W A N D E R L U S T; Taipei

FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. 

Basically what i think about when i reminisce my time in Taipei.

Day 1

From Taoyuan Airport, we headed towards the airport bus terminal to catch a bus that will bring us to Taipei Main Station. We were a little lost upon arriving at Taipei Main Station because we didnt know it consists of both railway train and MRT. 

Oh, inserting a little rant here. I experienced bad service almost throughout my stay in Taiwan. When i was asking for directions to get to the MRT, i had to repeat myself a few times before the passenger service staff understood what i was talking about. And after he understood, he scolded me because i used a different term from theirs. I honestly didnt know they termed it differently back then. Getting yelled at because i said 地鐵 instead of 捷運 was one. I even got glares from sales people because i wanted to try on different pairs of shoes/sizes. This happened in pretty much all the shoe shops I've been to. They hate it when you ask for a pair of shoe only for trying purposes.

Generally speaking, roadside stall owners were friendly. Even strangers on streets were friendly. Don't really understand why i had problems with the 'professionals'. So yeah, i was a little disappointed because i went with the expectations that Taiwanese are known to be welcoming :(

Bus tickets

One thing i really like about Taiwan is their MRT. Its always spacious and the possibility of you getting a seat is really quite high. Even their peak periods are not as crazy as Singapore's. Perhaps its because majority of the Taiwanese owns a motorbike. But i really enjoyed the fact i didnt have to be squeezed by people.

Conan is big here in Taiwan!

The hotel we stayed at was located at Ximen. A pretty decent hotel except the breakfast served had very limited options. Anyway, we had to wait till the afternoon to check in so after dumping our luggages at the front desk, we head on to the famous 永和豆漿 to grab a bite. The queue was pretty long for 9am weekday. But it lived up to its reputation. The food was sooooo good.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Yong He Dou Jiang（永和豆漿）

Headed back to shop at Taipei Main Station (they have underground malls!) before grabbing Mala Hotpot lunch woohoo. If you want to hoard back shoes, please do so at their underground malls! They have many different shoe stalls and their prices are usually around SGD16 or less!!

Too busy eating to take a decent photo.

We went to Shida Night Market that night and bought... nothing except food. Haha. There are many 'must try' food listed on the web that is found in Shida. There was also a super long queue at one 破咯包 (polo bun stall). Clothes wise, the shops there are really pretty and they market their clothes quite well. Unfortunately, they are also pricey (comparable to SG). Most likely because its main customers are the young crowd since major universities were located near it. I actually saw something that i really liked but eventually didnt buy any from there because i didnt think it was worth it. And guess what! When i went to Danshui the next day, i saw the exact same piece selling at half priced at a roadside stall! #score.

Day 2

Took the MRT to Xinbeitou where it's famous for its hot springs.

Oh yeah, you can collect stamps at every MRT station.

Cant remember why i did this pose. Maybe because it was SO FREAKING HOT?!

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Thermal Valley  
*only because it is picturesque.

Ahh, the thermal valley where you feel as if you are in an outdoor sauna. See that white mist? That's steam. The water itself is at 90 degrees celcius. We thought we knew what perspiration was before reaching thermal valley. We thought wrong. Nothing compares to that steaming heat.

We opted for a public hot spring because my cousins were scared of the idea of being naked in front of each other. Public hot springs are cheaper and they require you to wear your swimsuit. But i honestly think that a private one would be more enjoyable? Cause there's not much scenery for you to enjoy at the public one :( But yes, all basic facilities are available.

There is also a museum nearby showcasing how the culture of hot springs in Japan came to Taiwan. They require you to exchange your footwear for their sandals upon entering the museum. A Japanese culture.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Man Lai Hot Spring Ramen （滿來溫泉拉麵）

If you're hungry, you can try hot spring ramen. The people living in this district arent afraid to boast and exploit what they are known for. Everything is hot-springified - even their 鐵蛋. Hot spring ramen only costs about SGD 8 each. WHAT! The cheapest ramen i've eaten in SG is at least 10 bucks. And the water used is from the tap.

We went to Danshui after that to meet Nina's pen pal who is a Taiwanese.

A reminder that this ice cream may look good in photos but their beauty melts away fast in the hot weather. Avoid this at all costs if you're with your boyfriend/girlfriend unless you want to be caught licking your hands.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:

Smelly Tofu （臭頭腐）

The one food i can never get tired of.  People say it stinks. Not me. It smells heavenly to me lololol. I even got my German cousins to try it. They initially refused because of the smell. But they eventually did and they liked it too! If i could, i would eat 臭頭腐 all the time. But my aunts restricted me because they said i should try different varieties of food when in Taiwan T_T

臭頭腐 ambassador

Very interesting. Glass noodles wrapped with beancurd skin into a gigantic ball.

Jump shots are hard to take. You've no idea how many photos we've taken just to get a perfect shot.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Danshui （淡水） 

I really, really like Danshui very much. It is an extremely good area to live in. There are so many food stalls and a recreation space in front of the river where you can walk your dog, play with friends, go on a date. Even if you're just a tourist, it is also an extremely good place to chill and unwind while enjoying the scenery and street food (PS, that mountain was featured in the Life Of Pi).

We went to Shilin that night. Yes, we cramped a night market for every night we spent in Taipei.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:

Prince Cheese Potato （王子起司馬鈴薯 ）

Prince Cheese Potato

When in Shilin, you MUST try the Prince Cheese Potato. So good. They spelt cheese as 'chesse' and unknowingly i have been affected and now whenever i typed cheese, 'chesse' comes out instead hahaha.

As usual, we bought more food than clothes. There are a lot of shops there (more than Shida) but i only bought a skirt because it was the only cheap one (SGD8!). Dont get me wrong, they have nice clothes but i will only buy clothes that are nice AND cheap. HAHA.

Day 3

Made our way to Jiufen. 

SIQI RECOMMENDS:

A Ge Fishball Noodles （阿給魚圓面）

Handmade, cheap and chewy. What more to ask?

SIQI RECOMMENDS:

A Zhu Peanut Ice Cream Roll （阿珠雪在燒）

Eating ice cream with a popiah-ish wrap? Game on!

I got a cone for my cousin who's allergic to nuts

Right. My specs broke a few days prior to my flight to Taipei. Mom saw it as an opportunity to nag at me to get contact lens (She is still nagging, even till now). So i bought a box of disposable contact lens at Watsons. Oh yes, they are readily available at Watsons in Taiwan. And they are cheap too! 20 pairs (i had to get two boxes because my degree for both eyes is different) for SGD 24. WHAT??

I wore them the next day and i was reminded the reason why i dont wear contacts. They are pretty drying to my eyes (and also i think i look better with specs haha). My mom told me its because Taiwan is not as humid as Singapore. She insists that i wear my contacts. Oh Lord, save me.

臭頭腐 again. hehehe

Not a local delicacy but still good! It costs $4 per bowl.

We proceeded to Shifen next.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Sky Lantern （天燈）

The ink stained my dress a little but it was fun to decorate the lantern haha. Unfortunately, a tram was about to bypass and dark clouds were gathering so we had to rush the process of releasing the paper lantern.

 

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Chicken Wraps Rice（雞包飯）

I know it sounds weird and borderline impossible. But its true and its really good! The stall is one of the nearest stalls to the Shifen train platform so keep your eyes peeled for it!

Conquered Rao He Night Market that night. Once again, there are more food than shopping to be done here. It is actually quite small but the good thing is you can buy some food souvenirs back from Rao He. There's Yu Jan Shin (裕珍馨) and 豬十二 which i must say are pretty worth the trip down. The former sells traditional biscuits (e.g. Sun biscuits) while the latter sells something like fried bakwa. SO GOOD!!!

I would actually recommend Rao He for food souvenir over street food because there are honestly not much special food that you must try here (except the black pepper biscuit). 

Black pepper biscuit (胡椒餅)

Day 4

During the planning stages, we ran out of ideas of where else to go. My aunt suggested Wulai which is quite a far off place from the city. You can go there for a little cultural infusion if you think that there are too much eating and shopping included in your itinerary.

Wild Boar Meat

We didnt have much planned for Wulai except for visiting the waterfall and to soak in their river. But when we saw a queue forming around this stall, i immediately headed for it without knowing what i was queuing for haha. #typicalsingaporean. Turned out that they are famous for their Wild Boar Meat. I wanted to buy it but i was afraid that it was too gamey for us (we had a hard time trying to finish off lamb meat when we ate hotpot on our first day). So we opted for the sausage instead.

We took a tram up to see the waterfall.

After which, we headed back down to play in the river.

The locals like to swim in the river.

So nice to dip your feet into cooling water on a hot day. The temperature between Taiwan and Singapore only varies a little so im not sure why it feels so much hotter there! Literally once you are out of the air-conditioned zone, you are bound to perspire.

Headed to Du Xiao Yue next where they are famous for their Danzai Noodles. It tastes pretty good!

Love their open and old-fashioned concept of kitchen.

I sighed while watching my family order food. Chinese families are always stereotyped as noisy and chaotic and unfortunately it is very true for my family. Not only because we are Chinese, not only because we are Cantonese (whom are known to be extremely loud-mouth and talk like a bullet train), not only because there were 9 of us but also because.... WE WERE TALKING IN 4 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES SIMULTANEOUSLY. Mandarin, Canto, English, German... all mashed up together. I gave up trying to compile all of our orders. And even as i was sitting quietly, hearing our conversations made my head spin. I felt such pity for the table beside us. The two poor girls.

Right ahead of Du Xiao Yue is this famous dessert shop where it has WAYYYY TOO LITTLE SEATS. We had to stand, carry the big bowl of dessert and eat at the same time. I can't remember the name though but if you see a long queue in front of a puny dessert shop, it will most likely be it. I tell you the Singaporean's Law always work. See a queue, go and queue will do you no harm. In fact, there was also another stall with a huge crowd. We were kinda sick of queuing so we skipped that. Big mistake. Turned out to be some famous stall. See, what did i just say?

If you are on a budget like me, Wu Fen Pu is the place to go. You can find many clothes being sold at SGD8??? I unleashed myself there because I didn't get to shop much previously. No more constraints!! The best thing is that its SUPER BIG. So many shops for you to visit! I was busy shopping and hence the lack of photos of Wu Fen Pu haha.

Decided to spend our last night at Ningxia Night Market. Dont bother to expect to do any shopping there. There is NONE. Only rows and rows of food stalls. The good thing is that it doesnt just sell street food. There are like small zi char stalls? You can sit on those makeshift tables and stools and order food. Ningxia is even smaller than Rao He so we completed it quite fast.

Idk what is its actual name but its just pork slice rolled with asparagus and dipped with some sweet sauce. SUPER GOOD.

Tepanyaki

Taro Balls. A MUST TRY!

We concluded the night with Ningxia and the next morning, we started our day at a nearby Carrefour.

Day 5

I was thinking to myself, "how heavy can it be?" and so i tried to carry it and my arms gave way. The watermelon crushed my cousin's foot HAHAHAHA.

SIQI RECOMMENDS:
Ah Zhong Mee Sua (阿忠麵線）

Of course we weren't leaving Taiwan (or Ximen for that matter) without eating Ah Zhong Mee Sua. This big bowl with oysters and intestines only cost about SGD4? WHY IS FOOD IN TAIWAN SO CHEAP???

Grabbed some dimsum for lunch and it was time to leave for the airport after that.

Flying back home yay!

Ending with a vlog yet again.