My 30th birthday in Diamond Tony's 101 Observatory Restaurant in Taipei

Dining exquisite food on top of Taipei 101 with a gorgeous lady

How to put such amazing experience into words? It's impossible. And I don't want to talk too much, let the photos do the talking. But I need to mention how it all started. I just turned 30. And few days ago, before my birthday, my wonderful girlfriend Lily told me, that she plans a big surprise on my birthday. I only knew, that we'll be going somewhere, but I had no clue where. I try to ask many times, but she won't tell or she'd make up something else to confuse me. Today she came to me around midday and we spent the afternoon together, anticipating the evening. She looked stunning, when I saw her. All dolled up in a wonderful dress and high-heels. She was always beautiful to me in so many ways, but today she topped all that and looked more gorgeous than ever.

We took the subway to Taipei City hall station around 5pm and walked around a little. I started to guess all kinds of silly things, like: Are we going to a night club? Will there be naked girls dancing for me? I became nervous. She just wouldn't tell, although I had a strong suspicion, that we'll go somewhere near Taipei 101. And then the clock turned 6 and she told me: We're going on top of Taipei 101, on the 85th floor. I was like: Wow! Amazing! And I started to look up on top of the building. It was a humbling moment. The photo above was taken around 6pm.

We went to the 85th floor of Taipei 101, which is located somewhere in the middle of the last 8th segment of the building (see arrow) very close to the roof. The height is around 370m, the highest I've ever been. The restaurant's name is Diamond Tony's 101 Observatory Restaurant, which serves Italian food. There are two more restaurants on top of Taipei 101: Another one also on the 85th floor, offers Taiwanese food and it's named Shin Yeh 101 欣葉. And above these two, occupying the whole 86th floor, is a Japanese restaurant named XEX. I'm perfectly happy with the restaurant Lily chose, because the food was the best I've ever eaten. More about that later.

How to come here: Go to the MRT Taipei City Hall station and walk south. You'll see Taipei 101 from afar easily, because it's so tall. You have to enter from the Xin Yi road.

Off to the elevators, the fastest in the world!

In the fastest ascending elevator in the world. It was a great experience.

We were taken to 65th floor, which took us about 30 seconds. Then we were directed to another elevator, that took us to the 85th floor, which took another 10 seconds. And then we were there, at the Diamond Tony's 101 Observatory Restaurant or 隨意鳥地方 101 高空觀景餐廳 in Chinese. Because the restaurant has to be booked, Lily's name was checked and then we were let inside.

The entrance of Diamond Tony's on top of Taipei 101.

The bar on 370m.

We were brought to our table for two, the one on the left was ours.

This was our neighboring table. If you get this one, you have a magnificent view.

This one is set for a group of people. Do you see the table setting? Perfect, isn't it?

The first thing we did was taking a look down. I felt like I'm on a plane.

The view of Taipei below was amazing! Don't you agree?

A view to the other side: The restaurant. It was full around 7pm, because of dinner time.

The waiters and waitresses were extremely polite and did a great job. We were given the menu soon after being seated and a glass of water was poured for us. We didn't wait long for the first starter.

1 First starter: Bread and tuna dip is served to every guest as the first starter

2 Second starter: Left is my salad with raw salmon, right is Lily's salad with beef: Delicious!

3 Soup: Left is my creamy mushroom soup, right is Lily's tomato soup (I think). Yummy!

4 Third starter: I thought this was the duck, the main dish I ordered, but it was chicken (I guess). It was very soft and tasty. I loved it.

Lily ordered a prawn with dumplings, that had a prawn inside. It tasted great.

5 Main dish: Finally, my duck. It was really soooooooo yummy, one of the best meals I've ever eaten. The duck was so soft, the sauce was great. And there was a piece of pork and a beef steak in contrast of the soft duck. The steak was raw inside, but yummy. Really an amazing dish.

Lily ordered prawn again. She regretted ordering it twice, but it was yummy nevertheless.

~.~

Then came my surprise: The waitress brought a chocolate muffin for my birthday and of course that was organized by Lily, who had a naughty smirk on her face, when she saw my surprise. She said I had three wishes free, but I should not reveal them. I quickly came up with three things I really wish would happen to me and to give you a hint: One is related to a woman, one is related to a country and another is related to... Can't tell ya! ;-)

I quickly noticed that an "h" is missing. Oh oh, what is that? Engrish on my birthday? Haha. Another reason, why Taiwan needs more English teachers, hehe :-P That was the only 'flaw' of the evening.

~.~

6 Dessert: Both had the same dessert and it was small, simple, but yummy.

On top of that, we also ordered coffee for me and tea for Lily, plus two glasses of excellent Chardonnay to say cheers to my 30th birthday. Food and drink wise it was the best dinner of my life. And of course the I enjoyed the best view and had the best and most beautiful lady by my side. It just couldn't be less than perfect. Sorry for the gourmets among you, I'm not so good with the names of the dishes, I just eat them, hehe.

After the last bite and sip, we took tons of photos like most of the visitors did. There was even a live band playing all kinds of music, from jazzy stuff to some modern hits like Lady Gaga's "Just Dance". It was funny, when I heard Gaga's song, because we have birthday on the same day. I was wondering, how she's celebrating. Does she have more fun than me? Who knows...

A short video to give you an idea of the ambiance in Diamond Tony's 101

The video is not of good quality, but it will give you a little idea of the restaurant.

There's really nothing to criticize in this restaurant. The waiting staff is polite and works fast and they all speak English. The food is top notch. A small inconvenience are the long dining, which make it hard for two people to talk. But maybe it was because of the music, I don't know. We still had a great time, the food was so delicious, we had no time to chit chat.

Some more photos for you to enjoy:

The great view from the window behind Lily's chair.

Lily taking photos. She used a saucer to bring the camera in a better position. Smart.

One of the best photos of Taipei at night.

Taipei, city of lights.

The table next to us. People enjoying themselves.

The live band with the delightful female singer.

The way to the toilet, that comes with a marvelous view. But I have no pics.

When leaving 101, we were greeted by a full moon.

All in all, it was really a great day, a day I will never forget. I celebrated my 30th birthday on top of the famous Taipei 101, former highest building of the world and current second. Guess what, it was also a first time for Lily to be on top of the building, although she's from Taipei (actually Yingge), but she had to wait all these years for me to finally make it on top of Taipei 101. That's why it was a special occasion for both of us. It was really a day both of us won't ever forget.

Thank you so much, Lily, for giving me the best experience of my life. You made it so special for me, I was really touched. And thank you for the card, for organizing everything and for the big surprise. And thanks for treating me. You're simply amazing and I love you.

[All pics by MKL, 2010][Related: Taipei 101 and my girlfriend's post]

[Price of the dinner for 2: Around 100€]