Asia Trip 2023 Day 4 - Mugs a Go
It's been quite the journey already but the trip is just getting started. This morning we woke up to a rainy Tokyo skyline and finished packing our bags. We checked out of the Park Hyatt and got a taxi to take us to Tokyo National Airport for our 10:50 AM flight on Eva Air to Taipei. We arrived at the airport 30 minutes later and dropped off our bags before waiting 30 minutes to get through a massive security line. Sadly no TSA Pre Check or Clear here. Once we made it through we went to the ANA Lounge where we waited for our flight and had some freshly made sushi.
A little after 10 AM we walked to our gate, boarded a bus, and made our way to the plane. We sat in the second row of business class with two beautiful lay-flat seats. We were immediately given a nice glass of champagne and settled in. For the next 3 and a half hours we leaned back and relaxed. Sadly there was quite a bit of turbulence for the first hour so it made getting our lunches and drinks tougher but from there it leveled out and the rest of the flight “flew by.” Jenn watched the movie Little Women (2019) and I watched another bad episode of Fubar and a phenomenal movie called Living when the entertainment system turned off I had only 15 minutes left. I hope to finish it on our next flight.
We disembarked quickly and within ten minutes had gone through immigration, grabbed our bags (one of the first off), and met our driver to take us to the Shangri-La Taipei. It was amazing how short the drive to the hotel was, maybe fifteen minutes at most. From there we checked into our room where we quickly started unpacking, took pictures, and recorded a room tour. Probably the fastest I’ve ever gone from a plane to a hotel room before.
We had a few hours to kill before dinner so we walked to a nearby Starbucks where to our delight they had a Taiwan mug. This was also the easiest mug purchase of 2023 as well. From there we walked back to our hotel, continued to unpack, took a quick nap, and got ready for dinner.
Tonight we were excited because we had reservations at the 2-Michelin star restaurant, Tairroir. A French restaurant that utilizes Taiwanese techniques and ingredients in a 10-course tasting menu. We arrived after surviving an insane taxi driver who drove incredibly erratic and fast while pumping hard on and off the pedal. Luckily it was only a 20-minute drive but it felt like much longer. When we arrived we sat two tables away from the kitchen. What’s cool about this restaurant is that each table faces directly at the kitchen. After getting served a glass of wine for each of us (red for me and white for Jenn) we began our culinary journey.
For the next two hours, we got to experience some of the most beautiful dishes we’ve ever had. The menu was based on their most popular dishes after 7 years and you could see why. From the incredible amuse-bouche to the delightful sweet corn soup to the ridiculous scallops, it was quite the feast. The two main dishes were the pigeon which they showed us early on in the meal and came back later with two preparations. The other was the lobster fried rice that Jenn made us get as an add-on to our dinner which was rich, flavorful, and jam-packed with delicious lobster. To close out the meal we had a great palette cleanser, a beautiful cake, and our choice of three small bites. It was such a delicious and well-crafted meal. It might not have hit the highs of say Ode from a few nights ago but it was quite the dinner and experience.
We left the restaurant a little after 10 PM and got an Uber to take us back to the hotel where we watched the cashmere sweater episode of Seinfeld before calling it a night. Today we arrived in Taipei, tomorrow we tour it!
