Travel Taipei with Me 💖
Am
supposed to travel to Taipei again at the end of this month, but we had to call
off the trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is threatening the world. So, I
thought I’d do a recap on my trip to Taipei with 🦁 last year, since we
are all staying home to help flatten the curve 😊
It
was my very first trip to Taipei or even Taiwan, so our very short trip
consisting of only 4D3N was completely too short but I had very limited annual
leaves, so we had to make do. We visited in August 2019 and it was the worst
decision ever to brave the summer heat in Taipei. On average, the temperature
in the day was 36 to 38 Celsius when we were there. But on a whole, it was a
memorable first trip with my special person. People there were really nice and
we can’t get enough of the food!
Accommodation
@ Songshan District
We
stayed at a clean and lovely little AirBnB
unit located just above RaoHe Night Market in Songshan District. The unit
is basically a room well equipped with all the necessities, such as a large
double bed, shower room, TV, iron, washing machine and even a dryer amongst
other things. There is also more than enough space for us to open up both
pieces of our large suitcases, you can actually fit in 4 pieces of opened large
suitcases if you do travel with that much.
This
AirBnB unit is located on the 2nd floor but there is no elevator.
You will have to take the stairs so if you have many pieces of suitcases, this
may be a point you need to take into consideration. This AirBnB unit is
actually 1 of the rooms in a row on the same floor, the concept is similar to a
dormitory. The plus point is it’s quite safe since you need to pass through the
main door via digital door lock before getting to your room. Also, there is
someone stationed inside the main floor to vet through the people who come in
before you can reach your room.
One
of the biggest factors we chose this AirBnB unit was because it is located just
above RaoHe Night Market. The other factor is of course due to the vast amount
of eateries around this area 😍 Below are several F&B establishments that we tried out and really loved.
·
Braised Beef Noodles – NT120
·
Pork Balls – NT30
·
Spring Onion Pancake – NT50
·
Meat roll – NT30
·
Spring Onion Bun – NT30
Fresh Meat bun – NT35
·
Oolong Tea – NT35
·
Honey Oolong Tea – NT45
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There’s
like hundreds of food and drinks choices at this particular night market and I am
sad to say that we did not even manage to try a quarter of that. But I will list
down all that we have tried at this market and what are the must-try items for
you to check out 😋
·
Okonomiyaki Pancake – NT60 (must try)
·
Xiao Long Bao – NT70
·
Pork Pepper Buns (Hu Jiao Bing) – NT55
·
Chicken Roll – NT35
·
Pork Sausage – NT35 (must try)
· Tofu Egg Mentaiko – NT75 (must try)
·
Bitter melon & pineapple juice – NT85 (must
try)
·
Smelly tofu – NT55 (must try)
·
Chicken sausage – NT35
· Salt chicken nuggets – NT50 (must try)
·
Spring onion egg cheese pancake – NT50 (must try)
·
Grilled Rice Sausage 大餅 – NT25
·
XingFuTang signature brown sugar – NT55
I’m
sorry to the fans of XFT but I really just don’t know how to appreciate their
signature brown sugar milk tea. We tried twice at different locations to be
fair, and both times we threw the drink away after only 2 sips. Maybe it was
the watery consistency and the combination of overly powering milky taste that
turned us off?
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Must Visit @ XiMenDing (Shi-Men Ting)
Youth Shopping District
A
longstanding restaurant that has been in business for more than 50 years,
located on the 2nd floor smack in the middle of XiMenDing. Their
huge signboard 一条龙饺子馆 is very prominent, you
definitely won’t miss it. They are famous for serving a good variety of dumplings
amongst other Chinese delicacies. We tried their steam dumplings as well as
pan-fried dumplings, which were huge, juicy and really tasty. 2 dishes of
dumplings and a pot of tea set us back NT340.
2.
Yong He Soy Milk 永和豆漿
·
蛋饼油条 – NT38
·
Cold soy milk – NT25
A quaint little shop with only a few tables inside but a long
waiting line outside in the morning. This is one of the popular breakfast
hotspots for locals and tourists alike. I regretted not visiting this eatery every day when I was there. The egg omelette dough fritter we had was made on
the spot, served hot and really delicious and the cold soy milk was really
fresh. It was an enjoyable meal and the staff who made our food was really
friendly and polite too.
Address: No. 30號, Section 2, Hankou St, Wanhua
District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
3.
Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle (阿宗麵線)
You wouldn’t miss this establishment serving up tender noodles
with pig intestines in piping hot thick broth when there are tens and twenties
of people slurping their noodles away standing in front of the shop. There are no
tables provided so people more often than not just buy and eat it standing.
We ordered a small portion without intestines as we do not
take innards and they only charged us NT45 instead of the usual NT55 for small
portion. The large portion is sold at NT70. I can only say that we wished we
had bigger stomach room for more. It was really delicious we cleaned out the
bowl in under 3 mins.
Address: No. 8-1號, Emei St, Wanhua District, Taipei
City, Taiwan 108
Their Signature Brown Sugar Boba Milk with Cream Mousse (NT55)
is to die for. I don’t really go for sugary stuff, preferring my tea with no
sugar nor creamer, but how can I resist trying at least a cup of this in the
land of boba milk tea? The verdict is I got this the next day and the next.
Need I say more?
One of the best nougats I had in my entire life up to now.
They have the creamiest nougats. My all-time favourite is the original
flavoured French Nougats, selling at NT500 for 400g. It’s quite costly really
but oh so good!
Built in 1908 by Japanese architect Kondo Juro, this restored
theatre building is now a heritage site that houses local merchants from the
creative and art industry showcasing and selling their goods.
A local brand that does frequent crossovers with Disney
selling bags, make up and lifestyle items. Prices are really affordable and
well worth it. Disney fans in particular would love this place.
A
higher-end local brand selling glam-looking bags and chic accessories. Their
timeless design bags are made of quality leather but a little too heavy for my
personal liking. A great place to snag a bag to match your style.
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Attractions
A lovely bookstore-café with sleek wooden interior designs
catering to book lovers with a sense of aesthetic. Spotting many picturesque
corners, this bookstore-café exudes a Japanese vibe where you can easily spend
a couple of relaxing hours. Grab a book and chill over a cup of coffee and a
slice of cake. Or hunt for charming paraphernalia for your work station.
2.
WuFenPu Shopping Street
A gigantic outdoors shopping area that carries clothing, bags,
shoes, accessories and more at bargain prices. It’s kinda similar to the
Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, Thailand although not that extensive, so this
place is fairly suitable for those who like to visit outdoor markets.
This cuteness overload café is a die-die-must-visit for all
Rilakkuma fans!
Not only does this café boast super kawaii decorations and an
awesome atmosphere, they also serve wonderful food and drinks and their staff
were really helpful and polite.
🦁 and I initially thought that the food and drinks would be mediocre as per many character theme-based
cafés, so we were delightfully surprised when the food was not only pretty, it
was really tasty as well. Granted that the cuteness doesn’t come cheap, this café
is definitely worth a visit, even to non-fans as 🦁 enjoyed himself here as much as me.
I would suggest for you to get a table reservation via EZ Table if you are
interested as this adorable-looking café can get really packed.
This place is undeniably the highlight of my trip 💖
Damage: NT1500 for 2 food + 2 drinks + 1 souvenir tee shirt
Address: No. 3, Lane 248, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Rd, Da’an
District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106 (Zhongxiao Dunhua Station, Exit 3)
Admission Fee: NT50
Locker Fee: NT10
If you enjoy contemporary art with the combination of art
innovation, this is the place for you. The theme for the art display changes
every now and then. The theme showcased when we were there was “Once Upon A
Time”. It would probably set you back 2 hours or so in this art museum.
One of the oldest, largest and most
well-known temple that survived a bombing raid during World War II. The temple is
bathed in rich folk culture which is portrayed by the exquisite and delicate sculptures
on the beams, poles, roofs and doors of the temple architecture. Admission is
free but visitors can donate for the upkeep of the temple managed by the
locals.
6.
View of Taipei 101 Tower
The
best views of Taipei 101 and practically the whole of Taipei can be admired
from Elephant Mountain (象山), no matter day or night. But, if
you don’t want to go through the sweat and hassle of a 20 minutes hike up the
trail from the foot of the mountain, you can actually take great snapshots of
Taipei’s pride from Xinyi Road. Just alight at Xinyi Anhe station and walk
towards the direction of Taipei 101 to find the perfect snapshot.
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As
we had limited time and prefer leisurely strolls instead of rushing about from
one place to another, we were only able to check out the attractions listed
above. Hope the information provided is useful for those who plan to visit
Taipei in the future 😺
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