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TAIWAN:

Widespread flooding has been reported due to heavy rainfall from typhoon Kalmaegi (Helen).  Clip shows a daring rescue from a television report.

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Tags: Environment | Taiwan | flooding | typhoon | helen | kalmaegi

Please bear with us while we try to restore things to how they used to be. Thanks for your patience.

Forecast Position Update and Satellite Photo:

Photos by MJ Klein & Hui-chen

I never expected to get so many comments about Cabela’s but we sure did. The fact is, Hui-chen and I didn’t get enough of the place so we went back there on our way out of town!

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Photos by MJ Klein

Recently Hui-chen and I took a trip to Dongpu.  I posted all the photos on flickr, but I haven’t had time to blog on the trip yet.  We had a great time, driving through mountains shrouded in mist.  I’ll get to this article and I’ll update it as soon as I can.  Hui-chen and I are really tied up with our trip to the US to visit my ailing father.  Thanks for your understanding!

I just want to remind everyone that the new forum is up and running here at TheNHBushman.com.    It started off with a bang the first day.  You can make it better by contributing to the discussions there.  Feel free to continue blog topics there too.

The direct URL is: http://www.thenhbushman.com/bbs

I’d like to introduce a new feature on TheNHBushman.com blog. It’s called Sound Off! and it’s your chance to get things off your chest! We invite you to comment on the topic and let it fly!

If you have any suggestions for a Sound Off! topic, please email them to us at thenhbushman [at] gmail [dot] com.

Our first feature comes to us, thanks to Todd who has some of the same peeves that I do on this wonderful topic. Of course this topic is Taiwan-centric because we live here. But you may Sound Off! about anything having to do with waiters!

Why can’t waiters understand basic principles?

1. If you hand me a menu, I need to read it before I can order anything. So, go away and let me read in peace!
2. Other than telling me about some specials that are not on the menu, or might not be readily apparent, don’t bullshit me with your hard sell techniques! Just because my eyes stopped at the Ma Po Tofu for 3 milliseconds doesn’t mean I need you to start telling me how great it is.
3. Clean the damn tables! Geesh!
4. I don’t care what other foreigners like. Give me the whole menu and not an excerpt.
5. I may be able to read Chinese. Unless you ask, you couldn’t possibly know.
6. Try talking to me in Chinese first. If that fails, fall back on English.
7. Freezing in one’s tracks while uttering “Eh?” is not a proper way to greet a Customer.
8. Don’t assume that “beer” means “Heineken.”

We want your stories, anecdotes and experiences!

But, don’t worry, every single post from the very beginning is there, including your comments!

We decided it was time for a new look, and that it was also time to upgrade the platform too.

RSS subscribers to our Feedburner.com feed will experience no interruption.  Entering the old blog URL into your browser will redirect you here.  If you find anything broken, please inform me.  Also, you experienced Word Press gurus may have some useful insights on how I can improve things.  Please feel free to inform me about those too.  Eventually I will have all the links in the rest of the world updated to forward to this new domain.  But it’s going to take some time!

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My friend Sarah from New Hampshire sent me these photos taken last week, in the White Mountain area.  I wanted to share them with our readers.  New Hampshire is known for being one of the most beautiful places in the US, especially during the fall foliage season.  Enjoy!

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Photos by MJ Klein

Hui-chen and I sometimes like to eat at this place called “50 Pizza.” I have no idea why it’s so named but basically its a pseudo-Italian place with a menu that is a nice departure from the Taiwanese and Thai fare found in our neighborhood. It’s my opinion that pizza is not what you should order from 50 Pizza. I have yet to find an acceptable pizza in all of Taiwan and I am still trying. Taiwanese people are used to the mushy crust and tasteless toppings found on most pizza here, which may include, believe or not, unshelled whole shrimp.

Here is a scan of their menu. The prices are very reasonable.

Click for a larger view

There are a couple of 50 Pizza restaurants around Taiwan. I’ve eaten at them in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Hukou. The consistency among them is good.

The Hukou 50 Pizza is a 5 minute walk from the Hukou train station, right on ???.

The outside dining area of 50 Pizza. We originally sat where you see Hui-chen, but there was a bad odor coming from the street so we decided to move inside. Out of the dozens of times we’ve eaten there that was the only time we’ve had to move inside because of bad smells.

You can see into the kitchen from the road. If you can speak any Chinese at all you will astound the staff (that is, if you aren’t Taiwanese).

If there is one thing that I don’t really like about 50 Pizza it’s that no matter how good the food is, it retains its fast food persona by requiring that you go up to the register to order and pay in advance, like McDonald’s, etc.. 50 Pizza is more of a sit-down place and the food is cooked to order with very little prepared in advance. So if you order some kind of burger sandwich you won’t be getting one that’s been sitting under the heat lamp like you would at McDonald’s.

Hui-chen ordered the Black Pepper Beef Gratin Rice for NT$110. The browned cheese topping is even better than it looks.

This is a crappy photo of my NT$40 Ceylon Milk Tea, iced. It’s noteworthy because it’s made from bagged tea and they leave the bag in the glass. I like that because as the ice melts the tea just gets stronger and it doesn’t taste watered down after 10 minutes like most iced tea does.

I got a Kimchi Chicken Filet Burger for NT$130 which included French fries (not shown) and NT$35 credit towards any drink. In Taiwan, they call any kind of sandwich on a bun, a “burger.” Kimchee is a famous Korean pickled cabbage dish that is a national staple in Korea. It’s spicy with an incredible pickled flavor. This sandwich was quite good.

The last thing that I got out of sheer curiosity was a French Cheese Pork Chop, listed under the heading “Snack” on the menu. At NT$60, the price was a bit steep I think. It wasn’t bad - just wasn’t what I expected. I think this is supposed to be a Cordon Bleu pork chop, and hence the cryptic “French Cheese Pork Chop.

Overall we enjoyed our lunch. If you’ve seen 50 Pizza around, you might want to give them a try. Be sure and tell us what you think!

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