Day 3 Itinerary:
National Palace Museum | Golden Waterfall | Jiufen Old Street
I won’t be able to upload artworks from the National Palace Museum because my memory card got corrupted. Anyway, the main reason why we went there was to see the Jadeite Cabbage but unfortunately, the time we visited they moved it somewhere else. I know right? Sucks! Luckily, we managed to see the Meat-shaped stone. It looks so real that when you see it, you start craving for Dong Po Rou (Braised Pork Belly). For more info about this artwork go here.
Who wouldn’t be hungry after seeing that? LOL We had our lunch at the Xianjufu Cafe. It’s located on the 1st Floor East Side of the Main Building (Exhibition I). Let the feast begin!
Next stop: Golden Waterfall and Jiufen Old Street. We didn’t expect that there will be a road closure due to the heavy traffic. A lot of people are going there since it’s a holiday, it’s the first day of the year. Vehicles aren’t allowed to go up anymore so we decided to walk to the Golden Waterfall first. It’s an uphill trek but the view is worth seeing!
Finally, we were able to reach Jiufen after the unexpected delay. If you are a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, you’re aware that the movie Spirited Away took inspiration from this town. Jiufen will literally transport you to another era, this place is enchanting! As crowded and far as it is, I think it’s still worth visiting.
We managed to try the Bawan Dumplings and Bao Bing. Bawan dumpling is a glutinous dumpling with red meat filling. I think some people call it red dumplings because it’s red and it’s a dumpling. Ha ha
I’m not a fan of the taste, though. x.x What I love is the Bao Bing or shaved ice dessert. It is usually topped with red azuki beans, mung beans, taro balls, peanuts, soya beancurd and finish it by pouring some milk over it. Yum!
A very tiring but satisfying day. Excited for Day 4!
Day 4 Itinerary:
Niu Ba Ba | The Red House | Ximending Night Market | Taipei 101
Starting our day with hearty beef noodle soup. It’s not just any beef noodle soup, it’s from Niu Ba Ba Restaurant. They serve the most expensive beef noodle in the world according to World Record Academy. Consider trying it out when you’re visiting Taipei. There are six different reasons for the price – quality of beef, custom cuts, freezing technique, soup blending technique, noodle quality, and minimal seasoning.
If you are not willing to pay $324USD for a bowl of beef noodles, they also carry “ordinary beef noodles” which costs around NT$500 – NT$1500.
And here it is! My very own beef noodles! I didn’t get the most expensive one. I liked everything about it. The beef was soft and the soup…it was beefy goodness!
Niu Ba Ba (牛爸爸牛肉麵)
Address: 149 Minquan East Road Sec. 6, Taipei
台北市民權東路6段149號(國防醫學院大門旁)
Getting there: Take the metro – Bannan Line (blue) to Kunyang Station. Take a bus (284, 617, 903, 645, Blue 36 or Red32) to National Defense Medical College station and alight. Niu Ba Ba is located on the left side. Click here for the Google Map location.
Opening Hours: 11:00am – 09:00pm
Telephone: +886 2 8791.7187
Website: www.beeffather.com/
Before heading to Ximending, we dropped by Le Cake for some Sun cake and pineapple tarts. Their flagship store is in Jiufen but we went to the Taipei branch. I wrote some info below on how you can get to there. I will share all of the pastries and goodies I got from Taiwan on a separate post.
Le Cake Taipei branch (李儀餅店)
Address: Taipei Main Station, Underground Mall, Unit 11-2B
Getting there: Located in the Underground Mall of Taipei Main Station. It is near Z3 and Z6 exit.
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 09:00pm
Telephone: +886 2 2331.3017
Website: http://www.lecake.com.tw
We checked out The Red House first when you go out Ximen MRT station. Since it’s nearby the exit, it’s quite convenient to go there first before heading to Ximending night market.
Milk tea craving satisfied from50嵐! Yum!
We had Japanese dinner at Ximending. Food’s good and many people are eating here. It must be a good sign right?
Our last stop for the day: Taipei 101 Observatory.
Just a little trivia, building dampers originated from Japan, where there’s frequent earthquakes. Damper works by isolating the building from the earth, which creates relative shift that produces a counterforce, effectively reducing earthquake energy.
And to cap off the night, we had some Mango Diamond Ice from Big Tom. I know the weather’s freezing, but who wouldn’t say no to this?
Kriscel Diane 