Day 1 is here. Day 2 is here. Day 3 is here.

For Day 4, we were spending it visiting the Taipei 101 area, and do some shopping.

Then it was back to Dongmen area for dinner.

Next day, Day 5, we woke up early to catch a flight back to Singapore. Will definitely be back to Taipei again, a nice place for a short break. And for the food.

Day 1 is here. Day 2 is here.

For the third day, we visited Jiufen.

We decided to take the bus to Jiufen instead of taking the train/bus. It was not easy to find the bus stop to take the bus. A few taxi drivers trying to get customers at the bus stop confirmed it was the right place to take the bus.

After watching in awe how the bus driver managed to drive up the long, narrow and windy road to Jiufen, we arrived to a small place filled with tourists. And it was hot! We decided to hit the old market street first, where there is a wide variety of food.

As it was too hot, we decided to take a taxi down to the train station, and then take a train back to Taipei.

We headed to our next stop, Fisherman’s Wharf to catch a glimpse of their famous sunset.

Back to Taipei for a late dinner.

Thus end a very tiring Day 3!

Day 1 is here.

So after a good night’s rest, we embarked on a long day of food and places.

We first explored the Dongmen area around our hotel, and came across this dessert place that sells wonderful and tasty mango shaved ice dessert. So we tried it. For breakfast. We love it so much we had it again the next day!

We then proceed to work up an appetite for lunch by exploring the Dongmen neighbourhood. Lots of food, hipster cafes and interesting shops.

Entered this hipster café on a whim, well it was also partly because the poor guy was standing in the hot sun trying to get customers to patronise his café. The café was pretty cool, serving coffee from around the world. They even put a bit of the corner in this small cup, for you to sniff at the coffee fragrance, something that is being done for Chinese tea, which we found out later.

After working up an appetite, we went to the supposedly famous place that sells delicious beef noodles. We were not disappointed. Besides the beef noodles, the pork ribs rice was just as delicious.

After filling up our stomach, it was time to make our way up Maokong, which is famous for the tieguanyin tea that is grown there. We took the train to the train station, before walking ten minutes to the Gondola station, which took us to the top of Maokong.

After walking for around thirty minutes, we found the tea house that was recommended. It was serenity. Bliss.

Then it was time to enjoy the sunset.

Then it was time to take the Gondola down and stopped by Ximending. It feels like Shibuya crossing in Tokyo!

Then it was supper!

Thus end Day 2!

Decided to take advantage of the long weekend to go to Taipei. This was my first time to Taipei, though I was in Taiwan many years ago, courtesy of my country. I have read and heard about how wonderful Taipei is, especially the food, so decided to see, or taste, for myself.

I was not disappointed.

After landing in Taipei, took a bus to the main train station, before taking the train to the station near the hotel. It was surprising Taipei does not have a train station linking the airport to the city, especially since they have a really nice and efficient train system.

The first food stop was to the famous Din Tai Fung, well known for its delicious meat dumplings. The original outlet, the one that was awarded one Michelin star, was a short ten minutes walk from the hotel. Even though it was still too early for dinner, there was a crowd waiting for their seats.

 

The Taipei 101 building was clearly visible outside the place.

It was a relatively short wait of twenty minutes before a table was allocated on the second floor.

The food came pretty quickly. Somehow I feel the dumplings here taste better than the ones from the same outlets in Singapore.

The next destination was to the famous Shilin Night Market, for even more food!

Perhaps it was due to the long day, perhaps it was due to the hot weather, or perhaps it was due to how big the market is, it was really tiring, and we left without really exploring the entire place. But the food, I will just go back again, just for the food.