I have not forgotten about the last 8 months

Done!

8 months is a long time, but NO, I have not forgotten my little corner of the internet I call Cantaloupealone. You may recall I took a chance and opened a restaurant called Loft Bistro and Wine Bar Cafe in 2012. The food was good! It was a special year for my partners and I. Crossing a sea, starting a business in a foreign country, pulling off a menu that people liked, paid money for and came back to eat over and over again. It was hard, too hard, or ambitious for a first move. Food prices went up, our identity, menu, and pricing floundered, we had bad customer return rates. Recently we sold to another restaurateur who has renamed it Aug. Bistro Cafe. I haven't been in, but I believe its serves brunch. I like to think of all this as an amazing entry to entrepreneurship and don't have any regrets.

 Some of the amazing reviews we received on Trip Advisor.

Wow, I mean WOW. This guy gets it. For the record this was our number one customer. I did encourage him to write this review, but I didn't ask him to say all this articulate, wonderful things.

I know your first question! When is Naomi moving back? I am not, or not for a time. I want to make Taipei my life. I like eating here, I like beaches, I like jungles, I like fancy bars, I like biking around a city with a view of green mountains in the background, I like nice people without big attitudes, I like a mixture of technology, modernism and touches of history, I like my boyfriend too. I like the Taiwan lifestyle and pace. Plus, now is a good time not to be in the states. Call me a quitter, but the political atmosphere is hopelessly depressing. I want and can get health care without a hassle here.

Friends who stand by you get giant blocks of chocolate, ham, and truffle sauce. Not to mention a liter of hot sauce

Going from all restaurant, all the time to no restaurant is a pretty big life change. 200 miles an hour, 6 days a week to a dead stop. I briefly visited America to see family and catch a friend's wedding soon after closing. With barely 24 hours in a row in NYC I didn't even get to eat a cronut no less see all the people I miss. Otherwise back in Taipei I've been eating pizza, trying yoga, sleeping, learning (sorta) bookkeeping, reading management books like a dork, practicing mandarin, and really thinking about what direction I should take next.

After many afternoons fixating on nonsense, submerged in the sensory deprivation tank that is my tiny apartment I realized learning mandarin Chinese is my first step at getting back out there. I might have another food business in mind. I don't know exactly what, and need time to develop ideas. I want to take in Taipei from different perspectives. Understand trends and people, both foreign and local, maybe give back as much as I've taken.

And you! Me, this, this blog. I love writing about food. Believe it or not I am 100% kitchen-less now. Crazy, right! I have hot plate, a cutting board, and a bathroom sink. I am a student, and living it up as so. I still prepare about 75% of my meals at home, and I'm happy to share how I make all of that possible without even a refrigerator.  I am revisiting the "Comfort Food for the Uncomfortable Cooks" days of my life.  Expect to see more lifestyle Taipei-based posts. There is a storm of ideas on reviewing food stuffs and guides to good living on its way. Thanks to those who keep checking back in! Reading words on the internet (rather than looking at photos or videos) is so twentieth century, but you're probably a special and timeless person.