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Sunday, September 18, 2005


XI MEN DING~~~~my home in Taiwan


i loved this place.
my hotel is right smack in the middle of Xi Men Ding, the place where teenagers and the youngsters hang out after school and on weekends.

it has everything i ever need.
from the most delicious food to being the fantastic shopping haven i ever wished for.

it reminds me very very much of HongKong's Mongkok.


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the infamous Ah Zong Mian Xian is found in Xi Men Ding.
lots of people from the young to the old are seen standing outside this stall with a bowl of delicious mian xian in their hands.

The Fish House (Swing Restaurant)
this restaurant is really cute.
the seats are made of swings.
those swings made of wooden planks attached to the roof using really thick ropes.

i wanted to take more pictures of this place but the staff forbid us to take photos and they told us that they would be fined NT1000 if their boss finds out that customers took pictures.

nevertheless, we used my handphone and secretly took some quick pics of this place.
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can't really see much of the swings though.
but this whole restaurant has an ocean theme.
even the food is served on seashells.

Japanese Food
we found this really cool and cozy Japanese restaurant.

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Bing says it looks like a typical restaurant in Japan!

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i forgot if i mentioned before but the Taiwanese really love serving the sashimi in huge and thick chunks!!

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you can find all these practically everywhere in Taipei.
we have all these for supper every night without fail!
my favourite is the chicken with veggie!

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We accidentally stumbled upon this mini cafeteria which sells Ya Rou Bian which means Duck Noodles.
it's superb.
absolutely superb, i really mean it.

even the cab drivers mentioned to us about this.
this has to be my luckiest find in Xi Men Ding.
those going Taiwan, you can find this near Rainbow Hotel.
Walk straight when you exit from the hotel lobby and turn right along the road junction.

SAN XIONG DI
this is another famous shop selling desserts.
we had the white fungus with lian ou.
the lian ou is simply the best i've ever tasted.

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nothing fantastic about the porridge.
the second dish is actually Pork Ribs Rice. (pai ku fan)
nice!!

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this is a very very famous and popular stall which sells duck's tongue.
many celebrities including Andy Lau came here before.
true enough, it's really nice compared to those street vendors selling ducks tongue.
Price: 100g for approximately NT100.

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all these food stalls open early in the morning and closes late at night.

Swing Restaurant 2

Soon, we realised that Xi Men Ding has these little swing restaurants scattered around.

this is another swing restaurant which has a totally different theme.
this looks exactly like a toyland.

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it's absolutely relaxing coming here to unwind over a cup of red tea.
sipping slowly on a wooden swing while watching the busy crowd buzz by you by the windows.

if only Singapore has a swing restaurant, i promise to be a loyal regular customer!

Haircut in Taipei
we both had our hair cut at Xi Men Ding.
done on different days at the same hair salons but at different parts of Xi Men Ding.

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while waiting for Bing, the cutesy assistant kept serving me red milk tea!
and even gave me the remote control for the TV to keep me entertained. :)

she used cutesy and colourful hairclips on Bing's hair. *lol*


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my turn.

Sipping on yummy red milk tea!!

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KTV
Xi Men Ding has 3 major KTVs.
Namely Cashbox (PartyWorld), Big Echo (Hello Kitty), Holiday.

According to the locals, Cashbox is the most popular one and that's where we decided to head for in the end.

The lobby looks more grand than my hotel!!!
and i thought it was a hotel at first too.

our room was on the 3rd level and we had to take the lift up there.


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each room has a private wash room attached to it too!

the sound system is terrific!
i really love this KTV.

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On weekends, youngsters will perform hip hop dance in the middle of Xi Men Ding.
Many people will crowd around to watch and cheer for those who courageously step out to perform!

We finally see the crowded Xi Men Ding.
it's livelier on weekends.

but after 12am, Xi Men Ding will transform into a Ghost Town where you hardly find a single soul around.

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Tattoo street!
After my 6 days of crazy shopping and eating.
it's time to pack and leave!

Back at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport.

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check out their spelling!!!
it's supposed to be "Snacks" instead of Sneaks.

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our last meal in Taiwan.
Burger King's Chicken Drumstick burger.
it's very nice and spicy!

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bye Taiwan, i'll miss you!
will definitely come back again someday for your food :)

and finally..........






my mega hauls from Taiwan:

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i'm a very happy girl now.
the only thing i didn't buy are shoes!
their sizes didn't fit me and i don't really like the designs they have this season.

Monday, September 12, 2005


Trip to Jiu Fen, Kee Lung, Hot Spring Bath!


to get to Jiu Fen, we took the MRT to Taipei Main Station.
From there, we walked via the underground link to the Railway Station and bought our tickets to Rui Fang Station.

the tickets were quite cheap, around NT40++ only, can't remember the exact price.
the journey is around 50 minutes long.

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at Taipei Railway Station.

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we reached Rui Fang Station.
we simply followed the crowd and reached the road.
and just at the right time, the bus which goes to Jiu Fen arrived.

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the view from the top of the mountain is breath taking.
and it's very cooling up here as well!
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having lunch.
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Lu Rou Fan again!
Jiu Fen's famous fishballs are a must try!!
they come in all sorts of flavouring and some are really really huge!!!

we had our lunch at this restaurant packed with locals and tourists.
great and recommended place!!

exploring Jiu Fen.
this place has a thousand flights of steps.
my legs practically went soft and after this trip, i had a slight phobia when i see stairs!!

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Face Moulding.
we thought of trying but Bing insists that it looks scary to display it at home.

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a traditional tea house in Jiu Fen.

tea houses are in abundance.

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this tea house has a simply magnificent view.

The place where the blockbuster movie "City of Sadness" was filmed.
this film made Tony Leung famous years back then.

next, we headed to Kee Lung, Miao Kou-- the very famous seafood night market.

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we found this after a long walk under the hot sun!

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Crab Soup and glutinous rice!
i have nothing but praises for the crab soup.
it's superb!!

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pork and intestines.

the temple in Miao Kou.

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this is what i alwayz wanted to try!!
it's very very yummy!
if you ever see this in Taiwan, pls do not hesitate to try it.
the crab is steamed in buttery gravy which makes me want more!!
i've never had anything like this before.

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Squids again.
this time, giant ones.

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located near the sea, Miao Kou is indeed one of the best markets for the freshest and cheapest seafood.

on this very day itself, we also visited Bei Tou for our HotSpring Bath.

Take the MRT to Bei Tou and change to Xin Bei Tou, just one stop away.

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People skinny dipping in the natural resources.

after walking and walking, we decided to try out one of the Hot Spring Resorts scattered around the area.
Price NT1600 for 2, duration, 2 hours.
.

next update: Xi Men Ding.

Sunday, September 11, 2005


My Taiwan Travaganza Part 3



BEAUTIFUL DAN SHUI!

my favourite place in Taipei.
it's so peaceful and serene.

many families bringing their pet dogs out for a walk.

and this place has plenty of food too!
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Bing Tang Hu Lu.

they're candy coated fruits.
can choose from strawberries and cherry tomatoes.

if you have a sweet tooth, you'll love this!
but eating this is rather messy as the candy will drip all over the place.

the DanShiu famous Tall Ice-cream

mine is only half tall.
but i managed to finish it all up!
it tastes like KFC's 50 cents ice cream.

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Bing buys squids again.
we keep having squids in Taiwan :P

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we found lots of these in Dan Shui.
wanted to have sketches of ourselves too but afraid will be quite time consuming as we have lots of activities lined up after this.

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Ah Ma Tie Dan (metal eggs)
heard that this brand is good so i decided to buy a few packets of this.

it's quail eggs but coated with something elastic and bouncy outside.
nice!
THIS, is my favourite food in Dan Shui!!!
i'm craving for this rite now.
it's called Ah Gei
it's toufu and glass noodles inside.

very very nice!
i love it's gravy.
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a picture of how Ah Gei looks like when it's half eaten by me.
Dan Shui has these gigantic fishballs too!

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all these for NT100.
the little crab is yummy.

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at the MRT station.

we're going to the Miramar Ferris Wheel!!
it's the 2nd largest ferris wheel in South East Asia.
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Directions: take MRT to Jian Tan station (where Shih Lin Market is)
you can take a cab from there to Miramar Shopping Centre, it's called Mei3 Li4 Hua2 in Mandarin.

or you can take a free shuttle bus to Miramar Shopping Centre just outside Jian Tan station.

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the back view of the ferris wheel.

Cost: NT150 per student.
lol, we paid the student price.
not that i asked for it or anything but the cashier just assumed that i was one.
if i remember correctly, the price for adults should be NT200 each.
each ride is around 20 minutes long.

inside the air conditioned cabin of the ferris wheel.

the magnificent view of Taipei at night:
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i find this very familiar.
did it appear in some TV drama before?

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