Positively Powerful

I had a great late lunch yesterday at a restaurant called Shaba Shaba. Imagine being able to select the ingredients for your own soup and cooking them in a pot at your table. The pot is a part of the table. You determine the temperature of your soup (a water base with a little oil), its ingredients (selections include sea urchins, thinly sliced lamb and beef, tofu squares, fresh vegetables like squash, cabbage, and corn, rice, dumplings, and noodles). This would make my daughter happy because she’d select the veggies and tofu and be quite full because you can eat whatever and however much you want. You would also make your own dipping sauce of ingredients like chili, ground garlic, soy sauce, and basil. For a beverage you could choose from a cola or cold sweetened tea. And to top of this feast, have a soft ice cream in a cone.

I have dined on Japanese food, salmon topped with a white sauce and cheese, and yes savored my Starbucks decaf. Though I haven’t eaten there there’s restaurant that serves burgers.

I walk from the training center to the hotel and feel safe. The vibe I get here in Taipei is a lot like New York City’s Manhattan. There is activity late into the night on the street where I am staying. The el passes by my window as do clean current models of the best cars and the ever present scooters. There’s an Intel building across the street. I have a very pleasant wake up call in English in the morning and if I choose, scrambled eggs and a croissant or a Chinese breakfast of dumplings and vegetables.

I highly recommend that you visit Taipei when you have a chance. And if you are wise, you will not refer to it as China to Taiwanese who would be offended even though their Taiwan is now a province of the Republic of China (ROC).

I look forward to learning about the Taiwan that is home to the people that live here.

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