Well, finally I’m getting round to telling you all about my human, Hsin-Yi’s adventures in Taiwan! 
You remember that back in July, Hsin-Yi had to go to Taiwan for a few weeks to look after her mummy, Ma-Ma, who had bad knee ouchies and had to have a double knee operation. (She didn’t have to have knee replacements but the Surgeon Human cut away lots of yucky bone that was growing funny inside Ma-Ma’s knees, because of the Arthritis Sickie…)
Well, luckily, Hsin-Yi had a couple of days with Ma-Ma in Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) before they had to head down to the hospital in South Taiwan for Ma-Ma’s operation. So they crammed in a lot in that first weekend!
Of course, you know that Taiwan is the Land of Heavenly Yummies – it has all the foods from the different provinces in China (Shanghai, Hunan, Szechuan, Beijing, Cantonese, etc, etc), plus Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Mongolian…and they’re pretty good at the European stuff too! Whenever they visit, my humans always practically spend their whole time eating, from the minute they set foot on the island till the minute they leave! Eating is a national past time. The Taiwanese LOVE eating and talk about yummies all the time – in fact, when they greet each other, instead of saying “How are you?” – they often say, “Have you eaten?” 
So, like a true Taiwanese, Hsin-Yi lost no time in tucking into some of her favourites!
Mos Burger! This is like an Asian “McDonalds”, except that the buns are made of rice (pressed into bun shape) and instead of meat patties, you get stuff like thinly-sliced, yakiniku beef and Hainan chicken – or if you’re really on a diet, you can get “lettuce burgers” which are wrapped in lettuce, instead of buns! The burgers are always only cooked when you order them – so they’re always fresh & hot!
Nothing beats some traditional Taiwanese food – Hsin-Yi always gorges herself at her favourite Taiwanese restaurant in the Brother Hotel – these are dishes that she can’t usually eat even at “Chinese” restaurants in Australia ‘coz most “Chinese” restaurants in the West are actually CANTONESE (Hong Kong).
Some of Hsin-Yi’s all-time Taiwanese favourites: Crispy Dry-Fried Prawns with Chilli, Garlic & Shallots and Stir-Fried Baby Clams with Sweet Basil
There isn’t really such thing as “Chinese food” – coz there are so many different kinds. It would be like eating “European food” – instead of saying “Italian”, “French”, “Spanish”, etc – but most Western humans don’t know this. The dishes they think of as “Chinese” – like spring rolls and fried rice and sweet & sour pork – are actually from Cantonese cuisine – because more Chinese humans from Hong Kong have gone out and settled in the West and opened restaurants, than Chinese humans from other parts of China. So people think they know what “Chinese food” is but actually, other kinds of “Chinese” food might be totally different (just like French food is totally different to Italian food). So really, most Western humans haven’t tasted what proper Chinese food is really like – the whole range of it – they only know like 10%.
Taipei is a really great place to visit for trying different Chinese foods ‘coz it collects all the different types in one place and does it even better than restaurants in China! (‘Coz when the Communists took over China, all the top Chef Humans ran away to Taiwan! )
Plus, Taiwan does really good Japanese food too – this is ‘coz Japan occupied Taiwan for a long time (1895 ~ 1945) and tried to turn it “Japanese” – so a lot of Taiwanese culture has a lot of Japanese stuff in it.
One of Hsin-Yi’s favourite Japanese dishes is ‘shabu-shabu‘. Well, this isn’t really a dish – it’s more a type of cooking. Hsin-Yi says it’s a bit like European ‘fondue‘, except that you cook in a soup broth, not in oil or cheese.
You get all sorts of yummy meats and seafood and vegetables and dip them in a bubbling pot in front of you. It’s great fun and really tasty and healthy too! If you want to find out more about shabu-shabu and how people cook it and stuff, you can check out the post on Hsin-Yi’s own blog: Shabu Shabu! (& your last Death Row meal?)
Of course, aside from fantastic yummies, the other thing that Taiwan has is fantastic shopping!! With lots of discounts and wonderful service. For example, if a shop can’t find something in your size, they’ll search in all the stores across the country and when they find it, they’ll ask a Courier Human to deliver the dress/shoes/trousers/shirt – whatever to your home or hotel…all for free! Or if you buy something and it is too big or too long, the stores have their own Tailor Human who will stitch your new clothes for you, ready for pick-up later that day, for free! That’s just part of “normal service” in Taiwan. That’s why Hsin-Yi gets grumpy sometimes when shopping in the West – coz she says people have such bad attitudes compared to the service in Asia!
And people in Taiwan are always smiley and always trying to help you save money paper. Like Hsin-Yi was out buying some trousers for Paul one day and the lady in the shop told her not to buy them that day – to come back tomorrow – coz the store was going to start a big promotion (30% off) the next day! That’s coz all Taiwanese people are very proud of getting a bargain – so they always want to help everybody else get one too.
Of course, some of the best shopping in Taiwan is out on the streets! Yes, ON the streets! From the “Lu Bien Tan” - they come out after dark and hang around long after the ‘official’ stores have closed. Ma-Ma LOVES them – she spends ages patrolling the streets looking for bargains and is best buddies with lots of the Vendor Humans!
If you want to read more about shopping in Taiwan, check out Hsin-Yi’s own blog post: Scooters & Shopping in Taipei…!
Oh, don’t think doggies are forgotten in the shopping! Look what Hsin-Yi saw in one of the department stores: a pet section! She got very excited and hurried in, thinking she might find some interesting Taiwanese doggie stuff for me…but it wasn’t like any pet shop here in Australia…it was just mostly full of doggie clothes and doggie strollers!! 
There were quite a few doggies having a browse with their humans…
Hsin-Yi gets really grumpy when she sees the “double standards” for small doggies – that they get to go into places like department stores, as long as they’re in a doggie bag or stroller or being carried – so their feet don’t touch the ground. Humph! It’s so unfair – if a place says “No dogs” – then it should be the same rule for all doggies, big or small!!!
Huh – well, if they made pet carriers big enough, I could be a “handbag doggie” too! (Hsin-Yi might need to do some working out at the gym though! )
Hsin-Yi didn’t find anything for me in the pet store – but she did see a stuffie store that had some cool stuffies on sale!
And that’s where she got my “lookalike stuffie”!
Well, after a manic couple of days in Taipei, it was time to take the Taiwan High Speed Rail – the super fast train machine – down to South Taiwan and check into the hospital…
The hospital that Ma-Ma had her operation at was a very special one: it was the Buddhist Tzu-Chi Hospital, full of Volunteer Humans helping doctors & patients, and everybody was so lovely and calm and kind and helpful…
If you’re interested in reading more about their trip down on the train machine and the hospital and Ma-Ma’s operation, you can go to Hsin-Yi’s own blog: Of fake chicken drumsticks & Forgiveness Tea
The other special thing about it was that the whole hospital only served vegetarian food! But don’t think that it wasn’t yummy – and Chinese humans can do amazing things with tofu…even making it look (AND taste) like chicken drumsticks!
The operation went very well and Ma-Ma was a super good patient. She was up and trying to stand by herself 2 hours after surgery and was hobbling around the ward on her walker the next day! She also did all her physio exercises very well and the Surgeon Human was very impressed with her recovery – in fact, she was supposed to stay in hospital for much longer but he said that she could move out to stay at a nearby hotel, and just come back a week later for checkup.
Thank goodness because you know Ma-Ma is a real buzzy kind of human – always talking and running around and making new friends and eating and shopping and talking some more…so getting her to stay quiet in hospital was a really tough job!
(In fact, since Hsin-Yi & Ma-Ma are such completelty different people, living in one room together for over 2 weeks was quite a tough job too! There was lots of grumpiness sometimes! You can read all the dirty details on Hsin-Yi’s own blog: Surviving a Mother Marathon)
Luckily, the hotel that they moved to also had a little department store attached – so Ma-Ma could get her Shopping Fix without having to hobble very far!
Hsin-Yi thought the best thing about the hotel, though, was their HUGE breakfast buffet. They had Western things like waffles and omelettes and sausages and bacon, plus cereals and jams and bread and pastries – but they also had lots of traditional Taiwanese breakfast stuff too, which Hsin-Yi loves coz she can never eat it when “back home” in the West…like yummy steamed brown sugar buns and salted duck eggs and burdock root salad…
Well, when Ma-Ma went back to see the Surgeon Human for her follow-up check, there was even better news. She was doing so well that he said she could go back to Taipei early!
Back to the hustle & bustle of Taipei…!
This was great because originally, Hsin-Yi would have only had 1 night in Taipei before she had to head back to Australia – but now she would have a few extra days there! She could even spend some fun girlie time with her best friend, who used to go to school with her, back in Dubai. It was so lovely for Hsin-Yi ‘coz one of the saddest things in her life is that her best/closest friends always live so far away from her, in countries on the other side of the world…
She also got time to meet some Taiwanese doggies! Ma-Ma had gone to Taiwan first, from Dubai, a couple of weeks before Hsin-Yi had arrived and while mooching around, she had got chatting to a nice man in a DVD shop who happened to own two cute doggies – so Ma-Ma wanted to take Hsin-Yi back to meet them.
Meet Kirei the Husky…he has really cool eyes: one brown and one blue! His name is really cool too – it means “beautiful” in Japanese. Like a lot of long-haired doggies in Taiwan, Kirei was shaved for the summer, coz it gets too hot & humid there. His tail looked especially funny, all shaved, with a bushy tuft on the end!
…and this is Kirei’s brother: King the Poodle-cross! King is really cute – Ma-Ma was really smitten with him!
little doggie enjoying a trip to a department store foodcourt…
Hsin-Yi thinks it is very sad because there is such a big difference between the lives of different doggies in Taiwan (this is the same in lots of other Asian countries) – many pet doggies are so spoilt and pampered and most of them are “small” so they get taken everywhere with their humans.
But then there are also lots of homeless, abandoned, stray doggies hanging around which nobody cares about and they look awful, with mange and worms and imjuries from being run over or abused, starving & scavenging for food. Not so much in Taipei city – but lots out in the smaller towns and countryside. It always breaks Hsin-Yi’s heart to see them.
One of the charities that Hsin-Yi supports is Animals Taiwan, which are a group of volunteers helping to rescue injured & abused stray doggies (and cats) from the streets. They also run neutering campaigns, try to stop puppy mills and raise awareness for animal welfare.
Hsin-Yi saw these 2 cool doggies waiting for their human…they were riding on a scooter with him!
It is a shame because Chinese culture isn’t always very educated about compassion to animals and reponsible pet ownership. So doggies in Asia can either have a really good life or a really awful one.Of course, there are doggies who are abused and mistreated in the West too – but it’s often not as bad as the doggies in Asia, ‘coz there are more animal welfare laws and more pet lovers in general looking out for them.
And lots of Chinese people only want the “cute” type of doggie – which usually means “small fluffies” – so any doggie that’s a bit ugly or ordinary or disabled or just plain ‘big’, gets completely ignored. But thankfully, there are some animal lovers in Taiwan who are helping these doggies – and helping to educate others too. And more and more people in Taiwan are choosing to adopt homeless doggies rather than buying from pet shops & markets.
Luckily, there are also lots of kind people in the West – especially in the US – who adopt doggies from Taiwan and give them a second chance – a new life on the other side of the world. This is easier than you think ‘coz Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world that’s “rabies-free” so there are no quarantine problems for a doggie going to the US (and less quarantine for other countries). In fact, one of my blog friends – Loki – is a rescue doggie from Taiwan; he was rescued by a lovely human in America and he’s now leading a jet-setting life in Switzerland! (* Loki is a special type of doggie, though – he is a ‘Formosan Mountain Dog’ – which is a kind of native Taiwanese doggie, living up in the mountains. So doggies like him need a special human – someone who is experienced and can be a good leader and have lots of patience to help work through “issues”…but most of the homeless, abandoned doggies are not a special type – they are just the usual small cross-breeds and just need the same support as other rescue doggies in the West, to find a family to love them.)
So if you’re thinking of adopting a rescue doggie and would like to add a slightly “exotic” member to your family, maybe you can think about the doggies in Taiwan? Here are some of the doggies there looking for homes: http://www.animalstaiwan.org/dogs_en.html Many of them have really heart-breaking – but also inspiring – stories. You can also check out the Animals Taiwan Blog
Doesn’t this Taiwanese doggie look too cute to be real? Like a toy or a cartoon!
Well, Ma-Ma was super happy about the unexpected extra time in Taipei because it meant that she could take Hsin-Yi to do even more shopping!
Because you know, most of the time, Ma-Ma doesn’t buy things for herself – what she really loves is buying things for her children. If you want to have a giggle at some of the crazy, scary things that Ma-Ma has bought Hsin-Yi over the years – check out Hsin-Yi’s blog post: The mother, the cardboard box and the loot.
Of course, she was supposed to be “resting” after her operation – but Hsin-Yi found that it was very difficult to convince Ma-Ma to take things easy, especially coz she was recovering so well. Hsin-Yi had to get really strict and make sure Ma-Ma only went out for short trips and had lots of rests in between. She wasn’t allowed to climb any stairs either or stand for too long.
Luckily, there are shops in Taipei EVERYWHERE so you didn’t have to go far to do a bit of shopping…
…one thing Hsin-Yi did do was stock up on Paul’s favourite bamboo slippers!
Hsin-Yi also gots lots of nice dresses for herself. It’s wonderful for Hsin-Yi to shop in Taiwan ‘coz all the clothes are actually in her size. See, most Chinese humans are a smaller size than Western humans. So when Hsin-Yi goes shopping in the West, she often has to look in the children’s sections and buy Age 14, to find things that fit! But there’s no problem of that in Taiwan – there, Hsin-Yi is an “average” size and she isn’t even especially short either – there are lots of people shorter and smaller than her. She says it’s so nice not to always feel like the midget in the room for a change!
Well, all that shopping sure works up an appetite! But that’s OK, ‘coz Taipei is the place to be if you have a huge appetite! 
Spicy Chicken with Chilli & Roasted Peanuts
Stir-Fried Baby Cabbage Hearts
Eight-Treasures Soup
Honey-Glazed Crispy Ham with Steamed Toast
Hsin-Yi being a total pig!
Udon Noodle Soup
Chocolate Hazelnut Waffles with Ice-cream, Almonds & Whipped Cream
Sticky Bamboo Rice
Steamed Cod with Crispy Soya Bean Crumble
Green Tea-Flavoured Won Ton Soup
Deep-Fried, Crispy, Salt & Pepper Frog Legs
Tender Bamboo Shoots with Tiny River Shrimp
The famous 7-Eleven “Tea Eggs”!!
“Tonkatsu Meal” – Japanese-style pork fillet covered in crispy breadcrumbs, with shredded raw cabbage, steamed rice and miso soup
Sadly, even the extra days in Taipei went all too soon and before they knew it, it was time for Hsin-Yi to try to cram all that shopping into her suitcase and get ready to fly back home.
But Ma-Ma had one more place she wanted to take Hsin-Yi before she left Taiwan: remember I told you that Ma-Ma did something special to help Paul with his exams? Well, she went to a temple to do “bai-bai” – which is sort of like praying, except that you don’t say special prayers like in a church but rather you light some sticks of incense and just “talk” to the gods and ask for their blessing…
There are lots of different kinds of Chinese gods – each with a special job to do – and you can ask them to watch over you and help you with different things in your life. Hsin-Yi wrote a special post on her blog all about the Chinese gods and what religions Chinese people follow and what happens in temples…so if you’re interested, you can check it out on her own blog: Of Gods & Temples…
There is one special god called Tu Di Gong (Earth God) who looks after the everyday welfare of the common people – and he’s the one that most Taiwanese humans talk to, to ask for help about every day things. Ma-Ma asked him to give Paul lots of luck in his exams – and also to keep Hsin-Yi safe on her journey back to Australia. Well, he certainly did his job – he made sure that Hsin-Yi didn’t fly during the big typhoon – she ended up delaying her return and changing her flights and coming back on a different Big Flying Machine – but at least she got back safely! And of course, we all know that Paul passed his exams with flying colours!
So that was the story of Hsin-Yi’s adventures in Taiwan! Although it wasn’t really a “holiday” but she still had a wonderful time – eating lots of yummies, doing great shopping, catching up with old friends and most of all, spending special time with her mummy!
You have us drooling all over our keyboard, Honey. Hsin-Yi sure did eat good! We are still laughing picturing you as a handbag doggie, Honey! haha
Love ya lots,
Mitch and Molly
What a great blog. I not only saw those yummy foods, I also learned about Taiwanese life and found out about the people who are helping the stray dogs. I’m off right now to have a look for the recipe for burdock root salad. I can’t imagine what it would be like. I thought burdock was a weed…
I do like eating weeds ( we eat nettles and other weeds) so I’m interested in this salad. If I can’t find it I’ll come back and ask you, Hsin-Yi.
Miss Honey,
I am still stuck on the Honey in a bag photo. I think it is a brilliant idea and your Hsin-Yi should get to the gym more so that she can take you shopping. I am sure you would enjoy helping her pick out toys that did not insult your beauty.
Kisses,
Dexter
Now I’m hungry! I’d love to have a chance to try some of that food!
Sam
Honey, you did a great job telling about Hsin-Yi’s adventures. It was fun to hear it from your perspective
.
That is one great adventure! I’m glad ma-ma is doing well.
Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar
All the food!!!! They really need to work on adding a taste feature to this internet thing.
Emma
Wow! The FOOD!It looks amazing. I’m going to look up some of the things you ate and see if I can ever try them. I don’t remember getting good food at all in Taiwan (Taipai or Hsin-Chu). But that’s because Mr. Wild Dingo sadly doesn’t like Chineese Food. He’s there soooooo much i think he’s weary of it. He likes szechuan a lot though.
I do know of “some” rescues in Taiwan who specifically rescue the Togo (Tawain Mt. Dog or Formosan Mt. Dog) from the streets. I can’t find them now. I’ve seen them around the web.
Now for the Husky. I have to say, I cringed badly when I saw the shaved husky. And not because of not having his beautiful hair but because shaving a long hair dog, especially a husky, is a serious risk to their health! No matter HOW hot it is. Here are some reasons: Their fur actually KEEPS them cooler by reflecting the sun’s rays. Plus their skin is at a serious risk for burning or developing skin cancer! It is absolutely very wrong to shave a husky or long haired dog. Instead during warm months, the dog blows it’s coat naturally OR you can help it by grooming it/combing/brushing it to remove the under coat and keeping the top layer to protect the skin! Removing the undercoat does a LOT to help the dog stay cool too. Please, the next time you see a dog like this, take the time to educate the owner. I see this as a serious misunderstanding of long coated dogs. Either the person is greatly miseducated or is too lazy to deal with the blowing of the coat--It’s a messy home of big chuncks of dropping fur for weeks or the how long it takes to groom the dog. It’s not easy. It takes me weeks to “shed” juno. But the good news is, it’s only twice/year and only for a few weeks and then the house is totally fine the rest of the year. AND you can always use a groomer to do bathe and brush the dog too. if they can’t deal with grooming the dog properly in the summer then they shouldn’t have a long coated dog. but that’s another story. i think educating them is a huge first step. I sometimes see a shaved coat on a husky in CA and take the time to say something nicely. I ask and then I inform them of the health risk in “did you know that?…” I try not to be a jerk about it. But it breaks my heart to see a husky like that. It’s wrong for so many reasons, the main being bad for their health!
But anyway a great post. And there are some rescues for Togos in Taiwan I just don’t know them at the moment.
PS. I am CRACKING up at Honey in a handbag… and as much as I LOVE and ADORE small dogs (i am dying to have one), I think it’s a damn shame that they are “carried” or “strolled”… WTF? they aren’t babies. they’re dogs. unless the dog is very sick, they should be walked. It’s BEST for doggie health. sure maybe they get walked, but extra walking never hurts. And it’s good for their confidence. Unless it’s sick or too dangerous to put a small dog down (crowds, another aggressing dog, whatever) a dog should always be walked. period. and it’s damn shame that big doggies are then discriminated against because of the carrying or stroller. That all makes me so mad.
But I still love Taiwan and the Taiwanese. I’ll never forget their warmth when I visited there!
Howdy Honey, we couldn’t stop looking at the food photos and mum loved all the shopping photos so we were all happy. What a great time Hsin-Yi had (even with a few stressy moments with her mum). Great post and we agree with Dexter, that photo of Honey in a bag was hilarious. Thanks for taking us on holiday. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory
One more thing about husky fur and i’ll shut my pie hole.
if you look closely at the fur that sheds off a husky, you’ll see two types. the undercoat is white and soft and thick like cotton. the top coat, is long and a bit more coarse and lighter in weight, but the color of one strand of fur is actually THREE colors. for a black and white husky this top coat will be white-black-white. which goes to demonstrate their genetically designed top coat, the white tip of the fur is actually meant to reflect sun rays. Between my short coat black formosan dog and my husky on a hot day you can actuall FEEL the difference in their body temperature. Juno is cooler than Loki (the short black fur) because his black hair is absorbing all the sun rays! i water them and water their paws when it’s hot. the husky also dips herself and paws in all water when we walk on hot days. that’s all that’s necessary, that and shedding the bottom coat by comb/brush. Just another FYI.
You make me want to go back to Taiwan! Haven’t gone back in years, but I really miss the yummies!!
SO MUCH FOOD!! YUM YUM!!!
Hsin-Yi the next time you go to Tiwan will you Pack my stomich and taist buds with you lol Man that all looked soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Good WOW
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
Lady and Kat
WOW!! We are wore out from your trip! And our tummies are very full of that good food!
The dane’s handbag is just brilliant, we are still laughing !!
It seems that Hsin-Yi had a great time there are we are happy to know that surgerry went well and that Mama recovered well and fast !!
The human drooled during all her reading.
Woos of love.
Echo & Link
Read most of Hsin-Yi’s stories on her own blog, and loved every blog entry about her stay in Taiwan.
So glad everything went fine with the operation and fabulous that there was plenty of time left for shopping, eating and catching up with friends!
Love the picture of you in the “handbag” by the way, Honey!
Greets,
Karolien
& slobbery kiss,
Killian
Lovely, entertaining, interesting and wonderful. What are the treasures in eight treasures soup?
That food looks great!! My stomach is growling now. Haha
It’s nice that Hsin-Yi got to spend time with her mum, but I totally understand how she might get a bit sick of it after a while though! It can be hard to spend a lot of time in close quarters with someone with a different personality!
- Jasmine
Hello! We really miss looking at your blog and now I just have time to look at your photos! They are fantastic as always. Hope your Mom is recovering well. Cheerios!
All the food looks really yummy. The rescue dogs are all really cute. I am surprised that they cannot find homes.
I’m so glad Ma-Ma did so well with the surgery and that you both had so much fun. Man, you’ve totally made me hungry now LOL!
I love the two dogs on the scooter! So cute!
Great post, thanks for sharing your trip. I’ll have to go check out your blog soon, but I want to catch up here first.
Oh, nice to know that at least somewhere in the world being short is so strange ( but I’m 1.50meters, maybe that’s too short! )! From now on I’ll buy clothes only on online taiwan shops
And oh, nice that your mother is ok! It’s never nice when one has to pass a surgery.
By the way, since I usually travel with my dogs, how is travelling in asia with dogs ( from Italy )? I mean, is it generally acceptable that one is travelling with two big dogs (around german shepered size )? For exemple, I know that in europe it’s normal and quite easy to find dog-friendly hotels, shops, restaurant, while in muslim countries dogs are considered “dirty” and generally not accepted. I would like to know how Asia is in that respect, since I really would like to visit one day as I find it sooo interesting, but for several reasons the easiest to me is to take my dogs with me when travelling!
Thanks a lot in advance!