This post was my Taiwan trip last year. Finally sort out all the photos and I will bring you through all the places and foods I had in 7D6N. First, we took a morning flight by Jetstar airlines. The journey approx. 4 hours plus. It was a free and easy trip and we book through
http://www.taipei-taxi.com
I can say their driver was excellent and service was good. He brought us to some places that was not even in the itinerary and even recommend local nice food for us to try. If you are lazy to plan and want a private service, you can try it.
The first thing we do is to get a local Taiwan line so that we can contact the driver as well as surf online even we are in oversea. Next, we went to 杭州小笼包 for our lunch. They served really good xiao long bao except for the steamed smelly toufu was a bit turn off because of the overwhelming smell. Overall, the price is economic and the food is great. By the way, the weather there was cool and temperature around 15 to 18 degree celsius. We had a walk around 中正纪念馆 and proceed to our hotel. We stayed at muzik hotel and it is located very near to ximending area. After resting for awhile, we decided to visit the iconic building of Taipei, Taipei 101. When we reached there, it was around evening time so the building has lit up. After taking some pictures, we went to 五分埔 for shopping and I can say the place is really huge. So many streets interconnecting and all I can see is clothes and clothes. Decided to visit 绕河夜市for dinner. The must try: 1) 玉子烧 2) 鸟蛋虾球 3) 胡椒饼 4) grilled mushroom. There are also 猪脚面 and 蛋中蛋 pancake and dessert. This is a must go 夜市if you visit Taipei.
On the second day, we went to 野柳 and it was one of the tourist attraction. It feature different size stone being eroded by the sea water and form different shape. There were a lot of people taking pictures. Amazing. After that, we went to 基隆夜市 for some street food. We ate the 鲁肉饭 and one of the famous shop serving 鼎边挫 .It was quite similar to the 面粉粿 in Singapore. The soup was great and it was worth a try. Next, we went to 阴阳海 and a small water fall for photo taking. We went on to 九分 for our snacking again. We had the 芋圆 which I love a lot. You can have it cold with ice or served hot with ginger soup. Another food we try was the popiah look alike but is wrapped with shaved peanut and ice cream and the fishball with tau pok soup. Both taste great. After which, we went to 十分 to 放天灯. We wrote all our wishes on all the side of the lantern. In a count of three, our wishes fly to the sky. This is one of the activity I wished to do when I came to Taiwan. Next, we went to 师大夜市 for dinner. For this 夜市, we tried the famous 可立饼 and 卤味 with maggie. There were many young people around as it is nearby a university. Recommended for young people as there are shopping and nice food in this 夜市.
On the third day, we went to the famous 阳明山. Before that we went to a cake shop named Yannick to buy some pastries for our snack later on the car. It was very foggy so we could not see anything so we went to a chinese restaurant for our lunch. We ordered a few interesting dishes not common in Singapore to try. One of it was 檳榔花. It is a kind of vegetables and it is crunchy and nice. Another was their famous local chicken. That day the weather was bit cold so we were happy after the hot and satisfying meal. Next we went to 北投硫磺谷 photo taking followed by a 2 hour of 温泉 at Atami Hotel. It was a normal room with a tub with hot water running from the side hose. Affordable price but normal standard. We went to 漁人碼頭 first and have some photo taking followed by 淡水老街 for a walk along the street and enjoy the scenery beside the wharf. As for dinner, we decided to skip 士林夜市 and opt for a bbq buffet near our hotel. The meat were fresh and there were many variety. The service was friendly and they spend their time explaining to us patiently. After the dinner, we decided to stroll back to our hotel.
On the fourth day, we went to 南方澳漁港 and we were very lucky to saw the 庙会. It was very majestic, there are 鞭炮 and 乩童. After walking around, the driver recommend us to go to 富美活海鲜. There were plenty of live sea creature in the different tank. From the amount of people queueing, can see that this restaurant is very popular. We opt for a set menu and the food is really good except the 螺肉 which taste a bit hard. There is a dish called 蚝仔酥 like crispy fried oyster. Very nice. The seafood were very fresh. After the lunch, we went to a interesting place. It was a open air hot spring. There were many people soaking their leg inside the tub. Totally free. Another side my mum tried the fish therapy and that one cost a little bit. Not expensive. A good place to rest. Next, we went to 伯朗咖啡城堡 for photo taking. It was high up the hill and the scenery were amazing. However, it was really crowded so even buying coffee need to wait up to one hour. So we left for Taipei and on the way, we tried the yam ice cream and 茶叶蛋. We get a chance to buy one of the popular 手信. Pineapple Tart. We bought from sunny hill and Chia Te. Both were good. At night, we went to 宁夏夜市. Food tried were: grilled mochi, eel noodle, 尤鱼羹 and chicken leg with peanut soup. After the dinner, we walk around ximending and spotted 鼎茶. Decided to get a bubble tea with pudding. A perfect drink to end the day.
Wow, day 5 already. After having a nice coffee at a coffee house, we proceed to 新竹廟口
for our snacking session again. Before we go to each place, we will search online to see what is the popular snack around the area. There have a lot of good food. We try the 阿富卤肉饭 only. As we are heading to Tai Chung so it was quite rush and we are going to 薰衣草森林 before the closing time. Inside the lavender plantation, there were other kind of flower other than lavender. To be honest, it was very beautiful but comparing to other bigger lavender plantation, this was considered small. Lavender smell is around everywhere so it make your mood very calm and peaceful. If you have time, can proceed to the cafe for some lavender made food and drink. We went on to Tai Chung and check in to Beacon hotel. This hotel is really near to 逢甲夜市. Recommended. After rest for awhile, we went down for dinner. Over there, there were too many food to try. There served really good 章鱼烧 and beside have 蛋饼. There were also grilled prawns, 大肠包小肠, 鸡排, 芋香奶茶, grilled scallops and many more. If you come to Tai Chung, this is definitely a must go 夜市 also.
On Day 6, we went to 日月潭 . The scenery is beautiful and you can choose to take a cruise to other side of the island and over there are one stall selling 茶叶蛋 which is famous also. Over at , there is a temple called 文武廟 which have 孔子 and 关羽 statue. We took a cable car to the other side and the view in the cable car was excellent. We arrived at the 伊达邵部落. Over there, there are stalls selling 米酒, 山猪肉, 红茶 and 鸡翅包饭. We tried everything and the chicken wing with rice and cold red tea were really good. Next, we went to 埔里 for dinner and up to 清境农场. Up the hill, it was so cold only 10C. We stayed in 清境雲頂渡假山莊. After a hot bath, we enjoy the natural air con and get to sleep.
On the last day, we went to 小瑞士花園 and 清境農場. The sheep were all over the place and there is a horse show (at 1045 and 1500) and sheep show (only on Tuesday and Sunday). There were many souvenirs and snacks related to the sheep. We had our lunch at 阿东煲仔鸡. The chicken were really good. Very tender and the gravy goes well with the rice. Recommended to try. We rush back to Taipei and on the way, we bought some local fruits and bring back to Singapore. I will come back again to visit other parts of Taiwan. The things I will buy will be Porter Bag, pineapple tart and Stay real products. I love Taiwan!
