Some of the more interesting optional large classes have finally started this week! So in preparation for my nice 2 hour gap in-between classes, I looked up study cafes nearby Shida online, and found Mooi Trouve a mere 5 minutes walk away from campus. The main draw for me was that it was apparently once a Japanese-style residential building that has since been renovated into a cafe that is part antiques shop and part coffee house. Quite the intrigue.
Mooi Trouve is tucked unassumingly into a quiet, residential neighborhood; I would not have noticed the cafe if I didn’t know what to look for. Luckily I had spent some time looking up pictures through various blogs the night before, so I recognized its quaint tile roofing, and ventured inside.
I spent some time looking around the small L-shaped antiques shop section before sitting down. They had a small piano, among other small housewares and trinkets that all seemed quite pricey (hipster price).
Although I am Taiwanese by blood, and I do understand Chinese pretty fluently, I find that there are many times I still feel like a foreigner. I stared at the Chinese menu for 15 minutes before giving up and asking for the English menu, which was fortunately available. Maybe it’s just me but I really hate asking for the English menu, which is like obnoxiously holding up a sign that I am not native, and the waiters start motioning and pointing at things as if I don’t understand Chinese at all -_______-.
Anyway, I ordered a chicken pasta salad as it was one of the only things that wasn’t a sandwich, and a toffee latte. The cold salad was just ok since I’m not really a cold pasta type of person, but the latte was quite good.
In conclusion I was really digging the vibe at Mooi Trouve—very hipster, quiet, and study-friendly with outlets available along the walls. However, I would go elsewhere for a meal.
thejjchronicles 