Yesterday, I picked up my wife from her work in a taxi and we went out to exchange some jade bracelets that I gotten her for our anniversary two weeks ago. They were too big. She browsed around, got what she wanted and we left for lunch @ Diamond Tony‘s, at Taipei 101’s 85F. You have to enter through the Xinyi side entrance of Taipei 101, the one that goes directly to the elevators. Once aboard, you are whisked to the 60F, then transfer over to another elevator which goes to the 85F.
It was my wife’s birthday and I wanted to do something special. Lunch was great, but the view was awesome. If you’ve never been to Diamond Tony’s, it’s well worth the detour. I had a braised New Zealand steak, veal carpaccio, some soup, and an espresso. My wife had snapper with chive sauce, smoked salmon, and a soup as well, with a glass of house red and some coffee to finish off things.
We went by Tiffany’s to exchange her present. I had gotten her the Frank Gehry’s Orchid necklace two years ago, but I was sure that I had bought her the earrings instead. So I had bought the necklace twice. It was kind of funny. We exchanged the Orchid necklace for the Orchid earrings and were whisked away.
I had told my wife to pack an overnight bag, but didn’t go into any details. I had made reservations at The Grand Hotel. It was between that and the Far Eastern Plaza’s Shangri-La. The Shangri-La is more expensive, but The Grand Hotel is more iconic. My wife was really surprised when we arrived. Plus, we had a Deluxe Room with a king-sized bed.
It was pretty nice. The bathroom could have been updated, but otherwise, the room was spacious and large. We relaxed for a few hours and then went out to dinner. What was really nice is that we didn’t have any cell phones, internet, or anything to distract us. I had brought a book. My wife had brought nothing but a dress and some underwear. I had made reservations at the Golden Dragon, one of the restaurants at The Grand Hotel. We arrived, checked out the menu, and left almost immediately. It was traditional Chinese food, not Cantonese or Sichuan, like was led to believe.
Instead, we went into Taipei to eat at Evan’s Burger. Unfortunately, the fried food was too much for me. I only ate a few onion rings and had them pack up the rest. We popped in to our place to feed the pets, walk the dog and put him in his kennel. We changed and I downloaded The Hangover. We made our way back to our room at The Grand Hotel and had a great night in watching a movie. My wife really liked this movie.
We slept in, got up at around 10:30 and left the hotel at about 11:50 to eat in Taipei again before we went home to Banciao. We ate at Grandma Nitti‘s and it was pretty good. I had a Cajun rib-eye steak with a baked potato, nachos with cheese, soup, and a small salad. My wife had her favorite: a chicken enchilada. We came back home thoroughly relaxed today.
Diamond Tony’s is really worth the detour. It’s located on the 85F of the Taipei 101 building. On top of having good food, they have the incredible view. You have to reserve early to get a window seat. Set menus start at around 800NT and go up to 2,250NT, without alcohol. The veal carpaccio was really good. There were shaved slices of whole lemon on it, that you could just eat. They tasted great with the veal.
Evan’s Burger is a nice burger joint, but the fried food was too much for me. They make really good burgers though. Plates start at 200NT and go up, depending on what you choose. Unlimited soda refills are nice. On Wednesday’s, you can get a cheeseburger for 100NT.
Grandma Nitti’s was good as well. Meals start at 200NT and go up. It was 460NT for my steak with the set meal, including coffee, soup, salad, and desert. Mondays are supposed to be half price. The cats inside Grandma Nitti’s were really cute.
My wife had a great time and she was really happy to spend the day away from our usual daily grind. She said that this was her best birthday ever. That put a smile on my face.
memoirs on a rainy day 
Leave a comment