Carbin Reef?"
Her: "No, they're suggesting Molocaboc."
Me: "Never heard of it. Game!"

And so after a very short conversation of planning to go there, the date was set. We didn't think much about it since it was just 2 hours away from the city. We got to the dock and started asking how to get to the island. People were saying that we should charter a boat because boats going there are on a one-way trip daily, and the only way we can get back is that if we rent a boat. It took some going back-and-forth as to who can possibly accommodate us with our request since they don't seem to get a lot of tourists there, on top of us arriving on a weekday mid-morning. After some talks with random people at the dock a middle-aged lady finally came riding on a tricycle and pointed to one of the boats that can take us there. Php1500 for a whole day tour of the island for the four of us.

German Unson Heritage House B&B, Silay

Transforming heritage houses around Silay into Bed & Breakfasts, a cafe, restaurant, museum, or events place is the direction I'm rooting for Negros when it comes to tourism. Personally, as someone who grew up in Negros and has explored other areas with a similar vibe as a tourist, coming home I can see a different perspective, and its greatest draw is striking that beautiful balance of being a quaint city yet has substantial facilities for comfort. Having a character that can make you say you're in a completely different place, yet your longing for the familiar is readily available within reach...like an internet connection or western dishes. The German Unson Heritage House is one of the pioneers when it comes to making use of their ancestral house as a usable public space. Slowly, other heritage houses are following their footsteps, and hopefully this will spring forth a tourism industry that can reach an international market because there is undeniable potential to make it happen.  

A family-owned business, they add a personal touch as the host and cook are the granddaughters of German Unson. Chell, one of the granddaughters and proprietress of the B&B, explained that the last relative who lived in the house passed away in 2009, and for a time the old house was abandoned until they decided to restore and repurpose the house to avoid dilapidation...since the National Historical Commission basically provides no financial aid whatsoever after slapping their plaques on the walls. Her sister, being an interior designer and with the help of family funding, slowly took in the task and made the space into a B&B that can accommodate an intimate amount of guests. There are four rooms that can be rented in total, each with its own distinct character and named after those who resided in those rooms, living or otherwise. Prices range between 2000-2500 per room that's good for two, but can accommodate up to four with an additional 300-500/pax with breakfast. If you're keen on detail, one thing you should look at are the ceiling of each room as they present different patterns, as well as the tiles and windows. The furniture used are also the original ones, save for some furbishing that needed update for use.