yest. was Day 0 & today is officially 1st day - full day -we in Taipei

15 June The weather's great wif breeze !!!!!!

We got up early and had yummy bread (it's moi...=p the rest had Tea Egg and Sushi rolls bought @7-11).

It was going to be a great day of shopping and YumCha-ing (for Julie's fren - JoyCe) ... coz we planned to go to Wu(3) Fen(4) Pu(3) - wholesale mkt in the morning (coz we wana noe wat's the price for the clothes, bags, shoes & such) before we started shopping elsewhere. Haa, we heard lotsa abt it (thk you Sharon !) before we even stepped onto Taipei land........the Taiwanese r very innovative & hv lotsa Japanese influence in their fashion. V. Jap-inclined.
Many bypassers (whom we asked for directions & chatted with) were polite & friendly. 3-stars for their helpfulness. =p

We started off feeling disappointed coz Wu Fen Pu was yet opened.....nobody was ard. Thus we left and went to Zhongxiao Dunhua + gotta get to see Joyce :Julie's fren - whom she had not seen in abt 3-4yrs (she's Taiwanese). She brought us to Ding (3) Tai (4) Feng (1) and it was surprisingly vvvvvvv.delicious (fresher ingredients and smehow the flavor is different) & their service was superb [their toilets hv indiv. special flushing system and 'noise-deflector' item if you r doing the 'big biz']. Ding Tai Feng in S'pore not as gd.

We enjoyed a long lunch & bought umbrellas (coz 2 of us didn't bring) !
=0) It rained, but nevertheless we had gd fun wif one another & nice foods & window-shopping along the way....................a long day walkin'; after an hr or so, we went bck to Wu Fen Pu (wholesale mkt) for the *real* shopping. By now, all the shops were open & bustling wif activity ! Yes... many 'gd-taste' /well-heeled shoppers come here too...there's so much to see, lotsa designs & patterns... The alleys are not dark, quite airy (there's much breeze today !!!) and much more space than tat in Bangkok (Chatuchak). Thumbs Up from me ! I bargained for the best price tat I cld get for the shoes I liked (haha, a 'cow-skin' ballet pumps) and also a few blouses.

Tink we spent just 2plus hrs there......then we took the MTR back to the city area. Met Julie at Tapiei 101 bldg and walked ard -in search of a gd makan place ! Somebody's Special Day =p. We celebrated Winnie's birthday in a gd, reasonably priced Italian restaurant (we were exhausted by then).

The head waitress (motherly and polite) graciously granted us a table wif comfy seats, we were chucked in a corner ~ able to relax and chat over dinner. { =>plus take many pics ! } We ordered pizza, soft shell crab wif soba, salmon fettucini, lasagne and salad+soups... The good service coupled wif freshly baked pasta & pizza really granted us joy joy joy. WINNIE, HOPE YOU WERE GREATLY BLESSED ! She was smiLing a lot...

Oya, after the dinner, we saw a Taiwanese guy buskering outside the grand dept. outlets - he looks like Cao Ge (Taiwan singer) and sang quite well. We sat down for a while and enjoyed the breeze, nitey stars as he serenaded us wif his songs. He had another 2-3 frens who sang later, but we walked off and went ard for sightseeing and late nite shopping ha. Bday gal Winnie bought a beautiful pair of shorts + belt.
Cheers !