Wedding of a long-time friend

Hello, people~! 

Yes, I know I haven't been blogging for a while but I have a new portfolio and the whole transitioning plus trying to figure out the blanks on my own has got my occupied. Obviously, work comes first but boy do I miss writing! :/

Anyway, I just got back from home sweet home yesterday evening from home sweet home from attending of a friend who I have known since high school. Ok, I didn't know him then yet but we happened to be in the same uni and that was how I found out. Yes, I'm that unsociable bug.

Feeling super happy for him now that he's found the love of his life. Congratulations, Semuel! 

Unfortunately, we could not get a chance to speak to him during his wedding _ having not met him in 2 years myself, and close to a decade for my high school mates! _ as he was at his own table. Later busy going from table to table to do the "Yum Seng". Chinese for "Bottoms Up". I don't know how to put it in words but from what I found in the internet, 'a Cantonese term that literally means “drink to victory," is usually practiced in wedding celebrations to congratulate the groom for marrying his beloved woman.' 

 

 Here's how it was done in the wedding

 

 

The couple went from table to table and repeated the customary cheer. Usually the younger generations cheered the loudest, much more if the group is a close friend to the groom or bride LOL

 Since it's a Chinese-style wedding, 8-course meals were served. (Forgot to take one pic and some of the pic are blurry cause I was trying to snap quickly LOL)

 

 

In between the waitress helped topped up our glasses with wine to the annoyance of my friends who had to keep their heads clear to drive back hahahaha. I didn't have to bother because my another high school mate and neighbor gave me a ride. Lucky~ hehehehe. 

Tho, a curious question, can you actually get drunk with wine? Never actually tried it but the dudes were totally trying to avoid drinking at all cost.

Me in the wedding dinner while waiting for the next dish to be serve. 

Yes, I wore the same dress in the last wedding I attend too :D Love this dress tons! And yes, my friend was photobombing me #noedit

When it comes to Chinese dinner, there are a lot of waiting involved so much that a dinner can dragged for 3 to 4 hours. Though the hired musician and singers plus all the catching up amidst the loud music helped filled the waiting, which was not too bad. There was even time to discuss on my upcoming get together :D 

But oh, I do need to highlight the awesome singers and musician. The groom and bride choice of songs that night was awesome _ oldies which many of us 90s kids and most importantly, older relatives could relate too. A lot of my friends agree that catering to the latter is important, and I got to vouch this is such a splendid idea. Well, in case you're looking for inspiration for your Chinese wedding. I got a few more ideas, if you want to know, ask me in the comment box below hahaha

 

Taipei Day 8: National Palace Museum & Raohe Night Market

On our last day, after checking in our luggage at the luggage center a few minutes walk from Taipei Main Station, we headed back to Shilin for breakfast.



Again, we opted for the Taiwanese style breakfast and our choice this time is Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang (永和豆漿大王) a.k.a. Soy Milk King @ShihLin MRT.
 

We were initially looking to get to the branch near to National Palace Museum via taxi but was told by the taxi driver there is another right beside the station! He was such a SUPER honest driver! I mean, he could've just earn some cash just getting us to the place we want but instead described to us the direction, which wasn't too far.

Direction: Just head towards Zhongzheng road, or from the station, towards the Watson store direction.

We had youtiao (cruellers) wrapped with egg and biscuit. I didnt know it was called Shao Bing so I simply showed the pic I got online from my friend's Ipad. Then we ordered soy milk, mine sweet and my other friend's, the salty version which they were raving. My friends remarked it was better than the one we had in a small shop near Chiang Kai Shek MRT! I'm quite meh about the salty version, somehow it isn't really my thing... In case you wanna order it, it's called Xian Dou Jiang.

On top of that, we had one rolled rice with floss (I think) and egg which we shared, which was alright. And you bet, we were so-o-o stuffed right after.

Dropped by the nearest convenience store after that to get my favorite Taiwan coffee.

 
After our meal, again, we boarded taxi to National Palace Museum. We spent a good four hours exploring the three levels of the museum. We didn't snap any pics inside, just taking our time checking out the arts and artifacts which was pretty cool.

Later the evening, we explored the museum exterior. The weather was getting gloomy by then. Nevertheless, it was super bright my eyes hurt so bad.

Fast forward to dinner time (after we had a short walk around Taipei 101), again we headed to Raohe Night market because we wanted someplace we were familiar with and close by to the TMS. It was a good idea because despite having been there the day before, we seemed to have missed out on exploring another side of the market.

This time we had beef noodles because my friends insisted on having some before leaving. I have forgotten the name of the place but it is one with photos of famous (I think) people who had dined in the restaurant.

Oh, if you read Chinese, this bill might help.

My friends had braised beef, beef meat noodles and another and I had beef noodles with combination of beef meat, tripe (a lining, I've just learned) and tendon.

Personally, I'm no fan of beef and even eating the parts was new to me but I thought the soup was alright, very clear but flavorful. The tripe though, was the least favorite having some strong inards-sorta taste. Think chicken liver.

~❤~

After our meals, we rushed back to Taipei Main Station grabbing our luggage from the luggage center before frantically looking for the bus station only to find the Kuo Kuang Bus Station neon sign looking down at us. Funnily it took one non-Chinese speaker/reader who could only make out the shapes of the characters to point that out LOL. We found ourselves in similar situations quite a number of times back in Taiwan hahaha.

On the ride towards the airport.

The journey was pretty smooth and thankfully we could checked in our luggage immediately and had some time to explore the rest of the airport before flying back.

Of course it's gotta be the window seat!

Anddd that's it! This post marks the last of my adventure in Taiwan~~ If you would like to find out more about my travel, check out the rest of it in my last few posts~! Thanks for reading.

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Read my other posts here!

Taipei Day 1: Taoyuan Airport & Shilin Night Market

Day 2: Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall ⇒ (Lin Family Mansion & Garden) ⇒ (Longshan Temple) ⇒ Ximending ⇒ K-Underground Mall ⇒ Shida Night Market

Day 3: YongKang Street ⇒ Taipei Zoo ⇒ Maokong

Day 4: Jiufen ⇒ Shifen ⇒ (Attractions along the Pingxi Line) ⇒ Miaokou Night Market & Part 2

Day 5: Tamsui ⇒ Bali Island ⇒ Shida Night Market

Day 6: Addiction Aquatic Development ⇒ YangMingShan ⇒ Beitou  ⇒ Qing Guang Night Market

Day 7: Loco Food ⇒ WuFenPu ⇒ Raohe Night Market  & Part 2