Kat's 9 Lives

For those in the know, a common fun Japanese snack is the Tokyo Banana! The first time I ever heard about it, I thought it was a frozen banana.  It's actually a banana cream inside a moist cake.

This is my first time back to Taiwan since I was 5 years old and I was super excited at all the possibilities! Needless to say I brought empty suitcases and filled them up to the brim before coming back! lol One of the places that I was most excited to visit was 7 Eleven as I heard it was completely different from what the US offered. There is literally one of these or another chain that is 24/7 every block or half block in Taipei, Taiwan.
I was happy to find out that there was one DIRECTLY across from my hotel and needless to say I was there every day at least once or more. The one thing that I was looking forward to the most was getting my fill on Yakult! I HATE that the US charges a ridiculous CRV on those tiny @$$ bottles, which cannot be recycled! I would be okay with the charge if you could actually recycle it. In Taiwan, there is no such thing as CRV and the drink is so cheap. It's only 8 NT and it was worth it! I probably drank over 30 of those suckers in the short week I was there lol.
The 7 Eleven also offers a variety of prepared foods and what I loved was the onigiris! Cheap and tasty. They are offered as combo meals too, but I didn't quite like the drinks so I just started buying them individually. The onigiris run about 25 NT, which is less than $1! Oh how I already miss Taiwan! lol My favorite flavor was the wasabi salmon.
Each store may offer a slightly different choice. Some offered tea eggs or odens, which was nice. You can purchase a wide variety of snacks and drinks. There are some great instant noodles that you can buy and immediately add hot water to and eat on the spot.
The fun part is you are 'rewarded' for shopping there. They have monthly programs of special items that you can purchase at a discount price once you collect enough stickers. Somehow in the short time we were there, we collected enough stickers and ended up trading it in 4 times to collect the item. Of course all the desirable items like the cute blanket and footwarmer were sold out everywhere, but we still chose something fun. Be sure to check out the 7 Elevens if you've never been to Taiwan. I already miss them! =9
7 Eleven
Lane 107, Linsen N Rd, Zhongshan District 
Taipei City, Taiwan 104

If you love the taste of truffles, then you have to try Luke's Organic White Truffle and Sea Salt Potato Chips. The aromatic fragrance will soothe your senses. I couldn't get enough of these at the Winter Fancy Food Show. It definitely is not the easiest product to find in the market but thank goodness to the wide array of online specialty websites that carry this product.

I have had many 'truffled' potato chips but none can hold a candle to the delicate yet sumptuous flavor Luke's has to offer. They really have captured the essence of the white truffle. It's not too overpowering as some of their competitor brands that over salt the chips. I can sit down and eat a whole bag in an instant! Be sure to look for this in the market or pick up a bag online to see for yourself. =D

Many people have been anticipating the Hello Kitty Cafe opening at Irvine Spectrum.  It's literally just a container with a few tables and some sweet treats plus drinks.  Beware : They tend to run out of items quite quickly and the lines can be long.  I even went about 1 hr after they opened and a bunch of items were already out.  My pal really wanted the Birthday Cake and it was sold out.  I wanted the Macarons and of course they were gone too.

The photos for Zero Degrees really caught my eyes.  Since Ms. Lin Guide and I was in Rowland Heights for a meal, I had to stop by.  The craze now is to have glass bottles to take home and to reuse if you like.  Recently I bought my own cold press/slow juicer, these bottles really come in handy at home when I am juicing watermelons.  The only gimmick is that the glass bottles hold less liquid compared to their plastic cups, which I thought was a jip for the price you pay...
Hence I bought one bottle and one plastic cup O=D.  One souvenir bottle for each was enough.  They offer a very small menu to choose from with some interesting concoctions.  I decided to try the Matchata (Matcha + Horchata) and Strawberry Mojito.  Don't worry there's no alcohol and for those who wish they served alcohol, sorry!
The Matchata was interesting in taste as you can taste the matcha powder with a strong sweet horchata flavor fighting to be the strongest flavor.  If you like sweet milky drinks, then this is the drink for you.
I had high hopes for the Strawberry Mojito ever since TP's wedding.  The one at Zero Degrees was a little too sour and underflavored for my taste.  I want the strawberry flavor to really pop with the mint.  Their versions was really soda watery and sour... pass!

The best reason to go is to take the beautiful photos! I really loved the wings painted on the wall but it was really hard to take photos because there isn't much space between tables and the wall.  The place was packed and I didn't want to invade other people's space to take my photos.  Hopefully, you, can still enjoy the ones I took.  =D Cheers!

Zero Degrees
17575 Colima Rd
City of Industry, CA 91748
(626) 810-1714

Currently my favorite drink is their Orange Passionfruit Green Tea where they use real fresh squeezed orange juice that adds a nice refreshing flavor to the drink.  The Watermelon Slush is made with fresh watermelon and is very refreshing after hot pot or on a hot day.  I tried some of their other concoctions that were a little off for my taste, but interesting combos.  They have a Grapefruit Rose Green Tea and Lala Land Slush, which consists of guava and strawberry slush.  Each drink contains some fresh fruits.  The flavor combos were a little off for me but definitely points for creation! So if you like good tea drinks and are willing to pay the price, I'd definitely come here.  They also offer free wi-fi and have very friendly service.

Tea Bar Metro
18174 Pioneer Blvd 
Artesia, CA 90701 
(562) 865-0888