Leaving Taiwan: Taoyuan International Airport

This is a continuation of this post (Sick in Taiwan).

Tuesday morning began early. The nurses came in sometime around six to do some blood work. I couldn’t sleep after that. Everything was already packed, I was just waiting for the doctor to discharge me and fill out the insurance papers.

The doctor came in and gave me the news.

All the tests came back negative! I wouldn’t have to end my month-long trip to Asia early! Wohoooo!

Fast forward to when we (my parents, aunt and I) were dropped off at the Taoyuan International Airport. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, although Mom kept trying to rush us. We checked in our luggage and went through the security checkpoints.

I was starving! I don’t even remember what I had for breakfast. We went up the escalator and found the small food court.

I knew exactly what I wanted to eat. Soup dumplings! I already had my fill of life changing dim sum in Hong Kong.

As for everyone else, they couldn’t make up their minds. I suggested that Mom try the beef noodle soup from the Casa Mila Café. Dad wasn’t very hungry. He was still full from having breakfast at the hotel, but he said he'd help us eat. lol

Aunt IS got the seafood udon soup. She said that it was pretty good.

Mom’s bowl of beef noodle soup looked good. The noodles weren't the flatter noodles that is typically served with Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but it still looked very appetizing. I knew she was enjoying her bowl because she ate in silence. I asked her for her thoughts. She really enjoyed the chunks of tender beef and the deep flavour of the soup, though she would’ve liked it much more if it was spicier. Mom actually said that they had given her too much beef! Really Mom? Really? We laughed and reminded her what she had just said. She just had to complain (not that it was a bad complaint).

Dad had a bit of the beef noodle soup. He liked the noodles, which came with the beef soup that he had bought me when I was sick in the hospital, much better. I had to remind them that we were in an airport so the food wasn’t the best of the best.

While waiting for my soup dumplings to steam, I ordered a cup of boba milk tea. When my tray was ready there was a steamer of soup dumplings and a bowl of clear chicken and shiitake mushroom broth looking back at me. I gave the bowl to Dad and enjoyed the soup dumplings.

When I sat down at the table, I was warned and teased that I should take it easy.

“You just got out of the hospital. Take it easy! You don’t want to get sick on the plane, do you?”

There were a few drops of soup in the little dumplings. Good enough. It tasted like they added a bit of ginger in the filling. It was a good thing too, because the slivers of ginger on the counter were almost flavourless. The slivers of ginger were soaking in water, which sucked out the all the heat and most of the flavour. Sad. There was nothing wrong with the vinegar though.

This was probably the best meal I've had in an airport. Instead of Pizza Pizza, Tim Hortons, sports bars and corner stores with uninspiring cold sandwiches and junk food, we were eating decent Chinese food before getting on another flight. I haven't travelled very much, but I'm sure the food selection at the Taiwanese airport will be hard to top. Can I request a Casa Mila Café and an I-Mei Dim Sum stall in Canadian airports?

After lunch, we killed time on the unstable internet while waiting for our flight to Shanghai. The table was cleared and I just sat there, attempting to digest everything that happened during the Taiwan leg of the trip.

There's something weird about Taiwan. I have gotten sick not once, but twice. Weird. Not only that, but I still wasn’t able to try shaved ice or any other good Taiwanese eats. The beef noodle soup that I had during my stay was hardly the best. I don’t know what happened to my bucket list of “things to eat in Taiwan,” not that I could’ve made a dent or anything. I did knock off stinky tofu off the list though.

Most of Taiwan was a blur. It took me quite a while to look at the pictures and videos taken during our stay in Taiwan to figure out what happened. I feel really bad for what I put my family and relatives through. I have to thank everyone for their patience and for those who took care of me, thank you. If it was up to me, I’d never get sick – ever.

I’ll see you again Taiwan. And next time, I’ll have my bucket list with me.


<<
Sick in Taiwan

>>
Arriving in Shanghai: Muslim Restaurant
____________________________________________________________

More links from the Tea in Asia 2011 trip:

• Arriving in HK: Hello from Hong Kong!
• Day Trip to Macau: Window Shopping in Macau
• Arriving in Guilin, China: Breakfast and Tea Tasting
• Arriving in Taiwan: Seafood Dinner