Successfully meeting up with Kevin and Joe who were flying in at 5:30 and eating dumplings at the famous Din Tai Fung .
Jason's cousin, who has made everyday special for us, made sure both goals were met.
After the guys arrived we headed for Din Tai Fung. This place is on the NY times Top Ten Restaurants of the World list and has Michelin stars , however we chose it on the recommendation of our neighbor Lian . She loves the dumplings so much she may make a pilgrimage to LA where they have a branch for a dumplings fix until she can back to Taiwan again.
We went to the original restaurant that is 4 floors with a narrow entrance. The cousin who hosted us made sure we arrived at 10:30 so there was no wait. We only a had a glimpse of the young men making the 8 folded dumplings in a room by the entrance. As were were led up the 4 flights of stairs to our table, servers bustled past delivering stacks of dumpling filled steamers to diners.
The most well known dumpling is Xia Long Bao which is filled with pork but there are countless varieties . We sampled some filled with green melon that were very good. It was a very satisfying meal.
Our next stop was Taipei 101 the second tallest building the the world. It has 101 floors. The public can go up to the 91st floor via the, you guessed it, fastest elevator in the world. ( there is a Guiness Book of World Records plaque that verifies this claim.) . The views from the top are great of course but it is also a beautiful space . In the center is a huge ball called a damper that keeps the building from swaying too much during winds and earthquakes.
On our way back we stopped at a tea shop were we were fortunate to have a tea master brew and pour tea for us in the traditional manner.
Sister-in-law Patty arrived from California in the evening. A good ending to a perfect day .
No comments:
Post a Comment