Taiwan Trip Day 15

Finally I have time to blog about my last day in Taiwan! This is a super late entry, considering that more than half a year has gone by already. Heh!

I consider the time spent in Taipei most boring. Coz all we did was shopping and I hate shopping. So there are very few photos of us but more of the food. Well, at least, that is interesting.

I had the best Kong Bah Bao ever! I think the Taiwanese call it 刈包 (yi bao/chua bao (localised name). I think the Taiwan version beats the Singapore version hands down. You can choose either fatty or lean meat and I asked for a mix of them. The chunks of meat went into the bun first. Then, the boss added a huge spoonful of preserved vegetables, another huge spoonful of crushed peanuts and finally, garnishes! Tasted heavenly! The meat simply melted and the peanuts gave it a sweet taste amidst the saltiness. Delightful!











We shopped around 五分埔 (Wu Fen Pu) for the whole afternoon. It is a packed, stuffy and confusing maze. I bought a owl pendant which becomes my current favourite accessory piece and some other pendants. That's it. The clothes in Taiwan are too floral-y, lacey-y, chiffon-y, in other words, too lady-like for me.


Around evening, we took the train to Shihlin again because PX had not shopped to her heart's content the previous day.


My interest peaked only when we started discussing what to eat for dinner. Heh! PX wanted to try Japanese sake so we searched around Shihlin for a Japanese restaurant. Surprisingly, there was no Japanese restaurant in Shihlin! There were plenty of Korean BBQ restaurants and numerous stalls selling street food but no Japanese or Western restaurants.


In the end, we decided to cab back to 五分埔 because we remembered there were two Japanese restaurant situated there.



And we managed to have our hot sake! And fresh salmon!







I cannot remember the exact price of the sake but it was super super cheap compared to Singapore's. I think one bottle cost only around S$7.





I was a happy girl!





My meal! I had the black boar set while PX had the Tempura set. Once again, Taiwan proves itself! One of the best Japanese meal I ever had! The meat and the onions blended so nicely together! I tried searching for something like this in Singapore but haven't found anything like it yet.






The confirmation that the meal was excellent!




The sake was so cheap that we decided to buy another one back to the hotel!



The meal we had was super cheap! If I didn't remember wrongly, I think we paid around S$15-20 per person.

Before going back to the hotel, we popped into one of the convenience and swept the boxes of masks off their shelves. Between us, we bought nearly 20 boxes of masks. Heh!




Day 15 ended with cold sake in bed. Bliss..


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Taiwan Trip Day 14 - Taipei

Woke up early and packed breakfast from a nearby breakfast store. We had to be early for the next activity. We even carried on with our plan despite the heavy rain. 2 umbrellas from 7-eleven saved our day.


Today was one of the more exciting days we had as you can see below. =)


Even when we had reached early, there was already a huge crowd! And it was raining heavily!




And that was how we had our lunch.




Look at the huge crowd! We couldn't even see the stage from where we stood.



Very excited!




The ushers split us into two groups. Luckily for me, we were in the last row of the first group. Bye bye, second group! Come earlier next time!




Finally, he arrived! Can you see him??




It is Jay Chou!!



He is like a mega super star in the Chinese industry! We were so lucky to manage to catch him in Taiwan!






Love the zoom function on my camera!


After queuing for about 2 hours, we finally got on stage and met Jay. He was so cute and charming! Although he does not have the classic handsome face, he exudes a charm that only comes with success and confidence.

I think I was too starstruck to even look at him. I saw him looking up and smiling from the corner of my eye but I did not return the smile! Argh! Has been regretting it since.

Anyway, here's my reward from queuing in the rain for two hours!





We decided to go for coffee after that but the weird thing about Ximenting is that there seemed to be a lack of places to eat. After much searching (it was raining again), we saw a flight of stairs that seemed to lead to a restaurant. So we just popped in. And on the second level, we looked through the windows and realised that, "Hey! The restaurants are all situated on the 2nd floor!" -_-"....


Did some shopping before we decided to go to Taipei 101 Building. As it was raining heavily at that time and the tickets were not exactly cheap, we did not go up to the top floor of the building. Instead, we had dinner at the foodcourt.


And we spotted a stall that got us all excited!

It was the Taiwan's version of Cold Rock!



And the portion was huge and the price was cheap! Couldn't remember exactly how much it cost but I remembered exclaiming how cheap it was. =P


My favourite dessert!


After our dinner, we decided to walk to the nearby 诚品书店, Eslite Bookstore. In Taipei, we usually asked our way around as the people were pretty friendly and helpful. So PX approached this guy for directions. Little did we know that we had asked a weirdo for help. He offered to walk us to the bookstore and we chatted along the way. Out of the blue, he stroked PX's hair and said something which I could not remember. We just stared at each other and were stunned by the unexpected gesture. So...We started talking in English and said something about "kicking his balls if he does it again" right in front of his face. Haha! Although he might not understand exactly what we were saying, I believed he had gotten the drift as he bade us a hasty goodbye at the entrance. =P


Anyway, back to Eslite. I like that place a lot! It is filled to the brim with books and they are cheap! They are at least half the price of the books in Singapore. As we reached late, the bookstore was about to close (they closed at 12 midnight) and so we could only grab some books.



I got myself a book for the flight back home. It did not come in useful as I slept the whole journey back. =P



PX got herself many comics. I had to keep reminding her to tone it down a little as we might exceed the baggage limit.


As tourists, we got some form of discount so be sure to ask if you ever visit Eslite! After book-shopping, we decided to walk back to Taipei 101 to catch a bus back to the MRT station.


And we saw Taipei 101 covered in clouds! It was so unbelievable! A building tall enough to be in the clouds!


It was then we realised how late it was and decided to take a cab back.

And so ended Day 14.


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Taiwan Trip Day 13 - Taipei

With no pressure from any guides, we always woke up late during our stay in Taipei. Day 13 was no exception. One great thing about staying where I stayed was that good food was just around the corner (literally). We noticed this stall with long queues the day before and decided to give it a try.

The stall's name is 姐妹凉面, which sells plain noodles covered in a gravy made up of garlic, peanuts and some unknown sauce(s). Coupled with a porkball Miso soup, we fell in love with it. It was just so simple, plain, cheap and appetising! Our food mantra is right - always follow the queues.





I highly recommend this stall. It is located at one of the corners at 五分浦 (Wufen Pu). =P If you are staying at Wonstar, just turn right and walk all the way.








After our brunch, we took the MRT and a bus to 阳明山, Yang Ming Shan.



While waiting for the bus.



The bus goes straight to the interchange at Yang Ming Shan. We explored the areas around the bus interchange and were amused by the number of elderly folks we see lying around in deck chairs, sipping tea. There was even a "choir"!



They even prepared their score sheets! (Hmm... I think the auntie spotted me, thus the bright smile. =p)










Afterwards, we decided to explore the rest of Yang Ming Shan by taking the Yang Ming Shan bus that goes to all the major sight-seeing points.



The dog looks like a Grelim. Haha! Oops. I just revealed my age.



(Did I mention that the Taiwanese are huge fans of Dogs?? By "Dogs", I mean Chihuahuas, Poodles and Labradors. I don't seem to find any other breeds in Taiwan.)


PX wanted very much to look at the famous Yang Ming Shan Calla Lilies and maybe buy some home. So our first stop was 竹子湖 where all the Calla Lilies farms are located.




A woman stopped us and told us that we can pick Calla Lilies at her farm for TWD 200. We agreed and she brought us to the farm.




When we reached the farm, she told us each person must pay TWD 200. -_-... So I told PX to go ahead since I'm not a very "flower" person anyway.



This is a Calla Lily!




Managed to find a shelter while waiting for PX. Very bored.



Borrowed the flowers from PX for some pictures. =P


After the visit to 竹子湖, I wanted to check out the waterfall since I have never seen one before. But I missed the bus stop since the names of the stops were not clearly written on the road signs. Haiz.. A pity



And I saw a pretty interesting sight on the bus ride.


Smoke rising from the ground! Ok, I'm a swakoo..



We went one round and back to the interchange. Slacked at the Starbucks before returning to Shilin Night Market for dinner.

When we reached Shilin, we realised that the Shilin we went to last night was only a very small part of Shilin Night Market! We had only explored the Shilin Market the night before. The whole stretch to the right belongs to Shilin as well! And it was huge!





And we decided to go for 麻辣锅!








Actually, it tasted very mediocre. Heh!


But we made the wrong choice to have steamboat for dinner. PX's Calla Lilies looked like they were doused in the soup when we finished dinner. The flowers drooped and the petal edges curled inwards from dehydration.


Was pretty excited that night. We had planned something big for the next day! =P

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Taiwan Trip - Day 12

Day 12! I believe that this is the day when I started looking forward to going back to Singapore. I missed my bed, my parents, my friends, the food, etc etc. =P

Anyway, that day, we went to the Damshui Harbour.


We ate some pretty expensive 关东煮 which was not value for money. Then, we just strolled along the bridges.




The sky was so pretty that day!




So.. We took plenty of photos to capture that moment!










Took this picture through my shades. Creative eh? =P





Toilets for the feminine guys only. The tough guys will have to rough it out in the wild! Haha!


After loitering around Damshui Harbour, we decided to try out the hotspring baths in Beitou.

And we took the cutest train to reach Beitou! Why can't they make our trains like this in Singapore? The last time someone actually tried to create some form of Art on our trains, he was jailed and caned. Tsk tsk..












We had a room each this time round. I actually fell asleep in the bath. So tired from the travelling.



Feeling fresh from the bath, we decided to go to the famous Shilin Night Market!

We could see crowds and crowds of people when we alighted from Jiantan station (this station is nearer than Shilin station). It was so exciting! The huge crowds signaled the promise of good food!




There were many stalls squeezed side by side. What surprised us was that many of the stalls had air-conditioners installed! I have never seen a market stall with air-conditioners, but I wasn't complaining. =P





We chose a stall that was packed to the brim with people. I have learnt that as long as we followed the crowd, it won't go wrong.

We ordered a shrimp omelette and a plate of bee hoon. We didn't quite like the omelette because it was cooked differently from what we are used to. They added a lot of starch in the omelette, making it sticky and filling. Needless to say, the combination of starch and gravy covered the taste of the egg. I would prefer a simple omelette.








Next, we headed straight to the famous chicken cutlet store that was featured in all the tour books and forums that we read or visited. Our friends also highly recommend this particular store, calling it the "blue label" store.





Just look at the long queue!




Camwhoring while waiting! Our favourite past time! =P


And finally, the dessert, Peanut Butter Ice-cream with chunks of peanuts inside! I like it a lot but PX dislikes it. So I had it to myself! Yums! But the portion was too big for me to finish it alone. I really like Taiwan! They always make sure that you get what you pay!




That night, we were rather disappointed with Shilin Night Market. I guessed our expectations were raised too high. We thought that Shilin was rather small and the varieties of food were limited. Moreover, we didn't see any shops selling clothes, shoes or accessories.

However, that part of Shilin we went to is only like... 20% of the whole Shilin?? We thought that Shilin was located on the left side of a road but actually, the right side of the road belongs to Shilin too! We only found that out the next day by accident.


Tell you more when I blog about Day 13!

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