Breakfast this morning at the cafe of the hotel had substantive variety.
Not only did they have the regular egg station, they had platters of salad, cold cuts, fruit, yogurt, juice, cereals, porridge and an surprising variety of hot food.
All that was good for me.
I was hungry.
And I was eager to eat.
First up for my meal this morning was this bowl of porridge, which I must tell you, is one of the dishes that Taiwan does exceptionally well.
Many people think it is the ingredients or the small dishes that make this bowl of porridge so heartwarming and delicious. But it isn't merely about the ingredients that make up Taiwan porridge for what it is.
It is the texture.
I cannot sing enough praises about the texture of the porridge they have in their land.
It was good the day before in Far Eastern.
It was just as good here.
Perhaps it has something to do with me being a Cantonese but I tend to like my porridge to be of thick, gluey, starchy gruel standard, and seldom have I had porridge where it's cooked to such a texture that the rice grains can barely be seen.
I didn't take a lot of ingredients with my porridge this morning.
All I took was a heap of pork floss (as much as I like), a heap of sweetened bean curd skin (what are they called) and whatever chopped parsley or chopped spring onions I want to have.
It wasn't just the local delights that were good.
There was a laksa- which gravy I just had to try.
Then they served up a most delicious omelet- I think I chose cheese and onion and mushroom- and after all that, up came a pretty-looking, skilfully done plate of (thick) French toast too.
Out it was after breakfast for a quick recce of the Kaohsiung Music Center right after this- we Ubered there- and along the way I got a couple of really interesting pictures that, in my eyes, reflect the history, the stories, and the present-day presence of Kaohsiung.
I wish I knew what roads it were that we going on, but I didn't have time to look at the Uber Maps. Neither did I have enough time to delve deeper into the history of the city and its purpose along the seafaring/port route, even during the Occupation years all that time ago, so for now there're all these pictures.
There's something quintessential about the buildings of this city that- from a visitor's eyes- differ it slightly from Taipei. I can't tell what it is. Neither can I tell what they are. But there's a subtle difference. It maybe takes an experienced eye to see it.
Perhaps it is for this very reason that I'm glad I (unknowingly) passed by The Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary during the short Uber journey.
From a distance one might not think it significant, but the original cathedral was first established in 1858 by the Kingdom of Spain who were then in the (not so far off) Philippines. Modeled after the Gothic and the Romanesque, it was rebuilt in 1928 and that is the building which stands today.
It would have been lovely to pay an in-person visit just to appreciate the architecture, and maybe I'll get to do that one day, but this morning we were heading to the Kaohsiung Music Center which sits near the Love River Bay in Yancheng and Lingya District.
An hour or so later we met the Loved One whom, having reached the area beforehand, had actually been wandering around some of the retail along the Pier for a while and now decided to introduce us to the shops there.
Again I don't quite know the story of this Pier, like when were these warehouses built, what were they used for etc etc etc, but somewhere along the way (maybe around the time when the Music Center was being built) the authorities decided it better to redevelop the area and so today, whilst the building exteriors look like they've been there and seen things, the interiors have been completely transformed.
I, unfortunately, don't have a picture.
But far from the doddering, broken-down, empty warehouses they once upon a time might have been, let's think of it as sloped-roof structures with walls of concrete on all sides housing quirky, family-friendly shops in an industrial-chic vibe.
One of the shops we entered was Wooderful Life.
Located in Dayi Warehouse of Yancheng District (yes, that's what the website says) this one I particularly remember because they had the most wonderful collection of music boxes, wooden decorations, games made out of wood, wood decor for gardens and gardening, and a huge DIY corner for both children and adults alike.
Further on there was an e-bike shop- this one I'm afraid I've forgotten the name.
And last of all there was a cafe called Sunnyhill.
Which, up till then, I had not known of it, I had not known about it, and I hadn't even known what it was they were famous for.
But I can tell you now that they offer some of the nicest, butteriest pineapple cakes in the country, and they come in this cute-looking tote bag that is eco-friendly and reusable and can be used to hold random wires after all the boxes of pineapple cakes have been eaten over.
Their cafe here on the Pier is not to be underestimated too.
A sort of quiet sanctuary in shades of tastefully chosen pale wood and green, it is a place where one can sit and look at the water, the ships in the distance, and the space around whilst having a coffee, a tea and a signature Sunnyhill snack.
Today I had a cup of very strong coffee (without milk!) and a caramel banana biscuit.
Loved One had a tea, and a pineapple cake that she somehow managed to cut into half and shared with me.
Off it was to Love River after that, and whilst we were a bit surprised to find the place much quieter than expected- she told me there used to be cafes where one could have coffee and brunch and drinks and glasses of wine, and usually there were ferries going up and down- the place was still serene, peaceful, and pleasant all the same.
A quick lunch of bucket fried chicken, sliced beef sandwich and Caesar salad at Costco followed thereafter, and we drove eastwards up to the hills towards E-Da World to pick up the Young Loved One from E-Shou International School.
I am thankful, I have to say, to be given a chance to visit the sprawling, tree-lined campus. Far from the buildings being oblong shaped and uniform in size, they consisted of, I think, red brick exteriors, with architecture that reminded me somewhat of universities in England and Scotland.
And there was mist in the mountains!
It was a long drive back to the city from the hills- about an hour's half journey made longer today by the winds and lashing rain over the car's windscreen- but thanks to her careful driving we got back to town safely and parked at Costco.
Here we shopped, each of us buying what we wanted.
What she bought I can't remember- I think there were snacks- but all of us bought snacks in bulk, including two bags of biscuits Japanese style which we took one bag each, a box of Costco cookies that we split up to share, two huge bags of nacho chips, and a bag of sweet potato bits that were all individually packed.
To be honest I wish we could have shopped more, or at least have tried some of the donuts and sandwiches, but then we were going for dinner, so off it was to a small, intimate noodle restaurant near the H20 hotel where, besides the small dishes, we had xiaolongbao, rice with stewed pork slices, and a huge onion pancake which we couldn't finish and decided to make it a takeaway.
