Taipei Day 2 and 3

DAY 2 (THU) Jun 18, 2009

复兴南路 FUXING SOUTH ROAD

Spent the early morning hunting down local breakfast places I had read about on the Internet and found them!

尚大娘水煎包

安东街 | Dong An Alley
0630 - 2100

姜太太包子店
SOGO 复兴馆旁
0630 - 100
捷运忠孝复兴站2号出口，步行約1分钟 | MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station Exit 2

九份 JIUFEN

After greedily gobbling up breakfast, I boarded a bus to Jiufen. The fare was NT$87. I boarded the Taipei-Jiufen-Jinguashi bus from the bus stop at the entrance of Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station Exit 1. 

The ride took slightly more than an hour as it made several stops along the way to pick up and drop off passengers. I was a little anxious at first about missing the Jiufen stop.  The bus was an old one and didn't have LED signs to indicate the next stop.  I needn’t have worried because as soon as the bus stopped, everyone (literally) alighted.  The area looked so touristy it would've been hard to miss.

Jiufen was once a prosperous gold-mining town. It is now a tourist attraction. Quaint little shops, romantic tea houses, winding roads - the stuff from which movies are made.

The Taiwanese seem to be very fond of taro. Yam cake, yam vermicelli, yam dumplings, all kinds of yam desserts can be found throughout Taipei. In Jiufen, taro balls (芋圓) and yam dessert (鮮芋仙) are available everywhere. I bought savory yam snacks but didn't think they were anything to write home about.

To return to Taipei from Jiufen, take a bus with its destination “台北”in LED sign display from the bus stop across the road from 7-11 convenience store. The bus goes downhill. The bus terminates at MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station Exit 1.

台北车站 TAIPEI MAIN STATION

2:00PM.  I checked out of Déjà Vu Hotel (乔合大饭店) and took a cab to Hotel Flowers (华华大饭店), where Tammy and I would spend the next four nights. We had arranged to meet at the hotel lobby and 3:00PM but she was held up at the airport and arrived a little after 4:00PM.

The hotel was well-located, surrounded by restaurants, shops, convenience stores and within walking distance to Mitsukoshi, MRT Taipei Main Station as well as Taipei Railway Station.

The room is decent enough. It has a queen bed, a single bed, clean carpeting, crisp linens, a large bathroom and even a small flat-screen TV!

The hotel has 2 branches. We stayed at the new branch.

华华大饭店(分馆) Hotel Flowers (new branch)
No. 36 Hankou Street Sec. 1, Zhongzheng District +886 2 2312 3811, 2331 7392

台北市 中正区 汉口街一段36号
捷运台北车站Z2号出口 | Taipei Main MRT Station Exit Z2

永康街 YONG KANG STREET

We gave ourselves just 10 minutes to freshen up before heading out to Ding Tai Fung (Old Shop) in Yong Kang.

Almost everyone and anyone I know tells me that the Ding Tai Fung (Old Shop) in Taipei is the best in Asia because it's the original shop where it all started.  At any rate, I think the food is far better than what we have in the Singapore DTF branches.

Just a few shops away from Ding Tai Fung is I-Mei Confectionery (义美食品). I did not know it at the time but I-Mei was founded in 1934 and is renowned for its Taiwanese pastries as well as western cakes. Luckily I was smart enough to buy some for the folks in the Taipei office (*pat self on the back*).

Close by our hotel is a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) department store. Tammy bought a pair of shoes that was on discount. We felt it was a good deal at that time and it was only afterwards that we realise the discounts offered by Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Branch are even better.

科技大楼 TECHNOLOGY BUILDING

And as if we were afraid that some catastrophe might strike us during the night and we may not live to see tomorrow, we even went on to have dinner!

The area around the Technology Building MRT Station is famous for its late night eateries specializing in porridge. You can select from a huge variety of small side dishes to accompany your congee. Different styles of omelettes and vegetables are available for order as well.

This evening, I took my first MRT ride in Taipei. I was surprised to see passengers queue up in an orderly manner to wait for the train. And was even more amazed when they actually wait for alighting passengers to move out before getting in themselves!

It's evident that we Singaporeans have much to learn from our friends in Taipei. I mean, they even queue up to wait for the elevator! Geez, that’s never going to happen in Singapore!

小李子清粥小菜
大安区 复兴南路二段142号
No. 142 Fuxing South Road Sec. 2, Da-an District
1700 - 0600
捷运科技大楼站, 步行約10分钟
10 minutes walk from MRT Technology Building Station

***

DAY 3 (FRI) Jun 19, 2009

信义区购物中心 XINYI SHOPPING DISTRICT

The district is the premier shopping area in Taipei, anchored by a number of department stores and malls. It is home to 4 blocks of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store (新光三越) shopping complexes. Tammy and I only managed to cover Towers 4A and 8A. In Tower 4A, we saw the same pair of shoes which Tammy bought from Mitsukoshi (Taipei Station Branch) the evening before. It is NT$200 less here!

Other major attractions here include Taipei 101 and Eslite Bookstore (诚品书店).  It spans over 7 floors The bookstore has an expansive magazine collection (especially foreign magazines), a floor dedicated to children's books, a Japanese bookstore, art bookstore. The cookbooks section is equipped with a kitchenette for cooking demonstrations.  (I like!)

信义区购物中心 Xinyi Shopping District 

捷运市政府站3号出口 | Taipei City Hall MRT Station Exit 3 

松山区 庆城街 QINGCHENG STREET

Tammy introduced me to Heno Heno Moheno (福顏日本料理) for authentic Japanese food.  The restaurant has been around since 1982. Tammy and I shared cold noodles, grilled fish and tamagoyaki. I’m especially impressed by the asparagus handroll (蘆筍手捲) - super fresh crunchy asparagus, crisp shredded lettuce and mayonnaise nestled together in a cone of crispy seaweed.

This quiet, leafy part of town is lined with cafes and Western restaurants.  Ever Spring Hotel (长春商务旅馆) is across the street. Here you'll find Joyce West Café. It has the perfect setting for an intimate wedding reception.  

福顏日本料理  Heno Heno Moheno

No. 26 Qingcheng Street, Songshan District +886 2 27122007
松山区 庆城街26号
捷运南京复兴站 | Nanjing Fuxing MRT Station