This is a pretty long post, so I'm going to try to keep the verbiage to a minimum.
After our late lunch at Taichung Rou Yuan we took the short walk back to our hotel and took a break. For dinner, we decided to visit another night market. We didn't feel like getting a cab to Fengxia Night Market, which is said to be the largest in Taiwan. Instead, we decided to take the 20-30 minute walk to the Yizhong Street Night Market instead.
Along the way we strolled thru Taichung Park, which has a large man-made lake.
Folks in Taiwan really know how to relax and seem to be very social.
As we crossed Jingwu Road onto Yizhong Street, things didn't look too busy.
But one block further down….well, man it was super packed.
It was just overwhelming to say the least.
Some of the lines were crazy. We walked from one end of the road to the other end. Not only were the stands busy, but the shops that line the street with everything from food, to cosmetics, gifts, clothes, and knickknacks were as well. As we hit the far end of the street, things calmed down a bit, the crowd seemed a bit older and there was even some seating…..
From here we took a quick loop around the stands again and found our places.
This booth made Rou Jia Mo, which looked good. It wasn't the typical Shaanxi style rou jia mo like we had in Xi'an, but featured and light and almost flaky bread, not like the typical "baijimo" (flatbread). This was very tasty.
This booth was selling XLB like dumplings.
Which were being made on the spot.
You placed your order, was given a number. When your order was ready it was called out.
These were pretty darn good…so porky!
Because we'd had a huge breakfast and a late lunch; this was enough for us. Plus, even though this was a bit of fun; the crowds were getting to us.
We took a quieter, roundabout way back to where our hotel was located.
On the way back, we decided to drop by Miyahara again.
As I mentioned in that earlier post; Miyahara is owned by Dawncake whose main store we visited earlier. This place has all kinds of "stuffs" that you never knew you needed.
While this fanciful, "Harry Potterish" shop used to be an ophthalmology clinic, it's now known for all their stuffs and the ice cream served here is super popular. We loved this "punny" sign.
After all the walking we'd done, we slept quite soundly.
The next morning we woke refreshed.
And availed ourselves of the nice and huge buffet breakfast.
The variety was impressive.
Our train to Chiayi was not leaving until 120pm, so we packed and stored our luggage at the front desk and headed out to do some additional Pineapple Cake shopping for my MIL. On Ziyou Road we found several shops selling pineapple cake, after having tastes, two of them past muster and we bought some.
I thought that the Pineapple Cake from this shop was the best I tasted during our entire trip.
Of course, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and I've had my fill of Pineapple Cake so don't even ask me to taste any……
We saw a location of Ten Ren Tea and having visited the SF location many times were curious. We walked in and were greeted by the sweetest woman.
The Missus loved one of the Oolong Tea's and was told it's a limited crop and is only sold in this area and is not exported so the Missus got it.
While chatting with the woman, the Missus was constantly cracking up. Later She told me that the woman was dissing other tea producers, but doing it in the most "sweetest" way that She couldn't help but crack up!
We did a bit more exploring.
And took our required tea break.
And even headed back to Miyahara…..
Before heading back to the hotel, picking up our bags and making the short Taichung Station. We weren't catching the HSR, so we could leave from the station in the city.
The original Taichung Station has become a historical park and the structure along with the very modern station next to it makes quite the juxtaposition of buildings.
The old rails have been converted to sitting and dining areas….
And of course, there was yet another craft market going on!
Of course we had a train to catch and did not have much time to dally, so my wallet was left unscathed!
And soon enough we were off to our next stop! Chiayi!
Thanks for stopping by!
It looked like it needed to be airlifted to a burn center; it was so black. A quick taste confirmed things. The chicken skin was incinerated and bitter. The flesh very dry. The peri peri was quite sour and very mild in terms of spice.
There were two containers involved here. The smaller one consisted of 4 rubbery and overcooked wings, the spicier peri peri helped things a bit, but it still didn't seem very spicy to me. The peri peri was on the sour side and not even close 
And the peri peri came in handy here again….though it seemed to heighten a tanginess of the dish a bit too much. I thought the brioche roll, which looked quite dry, added a bit of buttery sweetness and really helped things out here.
The note on the door said "we are closed
And here again was the note posted on the door stating "we are closed". I checked Google which indicated that the place is "Temporarily Closed" as well as that "four-lettered" site which also noted that the place is scheduled to reopen on September 1st. I also did a check on the Zen Curry website, which said the reopening date is TBD.
When you park for free at Torrey Pines High School, the transportation might take you around the back side of the Fairgrounds and you can see the rides from a different viewpoint as well as where the workers live during the Fair. It's been "June Gloom" weather for most of the mornings near the coast.
The Paul Ecke, Jr. Garden Show has many displays decorated with the theme.
The Theme Exhibit Hall (to the right when you walk in the main entrance) is very informative regarding San Diego County and our parks and recreation areas.
This year, we were going to try to order more unique food choices and mostly succeeded. Can't get Indian Fry Bread anywhere in the County. This garlic butter parmesan bread was warm/fresh made and so satisfying.
The Gems and Minerals exhibit is beautiful and informative.
We did want something fried, yet protein/sort of healthy and so Calamari and fries was our choice.
To make that meal a bit healthier, I walked across the way and ordered this (really great) peanut infused slaw to accompany. 
Design in Wood always has beautiful entries.
On another visit, our quest for 'semi healthy/fried protein' had us ordering this 'Fair Special' from Chicken Charlie's (onion rings, fried zucchini and chicken strips) along with a delightful strawberry lemonade from Stuffie's, just across the way. 
The Fine Art entries are always mesmerizing.
We found a few new booths (since both the Cream Puffs and the Gingerbread House were gone). This was a blueberry pie in a cone from In Your Face Pies. The blueberry filling was warm and this was a good size portion. 
There was a spinning demonstration in the California Grown barn along with instructive animal exhibits.
We've seen photos of 
The 
We had to get a cherry lime Icee. The flavors remind us of when we were dating and used to share a cherry-lime rickey at 
The sights and sounds are everywhere!
The Missus ordered a Savignon Blanc which She enjoyed and I got a Michelada, a nice taste of sunshine on a lovely day. Speaking of sunshine, we were really savoring it. Before we had left for our trip, the 
I swear I tasted some soy sauce in this ceviche negro; but I must be imagining things. I liked this refreshing dish. The shrimp had been chopped and for me, it made a nice bite when including the onions, cucumber on a tostada. The Missus thought the dish was short on shrimp and had too much "other stuff" for Her taste.
This was a nice portion of plump shrimp. Though that salsa verde was very mild and really lacked acidity. And because of that; the shrimp never "cooked/cured" in the sauce. It was basically raw shrimp the whole way thru. The tostadas provided were tasty and up to the task, but that sauce was really weak.
The Logo, Theme (Celebrating A World of Music, The Universal Language) and President (
The artist rendition of Lions Clubs International entry, "Changing The World Through Music" has 'come to life'.
It's looking very much like the rendition and will have to be tested again, with 'weight' (people) on board. Then it will be ready for decorating, since it is colored in. Colors help the volunteer decorators and also help if there might be rain and some of the natural items used to cover (all visible portions of) the float succumb to the elements.
The 2024 Rotary International entry, "Clean Water-The Music of Life" is still in its basic rebar and wire structure. I can see umbrellas and the cuteness of this float, with the design supporting one the many areas of focus that Rotary serves internationally. 
The Petal Pushers and Lutheran Hour Ministries will have its 73rd entry in the Rose Parade in 2024, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord". It is the only Christian Themed float in the Parade.
Oddfellows and Rebekahs will be entering this cute, unicorn design, "All We Need Is Love". Did you know that each float plays music along the route? Well, we know the song that will be played on this float!
Kiwanis International is entering "Serving in Harmony", an old fashioned look some long past symbols of music and harmony (Nipper! His Master's Voice! and a Player Piano with a metronomic roll).
The Elks Clubs have another patriotic entry this year. I can see a Fife and Drum Corps and the back of the float looks like fireworks. 
The City of Alhambra is entering this dragon-esque float. 
Here is the base for what will most likely be another magnificent float, entered by Trader Joe's. 
It looks like a super version of Tokyo Central that we have in the 
It was before 9 a.m.-breakfast time. 
We had to. 
We made our selections, purchased a few other items, paid and found a seat at the front of the store. 
There is a water fountain available, but we had purchased this 2 liter bottle of Jasmine tea (on sale)
Our selections from the Hot Buffet serving trays: Vegetable Croquette, Cheese Tonkatsu, four Fried shrimp, two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken and one 'umami pork rib'. (Total bill for hot food was $14.58)
We purchased a loaf of Walnut Raisin bread, and new items- an iced ube matcha tea drink and carrot cake slice. Quite excellent new items.
The small signage with an interesting font was intriguing. Tappi's opened in October 2022. 
The menu, more intriguing. There were South of the Border and Mediterranean categories and some items with Japanese names, along with a good breakfast menu, (which has Japanese souffle pancakes as well as German and Ube pancakes available). Fusion? Con-fusion? Simply good food? 
We asked what the 'Soup of the Day' was. The answer was both tomato and broccoli cheese. Yes! One of each, please.
We decided to try the Khachapuri with kielbasa ($12). Plenty of cheese. filling fresh made crusty chewy bread, thin slices of a garlic-y kielbasa. A sizable meal (we took two slices home). 
I had seen Kunafa (crunchy, sweet, cheesy, creamy) at the bottom of the menu and knew I was going to order it. Our nice waitress said they were 'trying something new' and offering the kunafa as a sandwich for $11 (the large piece of kunafa by itself is $10).
Yes. The 'bread' is a sweetbread- an eggy, cardamom flavored, sesame seed topped delight. Separately or together, each bite was wonderful. We did take half of this home, too, to have with coffee.