16.5.2024 Thursday - submitting BP

In the middle of the afternoon, I walk over to Sean and JY and ask 'what are we printing the BP dwgs for Springvale?'. His answer - 'now'. Good news - the client can sign off this chapter and we can move on to the construction stage. 

Later this evening, I find out the Teck has been calling Sean directly about Springvale, this is a good thing. Both are training their sons to take on new responsibilities and work scope. 

8.5.2024 Wednesday - Zhongli to Taipei

Our room faces the street behind this building. The campus is very welcoming to the local neighbours who walk through, exercise and play sports in the grounds. 

That afternoon, we arrive in Taipei hungry but in luck. We joined this queue for this locally sought after lunch of braised pork rice. 

Our lunch, about 200 TWD. RM 30 plus

Our room isn't ready after lunch, so something sweet with a coffee. 

At 9am Eric takes us for breakfast nearby, it's recommended by one of his students - a 'young' place serving comfort food. It is not the street breakfast I am hoping for, but never mind. Eric wants me meet some of the folks at the review, I am thinking that it's like a warm up for me.

He introduces me to 小王, an old gentleman who is Sheng Feng's business partner. SF has mentioned me to him, saying I'm a good architect. This is a compliment I'm not used to hearing, and think that they are simply being gracious like how Taiwanese are.

11 am. We take the board to Taipei, no seats but it is a cheap fare. After locating our hotel CitizenM we have lunch nearby: stewed pork, fish and rice.

We enjoy our room until early dinner time, and went for walk. As usual, we cannot decide what to eat, but settle on a soupy portion rib noodle sharing a table with a local. Tomorrow, we have Lin SF at 1pm to visit his newly completed National Museum of History. 

Part 3 - Sumptuous Shi Yang

This took place in March last year. 

It is proof that Chinese people will travel long distances to eat well. We drove out of Taipei to eat lunch at Shi Yang Culture restaurant. A long drive followed by a long walk along a mountain path brought us to the entry gateway of this famous restaurant. Seating is by appointment only and the menu is not published – the chef decides what you eat, which he decides based on the catch of the day and what is available in his organic garden.

 
Seating is by appointment only and the menu is not published – the chef decides what you eat and he decides based on the catch of the day and what is available in his organic garden. The low slung double storey building of steel and timber is set into the hillside, indeed there were cave-like dining niches accompanied by airy tatami rooms. 

There are Japanese influences in the architecture as well as the cuisine. For two hours, cuisine, culture and architecture converged lazily over an 11-course lunch. We were captivated by the dishes set in front of us, each a work of art in taste and appearance. And in between courses, our attention was captured by the views of the mountains in front of us.

So for a long time, the only sounds were made by the gentle scrapping of chopsticks against the bottom of porcelain bowls and a few discreet burps.

 

Beitou Library, Taipei

I sketched from a kerbside bench

While my travel companions soaked in hot thermal baths that Beitou is famous for; I stayed out of doors and took in the sights in this scenic hillside town. The tiny park in the centre of the Hot Springs area has two architectural gems; one new and one older. The new and more striking one is the Beitou Library with its large oversailing roof and timber clad exterior.

A few starting lines to help the eye to register want the hand attempts to do

Add details only when the framework is to your liking

Add shadows and textures to bring out the forms

The details shown here were added while waiting for our flight home

..and the colours were added at home.

When we visited the Japanese Museum at Beitou, the brick and timber appeared to glow in the late afternoon light. I stood in its garden by the river and looked at it for a long moment - watching visitors stroll along its verandahs. 

Kuching - Singapore - Taipei

Twenty of us traveled to Taipei with an overnight layover in Singapore - architects, two chefs, a surveyor and some of their spouses. Our hotel was in Little India where streets were lined with shops selling Indian food, I knew it would be an eventful trip when a female voice behind me called out to the tour guide in Mandarin "Miss, is there anything nice to eat around here?"

 Two important things happened to me on this short stop in Singapore; my initiation to Handburger's "Burger with the Lot" and my first visit to Mustapha's - Little India's 24-hour department store.

At 5 a.m.the next morning, we were at Changi Terminal One again to board Jetstar 3K 721 to Taipei.

Next stop Taipei