What to do when some members of your party are conscious vegetarians, but others are not yet so enlightened? One solution could be dining at Metro Bodhi, an urban-Buddhist themed restaurant that open mindedly caters to vegetarians, those who like wholesome food, and those who still want some animal protein. And it has some of the most innovative selections of Western-style vegetarian food that I have come across in Taipei.
It’s on again … the annual fair to get rid of all your clutter (ah hem, treasures), and to perhaps pick up some bargains at the same time. It’s the place to be if you are setting up your nest in Taipei, or preparing to go home over the summer.
Do you like artisan, handmade soaps? I admit to having a serious weakness for luxurious soaps. The real stuff: none of this cheap shower gel or body wash. When I was at school and university, I used to invest my part-time job earnings into nice soaps, maximising their effectivness by putting them in my lingerie drawer. Oh, how I love the aroma of genuine essential oil soap (especially lavendar). Or of energing cinnamon scrubs, with citrus peels and the promise of making the new day fresh and exciting.
I was honored recently to be interviewed on Radio Taiwan International on their Feast Meets West program. I had so much fun chatting with Andrew and Ellen about how I became a Taiwanxifu, why I started blogging and the benefits of Chinese postpartum confinement (zuo yuezi).
What is it like to run a baby hotel? And what do most Taiwanese women expect when they stay in one? Do women sneak out? Are babies put on strict schedules? In my quest to learn more about Chinese postpartum confinement — zuo yuezi – centers (aka baby hotels), I interviewed Ms Jill Tseng, Service Manager at the Wenhua-Garden Postpartum Nursing Home.
Ms Jill Tseng and the staff at Wenhua-Garden Postpartum Nursery Home
A nourishing and warming soup suitable for eating after childbirth, inspired by my recent stay at the luxurious Wenhua-Garden Postpartum Nursing Home. But you don’t need to have a baby to enjoy this.
An article I wrote about my experiences breastfeeding in Taiwan has been published in the May edition of the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s magazine, Essence. I am, as always, thrilled to have had an article published in Essence, a magazine that I read avidly when I had my first son.
Attention Taiwan college students: want to improve your English skills, develop confidence in public speaking AND have the opportunity to win fabulous prizes including two study tours to Australia (one at the prestigious Australian National University, and the second at the renowned University of Canberra).
I have always been fascinated with Taiwanse-style postpartum confinement centres (aka baby hotel), having an almost voyeuristic need to find out what happens behind the scenes. So I was so excited to sleepover at the luxurious, newly opened Wenhua-Garden Postpartum Nursing Home. And it was so good that I even kept catching myself saying ‘next time I have a baby, I’m definitely coming here’.
Chinese postpartum confinement centres (aka zuo yuezi centres or baby hotels) are all the rage in Taiwan (and increasingly also in China and places were there are large Chinese communities). Mothers can check in and relax in hotel-like accommodation, with dedicated nursing staff to attend to her and her baby’s needs. I have always wondered what it would be like to stay in one. And now I have had my chance, when I overnighted at the Wenhua Garden Postpartum Nursing Centre. Read on for part one in a three-part series about what life is like in a luxury baby hotel.
