Taiwan 2014: Day 7 (Taipei 台北 - Taichung 台中 - Cityinn Hotel Plus Taichung Station Branch 新驛旅店台中車站店 - Yizhong Street 一中街)

Hey travelling peeps! So let's just jump right into it because I've dragged this series over into 2016 and it shows what a procrastinator I am!

If you missed out any of the previous posts, here are the links:
Day 1 Part 1 (Singapore Changi Airport - Taoyuan International Airport)
Day 1 Part 2: (Yongkang Street 永康街 - Taipei 101 台北101 - Shihlin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 2 Part 1: (Four Seas Soy Bean King 四海豆漿大王 - Goose Meat Shop 鴨肉扁 - Ximending 西門町)
Day 2 Part 2: (Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 3: (Taipei Breeze Centre 微風廣場 - Guang Hua Digital Plaza 光華商場 - Ximending 西门町)
Day 4: (Jiufen 九份 - Shifen 十份 - Jingtong Mining Town 菁桐老街 - Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 5: (Bafang Yunji 八方雲集 - Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake 現做起司蛋糕 - Snake Alley 華西街夜市 - Shilin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 6: (Banqiao 板橋 - Ximending 西門町)

Day 7 was devoted mostly to travelling from Taipei to Taichung by train for the experience!

We had a late morning, checked out from City Inn Hotel 3 and went to Taipei Main Station to grab some quick lunch before we boarded the train.

Mos Burger is somehow always our go-to dining spot.

My favourite seafood rice burger - the most yummo-licious thing ever =)

The train tickets were bought the day before just so we could get seats together - make sure you get train tickets at least one day before otherwise there will definitely not be any seats. I'd even recommend two to three days before just in case. You can either access the self-service machine to buy your tickets, or head over to the main counter. Please bear in mind that the train station is not the bus station (I've heard of some people being confused).

And this train ride is exactly where I lost my camera - sobs.

Well we checked into City Inn Hotel Plus Taichung - just at the back of Taichung Train Station's exit. There's an entrance in the front and an entrance in the back. The route to City Inn Hotel Plus Taichung is through the back entrance of Taichung train station.

I'm not gonna lie. The lobby looks amazing and it has a whole range of facilities. The rooms however are tiny. So tiny. Clean and comfortable but really small. You will actually feel claustrophobic inside.

新驛旅店台中車站店CityInn Hotel Plus Taichung Station BranchNo. 133, Section 4, Fuxing Rd, East District, Taichung City, Taiwan 401
Phone: +886 4 2223 2333 | Website: http://www.cityinn.com.tw/EN/Cityinn5/
 

A relatively good location with really good service and free breakfast buffet every morning - if you're okay with the size. I'd highly recommend it if you want to be close to the train station. But if you want to be near to Feng Jia Night Market, there is no way you should stay in City Inn Hotel. It is way too far and commuting by taxi is a little too far and expensive. You are better off staying in a hotel or Minsu near 逢甲夜市 Feng Jia Night Market.

Taking a cab to Yizhong Street

Our only night market in Taichung because we were so exhausted the next day.

A pretty delicious version of a sandwich-kebab-roti-john like thingy that we ordered. You can choose beef, pork or chicken and they'll set you back about TWD45-50.

Braised Items 卤味 - a street food delicacy where you get to choose various meats, innards, vegetables and such to go with a delicious braised sauce.

There's literally nothing much in this shopping mall - the shops have a pretty hefty price tag but I guess you can walk in for some air-con if you're there in summer?

A stall selling rice rolls and shao bings 饭卷和烧饼 which had one of the longest queues in Yizhong Street. Not my kinda dish though, but definitely well-liked by many!

No night market trip is complete without Fried Squid! Seaweed flavour is definitely my favourite!

A stall owner's cute puppy!

Earrings!!! NTD50 for a pair which is about SGD2.15 for a pair.

We wandered around and chanced upon one of those shops that was just filled with "The Claw" kinda machines... and went ABSOLUTELY NUTS. No seriously. We spent 2 hours inside.

We ended off the night with some noodles nearby before taking a cab back for an early night since we had a pretty packed 2nd day planned for Taichung!

Stay tuned for the next post where we head to the scenic places in Taichung and had an awesome blast with taking photos and admiring the beautiful sceneries in Taichung with our very friendly driver!

Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V

Taiwan 2014: Day 6 (Banqiao 板橋 - Ximending 西門町)

Hey guys! So this will be a really short and sweet post because my family didn't do much on Day 6.

If you missed out any of the previous posts, here are the links:
Day 1 Part 1 (Singapore Changi Airport - Taoyuan International Airport)
Day 1 Part 2: (Yongkang Street 永康街 - Taipei 101 台北101 - Shihlin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 2 Part 1: (Four Seas Soy Bean King 四海豆漿大王 - Goose Meat Shop 鴨肉扁 - Ximending 西門町)
Day 2 Part 2: (Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 3: (Taipei Breeze Centre 微風廣場 - Guang Hua Digital Plaza 光華商場 - Ximending 西门町)
Day 4: (Jiufen 九份 - Shifen 十份 - Jingtong Mining Town 菁桐老街 - Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 5: (Bafang Yunji 八方雲集 - Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake 現做起司蛋糕 - Snake Alley 華西街夜市 - Shilin Night Market 士林夜市)

Initially the plan was to head down to Jiaoxi Township for a hot spring experience! I managed to find a place that has a "club-like" system to how they run their hot springs and even different flavoured hot spring pools where everyone is attired in swimwear so that its all nice and PG. Unfortunately due to certain unforeseen circumstances, hot springs were a no-go and we had to come up with alternative plans.

Surfing google map was the only way we could do it, and so we embarked for Banqiao since there seemed to be the most shopping malls there. Well, the thing about shopping malls in Taiwan, its way too expensive - especially if you're a cheapo who shops at night markets and street stalls. So we settled on lunch and made an impromptu decision to watch an IMAX movie of Exodus which was the only English movie on at the time.

Me and my Mos Burger Addiction once again!

A little chocolate in my system which a smooth chocolate frappe!

Expensive movie tickets - about SGD28 per person!

Moses (Christian Bale) seems to be eyeing the cinema snacks.

Then it was time to head off to Ximending for some late night dinner snacks before we went back to the hotel!

Big Intestine Mee Sua - I'm more of a big intestine girl than a oyster one (for mee sua)

Ah Zhong Mee Sua - A famous stall in Ximending that just brings in swarms of crowds!

Flamed Beef Cubes - one of our street favourites which you can find in most night markets!

Bomb Scallion Pancake - way too spicy for me - kinda like a spicy prata~!

Fried Assorted Mushrooms - mmmmmm yum!

COLD STONE CREAMERY for some mind freezing desserts!

A pretty chill day of doing pretty much nothing but we went back early to pack up since we were checking out the next morning to head to Taichung!

Till the next post,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V

Taiwan 2014: Day 5 (Bafang Yunji 八方雲集 - Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake 現做起司蛋糕 - Snake Alley 華西街夜市 - Shilin Night Market 士林夜市)

If you missed out any of the previous posts, here are the links:
Day 1 Part 1 (Singapore Changi Airport - Taoyuan International Airport)
Day 1 Part 2: (Yongkang Street 永康街 - Taipei 101 台北101 - Shihlin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 2 Part 1: (Four Seas Soy Bean King 四海豆漿大王 - Goose Meat Shop 鴨肉扁 - Ximending 西門町)
Day 2 Part 2: (Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 3: (Taipei Breeze Centre 微風廣場 - Guang Hua Digital Plaza 光華商場 - Ximending 西门町)
Day 4: (Jiufen 九份 - Shifen 十份 - Jingtong Mining Town 菁桐老街 - Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)

Day 5 was a day of non-stop eating and relaxation. But mostly the eating part.

How much? Well you're about to find out.


We started the day a little later by sleeping in. After some impromptu research, the sister read some blogs suggesting possible breakfast/brunch spots in Taipei and someone suggested Bafang Yunji 八方雲集, a dumpling house which has branches all over Taipei.

The nearest one was only a 2 minute walk from our hotel! What luck!

The pan-fried gyozas are honestly the best thing here! The skin is thin and crispy but oh so tasty. The filling? Juicy and bursting with the sweetness of the minced meat! I highly recommend the curry flavoured one! It isn't spicy but its packed with the tantalising aroma of curry you just can't stop at one.

They also sell a variety of noodles here in case you need some carb in you and you think dumplings aren't sufficient. I honestly wouldn't bother wasting my time with them though. The noodles are pretty meh and ordinary. The dumplings however are extraordinary.

Corn chowder and Chilli Vinegar Dumplings - the chowder is totally YUM - can't say the same for the chilli vinegar dumplings though. Give this a pass and order more curry dumplings instead.

My verdict? A not raved about enough breakfast spot with pretty good food! Do give this place a try - I swear I still have beautiful haunting dreams about the curry gyozas.

Bafang Yunji Dumplings 八方雲集
No. 14號, Section 1, Chengde Rd, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
Website: 8way.com.tw (Mandarin only)  |  Telephone: +886 2 2556 4489
(Nearest to City Inn Hotel III Taipei Station Branch)
(There are outlets all over Taipei - use Google maps to locate the various branches)



If you've been to Taipei Main Station, you may have seen this queue and wondered what it was for. Uncle Tetsu's has a long line of loyal customers for its piping hot cheesecakes! We queued for a whole half hour just to try out how awesome this can be.

The fluffiest and lightest cheesecake I've ever had in my life - and its just so perfect when its warm! 

Time to pamper ourselves with an amazing foot massage and gua sha! We went to Snake Alley otherwise known as Huaxi Night Market. Its known as Snake Alley because they sell snake blood soup here - which is known to be good for your skin!

Gua sha (Chinese: 刮痧; pinyin: guā shā), meaning "scraping sha-bruises", is a traditional Chinese medical treatment in which the skin is scraped to produce light bruising. Practitioners believe gua sha releases unhealthy elements from injured areas and stimulates blood flow and healing.

Be wary that some people bruise more easily than others. The general idea is that the more bruises that appear after you get your gua sha, the more unhealthy you were! However, the bruises may be pretty scary looking - don't get freaked out!

 This may happen for some people if you did Gua Sha for your back!

Relaxed, happy faces after our massage and gua sha!

A procession was on that night to pray for peace!

We went back to Shihlin Night Market for our to-die-for PRINCE CHEESE POTATOES!
Honestly, the next time I'm back in Taiwan I definitely have to eat this! So do you! Its the stall right opposite Jiantan Station with a long line and a yellow signboard!

Fried Milk - just so delicious, but so filling! Bring a friend who has a huge stomach so you can both pig out together in Taiwan!

HOT-STAR Large Fried Chicken at Shihlin Night Market - when standing in the queue, somene will come up to you and ask you how many pieces of chicken you are buying. You'll pay him and take said number of paper bags from him, keep queueing and collect your chicken at the counter!

I know, I know, no photos! But that is so amazing! People are just so talented at applying their creativity to everything and this duck is just so cute!

Some hoop-shooting to pass the time in Shihlin Night Market!

The most amazing Cheese Bread ever!

And last but not least, Bear Paw Burger!

You can customise your burger by choosing your patty, bun and sauce. I chose the brown sugar bun and chicken fillet! Yummmmmmm it was so good. The bun was so soft and the chicken crispy! AMAZING!

Shihlin is definitely your must-go stop for a never-ending string of street food! It is an extravaganza of never-ending pleasures for your tummy! Make sure you get more friends to go if you can!



Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V