Hilton hotel banquet theme selection and food tasting on 03/07/2009 at 8pm..

Here's the menu.. My name spell wrongly loh! -.-"



The 8 courses.. ermz.. Muahaha! too hungry! forgot to take picture for the 1st dish! Oops! =X





Wah weee.. alot of shark's fin and crab meat loh! Super nice!



Whole ginseng chicken



Yam ring..



Fishy fishy~!



This dish look like "Mui fan" -.-" It's some button mushrooms and seasonal veggies with crab meat sauce..



Noodle dish..



Dessert.. Yam paste!!!



Everyone agree that the food turn out good.. hopefully the standard maintain the same on actual day.. haha!


On 04/07/2009.. Kel and me went to attend the boring NDP rehersal just to get the goodie bags.. hahaha.. anyway my first time attending after they shifted to town.. Super duper boring.. performers not fully dressed.. The stage super small.. no wonder very little formation.. stoning throughout the whole rehersal..





Then I got Ah Lia's sms! haha.. save me from stoning mode.. something more interesting than the lousy rehersal.. so.. near midnight.. we went on a surprise birthday mission lead by ah lia.. haha! Highlight of the video is at the last 2mins.. =X

7D6N Pre-wedding Photoshoot + Taipei Free & Easy!

(Day 1) – 29 APR 2009, Wednesday

SIN - TPE CI752 0825 - 1255 (4hrs 15mins)



Maybe SQ can do something to improve their in-flight entertainment.. make it Touch screen! kekez..

The boss of Cannes wedding bridal studio (CWBS), together with a wedding advisor came to fetch us to Keelung where the bridal studio is located.. so nice of them to even prepared a large cup of pearl milk tea for each of us..



About 45mins drive to Keelung.. Check-in at Kodak hotel and proceed to CWBS for gown selection..



Their gowns are actually quite old.. thread coming off.. beads dropped.. budden it's not obvious on photos lah.. and the way they tailor is just by folding up the excess clothes and stitch the flap together.. no wonder can be that fast.. it's not very fitting.. again.. it's not obvious on photos.. I wonder how local bridal studio do their tailoring..

After gown selection, we went to Keelung Miao Kou night market.. Somehow we ate in reverse order.. desserts 1st.. then side dish.. then main dish.. lolx!



Ordered "Cold Ginko nut Dou Hua" and "Sha Bing Xian Fen Yuan" when the weather is already very cold.. both of us wearing t-shirt sitting there shivering while we eat.. and the people there were wearing thick jackets.. -.-"



I don't like the texture of the "Fen Yuan".. too chewy..



I think the store helper was too shock to see us ordering cold desserts in the cold night.. he still came to double confirm with us before they prepare the desserts.. We still didn't find anything wrong when he double confirm our orders.. as initially we thought that we ordered something that's like ChengTeng.. but wrong!! It turned out to be something like Ice Kachang! OMG! no wonder he wanna confirm our orders again.. lolx!

After the cold shock.. we faster head off to look for something hot.. so we choose a store selling oyster omelete and sit near the cooking area.. rofl~! I still prefer SG's oyster omelete as it got lesser sticky thingy.. but they're very generous with their oyster.. eat until very shuang..



Walking further down the row of stores.. we stopped by for Lu rou fan (NT$20) and Crab soup (NT$50).. Yummy!!






(Day 2) – 30 APR 2009, Thursday

Photoshoot day!

Early morning wakie.. had breakfast at the hotel.. and head out to CWBS for make up..

This is the portable changing room.. makes changing possible anywhere.. anytime..



This is the transportation for the day.. Taxi!



Here's photographer Yuan Sir and his helper Ah Ka..



Here's Me.. Kel.. and pretty MUA but she's a heavy smoker..



Dinner for the day.. Bento provided by CWBS..



Payment at the end of the day : 10hrs of Transportation (NT4000).. + MUA to tag along (NT4000).. + 2 Ampoules (NT1000)..

(Day 3) – 01 MAY 2009, Friday

Photos viewing was arranged at 6pm.. therefore we gotta rot ourselves somewhere near Keelung.. so we took a bus straight up to Chiufen!

Ohh yes! we squeezed thru this narrow alley..



Looking back after we managed to squeeze thru the 1st stretch.. there are still more narrow alleys to go..



On the way.. we pop by this fish balls store for lunch.. ordered Lu Rou Fan.. Lu Dan.. Tou fu with Pi Dan.. and Assorted balls noodle..



From this angle, this was one of the frequently used background in the wedding photoshoot..



After squeezing thru all the small alleys.. we finally made it to the top..



Conclusion.. Chiufen is a place to go just for look see.. nothing special.. maybe the scenery from the top might worth a view.. i spent 2+hrs there squeezing thru crowds becoz we went on a labor day! if not i think 30mins can finish the whole place during off peak days.. The returning journey was terrible.. all the visitors going back about the same time.. and the bus isn't coming fast enuff.. queue was darn long.. waited for about 30mins.. a 10mins up slope ride from the No.9 carpark to Chiufen stop become less than 5mins when going back.. imagine how fast the bus is going down slope with sardine packed passengers.. -.-"

The whole CWBS staff was quite friendly and ok.. except for one black sheep called Helen! and so coincidentally she got the evil witch look.. she gave me the feeling that she's rushing us thru the 378 photos so that we can't really see things clearly and choose alot of photos in the end.. but too bad! I'm the kind the more u wanna rush me.. the more i'll ask u to put it out big and hold there longer for me to think.. and thanks to her.. i'm very swift in deciding which pictures to delete.. she saved my pocket! but we still got 100 photos in the end.. that's alot but can't delete further already.. so topped another NT42000 for the 64 extra photos.. =X

The manager of the bridal studio drove us to Paradise hotel at Taipei personally.. and on the way she stopped by those mobile operated store, treating us freshly baked toast.. it's something like bread on the outside but sponge cake as the core? no idea what's that call.. =X but it's something nice.. don't think SG got such thing..

After checking in, we went to walk around Ximending.. really a late nite shopping area.. the shops there open till late night 12mn and dining areas up to 2am..

(Day 4) – 02 MAY 2009, Saturday

Ahhh!! Paradise Hotel is terrible! the wall is extremely thin.. can hear people walking pass.. talking.. tv sound.. lifts sound.. and the bed is hard! So tired! we sleep till about 11am then wakie.. oops! half the day almost gone.. Change of plan.. we decided to explore Taipei city for the day.. We walked 4 stations.. from Ximen station to Zhongxiaoxinsheng station.. lolx! crazy us! On the way we stop by to try Ah Zhong Mian Xian..



2 more stop to reach Zhongxiaofuxing station.. but we gave up already.. very hot weather and by walking this far we dun save much as the MRT fares here quite cheap.. so we took MRT instead.. kekez.. Bought the EasyGo MRT card.. like our Ezlink.. tap and go kind.. and off we go hopping on and off trains and buses.. kekez! Lunch at Dintaifeng! Look see around SOGO and head on to the next destination..



Sun Yat Sen memorial hall! haha! just a 10mins stop over here to have a look at it only..



literally look while we cut across it towards Taipei101, NYNY, Neo19, ShinKong Mitsukoshi and Vieshow direction.. Like SG Orchard.. nothing much to shop here..





From Taipei101 we took the shuttle bus back to Taipei city hall station.. Since the day is still early.. we proceed on to WuFenPu..



Since we're at WuFenPu already.. RaoHe night market is nearby.. so we can't forgo it..






Dinner..



Desserts.. It seems like this store is quite popular? Lucky us got the seats easily.. while we were enjoying the dou hua.. people start queueing up already.. and I overheard one of them saying they did not get to eat it during their previous trip so they must have it this time..





Always gotta pass by Ximending on the way back to hotel..



(Day 5) – 03 MAY 2009, Sunday

Oops! wakie late again! Missed the hotel breakfast.. Lucky there's a Yong He Dou Jiang nearby the hotel.. kekez..



Went back to Taipei101 today for the viewing galleria at Level 88-91..







Since today got nothing to do.. window shop around Taipei101.. but this was a wrong move.. -.-!!! Bought this bag at Gucci.. sob sob.. pocket super big hole..



Tea break at Hello kitty restaurant.. Everything here was Hello kitty.. not forgetting the toilet.. super cute.. no wonder need advance booking coz everyone will be staying here very long just to take photos..













Steamboat dinner! Wah wee! Their Ma La soup base is super spicy loh.. i already asked for slight spicy already.. but it's yummy! super like the beef slices.. the ma la taste + the beef taste.. woohoo! perfect!



Had a short rest after dinner and we head off to LongShan Temple.. went in walk a round.. look look see see..



and the Hwasi night market nearby.. a place famous for selling snake stuff..



(Day 6) – 04 MAY 2009, Monday

Finally a day of wakie early! and get to eat the hotel breakfast.. lolx.. the breakfast quite nice wor..

1st destination of the day.. CKS memorial hall.. lolx! another look see place..







Then we head off to Danshui.. I think we're too early already.. and it's a monday.. no one de!! Scary ah! so quiet..







Lolx.. I bought lots of TieDan here.. Almost see 1 shop buy few packs liddat..





XinBeiTou for hotspring bath at SweetMe hotel..







After the hotspring.. we took bus S9 to Yangmingshan.. budden! it's way too misty and drizzling.. end up we just hop on to the bus that go around Yangmingshan destination and just look see from there.. budden.. can't see anything lah.. wasted!



From Yangmingshan we took another bus R260 to Jiantan station for the shutter bus to Miramar..





and Shihlin night market is beside Jiantan station only.. but! it looks very different from what I saw from TV.. is there a 2nd shihlin?





XXL Chicken cutlet.. Super long queue.. I find it so-so only.. just that the size is really big.. double SG de Shihlin.. and thicker.. but i still find SG de nicer.. =X







Oyster omelete..



Mango Ice..



Shopping loots for the trip!



(Day 7) – 05 MAY 2009, Tuesday

Wakie early to have hotel breakfast.. and "Yong He Dou Jiang".. I finally get to see this store open and doing business.. lolx.. they only open till 2pm.. -.-"



after breakfast.. went back to hotel for last minute packing.. and wait for Guo Guang Ximending-Taipei main station transfer shuttle bus pick us up at Paradise hotel.. the bus drop us at their airport transfer point which is at Taipei main station.. I thought that there will not be any transfer inbetween but i was wrong!! lesson learnt! Call up Guo Guang and book your own shuttle bus pick up service and buy the bus ticket urself!! Paradise hotel charged us NT200/pax while it's only NT110/pax if u book it urself.. sob sob..

Claim tax.. check-in and take CI751 back SIN.. There's nothing to shop at their international airport.. now i can understand why SG airport can get such good reputation..