Our last day in Taipei – a day of hits and misses

13 January 2016

This was our last day in Taipei and we did not have any major sightseeing planned. So we slept late till almost checkout time. Our flight was at night, so we have almost one whole day in Taipei.

After checking out from our hotel in Taipei (CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch III), we left our luggage in the good hands of the hotel staff and went in search of breakfast near the hotel. By this time, all the shops were opened for business and we chanced upon Si Hay (Four Sea) soybean store on the way to the ZhongShan MRT station.

Soybean Milk with Fried Fritters.

Fried sesame seed pancakes – plain tasting but goes well with the soybean curd and milk.

Soybean Curd.

We went to Ximending as there is a Beef Noodle restaurant called the Tao Yuan Street Beef Noodle (桃源街牛肉麵) near there that is supposed to be good and that would be our planned dinner stop.

First, we went to explore the Ximen Red House, just outside the Ximen MRT Station. This building was built in 1908 to serve as Taipei's first public market, now a multifunction building that includes a theatre.

Ximen Red House, just outside the Ximen MRT Station.

Inside the Ximending Red House.

Signs of past Japanese colonial influence inside the Red House.

Interesting stall with creative re-use of glass bottles.

We had done some research on what the best eats at Ximending. We tried the highly recommended fried chicken stall near the MRT station but found that it was overrated. Maybe, the standard had dropped. Being in Ximending, we had our second bowl of Ah Zhong Mian Sian again. Cannot resist. This time, we ordered the small one as we wanted to eat other stuff. We searched for the mochi on a stick stall and found that it was not opened. There were plenty of other options in Ximending.

Oyster Omelette, Fried Carrot cake and Braised Minced pork on Rice with egg. This was what we had in our previous trip and I still remembered this stall.

Mango Shaved Ice Dessert – big enough for two persons.

The Starbuck Cafe was big and was a nice place to have our coffee fix and take a after lunch nap.

Ximending was all about shopping and eating. We ate more than we shopped.

Just as we finished our lunch and took a nap at Starbuck, it was time to try what is supposed to be one of the top three recommended beef noodles in Taipei. We had savoured the excellent Yong Kang Beef Noodles on our first day in Taipei.  The Tao Yuan Street Beef Noodle stall is supposed to be just as good.

The shop is located about 10 minutes walk from the Ximending and easy to find using google map.

This was what greeted us when we arrived at the Tao Yuan Street Beef Noodle Shop. Disappointing.

Finding that the shop was closed, we decided to go find the other beef noodle restaurant in the list. So, Lin Dong Fang Beef Noodles (林東芳牛肉麵) would be our next destination!

The restaurant is located on Bade road, about halfway in-between Nanjing Fuxing and Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. We alighted at the Zhongxiao Fuxing Station and walk along Andong Street, cross under the Taipei CIty East-West Expressway,  and continued along Andong Street to get there. Nice and easy walk. Andong Street itself has a few interesting cafes.  The stall was located near the junction of Andong Street and Bade Road and it was opened!

Lin Dong Fang Beef Noodles served in steel bowl.

We ordered the standard beef with tendon bowl.  Excellent and worth the trip to try this. The soup was herbal style, tasty with strong beef flavours, unlike the spicier Szechuan style served by Yong Kang Street Beef Noodles stall. It was hard to say which is nicer since it is two different styles of cooking beef in soup. 

After dinner, we still have some time to walk around the large Sogo Department Stall by the Zhongxiao Fuxing Station before heading back to our hotel to collect our luggage and head for the airport by limousine bus. 

The plan was to take the Kuo Kwang 國光客運 express bus but we bought the wrong tickets at the counter and ended up on a local bus. I knew something was wrong when the seller sold us the tickets for 90 NT, instead of 125 NT. The bus was a non-express local bus and the driver expected the passenger to press the buzzer before each stop, without any announcement of what is the name of the next stop. 

We ended in the wrong terminal (together with another Japanese lady tourist) but we managed to take the skytrain back to the right terminal. That’s what you get for taking a “Budget” bus.

Then, we found that our Scoot flight home was delayed from 1 AM to 3 AM. …and that’s what you get by taking the Budget airline. By 11 PM, none of the shops or restaurants were open.

Taipei airport has some nice free reclining lounge style chairs, if you know where to find them.

Hint: in the remote corners where the gates are located.

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The Dogs of Taiwan

As a dog owner myself, dogs that I encountered during my trips will catch my attention. Taiwanese loves their dogs. They will bring them everywhere they go – in work, in play and even for a holiday cruise at Sun Moon Lake.

The photo above shows a cute dog belonging to a busker performing at Syuanguang Temple, Sun Moon Lake.

There were even dogs riding on prams and dressed in clothes.

Dog in pram alighting from boat cruise around Sun Moon Lake.

 

I saw one that even rode on a scooter with its owner. Scooters are a common mode of transport in Taiwan. Our taxi driver in Hua Lien told us he knew of an owner who would let his dog jump off his scooter when he stopped at a red light signal. The dog would know to get back up onto the scooter when the light turns green again. Not sure if he was pulling my leg, but I am inclined towards believing his story.

The pet dogs in Taiwan are generally well behaved, calm, submissive and respectful of humans. Even the stray dogs that we met at various locations around Taiwan.

Patient dog waiting for his meal at Shilin Night Market. Not sure if the dog belonged to this lady shopkeeper as it was wandering about before it was fed.

Another patient dog at Cingjing Plaza.

Some owners would also dressed up their small dogs in fanciful doggy clothes and shoes! Probably treating them as their “fur-kids”. Young couples prefer to raise their “fur-kids” rather than to have human babies, and contributing to a decline in human birth rates.

Dog wearing “police uniform” at Feng Chia Night Market.

Dog  at a store selling toy guns at Shilin Night Market.

You can see shops selling doggies clothes and accessories at the various night markets and Ximending.

Of course, pet shops selling puppies and kittens. These puppies were for sale at a shop near Shilin Night Market.

Not all dogs in Taiwan lead a good life. Despite Taiwanese’s love for dogs, stray dogs could still be found at most places of interest. The good thing is that they were calm and respectful, despite being strays. Maybe they were not strays but villager’s dogs without collars. None of them were aggressive and kept their distant even when we have food in our hands.

This black stray dog was wandering between buses and cars at a narrow road in Juifen. It was eyeing our sausage while we waited for our taxi to pick us up. It did not pounce on us or rob us of our food; else I would have an interesting story to tell for a long time….like the time we were robbed of our picnic food by a lone dingo at Fraser Island! And photographed by a group of excited Korean tourists who had just came down a tour bus and snapped pictures of our ordeal instead of coming to help us.

 

 This mother dog (above), without her pups, was loitering at the carpark in QiXingTan where we were buying our “Big Sausage Wrapped Small Sausage”. QiXingTan (Seven Star Lake) is actually a beach near Hualien. QiXingTan is a place with strong winds, waves and beautiful view of the East Coast of Taiwan and Pacific Ocean.

Another dog at QiXingTan, Seven Star Lake near Hualien.

We saw a few limping dogs along the highway while travelling in Taroko National Park. Mr Li, our taxi driver, bringing us from Cingjing to Hualien through Taroko Gorge, told us these dogs belong to villagers in the region. They were injured by traps used to trap wild boars.

Dog in Taroko National Park.

Compared to the dogs at other places of interest, these Taroko dogs were quite aggressive. One even charged at our taxi when we drove past.

Let Sleeping Dog lie –  Taken at Baisiandong, Cave of the Eight Immortals. Caves also served as temples.This dog (above) could have given up a life of aggression and seeks peace and solace at the cave temple in Basiandong near Hua Lien. Sounded like a typical story line in a old Chinese sword fighting movie.

French Bulldog belonging to Nita at Misty Villa Minsu.

And finally, the bulldog at Misty Villa, Cingjing. This friendly dog was there to greet us when we checked into the minsu. Unfortunately, we did not get to see it again, till the last morning when we were about to leave.

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Procedure to prepare and enjoy Chinese tea

Juifen was one of the places I visited during my 10 days vacation in Taiwan. It is located outside Taipei city and is famous for its old streets and many eating places, including tea houses. Many tea houses are located on the high ground overlooking scenic views (if there is no mist!).

One of the more prominent tea house at Juifen is the Juifen Old Tea House. This tea house offers many selection of Taiwan’s tea and charges a per person cover charge of 100 NT plus cost of whatever tea leaves purchased. This is the place where I had my first demonstration on the Chinese tea drinking procedure.

Water for making Chinese tea must be hot. In this tea house, there is a pot of hot water heated continuously over a charcoal fire at each table.

The utensils are as follows:

• Tea Making Pot or Bowl (with cover and holder)
• Tea serving Pot or Bowl which is about the same capacity as the tea making pot
• Tea Cups (one per drinker)
• Large bowl for discarded water and used tea leaves
• Measuring spoon and spatula

All these are presented on a wooden tray.
The video below shows how it is done.


Procedure to prepare and enjoy Chinese tea

First, all the utensils are rinsed and warmed up using the hot water. Discard the used water in the large bowl.
Then the tea leaves added to the Tea Making Pot using the measuring spoon and spatula. Add about one quarter full. Hot water is added to the pot and covered up. Allow the leaves to soak in the hot water for 15 to 20 seconds. 

For normal Chinese tea, the tea from the first soak is discarded to get rid of dust and ot her residues that may be found on the leaves. But in this case, the tea leaves are the “High Mountain Tea” and the tea from the first soak need not be discarded and can be consumed. 

Empty the tea from the Tea Making Bowl into the Serving Bowl. Note: ensure all tea is poured out completely; else the residual tea would affect the taste of the next round. The serving bowl is then used to serve the prepared tea to each tea drinker.

When all tea is consumed from the Serving Bowl, the next round of tea can be prepared using the same tea leaves. Soaking time for the second round is also 15 to 20 seconds. Subsequent rounds can be longer. Up to 6 or 7 rounds of tea can be prepared or until the tea leaves has lost its flavour. Then the used leaves are discarded; tea making pot rinsed and procedure repeated using new tea leaves.

You may like to read more about Juifen in my previous post.

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Taiwan Day 6 (Part 1) – Taroko Express train journey from Hua Lien to Taipei

 

18 December 2011

This was the day where we would travel by the Taroko Express train from Hua Lien to Taipei. I had booked the train tickets via internet using my credit card about 2 weeks ago. The 12.00 PM train was sold out. I was lucky or early enough to get tickets on the 10.35 AM Tze Chiang #273 train. ETA 12.50 PM. 

Tip: the online ticket booking system only allow booking of tickets up to 2 weeks ahead. Book early as tickets for the Tze Chiang train get sold out fast. Booking website link here.

The minsu owner drove us to the train station which was about 10 to 15 minutes away. It was easy to find our train and board it before the scheduled departure time.

Hua Lien train Station.

The train left promptly as scheduled.

Inside the Taroko Express Train.

Soon we were speeding along towards Taipei via the scenic route. The Taroko Express Tze Chiang train is a tilting train which allows it to tilt slightly as it speed round curves without slowly down.

The boys did this to pass time on the train.

 

I took some photos of the scenery of the north eastern country side of Taiwan from the window of the moving train. It was quite a challenge but quite fun as I had to have an eye for a interesting photo and react fast.

Egret on cattle.

View from Taroko Express  - power lines across taiwan countryside.

Flooded rice paddies.

Boat in Taiwanese river.

 

Farmland in Taiwan countryside.

Although it was called the express train, the train made a few stops along the way. We arrived as scheduled in Taipei.

View from Taroko Express  - lone girl in train station

Our hotel in Taipei was the Caesar Park Hotel, located right on top of the MRT Taipei Main Station, HSR station, Rail station and opposite the bus terminal. Perfect location for exploring Taipei city. There is an underground shopping mall too. Normal Check-in time was 3.00 PM. As our room was ready, we were allowed early check-in. Hurrah.

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Taiwan Day 6 (Part 2) – National Palace Museum, Shilin Market

18 December 2011

As we were to meet up with a niece for dinner near the Shilin Night market later, we decided to visit the National Palace Museum which is located close to the market.  As the museum is not located close to a MRT station, we went by taxi.

We arrived at about 4 PM and the place was packed with tourist groups. I had been to the Lourve and the British museums. This museum ranks amongst them in terms of the quality of the treasures displayed. No photo taking was allowed inside which was a shame but necessary to prevent damage from camera flashes and maybe to prevent copying of the masterpieces. We bought a guide book on these treasures displayed in this museum as a Christmas present for my uncle. There was no English language edition, else I would buy one for myself.

The museum closes at 6.30 PM and we had seen only the most interesting and famous exhibits.  We went to buy more stuff from the museum’s souvenir shop. The staff were kind enough to help us call for a taxi to take us to the restaurant.

After dinner with the niece and friend at a German restaurant, we took the MRT to Shilin Market. The place was packed. Shilin is famous for its shopping and street food. We did not try any of the street food since we just had dinner.

Shilin Night Market, Taipei.

So it was just shopping and people watching. And dogs watching too. Taiwanese loves dogs and dresses them up too. Many stallholders owns dogs and they would bring them to their stalls. Taiwanese dogs are so calm and obedient. No need for Cesar Millan.

Pet Dog selling toy guns at Shilin Market Taiwan.

On the way back to the MRT, we saw a pet shop. These were some of the cutest kittens ever.

Kittens at store near Shilin Market Taipei.

Super cute kittens at a pet shop near Shilin Market.

The store sold puppies too.

Guess what else we found inside the pet store?

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Taiwan Day 7 – Beitou, Tamsui, Ximending

 

18 December 2011.

Having a soak at a hot spring resort is one of the “must-do” when visiting Taipei during winter. I had booked 2 private hot spring rooms at Villa32, one of the highly recommended hot spring resort at Beitou. Advance booking was needed since the resort had only 5 private hot spring rooms. 2000 NT per room for two persons, for 90 minutes.

The nearest subway (MRT) station to Beitou is actually the XinBeitou station, not the Beitou Station. To get to Xinbeitou MRT station, we need to alight at the Beitou station and take a another train for the short journey from Beitou to XinBeitou.

Our hotel in Taipei, the Caser Park Hotel had one of the best location in Taipei as it is right above the MRT Central Station.  After a Mac breakfast at the mall below the hotel, we took the MRT train to Beitou 北投.

Beitou MRT station where we changed to a train for the XinBeitou station.

Train to Xinbeitou.

 

The decor of the Beitou MRT train station and the train were based on theme of hot spring bath. Upon exiting the XinBeitou train station, we followed the signs that pointed the way to Villa32 hot spring resort. The entrance to Villa32 was not prominent; just a number 32 on the gate. A guy outside checked to confirm we had a booking before allowing us in. Our appointment was for 11.00 AM. We were just in time.

After a briefing on the do and don’ts of using the hot tubs, it was 1.5 hours of soaking in the privacy of our rooms. The room included a private shower area and sofa for relaxation in between the soaking.  Bottles of Evian water and  L’Occitane bathing kits, Frette shower ropes, individual towels and slippers were part of the deal.

Hot tub in the private hot spring room at Villa32.

 

The hot tub inside the private hot spring room of villa32 was big enough for 2 persons to soak at the same time. Two faucets for hot water and one for cold water allows the temperature to be controlled. The tap water can be left running continuously and any excess will overflow to a drain over the top, like those of a swimming pool.

After the soaking, we rested at the lounge of Villa32 for hot drinks and use the free wi-fi.

Inside Villa32 Hot Spring at Xinbeitou.

After leaving Villa32, we went to look for the Thermal Valley (or Hell Valley), the natural hot spring where the hot water originates.

Sign at road leading to Thermal Valley.

But it was closed on a Monday! Even the Hot Spring Museum was closed. No wonder Beitou seems quiet today.

There was a trail on a wooden boardwalk that ran parallel to the stream that flows downhill, towards the direction of the MRT station.

Testing the water to check if it is hot.

The water of the stream was hot.

 

We walked past the public hot facility that charges 40NT per person for a soak in a public area and the Beitou Hot Spring Museum (that used to be a hot spring bath area build by the Japanese). 

Beitou public library, made of wood!

 

 

From XinBeitou, we went back to Beitou and took the MRT to Tamsui also known as Danshui. Danshui is a sea-side town in northern part of Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui (淡水 )River; the name means "fresh water". This site is popular as a place for viewing the sun set and also a place to take a ferry to the Fisherman Wharf.

Map of Tamsui.

We took our lunch at a small crowded coffee shop selling fishball soup, fried rice noodles and Tamsui’s Ah Gei ( fried tofu stuffed with glass noodles).

Quite disappointing food. We also tried various snacks food on the esplanade, including the famous iron eggs from one of the stall near the pier. According to the stall holder, the eggs are stewed many times until they became rubbery in texture. Good for a try since this is a speciality here, but not exactly nice to eat.

Packets of “Iron Eggs” in various colour packaging on sale at Tamsui.

This shop selling Iron Eggs seems to be the favourite among the tourists.

 Scooters every where. Most cost effective mode of transport in Taiwan it seems.

Tamsui is a nice place to relax, feel the sea breeze, see the sunset, watch fishermen, couples, locals with their dogs wearing all sorts of doggy clothes and try the street food. The seafood snacks (fried spicy shrimps and baby crabs) were not bad.

Seafood snacks (fried spicy shrimps and baby crabs).

 

The tall ice cream looked fantastic but tasted terrible and ended up in the trash can.

Sea view at Tamsui.

Originally, the plan was to take a ferry to the Fisherman Wharf for dinner, see the sun set over there and visit the Lover’s Bridge. We had a change of plan; decided to skip this and go to Ximending for dinner and shopping instead. We walked back to the MRT station via the Tamsui Old Street (below).

Best way to get to Ximending (西門町) from Tamsui is by the MRT.  We made a brief stop at our hotel to deposit our shopping bags before heading out to Ximending. That was a benefit of staying at a hotel right on top of the Taipei Main Station.

Upon exiting the MRT station at Ximending, we saw the famous Ximen Red House. From there, we crossed the street into Ximending’s pedestrian-only shopping streets.

Red House at Ximending.

Ximending was quite a contrast to the Tamsui Old Street. This is a hip and modern shopping area in Taipei. Ximending is also famous for its street food. I had compiled a list of must-try famous food stalls in Ximending based on recommendations from the Internet. Of these, I would give the Ah Zhong Mee Suah (Ay-Chung Flour Rice Noodle) a 5-star rating. The noodles were served out rapidly, fast food style on small bowls and you stood and ate by the stall. The noodles looked simple (rice noodles with pig intestines) but tasted great, especially with the hot chilli sauce and sesame oil added as extra condiments. The boys finished everything, including the pig intestines which they would normally not touch.

After satisfying our stomach, we went shopping and saw some nice knapsack bags for the kids.   There were many designs and varieties to choose from. So, we bought 4 new bags to bring home.

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