event: TAIPEI DANGDAI INTERNATIONAL ART SHOW 2019

Hello you guys! It feels sort of strange to be typing on a laptop instead of trying to peck out letters on my iPhone, but it feels good. You know how January resolutions go, you cross your fingers and hope that it sticks at least for the first month. So here come some new posts for the few of you guys still reading, as long as my hardware and software cooperate with me! 

Wanted to share some of my fave pieces from the Taipei Dangdai (January 18-20, 2019) with you guys in case some of you wanted to catch it on its last day (Sunday, January 20, today!). Tickets at the door are NT$700. Kids under 12 are free and seniors/students/disabled are NT$400. There's some food and drinks in a mini bar in the back corner by Gastrojoy. 

I usually miss these sort of things because the word doesn't spread far enough, but luckily I had a few friends with an extra pass and they invited me along on Friday (yay for cultured friends). It's much less intimidating to walk around a show than into individual galleries, which most of us not in the art scene rarely do.

With pieces from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Europe, NY, and of course, Taipei, It's the first year for this size of an international art show it seems,  or one poised to become a "global contender." Co-founder Magnus Renfrew brings his experience from Art HK which turned into the extremely popular Art Basel in Hong Kong, and is also the co-founder of the shiny and new Art SG for Singapore. 

Walking around Taipei Dangdai, there were definitely a lot of international art galleries and art dealers in the house. Whenever there are THAT many new people in town for an event, I always wonder, where are _they_ eating in Taipei and did they come across my blog? lol!

So, anyways, here is a small glimpse from the Nangang Exhibition Hall. I'm sorry I didn't catch all the names, until walking around halfway I realized I should take notes. There's quite a lot to take in and fun to wander and gaze and admire and see which ones spark joy. 

Going to try to type up a few more posts while the words are flowing!

can't escape baby shark, THE song of 2018

events/exploreTaipei: i strongly recommend HUASHAN 1914 CREATIVE PARK

HUASHAN 1914 CREATIVE PARK
華山1914文化創意產業園區
No. 1, BaDe Road, Sec. 1
台北市八德路一段1號

MRT: Shandao Temple or ZhongXiao/Xinsheng station

hours: most shops/cafes don't open until 11AM but open until late

Free to explore/ $-$$ for eats and exhibits

website: huashan1914.com/en/

kid friendliness: yes

visit reviewed: 12/28/2014

Over the past few years, I've found myself at Huashan 1914 Cultural Park more and more. Not only has it grown over the years, it is constantly changing so there's always something to explore. What is Huashan Cultural Park and what's inside?

In 1997, a Taiwanese theater company discovered an abandoned wine & sake factory and was drawn to staging plays there. It grew into a cultural art center as local artists and the creative community used it over the years as a work space, and it became official in 2005-2007 when they restored it and it became Huashan 1914 Creative Park. The collective of buildings provides space for rotating exhibits and events, restaurants/cafes, as well as concert/music venue Legacy and SPOT Theater which shows many independent films and hosts various local film festivals.

Sometimes you might chance upon some very cool exhibits.  On this weekend in December, there was a Le Petit Prince exhibit, Aranzi exhibit, Beatles exhibit, and Sony Playstation.. Usually there's an entry fee and sometimes some are open to the public for free, like this Sony Playstation 20th anniversary event. The exhibits usually feature a number of installations and photos and take about 10-30 minutes to walk around, depending on how thorough you want to read everything and how crowded it is. TEDxTaipei has also been held here for the past few years.

The Beatles exhibition and other ones are running from December to March 2015 so if you want to have a leisurely gander then I recommend going on a weekday morning, when it will be least crowded.

We came for the Sony 20th Anniversary exhibit and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was freeee. 

Who remembers playing all of these? Man, has gaming and consoles come a long way. 

A little walk down memory lane and the history of Sony Playstation products.

Ahead of its time? Could have been the iPod? Haha.

1994 was a good year!

The main place people were waiting in line for was this little mock living room area where they set up various TVs and games and consoles from different years.

Back outside, you might find some areas of booths for local artists and crafts, as well as shops.

If it's your first time, you can find a red kiosk and take a look at the restaurants guide for the thirteen or so cafes and restaurants, including Alleycats, Trio Cafe, Deja Vu, Casa Della Pasta, VVG Thinking, and Fab Cafe which I posted about recently. There are two sections to the Huashan, divided by a parking lot, so don't forget to explore both sides if you have enough time. 

The first time I went to Huashan, I was looking for VVG Thinking, which is on the other side of the parking lot which is mostly art galleries, cafes and restaurants in towering red brick buildings. The towering chimney is part of the boiler room for the old plum wine/rice wine/red wine factories and distillery.

Repurposed areas like Huashan and the Songshan Cultural Park in the Xinyi District remind me a bit of 798 Art Zone in Beijing, both taking previously industrial spaces and transforming them into cultural hubs and creative spaces for the community. Restaurant and cafe owners like VVG's Grace Wang play a role in that as well, as the Wall Street Journal noted in their article about how Taipei is "Asia's Answer to Portland, Oregon."

And if you're in the Huashan area and you are a gadgets person, just across the street from Huashan is Guanghua Digital Plaza, as well as the new electronics mall and surrounding streets of gadgets, electronics and accessories. When I left my camera battery charging cord in LA, my dad guided me through a few random shops where I picked a replacement AV cord for a few US dollars. Not the easiest areas to explore if you don't speak Chinese or know what you want, but good if you're looking for something like Fry's Electronics in Taipei.

event: i recommend TAS FOOD FAIR 2012

TAS FOOD FAIR

at Taipei American School

No. 800, ZhongShan N. Road, Section 6, Tianmu

台北市中山北路六段800號

MRT: Mingde Station

$-$$

Kid friendliness: public event at the Taipei American School. Very kid friendly with games and bounce houses, but crowded

Visited reviewed: 10/27/2012

When I was in high school, oh so long ago, we had a food fair. I don't remember much except that we marinated chicken and made over 100 teriyaki skewers to grill, made paper signs for our booth and it was a in a dirt field at our school for students and teachers to raise money for their clubs. The food fair at the Taipei American School is a fancier and bigger version of that, with parents and local businesses doing the cooking and selling and open to the public.

With a NT$20 entrance fee, the parking lots of TAS have been converted into game booths, dessert booths and food booths. There's also performances in the center where I heard Gangnam Style being blasted at least 5 times throughout the morning.

I grabbed a sample of See's Candies...

and spied adorable bars of Halloween chocolate and custom chocolate bars from ChocoForAll.

It's best to show up early as it gets more crowded throughout the day and sometimes the food runs out and seating is limited. The first year I went, almost everything was gone as I went in the late afternoon. Last year, I grabbed some delish smoked paprika Galician styled octopus from DN Innovacion.

It's a great place to find some different flavors, with booths featuring food from Singapore (laksa and curry chicken), India, Korea, New Zealand (lamb chops), Germany (sausages and bretzels), Indonesia, Brazil, US (Costco hot dogs and chips), Taiwan, Turkey (Turkish ice cream), and more. Dishes and packaged in small portions and priced under NT$200.

Last year, I waited in line forever for sauteed mushrooms (NT$100) from Wendel's, only to have them run out when I was next in line. So this year, I had to grab a plate when the line seemed to be moving quickly. If you don't want to wait in line, you can order the mushrooms at any of their bistros.

Mmm.

I admit I'm a creature of habit, so I had to return to get my plate of Brazilian picanha bbq steak plate (NT$150). Homemade by TAS parents, it's a dish you're not going to easily find in Taipei elsewhere. I was a bit bummed to see there didn't seem to be as much steak, since they added some spicy sausage to the plate.

So good! Maybe one year they'll offer up fried plantains as a side dish.

The sun was coming out so it was time to get in line again, this time for mango snowflake shaved ice which came in a handy cone-like plastic cup, which made it easy to walk around and eat.

Cute penguin shaved ice machine.

Finally!

I didn't try it, but even the W Hotel came out this year, with some mini nachos and veggie paninis. They had some cocktails, but were sold out.

Another option for dessert this year was the new froyo player in town, Yoppi, which was on the game side of the fair. I got a small cup of original tart with two mochi toppings (NT$100).. they have a shop right near the school on ZhongShan, so was doing some promotions.

A fun and tasty event to visit if you hear about it, even if you're not a student or alumni (which I am neither!). The time changes every year, but is usually around October. TAS also has various other events open to the public during the year, as does TES, the European School, but the food fair is the only one I've ended up checking out. Expect to wait in a lot of lines, but bring some friends and flashback to your days in high school.