Monday... again.

It is that time of the week again, the first day of every week: Monday.
It is the most loathed day by the majority of the population, and yet I am loving my monday.
First and for-most, I am happy to be back at work (no, my bosses didn't pay me to say that), because it has given me a chance to break from my Chinese New Year break routine of constant eating and sitting around doing nothing but thinking about the next cholesterol and trans-fatty acid filled food.
So I am glad to be back in the work space, busy-ing my mind with Patisco.com and its future movements, and not on food.  

Above is a picture of an underground garage of my relative's apartment complex. Clearly I am liking the Rolls Royce Ghost and Ferrari, since I took the picture.
The picture on the right is an afternoon coffee with Puffs filled with Chocolate and Vanilla cream. Fattening? Totally. Enjoyment? 200%.

I came across this book during Chinese New Year.
Seriously, everybody is trying to de-bunk the China question.
Just spend a few months living there... 80% chance that most wont make it past the first 2 months, 90% chance that the remaining will never see the next year in China. out of the remaining single digit percent that is left over, there is a 60% chance they will have learned nothing, while the measly 40% might have learned enough to buy a meat bun off the local street vendor for a few cents less.
The point of the numbers and jibberish? No matter how you read, you will never figure out how China thinks. It's either you understand because you have lived there for quite some time, or you are from China. Everything is assumptions... even the Chinese don't know how they think.
It's funny because in China, there have been books such as: "How the American Mind Thinks"  and "Think Like An America." and it is just like the the books on how Chinese think in America: Full of crap.  "Americans believe that they have the sole right to govern and steer world economics and history as they see fit, because they are Americans. Americans are raised to believe that the world owes them gratitude for sustaining Capitalism and Democracy, and see the welfare of the common people and poor people (Socialism and Communism) as evil and should be annihilated from the face of the Earth."  Of course, there are the extremists that believe in this crap, while people like me are caught in the middle. Got to laugh at people who think they know everything, and don't leave room for the human factor that is present in all of us... 

That table full of delicious food was my Chinese New Years eve meal.
We had everything from "Buddha Jumping Wall" to Duck marinated in Soy Sauce and Garlic.

What is Chinese New Years without some good 'ol Mah-Jong?

The first day of Chinese New Years,
I had afternoon tea with a friend. At this particular tea shop, we were given the choice of over 50 different kinds of tea!
If you have time: go and check out Smith&Hsu in Taiwan! Great teas and finger foods!

This picture is of the border of Taipei city. I took a walk to the wharf, and walked along the new walkway.
It was a spectacular sight to see the clouds roaming by, the reflection of the buildings under construction in the far away district.

One of my New Years resolution was to act more like my age instead of living a more "older" lifestyle... So decided to stop procrastinating and go out and have fun.
The photo on the right is from a midnight chill at Stream Lounge, which overlooks the Taipei skyline. Reminded me that I was still young, and the night was still young too.

Two nights ago, I had the pleasure of dining at a small boutique Spanish restaurant in Taipei, with a friend of mine.

From the photos, you can see that the restaurant was very clean cut and spartan in certain terms, but the food was extraordinary. The crowd was young and chic, with an air of business and fashion mixed in.

There has always been a defining line between the artist community and the business community, in terms of thought process, habits, and beliefs. Business minded people (such as myself) think that artists are uncontrollable, never trustable, and unrealistic. While artists see business minded people as being robots, slave to the system, and dark/ sinister.
My friend happened to be a hippy artist who wanted nothing more than to paint life's pains, while I was a b-school college grad. We both loved food, and that ended up being what made this unlikely friendship work out.

 

Last night, I went to the local night market for a local steak meal with a pal of mine from the college era days.
Ningxia Night Market in Taipei city has some of the most delicious foods ever. All hands down.
It is dirty, crowded, and small... but good gosh is the food awesome.
Whether its the locally made Winter Melon Tea, Turkey Fried Rice, Piglet sausage with garlic, or Taiwan Style Sirloin Steak... it was amazingly delicious.
And people have to ask how did I gain all this weight?