Day 4 - Taipei Holiday Trip - Dinner at Brundi Cafe

It was still drizzling in Taipei tonight. The weather was really cold. We wanted to bring Angeline out for dinner but she refused to walk out from her room. After Shirley promised her that she could wash her hair if she walked down to the hotel's cafe and have dinner, she agreed. We went to Brundi Cafe, the only cafe that available in our hotel.

We had been staying in the hotel for few days but little do we know that there is a cafe in our hotel until this early afternoon when we asked the receptionists.

Smoked Chicken Set + Hot Longan Drink NT$185

By looking at the nice cafe setting and cute waitresses, we were not really confident with their food. However, it proved us wrong when the Smoked Chicken Set was served. The Smoked Chicken tasted really good. The meat was tender and juicy. It tasted like unsweetened Char Siu.

Too bad that Angeline had a poor appetite. Paul and Shirley cut some chicken meat for her to eat with some rice. That's all she had for dinner.

Grilled Mackerel Set + Longan Drink NT$174

The Longan Drink was a little bit too sweet. The Grilled Mackerel was very fresh. Apart from that, nothing to shout home about. The braised egg, pickles and preserved beancurd (cold dishes) that comes with the set tasted not bad.

Tonkatsu + Soup NT$99

Among all the sets, the Tonkatsu Set was the cheapest. Taste wise, it was not bad. The pork chop was fried till crispy. We asked for mayonnaise as a condiment to go with the pork chop. It tasted more flavourful to be eaten like this as the batter of the pork chop was quite thick. The corn soup was quite creamy and rich in corn taste.

Steamed Fish Set + Soup NT$180

The Steamed Fish is very special. They used the local ingredients to steamed the fish, some kind of preserved vegetables and herbs. It was very good. The beancurd that comes with the fish was really smooth and goes very well together with the sauce.

Jelly dessert (comes with the sets)

The Jelly had a strong orange flavour. Sweet and a little sourish. The texture was QQ and smooth. Yummy!

Paul wanted to end the meal with another dessert. He ordered the Waffle to bring up to our room and eat together with the supermarket bought imported ice-cream (Meiji Green Tea and Red Bean Ice Cream).

Waffle NT$78

The Waffle was very thick but it was crispy outside and soft inside. It had a strong eggs aroma and doesn't tasted doughy. Fresh fruits and honey was served together with the waffle.

Today's Meditation:
Humility does not mean false modesty. Humility does not mean taking a back seat. When you take a back seat consciously and deliberately in order to show others how humble you are, you are not being humble at all. False humility is what slaves show to their masters. Slaves know that if they do not obey their masters blindly, if they do not show this kind of outer humility, the master will punish them. True humility is something totally different; it is the feeling of oneness. Humility means giving joy to others. Here on earth we want to get joy. But how do we get joy? Real joy we get from self-giving, not by possessing or by showing our own supremacy. When we allow others to get joy, then we feel that our joy is more complete, more perfect, more divine. By making others feel that they are either equally important or more important, we show our
true humility.

Sri Chinmoy

I would love to be truly humble, but I'm not very good at it. I try to be, but there's this thing called "ego" that gets in the way. There's a part of me that needs recognition, that needs to feel that others have acknowledged me and appreciated me and even maybe admired me, and that part of me doesn't like to see my humble self put into practice and strengthened.

From experience, though, I know that humility is one of the traits that opens more doors to other people's hearts than any other. When I'm humble, people tend to trust me, they tend to be willing to confide in me and allow me to help them. When I listen to them rather than telling them about me, they appreciate my attention and they tend to be willing to disclose more to me. These things make them feel better, and that's one of the ways that humility serves them.

Humility is the act of kindness with no recognition for someone to whom that act will be helpful; it's allowing others to take credit without diminishing their true accomplishments with a story about mine, as long as their claims are true and fair; it's serving others without letting them walk all over us. Humility often requires us to do a balancing act between serving and being fair. It's great to let someone else take credit, but if we know that person is lying and will face awful consequences down the road for the dishonesty, then our humility is false, and it doesn't serve that person at all. If someone is abusing us or our goodness, allowing that person to continue by playing the humble servant is destructive to both of us.

If my humility would hurt another person or other people, then I believe it's time for me to put it in my back pocket and pull out the equally powerful aspects of myself that are called truth and straightforwardness. Just as some people aren't ready to deal with love or a new job or responsibility, some aren't ready or able to deal with humility in someone else without trying to take advantage of it. I try to be humble always, but I also want to be honest and helpful to others who may need my help.


We have learned about true humility. To be humble is to surrender, to give up trying to change people or circumstances, to give up trying to force our will upon others. Humility is being quiet, being at rest, and being confident that God is present in every situation. Humility is being at peace, always.

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