Chiayi 嘉義

Chiayi city is located at the southwestern part of Taiwan. While the city itself may not have a lot of things to offer for tourists, it is the nearest station to go if you are planning to go up to Alishan (阿里山).

Chiayi has High Speed Rail (HSR) Station so we went there via HSR on the way up to Alishan. Yep, if you have not realised it yet, this is the beginning of a mount-climbing trip. =)

This is how the HSR Station looks like. 

On the way to Alishan, we visited a fruit/snack/souvenir shop along the roadway. Most shops in Taiwan provides samples so you can taste the products first before you buy it. Awesome! 

You should really try Taiwanese mangoes. They are big and so sweet and juicy. Yum!!

We saw a lot of people buying the Taiwanese black nuts. We bought some for ourselves too since they taste quite nice. Hehehe. #peerpressure

Do expect a lot of Alishan's posts in the next few days! ^^

Night market food: Pork Buns at Hsu Ji

If you are in Taipei and you have not tried pork buns at all, I command you all to go to Shida Night Market. NOW! =P

Hsu Ji only sells one item which is pork buns but there is always a long queue in front of this stall. So, the owners are always busy rolling dough and filling the meat inside the dough. 

You can buy minimum number of 5 pieces (NTD35) but if you have been queueing for a long time, I suggest you go for 12 pieces (NTD80). Hahaha. It's so yummy!!! ^^

The easiest way to find Hsu Ji is by entering Shida Night Market through the alley where IJ Ysheng breadstore is located (i.e. the breadstore with purple neon logo). 

I wonder if I can eat this forever....#crazyporkeater

Night Market Series: Shida Night Market

I was reading through my own blog and I realised...I has not written a single word about the nearest night market near to my school, Shida Night Market!! How is this possible? Oops. XD

Shida Night Market is not as big as Shilin and Raohe Night Market but it has its own quirkiness to offer. I suppose that's why a lot of tourists still visit Shida Night Market. But, where it is located?

Do you still remember Shida Road? If you forget, no fret. Just look at the google map below and see Shida Road. The nearest MRT to Shida Road is Taipower Building MRT Station. You can go to Exit 3 and then walk straight toward NTNU.

While you walk around the road, you will see at one point, a lot of convenience stores. 

Go into the alleyway and voila! Welcome to Shida Night Market! 

I like Shida Night Market more for its clothes, compared to the food sold here. I didn't say the food was bad though. 

This store in particular likes to do a tie-in with movie character for its clothes design. 

I heard in the old days, Shida Night Market sells a lot of food. But the city major received so many complaints from the people residing in the area so that nowadays, the food seller in Shida Night Market closes its business one by one. Well, I can't blame the residents. I would not like my room to smell like stinky tofu. Hehehe.

Anyway, more fashion stores = happiness for a shopaholic. ^^

If you are sandals/ shoes lover, you will love Shida Night Market (and Taipei, in general). I've gotten my hands on this pair of sandals for 300NTD. Awww~~

I'll post more on what Shida Night Market has to offer on food next time! For now, happy shopping! =)

Taipei Eats: Yummy Egg Roll at Raohe Night Market

It is time for another night market food post. Are you ready to get hungry? (I know recently I've been posting a lot of food posts. This basically shows that I've done nothing significant besides eating. Oops!)

I saw this yummy display of a different kind of egg rolls + topping while walking around Raohe Night Market. 

The problem is when you want to eat something that looks good in Taiwan....you have to brave the queue! Oh my goodness. *faint*

You can check out the menu and use the queuing time to think carefully which one you want to order (if still cannot decide, just order all because it's gonna be a pain in the ass to re-queue). 

We chose the 2nd picture from the top left, which is an egg roll with prawn + mayo. After so much effort in queuing, it tastes...okay-ish. Haha. Oh well. It costs 65NTD, fyi.

If you want dessert, looks no further, the stall next to the egg roll is selling yummy-looking tarts. Hehehe. Go buy a few! ^^

You should also try the famous black pepper bun and Ice Cream Pancake at Raohe Night Market. Better come here with empty stomach, really! 

Taipei Eats: Dongmen Dumpling Restaurant, Yongkang Street

I'm coming back to Yongkang Street anytime I feel hungry after school. I guess the location does help since Yongkang Street is just located behind the NTNU. =P

However, today we will walk a bit near to the Dongmen MRT station's side. It's because we are going to Dongmen Dumpling Restaurant. Do you drool whenever you hear the word "dumpling"? Hehehe.

The menu can be seen on the wall once you enter the restaurant. 

If you cannot read the characters, do not panic. They do have English menu too. I'm loving this place already. Hehehe.

The restaurant feels kinda cozy. It's like those eating-with-family-vibe. But too bad I only eat with a friend here. 

Another pity when you only eat with a friend is..you cannot order a lot of things because we only have two stomachs in total. Anyway....

We order the scallion pancake (蔥油餅) and fried rice (炒飯) simply because we are craving for fried rice. I seldom see fried rice in Taiwan though I dunno why. The pancake costs 35NTD for 2 pieces while the fried rice costs 70NTD. 

As mentioned earlier, Dongmen Dumpling Restaurant (東門餃子館) is located nearer to Dongmen MRT compared to NTNU. You can see the map below for easy reference. Happy eating! ^^

Taipei Cafe: Dante Coffee, Guting

If you are a cafe lover, you will not feel bored in Taipei. Cafe can be found anywhere in Taipei. In the department store, in the alley, in the university...and the list goes on. Awesome, right? ^^

And I bet you will see this cafe so often. Hahaha.

There is one alongside Roosevelt Road, which is near Taipower Building MRT station (and our school). So one fine evening after class, my classmates and I decided to hang out for a bit at Dante Coffee (丹堤咖啡).

My classmates ordered cakes. This one is caramel butter cake. 

The other classmate ordered something that looks like a cream cake but she said the white cream is not really cream per se. It's more like yoghurt. Interesting~~

And I ordered a super sinful drink, frozen chocolate added with whipped cream. Hahaha. I should be grateful I stay at 5th floor without lift. I am forced to exercise everyday by climbing stairs. =P

If you want to hang out with friends or study in a cafe, you can pop by to Dante Coffee as they are conveniently located all around Taipei. 

An over-due family visit

Hello, how's everyone doing? It's already near Easter! I wonder why time flies so fast. There is no public holiday in Taiwan for Easter but anyway, it is time for me to finally pop by a visit to my only relative in Taiwan (while bringing easter eggs?), my uncle and aunt. #badniece #seldomvisit

They are staying at the other end of Taipei City, the nearest metro to their home is Furen University MRT station.

If you are curious about how Taiwanese houses look like. Ta-dahh, here you go. Are you surprised? Even though Taipei is a metropolitan, this is how the houses look like for most of its citizens. It does have skyscrapers but they are mainly located near Taipei City Hall area. Hahaha. 

My aunt loves small collectibles, so she decorates her main door with a lot of them. 

You will definitely will not leave your relatives' place with empty stomach (unless they hate you or something..hehe). Same things happened here, my uncle and aunt brought me to neighbourhood teppanyaki restaurant. The restaurant is not big but it feels cozy and homey.

The chef will cook the dishes in front of you. This chef is so full of concentration even though there is one crazy customer in front of him who keeps taking pictures. LOL. 

All teppanyaki set comes with a bowl of rice and corn soup. Yum! 

And you can select two types of meat in one set. Mine is a combination of shrimp and beef. Lovely combination, right? Balance picture of greens and meats. =P

I think I will always gain weight everytime I see my relatives. Really. There goes my diet (if I even start one). I love them though! Muach Muach! =)

Btw, Happy Easter (if you celebrate one)! ^^

Taiwan Travel: Aletheia University, Tamsui

After visiting the former British Consular Residence (see here), we continued to walk further up and we saw this sign.

The private university was mostly built from the contribution of Dr George Leslie Mackay's benefactors way far in Canada. 

The university has a yard and it's so green. 

There is a pond in the middle of the yard. It's quite peaceful really. ^^

You can feed the birds too. 

This is how big the auditorium is. They use it as a chapel too for Sunday service. 

The campus really gives the vibe of somewhere-not-in-Taiwan but it's good nonetheless. Do pay a visit when you are nearby. =)

Taiwan Travel: Former British Consular Residence, Tamsui

If you take a peek outside the window of Fort San Domingo (see here), you will see the former British Consular Residence. These two buildings are located next to each other.

You can see a mountain too at the direction opposite from the consular residence. It's called Guan Yin Mountain. 

The feeling inside the building is like coming into one of the houses in England I suppose. Does your house have a drawing room? Hehehe. 

A proper dining room. 

Afternoon tea, peeps? 

The bedroom looks kinda spooky though. =S

There's no entrance fee for the consular residence so make sure you check out the place when you are near Fort San Domingo. ^^