Mother Earth Take-out Lunch

As the NIE canteen is closed, we had to look for alternative lunch venues. Lucky us, our friend went to Mother Earth Vegetarian restaurant for lunch and helped a bunch of us to buy back take-out lunch bento! 
Even if you are not a vegetarian, I would recommend Mother Earth vegetarian restaurant. The price is reasonable and the portion is large. I had a hard time trying to finish everything in my lunch bento! Most importantly, the food is really tasty! Love ourselves and our bodies once in a while by having the healthier option of vegetarian food. :) 

Food in Disguise

Can you believe that this Japanese bento set is vegetarian?! 

Although it is vegetarian (I wouldn't be able to tell it is vegetarian if I weren't in the restaurant), everything tasted absolutely delicious!

Lights and Vegetarian Food

Pretty lights.

Delicious Japanese vegetarian food. Yes, it is really vegetarian! 

Naive

A former classmate and I met up for dinner and we tried out Naive at Katong. It is a vegetarian restaurant. But I assured you, the vegetarian food is as tasty and as filling as any non-vegetarian food! We only ordered two dishes - Cheeky Monkey (monkeyhead mushroom with oats and curry leaves) and Mango tofu cake (crispy tofu with mango sauce) and a plate of olive brown rice to share. We were struggling to finish everything because the food was really filling and delicious despite being vegetarian food. Another plus point about the food - NO MSG!! :) We also ordered drinks - Shanghai Rose (cooling tea with rosehip) and Yuzu Tea with our meal. Both were really nice and not too sweet. :) 

After dinner, we had to walk around the area to digest our food lol. It is the first time that I am in the Katong area on foot. I marvelled at the number of restaurants and eateries I see all over the place in the 30 minutes' walk I had! Before we headed back home, I bought two cupcakes - LOVE and Over the Rainbow for the girls and some kueh and bak chang (rice dumpling) from Kim Choo Kueh Chang, a Peranakan restaurant. :) I must come back to Katong more often for the food! :) 

Duanwu Festival - Family Time Again

It is Duanwu Festival today and it is a public holiday in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese families would take the opportunity today to pay respects and pray to their ancestors as well as visit families.

My mother brought us to visit my uncle who lives in Tamshui. The girls were thrilled by the fish pond and the huge koi in it. Another of my mother's long-time friend, Aunt Principal (when I first met her, she was a principal of a kindergarten, the name just got stuck lol) were at my uncle's place as well as my cousin is currently back in Taipei for a week with her Japanese husband. We had a nice cosy chat over a delicious home-cocked lunch.


The girls and Aunt Principal

The girls eating traditional ice cream sticks

Family photo again :)

After 2pm, my aunt drove us and Aunt Principal to Tamshui Old Street to have a look around. It was extremely crowded as it was a public holiday. We bought more souvenirs and local produces for family and friends back home. :) The girls also played a shooting game and both won prizes lol. Just after 4pm, we parted ways with Aunt Principal (grandaunt to the girls) at the Tamshui station where we took the Metro to Xindian to visit another friend of my mother's.

Tamshui Old Street - see how crowded it is just after 2pm.

Juliane at Fisherman's Wharf, Tamshui

At Xindian MRT Station waiting for the train

My mother's friend treated us to a vegetarian food buffet at Lien Shiang Zhai. I was surprised to learn that there is actually a restaurant that caters just vegetarian food. There was a wide selection of dishes, both Western and Eastern. I was amazed at the creativity of the chefs to come up with the various dishes with the various vegetables! The dishes I tried were delicious and sad to say I didn't have enough room in my stomach to taste every dish. :( Note to self: Must COME BACK again in the future! Hahaha.



Vegetarian sashimi

Sinned Again

We were back at Original Sin for lunch. :)

Besides the food being tasty, the service is great too. The waiter was very attentive and remembered the dish that the girls' father wanted to try for this visit. The girls' father tried the Bosco Misto: spinach, feta and tofu patties served with sautéed button mushrooms in a plum sauce.


Juliane and Marieann ordered Cheese and Pineapple pizza (no photo) and Penne in mushroom and cheese sauce respectively. I had the Porcini Polenta: polenta with porcini, button & Portobello mushroom ragout, with grilled Australian asparagus in a pesto cream sauce drizzled with truffle oil. All the dishes tasted really delicious! :) I just love anything that comes with cream sauce lol. :P

Wickedness at Original Sin

Since it is vegetarian day today, I took the family to Original Sin, Chip Bee Garden for a vegetarian Mediterranean lunch. We arrived around 12 noon and managed to get a parking lot nearby. Since it is our first visit, we ordered based on the waitress's recommendations.

Juliane ordered Mini Pizza: Cheese with Pineapple ($7) and Marieann had Pasta with Tomato Sauce ($7). The girls' father ordered Brunch: Egg Napoletana Set ($20++) which came with scrambled egg, portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, baked beans and ciabatta. I had Absolut ($26++): Penne with asparagus, button mushrooms, spinach, capsicum, flamed with Absolut vodka, topped with shaved parmesan. For sweets, Juliane and Marieann had Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream respectively while I had Apple Pie with Vanilla ice cream. :)







The food was absolutely wicked! :) It was darn delicious, even the girls' cynical father agreed and I think he is willing to go back again lol. The food was tasty and rich. Most importantly, the food is really filling and you don't feel as if you are only having vegetarian food! We absolutely enjoyed our lunch. :)