10D9N Taiwan Trip: Jiufen Old Street Part 2
"I'm free to be whatever I, whatever I choose and I'll sing the blues if I want."
Totally singing the blues now because holiday is over today. But then, looking at the bulging belly, I probably really need to go back to harsh reality hoping that the harsh situation of my life will make me slimmer. At least before my cousin's wedding three weeks later. Hahaha wishful thinking?
If Singapore has a lot of street food like what Jiufen Old Street have, the above goal may just be really a dream. The food street sold at Jiufen Old Street really gives a lot of temptation to my eyes really.
There are non-food stores as well at Jiufen Old Street but most of them are handcrafts and arts store which is not really my subject of interest. My brother would be able to appreciate these better I suppose.
I, for sure, will be able to appreciate pretty food such as these colorful mochi. Oh right, Jiufen is famous for its yummy mochi too and this store who has this bright and yummy display sells pretty good ones. I tried the fruit mochis before and the mango mochi tastes good. Strawberry ain't bad either.
This time, I would like to try out the bean/nut-related mochi and chose green tea instead. Taste not bad too but if you want to buy a box of these mochi, please take note of the expiry date. If I recall correctly, they don't last that long even if you put them in the fridge. Probably a week+ tops.
My friend gave me a mission to buy these nougat crackers at Jiufen Old Street. Not like your regular crackers, these crackers are not super crunchy because of the sticky and gooey filling (and hence, the name "nougat"). I did not buy these for myself but my travelling buddy who got a box for herself commented that while these snacks taste yummy when we tasted them in Jiufen, they got soggy pretty fast when you brought them back home after few days. So words of advice, consume them fast!
Once you have reached this restaurant, which gives inspiration to Hayao Miyazaki for the bathhouse in his movie, Spirited Away, you have reached the middle section of Jiufen Old Street. Halfway to go to the beautiful mountainous view from the top.
How to reach Jiufen by direct bus:
1. Make your way to Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station
2. Exit via Exit 1 and walk all the way until you see Kao Chi at your left side
3. Walk further down the road for at least 3 minutes until you see a bus stop (which usually has crowd) for bus no. 1062
4. The bus may show Jinguansi at its destination but 1062 will surely bring you to Jiufen
5. Bus no. 1062 will also go via Ruifang so if you want to visit this city, you can board the same bus
