skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The 2nd night we went up into the mountains which is in central Taiwan. After checking into the hotel, the driver took us to a restaurant he recommended. They cook the chicken in these contraptions. We got the 4 dishes set menu for NT$1100~
Mountain Chicken. You get a whole chicken, steaming hot, gloves, and plastic gloves. Put the plastic gloves over the gloves and use your hands to break the chicken apart. Pretty fun! The chicken was amazing. Super tender, juicy, and so much flavor. These chickens are raised in the mountains.
Pork with Mountain Vegetables. Deeeelicious.
Sauteed Bamboo
There was also sauteed cabbage that's grown in the mountains. I forgot to take a picture of that. And the meal came with a soup.
The morning breakfast at our hotel in the mountains was also fantastic. Unlimited porridge, with an egg pancake and sauteed cabbage. So simple, yet homey and comforting.
And the views in the mountains are amazing. This isn't food...but just look at the view!!! OMG! I recommend Stargaze Villa, where we stayed.
On the way back to Taipei we stopped at the QingShui Rest Stop. Probably my favorite part of the road trip. Haha. It's like a giant food court/shopping center. The food was pretty good and there were so many snack vendors.
Rice with Minced Pork, and veggies
Sizzling Plate with Mushroom Patty and Spaghetti
Korean Rice Cakes
Best find!! Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake. Asian cheesecake is not at all like American cheesecake. It is very light and fluffy, almost like a sponge cake with cheesecake flavors. We saw Uncle Tetsu's and decided to get one. Not very expensive to get a whole cake. So we got super lucky and got the last one of the batch. Decided to dig into it right then and there and it was OMG AMAZING! The best Asian cheesecake I have ever had. It was like eating clouds... so fluffy and light.
So we decided to go back and get another. haha. Now they only make 10-12 cakes each time and so there's a 10-16 minute wait between every batch. Everyone lines up to watch them prep, bake, and package it. It was quite cool. For every cake, they brand their logo on it, unwrap it, then place in a box. The line was already super long but we got in it anyways. Didn't take too long before we got another! :) And it's limit 1 per person so you can't just buy it all up. Check my Facebook page to see some videos! Sooooo freaking good. Man I want some more now...
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Dinners in Taipei were a bit all over the place since we had several appointments for our engagement photo shoot, and also meeting up with friends. We also skipped some dinners to get dessert. :P hehe. Stayed tuned for that post, it's gonna be awesome!
Barista Coffee
I always try to meet up with a friend of mine in Taipei so I see him about every other year. We met at a coffee shop but decided to get some dinner there as well. The coffee shops in Taipei have full on meals, not just pastries and desserts.
Vegetable Curry (with salad and rice)
Green Tea Latte (cold)
Some sort of rice with meat or smoked salmon and cheese baked on top. Looked really yummy.
During our engagement shoot consultation, we stayed way longer than we expected, so the studio ordered some dinner for us. Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice - To go box. Soooo delicious! One of my favorite meals of all time! A well fried piece of pork chop, rice, and veggies. It's the best. :)
After our all day photo shoot, we wanted to get something lighter for dinner. We hit up this place that my family frequents. Congee and dishes shared family style. Unlimited refills of the congee (with yams), and you pick the dishes you want to pair with it. Fast and delicious!
One night we set aside to hit up the food courts at a mall. We were wandering around the food courts of Sogo (the newer one) and we noticed they had a Santouka!! My favorite ramen place in the whole wide world. And there's not line yet! We were able to get a table immediately. The menu is different than the one from Cali so we tried new things. He got the Shoyu dipping ramen (reg) NT$280~
I got the cold ramen (pork, seaweed, cucumbers, salmon sashimi, woodear mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, egg and peanut sauce).
There was a bit too much sauce but everything else was amazing. They really know how to cook their noodles to the perfect texture! And we can't eat at Santouka and not get the special pork!! So we got a side of that. Still buttery goodness... melts in your mouth.
Our last night in Taiwan, we met up with my aunt and uncle in Danshui. They took us to a really fresh seafood place right next to the ocean. Literally translated.. the name is "Big Fat - Live Seafood" hahaha. They had multiple tanks with live stuff in front of the restaurant. You pick, they grab and cook. Awesome! This wasn't as cheap as Kenting though. But we ate soooo much.
Veggies
Noodles
Clams
Seaweed
Fried Rice... probably one of the best I've ever had. Not sure how they made it but it was like crack.
Sea Snails. You have to pick them out with a toothpick. My fiance loooooved them. :D
Fish Soup
Steamed Fish
Shrimp
Squid (gigantic!)
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Ahhh.. I can't believe I've been back from Taiwan for almost a month now. Time flies. Need to do posts.... There's a lot so I tried to categorize them.
We stayed at the Fu-Hau Hotel in Tapei. It's next to Da-an MRT station. Super convenient. And free breakfast every morning.
Hotel Breakfast (All You Can Eat):
Black Sesame & Matcha Milk
Black Sesame Steamed Bun
Breakfast Sandwich place
Bacon Sandwich plus Egg NT$45~
Ham & Egg Pancake NT$30~
A must go for me for breakfast in Taipei. In this little alleyway, the best rice noodles with all sorts of sides. Pig Intestine, pork, tofu, kelp, and more. The best!!
We discovered that 7-Eleven had the best soft serve. Made with milk from Hokkaido. It's magnificent. And 7-Eleven's are EVERYWHERE! We had a lot of these.
One day we decided to go light on the food and just eat a little from place to place. I took him to this gua bao place by my grandma's. Their gua baos are huge, one is enough to sustain you.
Loaded with fatty pork and lean pork, and a bunch of other stuff. The buns are steamed to perfection and holds everything together so well. He loved it. After we finished the owner lady actually ran out after us to ask how he liked it. And she told us they had been in business for almost 60 years now, spanning 3 generations! We wanted to go back again, but didn't have time. :(
I got hungry while shopping in the underground shopping street (under Sogo), and got some potstickers. (From left to right) Curry, Original, Korean Spicy. All very good. I think the curry was my fav.
Traditional Taiwanese Breakfast: Rice Balls! Stuffed with all different types of things but generally a Chinese donut (yo-tiao), some shredded dried pork, pickled veggies, maybe an egg. Deeeee-licious! And it's grab and go food!
I finally tried Mos Burger. My sister's bf wanted to try it too. And a friend of mine is so shocked that I've never had one. There's just so much other stuff to try when we're in Asia, I never got around to it. So on the way to lunch, we bought one to share among 4 people. The one with the rice buns of course!!
We got the beef patty one with rice buns, lettuce, onions, an egg, and some sort of sauce. NT$105~
And we had them cut it in half and wrap it separately. For a fast food place, it wasn't so fast... I think we waited about 10 minutes to get this burger. And it's so pricey! I can get cheaper and better at McDonald's. I didn't care for it at all. The rice bun was soft, the patty was soft, everything was one texture. The flavor was ok. But totally didn't get the hype. At least I can say I've had it now!
We went to the Taipei Zoo one afternoon, and they had a McDonald's inside. Of course... Mickey D's are everywhere! They had a tea flavored McFlurry. So when you eat it with the soft serve, it's like milk tea. Pretty pretty awesome!
After the zoo we went to ride the Maokong Gondola to go up the mountain. It was sunset and soooo beautiful. The sun made the whole city look like it's on fire! At the top of the mountain there were some street food so we got a snack. It was about a 30 minute ride up so we got hungry. haha. The guys got to try Stinky Tofu for the first time!
Needless to say, they hated it. It smells like the name, it's pretty dang stinky. And it's an acquired taste. You either love it or hate it. And if you love it, once you start eating, you don't smell it anymore. And if you hate it... well... stop eating then!
We also got some interesting Green Onion Pancakes.
Black Sesame Ice Cream in one of the mall food courts. It was super black sesame-y. Love it!
Gotta hit up the night markets at least a few times right? :P
This wasn't technically a "night market" but XiMenDing has a ton of street food, shops, vendors, and performers. It's where all the young people go. Good for people watching!
Yilan Onion Pie. These small pan fried things filled with green onions and soup. HOT soup... be careful when eating! And assume a squatting stance so it doesn't get on your shoes!!
Fried Chicken. We got one regular and one spicy. Also got fried squid!
Black Sesame Milk Tea. Noms!
Super Matcha Latte! Good but this place, Tsujiri, was soooooo expensive. I could've gotten 4-5 pearl milk teas for this one drink!
The last morning, at the Taipei airport, I got some breakfast as a last hurrah. Congee with pork, thousand year egg, chinese donut, and green onions. Huge bowl! The 2 of us shared it and it was more than enough. And really really good. :)
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Posts
