While making my way to the airport
Hey there! I am finally back from Taiwan. Oh gosh, Singapore is so hot and I can't help missing the perfect weather at Taipei now. I've only visited Taipei this time round since I've already done my visit to the rest of Taiwan during my first trip years back and we are really lazy to move around. For those who do not know, Taiwan is really HUGE. It takes few hours to travel from one part to another. From Taipei to Kaohsiung will takes you a four to five hours bus trip!! Even though I really wanted to visit Kaoshiung and Taichung again. I miss Feng jia night market.
This is how the room we stayed looks like
Stayed in Chaiin Hotel (Tzung Tung Fu) located near Ximen station and NTU hospital station. The location of the hotel is really good as you only need to walk for 5-10 min to Ximending area. There are many restaurants and cafes near by. Staffs are friendly but breakfast is meh! I've spotted some tiny bugs a few times so I don't think I will be staying at the same hotel next time round. I will only give is a 3/5 for overall. It wasn't really cheap as compared to other budget hotels.
First stop, Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
One of the most well known night markets in Taiwan and also the liveliest night market in Taipei. Fyi, Shilin night market is not located at shilin station but at Jiantan station (劍潭站). Go to exit 1 turn left and follow the road sign. It is really easy to spot.
I bet many of you have heard about Ah zhong mian xian, no? It's one of the 'Must Try' food in Taiwan. Yes it's good though honestly I'm not a huge fan of mee sua but having a bowl of hot mee sua during a 15-17 degree cold night is definitely one of the best feelings.
胡椒餅 (pepper biscuit) is one of my favourites!! It's a Taiwanese snack composed of meat marinated with black pepper sauce. The one I had in Shilin is meh. Damn hard! You guys should totally try the Raohe ones. They are damn good!
They also have this Korean tomato snack here and even came out with flavours. I chose the seaweed and sour plum ones. REALLY GOOD!!! Must try!
大腸包小腸 (Da chang bao xiao chang) is a creation of night market vendors, the Taiwanese “hot dog” is actually a pork sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice sausage. This is absolutely my favourite. How I wish to have it again. Can anyone 'dabao' it back for me? Lmao. Other than all those that I've mentioned above, you can also try the fried buns (生煎包), the authenthic famous Hotstar chicken cutlet (豪大大雞排) which one shouldn't be missing out.
I personally feel like there isn't much thing to shop at Shilin. Perhaps the clothes there are not really my style. I think Wufenpu and Shida night market will be a better place for shopping of clothes, while Shilin has a mixture of everything from food. lifestyle, mobile gadgets, fashion to cosmetics.
Day Two at Ximending 西門町
The heart of Taipei, 西門町 and who doesn't knows this place? It's located at Ximen station, exit 6! Well, we didn't take the metro since it's only a 5-10 minutes walk from the hotel. This place really reminds me of Myeongdong @ Seoul. They have Korea cosmetic brands like Etude, Faceshop, Nature Republic and etc. But as one of the tourist attractions, the things here are actually more pricey than some other places so do consider twice before you end up with an impulsive buy. Well, things in Taiwan are way cheaper than Singapore. The currency rate is about 100TWD to 4SGD subjecting to changes, So imagine a top selling at 390TWD after converting to SGD, it's only $15-$16 dollars. You do the mathematics, Furthermore, you can always ask for a bargain and usually for a 390TWD item, they will charge you 350TWD instead. You can't find many vendors selling clothing at that rate in Ximending because the thing there are slightly on the higher end but you can find many shops selling at super good rates in wufenpu which I'm gonna blog about in the later part.
Even the seat is designed as a toilet bowl
The two poops on the top of the photos are actually chocolate buns
Modern Toilet is one of the must visit themed restaurants. The concept is really unique. Tell your friends to go eat shit with you. For every main course you ordered, it comes with a drink and free ice cream. The food here is not fantastic but good enough for my taste bud, Dining in Taiwan is cheap although this restaurant is supposed to be slightly more costly than the others but if I'm not wrong, we only spent 15-20SGD per pax. Go order the black sugar milk tea! I liked it! The potion of food and drinks are HUGE so they are damn filling. Totally worth it! I'll suggest to make a reservation if you are planning to go on the weekends. The location of the restaurant is not that easy to be found as it's hidden at some alley. Get out at Ximen station exit 6, head towards Emei street. an go straight until you reach the end of the road which is Kunmimg Street. Turn right as soon as you see the parking lot. Then turn right again. Modern Toilet is on your left and located on the 2nd floor. Hope it helps.
Website: http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/
2F, No 7, Lane 50, Xi-Ning South Road, Taipei Taiwan. Tel:(02)23118822
7-ELEVEN in Taiwan
Why do they have all the good stuffs yet we have none? They have Lok lok and herbal eggs in their 7-eleven(s) and I was amazed. You no longer have to queue up for Koi's yakult green tea because the 7-eleven ones taste better imo. And hello, it's only cost like $1.20 for a huge packet. Didn't know 7-Eleven could be so awesome. My whole life is a lie. -_-
Will be updating more about the trip and where to find 3CE cosmetics on my next post.
Thanks for reading!! Goodnight xx
lovely blog, makes me miss taiwan food so much
ReplyDelete