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ERC Cafe

There's a great little coffee shop called the E.R.C. Cafe' that is located at the entrance of Hwa Hsia University of Technology (華夏科技大學).  Usually, I will have my hot cup of java and sit there for hours working on my lap top.  

The customer service is exceptional, and we highly recommend this cafe' to anyone looking for a quiet place to study or work.  

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Maverick Sandwich Cargo Shop

Anyone who decides to visit Taiwan should take the LRT (Light Rail Transit).  And anyone who takes the LRT should definitely visit the Maverick Sandwich shop.  Just getting there is a surreal journey in itself, involving the MRT, then LRT, then traveling down a hill (by elevator or foot), and finally, crossing a busy highway.  You have to be a special kind of traveller to make this journey.

But, once you get there, you can feel the isolation (and desolation) of your surroundings.  It's as peaceful and quiet as any place could be.  After walking down a gravel road, you will come across a Cargo Box and a single cook, and he will make you the best Cuban Sandwich you've ever had.  Close by, there is a cage with a squirrel and an exotic bird, sitting side by side with a Motorbike shop (also within a Cargo Box).

So, if you're looking for an otherworldly experiece, or something from the fiction pages of a comic magazine (or storyline of a Japanese sci-fi show), then this is the experience for you.  Not to mention, the food is pretty great too!


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Waffle Sandwich at the Yummy Breakfast Shop

This has to be the Galaxy's Best Breakfast Shop.  Better than the one on Mars, ten times better than the one on Pluto.  The Yummy Breakfast Shop (呀米蔬活館) has wonderful customer service and are a real staple in the community.

They will make almost any breakfast dish you ask for.  The other day, I asked for a waffle sandwich, and they custom-made it for me.  It was fantastic.

So, if you want to go to the best breakfast shop this side of Pluto, go to The Yummy Breakfast Shop (呀米蔬活館).  Great hometown atmosphere, great food.


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Dominos Pizza by the Ocean

It's a warm sunny day, and since I was only 5 minutes away from the ocean by bicycle, I figured, "Hey, why not eat some Dominio's next to the ocean today?"  So, I hopped on my bike, rode to Domino's Pizza in Hsinchu, and got a Mexican Calzone and Pepperoni Pizza.

There's nothing like the hot sun, ocean air, and eating a fresh Pepporoni Pizza.  It was the Hungry Freak equivalent of heaven.  So, if you're in Hsinchu, grab some hot Domino's, and drive west.  Eventually, you'll land next to a harbour somewhere and enjoy the feeling of the ocean air.


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Enjoying My Subway at the Library

The coolest thing about the Subway in Dali, Taichung is the location, not the food.  Situated directly in front of the Taichung Public Library (Dali Branch), it's the perfect place for reading a book or studying for an exam. You can spend several hours in the library, and then walk 50 feet to get a healthy sandwich and some freshly baked cookies.

Plus, the design of the Subway building is truly unique, with half the walls covered in windows.  The Sandwich quality always depends on the workers, but the atmosphere will always draw me back again and again.


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The Groovy Feel of Pizza Rock

The other day, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Taichung, and much to my surprise, there was a Pizza Rock across from the hotel.  Any place with the word "Rock" in the name always graps my attention.  However, it's a far cry from the Rock and Roll McDonald's or Hard Rock Cafe'.  Other than a few band posters on the wall, there's not really a lot of rock in the atmosphere.

Putting the lack of decor aside, their food is a breath of fresh air, especially in Taiwan.  Over the next few days, I tried the Pizza Rock pizza, several different paninis, and even their soup.  It really was a beckoning light in a city of hot pots and dumplings.  I really enjoyed the meals there.


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Straw Toast Breakfast Stand

In Taiwan, there are few breakfast stands as special as Straw Toast.  Every morning, they have a fresh selection of Sandwiches ready to go, and they are delicious.  Most important of all, they are super friendly and bend over backwards to help people, and that's a rare commodity in the service industry these days.

So, if you're looking for a quick sandwich and drink to pick up on the way to work, this is the place to go.


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Dreaming of Jimmy Johns Again

There are visions of Jimmy John's sandwiches in my sleep.  Specifically, the Vito Italiano, with all it's tasty and delicious grandeur.  Throw in a couple bags of barbecue potato chips and a Pepsi, and you have the perfect meal.

If you ever get a chance to travel to Chicago, definitely visit a Jimmy John's and see what makes it stand out from the other sandwich places.  It's one of the things I miss most about America.


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Feeling Blue at the Feeling Cafe

We have visited the Feeling Cafe' (感受創新健康美食) a couple of times, and each time has been a disappointing experience.  Normally, we like to write a positive review about everybody, but in this one case, we just couldn't.

As a review writer, you always try to be non-biased in your assessment of a restaurant or cafe' because you realize the power of words can have an impact on a business's bottom line.  You always want to give them the benefit of the doubt, so if you have one bad experience, then you visit another time, and give them a second chance at redemption.

However, for the first time ever, after two separate visits to the Feeling Cafe', we have to give them a thumbs down review.  After explaining what happened, you will understand why.

1st Visit:  As a foreigner, I couldn't understand the menu, so I asked the owner if he could help me choose the most popular dish.  He said that he was busy, and just ignored me.  There wasn't even another customer, it was just me.  Finally, after standing at the cash register for 30 seconds in silence, while the owner acted like I wasn't there, I just left.

2nd Visit:  One day, a couple of months later, I walked by and saw the restaurant had only six other customers.  So, I walked inside and asked the owner if he could help me choose something from the menu, just to see if his customer service skills had improved.  Once again, he said that he couldn't help me pick any food from the menu.  And once again, I just left.

So, if you want to try eating at the Feeling Cafe' (感受創新健康美食), make sure you know Chinese.  Otherwise, if you are a foreigner, please be careful going there.  To have the owner of a restaurant ignore you, and not even take your order, is the worst feeling in the world.

Note:  You can see in the picture below that the menu was only in Chinese.

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Worlds Best Grill Cheese at Toasteria Cafe

Toasteria Cafe' has been making grilled cheese sandwiches since they were a six-table shop, serving sandwiches behind a small bar.  That shop has long since gone, yet there was something special about their sandwiches back then.

In the years since, they have matured to a full scale restaurant with a humongous menu that has quadrupled in size.  Now, they serve everything from Grarlic Butter Shrimp to Morrocan Lamb, and it's wonderful. 

However, there is still some nostalgia for the small sandwich shop in days of yore, a simpler time, when they truly made the world's best grilled cheese sandwiches.

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Sandwiches at the Corner Breakfast Shop

The Meet Corner Breakfast Shop (meet Corner輕食咖啡館) is popular around the Dali, Taichung area.  Sometimes it's so crowded, people have to wait over ten minutes to get their food, however, it's worth the wait.  The staff do an excellent getting the meals out quickly.

Always clean, always polite.  It's an established local breakfast shop, and a good place to grab a quick breakfast.

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