Taiwan Day 8: Taipei

As usual,last day of trip means freedom to use up balance money exchanged.

We start the day with McD - just because of the pork burger.

But the coffee is the best among all the coffees we tried in Taiwan.

The similar taste I usually have during breakfast in Malaysia. XD

Too bad, no chili sauce available.

We then headed to Taipei 101 for Din Tai Fung.

As we arrived early, about 11am, there is yet to be crowded and we get our seats immediately when we walk in.

This is how they wrap my handbag to prevent thief. Good idea!

We order the siu long bao that comes with soup.

Forget about the tasteless soup though.

Siu Long Bao. Yums!

We order siu mai too. And this is how it looks like inside of the siu mai. Yums!

Total cost for the 2 basket of dim sum was NTD340.

We then had green tea pancake for dessert.

Bid farewell to Taipei.

And had our Taiwanese last meal in Taipei Airport.

Fried chicken. Yums.

Big sausage wrap small sausage. Not nice.

And ramen again.

Overall, our trip this time was slow and steady.

To compare with my trip to Taiwan in 2010, I'd found that the people in Taiwan was not that friendly anymore. Tourist spots become too commercialized.

That's all for 2016~

Taiwan Day 7: Beitou/ Dan Shui/ Shilin

After breakfast, we took the train to Bei Tou and change to a special train heading to Xin Bei Tou.

Bei Tou is famous for their hot spring.

We walk around the tourist routes in Bei Tou before settle down for a hot spring experience.

We choose Beauty Age Hot Spring Hotel.

They offered one hour private room hot spring for NTD540/ hour.

It's a small room with small table and sofa. There's TV too.

Basic amenities provided were hair dryer, towels, shampoo, soaps etc.

This is the bath tub for the hot spring.

I was so curious does the hot water comes out is really from hot spring. Lol.

After our 1 hour refreshing hot spring experience, we headed back to the train station.

On the way, we saw this Japanese ramen restaurant and wanted to give it a try.

Beside the restaurant, there's a stall selling onsen eggs. We decided to buy 1 packet, before the sales persuaded us to purchase 3 packets in order to be entitle for a lucky draw.

So we bought 3 packets and have 'fun'with the lucky draw.

End up the prize was just a piece of mochi. I repeat, A PIECE.

Imagine how cheated we felt, as when they show us the gifts, its all come in a box.

Nevertheless, we had our lunch at the Japanese ramen restaurant.

Seaweed ramen.

Big slice of boneless pork chop.

Pork chop ramen.

All above cost NTD350. Taste and portion was OK.

We then took the train to Dan Shui.

We walked around and bought many packets of ginger tea and nougat.

Taiwan nougat is really tasty!

Then when night falls, we headed to Shilin night market.

Didn't manage to get anything from here.

We are kind of disappointed with this place too as the people here are not friendly.

Too commercialized, I guess.

Taiwan: Must Try Breakfast

On our way to KLIA, coincidentally the radio was introducing Top 10 Must Try Breakfast in Taipei.

We then googled it and found the blog. We managed to visit 2 out of the 10 :)

Loco Food @ Zhongshan district.

Long queue. I'd almost gave up coz the line moves too slow too.

Finally it's our turn.

You've to order your foods and drinks here before you are allowed to look for a seat inside.

And cafè rule - each person must order one drink.

The seating area is really pack. Claustrophobic.

We ordered the famous egg roll.

I feel so-so only. Hubby say nice though.

We ordered sandwiches too. Also so-so only for me. Lol.

Perhaps the place is too crowded and noisy that I'm not able to relax and enjoy my meals :)

Fong Sheng Hao @ Shilin

The next day, while on our way to Beitou, we stop by Shilin and walk a short distance to look for this shop.

Only take-away. No seating available here.

The boss was very friendly. Perhaps, he saw me busy taking photo of his shop, he came out and introduce his shop to us. He then even gave us postcards as souvenirs.

We bought 2 sandwiches. The taste was OK. But I would prefer a softer bread :)

Some says that local food which was un-publicized shall taste better. But anyway, if you are around this area, you can give it a try :)

Taiwan Day 6: JiuFen & ShiFen

Both of us had been here on our previous trip to Taipei.

This time, we tried a different routes. We came by public transport.

Actually it was not difficult. From Taipei, board a bus at Shong shan station. The bus will take you directly to Jiu Fen.

It's very cold up here.

With the drizzle.

Warm up ourselves with the famous QQ drink.

After walking the whole streets of Jiu Fen, we stop by a shop to reward ourselves with lunch.

Braised pork rice, braised noodle, braised eggs and fish balls.

We then catch the bus to Rui Fang train station to take a train to Shi Fen.

To catch the bus, when you come out from the Jiu Fen entrance, turn to your right side and walk up. The bus station heading to train station will stop there. If unsure, can ask the people in 7-11. Lol. That's what we did :)

This is Shi Fen, made famous by a movie.

The tourist attraction was this street beside the railway lane.

Lanterns are sell throughout the street.

Many people bought the lantern, put up their wishes and release it to the atmosphere.

We didn't do that, as I'm concerned on where will the lantern falls and will it trap the birds. And is it pollution-free? Well.. I'm not sure, so I'd choose not to.

To head back to Taipei, we board the train from Shi Fen, stop at Rui Fang and change train to Taipei.

Taiwan Day 5: 四哥の店 @ Maokong

Upon arriving in Taipei and left our luggage at the hostel, we head to Maokong for a gondola ride.

We choose the transparent glass gondola.

The price is same, however the queue is different. You've to wait longer for this gondola.

Arriving at the last station - Maokong, we hike a little up the hill and reach a street of shops.

We chosen 四哥の店 as introduced by hubby's friend from Taiwan.

Tea fried rice. NTD120.

Fried tea tofu. NTD180. This is nice!

And a pot of tea for NTD200.

Tea time with a view.

Minimum spending NTD200/ pax and only can be seated for 3 hours max.

A good experience and relaxing evening.

Taiwan Day 4: Feng Jia Night Market

Typical activity to do in Taiwan - night market hopping.

Our plan was actually to visit the Gao Mei Wetlands for sun set before going to Feng Jia night market. Too bad that the train interval to reach Gao Mei Wetlands was not that frequent. So, we missed the earlier train and if we still proceed, we won't be able to arrive there before sunset though. So we skipped and head straight to FJ night market by bus. Bus fare was free.

We stop by a few stalls.

Porky box.

Hubby said yummy. Not for me.

Papaya milk. Too big cup. We only able to finish half of it.

Pancake.

Take your number and wait for your turn.

This is something like "roti telur gulung". Lol. Not nice.

Takoyaki. Long queue.

Mass production. NTD60 for a box.

Bye!~

We took the foods back to our room for supper.

One thing to note is that the prices of shoes/ clothes/ bags that we saw in FJ night market is cheaper than those in Taipei. If you stop by Tai Chung before Taipei, just buy what you want here.