礁溪飲食

we went to a steakhouse, taiwanese style.  what do they have on the menu?  "American style bbq pork rib".  sounds promising.  we ordered it.  and...

this was an atrocity.  an affront to all the bbq ribs in the world.  it was a wrong cut.  the membrane on the back of the rack was not remove.  it was charbroiled and tough instead of slow-smoked to a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.  and it has no bbq sauce.  it was the most horrible bbq ribs i've ever tasted. 

to wash the horror away, we went to a craft brew restaurant.  they have a green-algae beer (yes, really, and it's grassy green) on the menu that weren't currently available.  so we ordered a dark and a wheat. pretty good.

礁溪漫步

五峰旗瀑布

跑馬古道

蘭陽平原

礁溪易遊居

new year hotel were hard to book and expensive.  i ended up booking 2 nights for the end of new year at a loft-style hot spring hotel in 礁溪。

the first floor of the loft.  first thing kevin tend to do at all the hotels was to plop down on the sofa and turn the tv on....

the hot spring was piped straight into the bathroom in a big nice stone tub.

the loft has a bed and another tv.

it is not kevin-sized....

the breakfast was sent up to the room every morning.  looks pretty good right?  but kevin hated it so much...  he complains about the bread, the sandwich, the salad, the mayonnaise.   this theme shall persist in our travel.  he practically threw tantrums when unpalatable food should cross his way.  should i call him an uncompromising gourmand or a picky whiny eater?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

dark washroom

the bathroom is kind of dim, as a result, kevin often shaved badly. 

Ocean in the Washroom

Hawaiian theme bar in the 101 area. 

the woman's washroom has soothing ocean sounds.  the man's washroom has vocano noises and light simulation. 

Shojo Formosa Chang