Taiwan 2015 Day 3 & 4: Taipei

DAY 3: 3 JAN 2015

Our first day in Taipei today!
永和豆浆 (Yong He Dou Jiang) is a famous breakfast place in Taiwan, and I just had to try it.
There was an outlet located just 10 minutes walk away, which was really convenient.

永和豆浆大王
Lane 30, Section 1, Hankou St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100

Breakfast spread

This outlet caters more to takeaways as there were only three tables available for dine ins.

Since there were three of us, we ordered four items to share, which costs less than S$10 in total.

We had 油条 (fried dough)，豆浆 (soybean drink)，咸豆浆 (salted soybean drink)

and 葱抓饼 (spring onion pancake).

It was my first time trying out 咸豆浆 and it tasted somewhat like porridge.

I guess it was because shrimps were added in.

I really liked the 豆浆!

It was really flavorful and smooth, and this was the reason why I returned in day 5.

葱抓饼 was good too!

It tasted much like roti prata with spring onions and eggs. 

Missing this while I'm typing this...

Anyway, after breakfast, we decided to walk to 西门町 (Ximending)!

Because we were a little too early and most shops open at 11am, we just took a stroll

down the pedestrian street aimlessly.

But we made a surprising discovery because of that!

Snaking lines for Jay Chou's fan meet

Jay Chou was having a fan meet at 2pm right at the heart of Ximending.

There were hundreds of people queuing by 10am and the organisers did a really good

job in guiding the fans to the end of the line and making sure that the lines do not disrupt businesses.

It was quite an eye-opening experience since I have never participated in a fan meet before.

By the time the clock struck eleven, most of the shops opened for business and the streets

started bustling with life.

There were many shops selling cute novelties and we couldn't resist getting a few as gifts.

阿宗面线
No.8-1, Emei St., Wanhua District, Taipei City 

A visit to Ximending is not complete without eating 阿宗面线 (Ah Zhong Mian Xian)!

This is one of my favourite eats in Taiwan.

We got a large bowl to share and it costs NT60 only.

The vermicelli was super good and the intestines were not too overpowering.

The girls didn't like intestines so I had most of them to myself!

Loved it!

After Ximending, we decided to explore Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and the underground mall

at Taipei main station.

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is similar to Isetan, and it isn't our cup of tea.

So, we left after five minutes, haha.

The underground mall was slightly better because the shops are similar to those found in Ximending.

I managed to get a super cute Snow White luggage tag for myself and beauty products from Cosmed!

Cosmed is a drugstore commonly found in Taiwan, and it is famous for the wide variety

of beauty products that they carry.

I bought two boxes of My Beauty Diary masks for NT409 and two boxes of eye masks for NT299!

They were also having a promotion at that time whereby additional rebates will be given

if we spent more than a certain amount on skincare products.

We hit that amount easily, so we got huge savings from our buys at Cosmed!

We made a trip back to our hostel to deposit our shopping buys before heading to Shilin night market.

We took the red line to Jiantan station, which was the nearest train station to the night market.

There are two exits, and do check before leaving the platform!

Shilin night market

It was a short walk to the night market from the train station.

As we were there a little early, the games stalls were only preparing for business.

But most of the food stalls were already open, and so, we starting our food marathon!

XXL fried chicken

You need to try this!

This shop is easy to spot due to its location and long lines.

While in the queue, a staff will pass you plastic bags according to the quantity you are buying.

When your turn comes, you just need to pay up and get your fried chicken!

One piece costs NT50 only.

Isn't it super cheap for such a huge piece?

Bustling streets of Shilin night market

We continued our food marathon with 胡椒饼 (pepper cake), fried milk and other streets

snacks filling our tummies.

When we finally raised our white flags, we decided to check out the game stalls at the market.

Prawning

We tried a darts game just for the experience!

NT30 for 8 darts, and you win a toy only if you burst all eight balloons.

We only burst two, thanks to Phoebe.

Oh well, at least we had fun!

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DAY 4: 4 JAN 2015

淡水 (Dan Shui) was on our list today!

Train platforms

To get to Dan Shui, we had to take the red line all the way to the end, Tam Shui station.

The ride costs NT50, and we decided to get the EasyCard, which is Taipei's version of EZ-link.

The EasyCard gives a rebate of 20% for metro rides and 10% off bus rides.

As we will be using public transport rather frequently for the next few days, the EasyCard will

bring huge savings for us.

The initial deposit of NT100 will be returned to you, together with any remaining credits,

when you decide to refund the card.

However, a service fee of NT20 will be deducted.

Anyways, we finally arrived at Dan Shui after a long train ride.

The major tourist attractions at Dan Shui would be 淡水老街 (Dan Shui Old Street)

and 渔人码头 (Fisherman's Wharf).

Right after you exit the train station, you will arrive at the start of Dan Shui Old Street.

Scenic view from Dan Shui Old Street

This old street is actually mostly filled with food stalls, and souvenir shops selling

the famous 铁蛋 (iron eggs).

As we didn't have breakfast that morning, we decided to fill our tummies with one of

the specialties of Dan Shui, 阿给 (ah gei).

阿给老店

Phoebe brought us to the shop which she patronised previously.

This shop is located just opposite to the Turkish ice cream stall, and they have more

seatings at the second floor.

鱼丸，肉丸 & 阿给

I couldn't remember how much this meal was, but it was probably less than S$12 in total.

阿给 is essentially beancurd filled with cellophane noodles (tang hoon), accompanied

with a special sauce that was a little spicy.

It was so good that each of us finished our bowl of 阿给!

Although we were quite full from our meal, we decided to get the signature tall soft serve!

Super tall choco-vanilla soft serve

Each cone costs NT30, and we settled for a mix of chocolate and vanilla.

The soft serve wasn't exactly great, but it's really cheap for that amount!

After exploring the old street, we decided to make our way to Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf is a distance away from Dan Shui Old Street, and you can either take

a boat or a bus to get there.

We got there by foot (3km), and it took us close to 40 minutes!

I guess we were used to walking when we travel, but I would recommend you to take the

public transport because it is faster and super cheap!

Fisherman's Wharf

The fisherman's wharf doesn't have much to offer, with the lover's bridge as its only attraction.

Lover's bridge

So, we basically walked 40 minutes to see a bridge.

We took bus 26 back to Tam Shui station because I was reluctant to walk back.

The bus ride costs only NT15 and we reached the station in less than 10 minutes!

Our next stop was Taipei 101, which was all the way at the other end of the MRT line.

Upon entering the building, we spotted the crowd waiting outside of 鼎泰豐 (Din Tai Fung).

Din Tai Fung, Taipei 101 branch

The queue system is exactly the same as the one in Singapore.

You get a queue number and the ordering list first.

When your number gets called, submit the list to the staff and get in!

We ordered two plates of 小菜 (appetizers)，10 小龙包 (steamed pork dumplings)

 and 5 淤泥小龙包 (yam dumplings) to share.

The standards were somewhat on par with the Singapore branches, with the exception

of the yam dumplings which tasted smoother and much better!

The bill came up to S$30 in total, which would have cost us more in Singapore.

After walking around the mall, we gave Agnes b L.P.G cafe a try.

Do note that there is a minimum order of one item per person.

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

Pistachio Chocolate Cake

The cakes range from NT130 to NT160, which are indeed reasonably priced.

I felt that the standards were really good, and all three cakes exceeded my expectations.

But we were really full after that because we had Din Tai Fung a while ago.

So, we made the decision to walk to Raohe night market thereafter.

Taipei 101 at night

I guess I pissed my friend off by feeding her too much, so I decided to walk thrice as fast

to match her speed, haha.

And because of that, we arrived at the night market after 30 minutes!

Entrance of Raohe night market

We didn't eat at the night market, and we mainly shopped for socks and electronics.

I would have loved to try out the torched beef, but I will definitely be back in future to

get it off my to-do list!

We made a trip to 五分埔 (Wu Fen Pu) too, since it was 10 minutes walk away.

Wu Fen Pu is essentially a wholesale apparels market where you can get reasonably priced clothes.

But because it was winter, the clothes were just not suitable for our sunny island.

After walking aimlessly along the different alleys, we decided to head home

and get some early rest!