In addition to trying new foods, one of the ways I like to immerse myself in the culture of an area is by checking out the local art scene. I love walking the streets, both worn and freshly-paved, checking out street art, large and small. I’ve detailed some of the street art in Taiwan in a previous post. For this…
Many readers of Collecting EXP will know how much I enjoy trying different drinks, particularly those with tea and boba. For anyone visiting Vancouver interested in the local drink scene, here’s my take: Starbucks is Big Not really surprising, considering how close the headquarters is to Vancouver, Starbucks is a cultural mainstay in the Hollywood of the north. If you…
When I asked for recommendations in Vancouver, British Columbia, one place that came up time and time again was Miku. Upon closer inspection, I found out that Miku was one of, if not, the best sushi restaurants in the city. When looking for places to take our friends, it was a no-brainer with the number of accolades. After a long…
Summer time can only mean one thing in Vancouver—the return of the largest night market in North American, the Richmond Night Market. Having had a taste of night markets in Taiwan, when I flew over to Vancouver, British Columbia I knew I had to drop by. To get to the Richmond Night Market, my friends and I got off the…
Before Bake Cheese Tart made its way to the US in Westfield San Francisco Centre, I had a chance to check out the famous Japanese tart in Taiwan. I was walking along the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越 / shin guang san yue) mall in Taichung (台中市 / tai zhong shi) when I noticed a few stanchions on the corner. At first,…
On my way to Taiwan for another trip, I was able to discover what United is all about. We left for the “Fruit Kingdom” in the afternoon from SFO. The goal was to sleep as quickly as possible to get in a few hours of sleep in Taiwan’s early morning, then to stay awake during the rest of the flight….
After exploring Pingxi and deciding to fly lanterns elsewhere, we made our way to Shifen (十分 / shi fen). The trip was a short 8 minute drive between the two. You can see more of that drive including the lead up to launching our own balloons in this video I compiled. I’m still surprised by just how close the train…
As boba milk tea (珍珠奶茶 / zhen zhu nai cha) has become more popular over the years, the types of drink options available has also increased. Where once shops only sold various milk teas with pearls, today there hundreds of choices including fruit teas (水果茶 / shui guo cha), fresh milk teas (鮮牛奶茶 / xian niu nai cha), slush-type drinks,…
Hualien County is one of the largest counties in Taiwan. Due to the terrain though, Hualien has one of the smallest populations. Nature is never far away and the culture, here, is much very attune to that. At the heart of Hualien County is Hualien City (花蓮市 / hua lian shi). Hualien City has one of the largest populations of indigenous…
One of the most popular experiences people have while visiting Taiwan is checking out a Taiwanese night market. With most major cities hosting one or more night markets across the island, there are a whole host of night markets to experience to choose from. With over 15 alone, Taipei (台北市 / tai bei shi) packs a punch when it comes…
