JoCharvel Christmas @ Taiwan: Yilan (宜蘭) Road Trip #1 - Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup

Life can be quite simple especially when I am traveling.  We got the pleasure to spend our Christmas holiday in Taiwan.  Though it has rained non-stop since we arrived, the food and people totally made up for it.  A big bowl of warm and tasty Taiwanese beef noodle soup (臺灣牛肉湯麵) in the town city of LouDong (羅東) on Zhong Hua Road across the car park (老牌牛肉麵) at a rainy winter day gave me a super satisfying sensation.   It tasted just like the familiar flavour in Vancouver.  Now, that I visited Taiwan, it was so surprising to find out my daily diet back home was influenced so much by Taiwanese cuisine! It is completely because there were so many immigrants from Taiwan in Vancouver and our largest Chinese supermarket , T&T, was own by Taiwanese.  I had the great pleasure to enjoy countless authentic Taiwanese food in Vancouver!!!!

The beef noodle soup was in good filling size with well made soup base that is meaty but not too salty and very generous amount of braised beef that you can never get in HK for the money we pay (well....even if you are willing to pay extra, you won't get such a well made and generous portion).  It is said to say  that as we have more tourists from China, I feel that the food in HK has not only gotten more expensive but the portion and quality are not like before anymore.

I am really in food heaven in Taiwan!

2013 - A fascinating year.

(Her: Joanna)

2013 was a fascinating year for me.  We relocated, found a home in HK, been a house wife, found a job, got married, changed jobs, reconnected with families and started a new life in Asia.  There were a lot of exciting changes but adjusting to them didn't came as easy for me as Charlie.  I struggled and hung onto my life in Canada.  I have doubt whether the move help my career.  Along the way, Charlie helped put myself back on course time after time.  I realize, then, we are in this together and in this life together with many years to come.  

Have I consider move back to Canada? Yes.  Did I regret coming? No.  

I'm struggling to embrace my life while I am here.  It has always been a challenge for me when I move.  In 2014, I will look to unique things in HK to discover and enjoy and less on how different HK is to what I am used to in Canada.