User Comments - davelandis
davelandis
Posted on: Taipei
June 05, 2008, 04:54 AMtsulu
I think Taiwan's attitudes towards Hanyu Pinyin are slowly changing. My "3000 Chinese Character Dictionary", (Far East Publishing Company, Taipie) incorporates both bopomofu and pinyin. BTW, it is a very good dictionary. Street signs in Taipei are in Hanyu Pinyin
I've heard some Taiwanese claim that bopomofo lends itself to clearer pronunciation, something that I am a bit skeptical of because a mapping system is simply that, a mapping system. I already know pinyin, but I plan to also learn bopomofo so I can read some of the Taiwanese children's books we have at home. However, I hear you, I find Hanyu Pinyin to be more intuitive since it is a Romanized system.
Posted on: Taipei
May 26, 2008, 03:52 PMTaibeitimes Yes, Elephant Mountain is a nice scenic hike. It was very close to my brother-in-law's home. I remember even seeing an outdoor place there where you could get a hair cut.
Posted on: Taipei
May 26, 2008, 03:00 PMI have a Taipei restaurant recommendation. The place is called Mu JI 穆記 and it is across the street from the Taipei Medical University/Hospital 台北醫學大學/台北醫學院 http://www.tmch.org.tw/tmuh%20english/index.htm which is about a 15 minute walk from Taipei 101. One of my friends at work actually heard about this place while she was in Hong Kong! We visited the restaurant twice. The second time we had to wait about 10 minutes for a seat since they were very busy. They specialize in beef type dishes. I especially liked the 牛肉春饼！
Posted on: Taipei
May 24, 2008, 02:47 PMWe spent one Saturday at a Tea refinery, Wang's Tea. http://wangtea.com.tw/ It is a fifth generation business, started in 1890. You can learn much about different teas and their preparation. The upper floor had some elderly people playing and singing traditional Chinese music.
Posted on: Taipei
May 24, 2008, 02:42 PMUntil April, I hadn't been in Taipei since 1993. Taipei's mass transit system hadn't come on line. Now they have a very nice MTR system. Also, street signs have Pinyin under the Chinese. Taipei has also taken up recycling. There is no trash can at Starbucks. You put your finished cup on a small shelf, then it will be washed and put in a recycle bag. My brother-in-law's family also had a separate recycling bag in their kitchen. An ABC businessman I met told me that he was skeptical how successful the program would be, but he was pleasantly surprised at its success.
Posted on: Taipei
May 22, 2008, 06:20 PMI was just in Taipei last month and LOVED IT. We were within a 10 minute walk of Taipei 101. It is lit with different colors every night. However, if you go there to eat, they will speak to you in English. I preferred going to neighborhood places to eat and practice my Chinese. Cpod provided a good foundation. The National Palace Museum had many amazing artifacts. Highly recommended!
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Xinjiang
May 20, 2008, 04:31 AMWhat's the difference between nang2 馕 and da4 bing3 大饼？ There's a wonderful Xinjiang restaurant in San Jose, CA "Ma's Restaurant". One of my favorite. I usually order 大饼。
Posted on: Regional Accents Part I
April 22, 2008, 05:05 PMIn my college speech class, I had a class mate from "Noth" Carolina. I could hardly understand a word he said. At work, there's an Aussie with a very heavy accent. I joke with one of my Taiwanese friends that I understand *her* English better than his! I also remember taking some students from Guangdong shopping. I smiled as they were looking for the "liu lai". (milk). Accents are an interesting facet of language!
Posted on: Mainland & Taiwan Lingo: Electronics
April 10, 2008, 09:49 AMI'm in Taiwan right now. I've spent most of my time in Taipei, but even in Hualien they are ubiquitous! I think I've seen more of these stores in Taiwan than in the U.S. They are even in the train stations.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 13, 2008, 04:06 PMWow. This lesson brought back memories of when I ate chicken's feet at a dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. The chicken's feet were sliced at the digits, so I didn't know what I was sampling. When my friend told me that it was chicken's feet, I sampled once more. Not bad!
A year later in Taipei, I tried BBQed chicken's feet. Much better! Then tried chicken's feet at a dim sum restaurant in Houston and wasn't impressed. I suppose American chicken's feet just don't make the cut! Since then, I've retired from eating chicken's feet. However, IMO it is pig's feet that deserves the "yuk" more than chicken's. They look disgusting, but actually aren't too bad.
Ken, the "ugh" sound would pass for "yuk" here in the States too!
GREAT LESSON! Keep the "Hungry Traveler" lessons coming!