Student Living Paradise

Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
~ Socrates (469 BC - 399 BC)

So after living 10 months in Taipei Ray and I have cooked considerably less and less. On average we cook maybe 1-2 times a week and it's usually something very simple.

Life in Taipei like any other big city is quite hectic and we spend a lot of time at work. Ray and I typically leave the house in the morning around 6:30 a.m. and return home around 7:30 p.m. Part of it is our workaholic problem but we really enjoy the work that we do so we always end up hanging around until late.

Anyways, all this to say that by the time we get home we really are not in the mood to cook for another 1/2 hour to 1 hour before eating. We're hungry and don't really want to go through the hassle of cooking and cleaning. Plus with all the delicious food at our fingertips, it makes it so much easier to just drop our bags and walk out the door for dinner.

So what have we eaten lately?

• Last night we tried out a dumpling place near our house that we've been meaning to try for a long time. It's close, clean, and not too expensive. We finally got to try it out. We had their tasty original dumpling and a curry dumpling too! Hot and sour soup, a plate of vegetables and we were stuffed. Next time we'll have to try the onion pancakes and noodles. Price = $230NT = $7 Cdn. I give it a 7/10 for taste, service and price.
• While Ray was in Shanghai I tried this great student dive near our school. It served pasta (a huge variety in white, red and pesto sauce with smoked chicken, bacon, seafood or ground beef), soup, drinks and garlic bread for the phenomenal price of $110NT/person = $3 Cdn. Again we were stuffed! If I were a student I would say it was a 9/10.
  
• All you can eat hotpots are very common in Taipei. Especially in the winter time where it gets chillier. We usually bring our friends to the hotpot - Korean BBQ combos where you have both of these in front of you. Again all you can eat, and the dessert can be Haagen dazs or Movenpick ice cream! Quite yummy, but the price is $399/person = $13 Cdn. We don't go all the time as it's pricier and a lot of food.
• We tried a Korean hotpot for the first time on a date night and it was $299/person. It was interesting. Almost like a regular hotpot but you put the meat on this shield while it's surrounded by a moat-like pool of water and vegetables. It's hard to explain but here's a picture. Not too bad. I even liked the lamb! They gave you all you could eat Korean pancakes and Bibimbop too. We were stuffed though. Should have went with the $199 meal. 6/10.

Wish you were all here to enjoy the good ea