Taiwan Trip 2014: Taichung - Feng Jia Night Market (逢甲夜市) / Confucius Temple (台中孔庙) / Banana New Paradise (香蕉新乐园) / Yi Zhong St (一中街) / Miyahara (宫原眼科) / Chun Shui Tang (春水堂)

My super-long-awaited vacation trip to Taiwan is over in a flash. It was a 9D8N trip but it still didn't feel enough! :( Well I guess I just gotta look forward to our next trip!

DAY 1

Our first stop in Taiwan - Taichung! We landed in Taoyuan Airport and took the High Speed Rail from Taoyuan Station to Taichung,

I checked, double checked and triple checked the weather in Taiwan before going and all of the weather apps showed temperature ranging between 18-22 degree Celsius but I saw so many people geared up in their down jackets and scarves, which got me a lil worried about underdressing for the weather.

What everyone was wearing

What I was wearing - a dress with a cardigan

What Kw was wearing - shirt and jeans

And it turns out? The weather really didn't warrant the need for winter wear! It was chilly just like in a slightly colder air-con room but I felt totally comfortable!

Us waiting for the train

Our first meal in Taiwan: instant 便当 from 7-11

 Not sure if it's just us being too hungry but I thought that their Lu Pai Gu Fan was quite nice! And one good thing about their HSR is that you're allowed to bring food up! Yet the train was still pretty clean!

Finally got to our first destination!

Our first hotel/apartment: Grano House.

A cosy room (with soft toy somemore wtf)

The room is quite small but I don't usually have issues with that. This place is also quite difficult to find because it's hidden within an alley. There is also no signboard or indications to show this is the building we're looking for. The reception is also really pathetic - which is made up of one table and one foldable chair below a flight of staircase. But all these didn't bother me at all because Grano House was 3-minute walk away from the largest night market in Taichung - Feng Jia Ye Shi (逢甲夜市)!

There was a 85dc Cafe right around the corner with delicious looking cakes so we decided to go for a teabreak!

We ordered warm pearl milk tea + chocolate cake + mille crepe which was very good!

FYI, we had milk tea every.single.day in Taiwan for 9 days - 一点也没有夸张! Some days we even have 2 cups of milk tea from different places lolol. But that was my plan anyway - TO DRINK A LOT OF MILK TEA IN TAIWAN!

So we were supposed to go to Gaomei Wetlands & Mazu Temple which were about 30-min cab ride away. But the weather was quite bad which made us quite lethargic + the fact that I barely caught a wink the night before, we decided to just nua in our room until nightfall so we can just go to Feng Jia Night Market! 

Along the streets of Feng Jia.

There were a lot to see and eat. Most things were also reasonably cheap like their scarves and shoes etc. If only it wasn't winter season while I was there... 

$10 串烧 - we saw steam coming out of the food but it was all a lie because the food weren't really warm at all -_- 

The chicken + onion combi on the top left hand corner of this photo was our favourite!

Taco ballz

Popular night market snack - 大肠包小肠

It's basically taiwan sausage sandwiched in glutinous rice that's shaped like sausages. They also added some other stuff like cucumber in the '大肠'. My verdict - not fantastic.

贡丸汤 - very nayyyyy

阳春面 - ordered it without knowing that Yang Chun Mian means noodle soup with no ingredients inside, pure noodle + soup -_- the noodle itself was okay but I still prefer to have 料 in my noodles! 

I think this was called 九岑塔蛋饼 or something. Egg + something like prata + lotsa ingredients inside 

Red milk tea (2nd cup of the day btw hahaha)

This thing, is supposed to be soya beancurd. But it tasted nothing like soya beancurd and neither was it nice.  

Trying out artsy effects of my camera 

Taiwan Sausage is also something I kept eating at different night markets 

 Chee Cheong Fun which I was too full to eat at this point.

That wraps up our first day in Taichung!

DAY 2

Despite being a city, Taichung is not the same as Taipei in terms of its public transport. It is not exactly convenient to get around in trains and buses. And it usually takes like 1 hour++ to go by bus when a cab can bring you there in like 15 minutes or less. So that was also our main mode of transport in Taichung.

Spent the whole of day 2 in its downtown. Planned the itinerary such that most places are within walking distance!

 A breakfast place just around the corner of our hotel. Not sure if it was because of weekend, most shops weren't open at 9am. So we didn't really have a choice for our breakfast.

We ordered 2 small soymilk and we were greeted by 2 not-so-small bowls of  豆浆.

My 猪扒堡 which was good!

三宝烧饼

Despite settling for this place only because we didn't have a choice, I had a hearty and delicious breakfast!

After breakfast, we took a cab to our first stop!

Confucius Temple 台中孔庙

There's nothing fascinating about the temple though. I only went there because the date of results release was a midst my itinerary planning so I thought I should go pay some respect hahahaha. Plus it was within walking distance from the other attractions!

Next stop: Banana New Paradise 香蕉新乐园

It's basically a cafe with super old school / vintage decor. Once you step into the cafe, it's like stepping into a different era.

Very challenging to take a photo of its signboard -_-

"Hair salon" along the old streets

Ok so this is him being sarcarstic to me about something hahahahahha 

Even the menu is like old school comic book

We didn't order much cuz we were still full from breakfast. The siew mai was unusually sticky and the custard bun was bleahhhhh. The food was way below average but the place was very picture-worthy!

Next stop: 一中街

Passed by our first 50 岚 aka Koi in Singapore

Ordered our favourite ice cream milk tea (which didn't taste the same as the ones we have here. The one in Taiwan had a weird, slightly bitter after-taste.)

 Yi Zhong Jie is like our Bugis Street but with more things to see and more clothes!!! Once again, if only it wasn't winter........

Delicious BBQ corns!

Next stop: Miyahara 宫原眼科

This place used to be a clinic owned by a Japanese ophthalmologist during the Japanese occupation period but it has now become a pastry shop that sells pineapple tarts and other traditional pastries!

All queuing for the gelato!

They have the largest variety of chocolate ice-creams I have ever seen and I randomly chose one cuz all the names were super pretentious and idk what their differences are.

第二市场

We dropped by this place called the Second Market because Kw's brother told us there were good stuff but most stores were closed when we went. Could be because it was a weekend? I wasn't sure either. This place is super worn down, more so than the wet markets in Singapore. But there were many stalls selling food!

We didn't get any food because we were still full from everything else we ate earlier on.

And then we walked to 春水堂 - tea house that's supposedly the origin of all bubble teas.

Again, we only ordered pearl milk tea cuz we were too full! 

Lo and behold................

THE MOTHER OF ALL PEARL MILK TEA!

This has got to be the best pearl milk tea I ever had!!!! Except it was a tad too sweet for my liking but the texture and taste was perfect! Had I not been too full I would've ordered another cup for myself!

The rest of the evening was pretty unhappening as we sourced for an universal adaptor (cuz I brought a faulty one to Taiwan :/ ) and we went back to Feng Jia Night Market for more food~

Oden aka Tempura in Jap

This is like yong tau hu where you pick the ingredients that you want and they serve it like this - in piping hot soup! Comfort in a weather like that.

That marks our last night in Taichung!

The next morning, we had breakfast at the same place before making our way to Cingjing!

I ordered cheese omelette this time. And they gave us more reasonably-sized soymilk this time round lol. 

Xiao long bao - which was quite disappointing (it was only about $3 though!)

There are some other parts of Taichung I wish I had time for like Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) and Gaowei Wetlands (高美湿地) which I didn't have a chance to visit. But I'll be back to visit these places!!

Will blog about my stay in Cingjing in the next blog post!! Stay tuned!

December Break + Christmas 2014

I admit I'm a truly less-than-diligent blogger. I don't even remember when I last posted, in fact, I almost forgot about this little space I have to blog about the things worth documenting in my life!

Again, I blame it on the yet-another-hectic-semester for my disappearance. We all know that education/a degree is only what we call 'means to an end' but myself and everyone around me always inevitably get hung up about projects/exams/deadlines so much so that results become the WORLD to us.

I am truly sick of my time in school. Before uni, I always feel refreshed and charged up after a break. But now, no break is ever enough and I only dread the start of another semester when holiday comes to an end. I'm really trying my best to regain my fighting spirit and enjoy school while it lasts. Yet that is just as challenging as every hurdle I come across during my school terms. The only thing that's keeping me going is the very awesome bunch of people I've grown close to over the past 2 semesters. I honestly don't know and cannot imagine what it'll be like without them. 

Results were out on the eve of Christmas Eve and I'm once again disappointed in myself (though I've already been persuading myself that results ain't the end of the world). Well, thank god I've learnt to get over disappointments rather quickly. So instead of spending all-the-time-in-the-world (aka December break) sulking, I've put them to good use and am really stuffing myself with good food!

Met up with Huimin after my exams for some darn good ramen! This place is just next to Cuppage. The soup is super rich and flavourful that I think some people might find it jer-lard but I liked it!

Hachifukumaru Nantsuttei Ramen @ Orchard Point

Couldn't resist taking pictures with pretty decor along Orchard Rd!

No pictures of the things we ate on our JB day trip cuz (1) I am quite paranoid when taking out my valuables in the public in JB (2) I was so.freaking.hungry. But took a wefie with 4 chio faces also good enough lah, right??

But anyways, just for info, the bak kut teh place is as follows:

Shoon Huat Bak Kut Teh 顺发肉骨茶

236, Jalan Sutera 1 (Taman Sentosa)

I do not really like eating BKT but this is where I found my love for it. It's not really the same as Singapore's peppery or herbal BKT. It just has this very unique flavour to it and I always ask for more soup! You'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of ingredients they dump into the claypot. :)

I usually take a cab from City Square Mall (JB) and the cab drivers usually refuse to go by meter nowadays. But it should not be more than 10RM to get there. So if some drivers quote you 20RM etc please do not get tok!

Also, PLEASE BE EXTRA CAREFUL OF YOUR BELONGINGS. Unfortunately, we met a snatch thief on a motorbike that day. Luckily the thief was amateur enough to fail in his attempted to snatch Yumin's bag. I always thought that they only grab handbags/shoulder bags because those are easy and sure-succeed. I didn't realise they will also target people who sling their bags across their bodies.

My tips:

1. Wear a waist pouch under your shirt where you store some cash and your passport. Even if you are so suey to meet a snatch thief, at least you don't lose your travel documents.

2. Do not put all your eggs in one basket - keep your cash in several places like your bag, pockets, bras and shoes if you want to also can. ^^

3. DO NOT BRING HAND BAGS AND SHOULDER BAGS. You will become the target, 100% + chop.

4. Sling your bag inside. Not facing the road. And hold on to it at all times when you're by the road side.

5. Be super alert. If you sense a motor bike that's coming to near to you, siam!!!! 

Shiok Maki @ Koh Grill (Wisma Atria Food Republic)

The day after my JB trip I brought (but didn't pay :p) my sister and mum to try out my favourite sushi! Tried a few other sushis which I didn't really like. Shiok Maki is still da best (Y).

After feasting for 2 days in a row, I had another feast at my brother's new house to celebrate him moving in!

Had some contributions for this. Helped my Mum with the soup, steam fish and spinach with abalone. The very appetising-looking 盆菜 is unfortunately not the work of me and my Mum. Lol.

After patronising the newly opened 麻辣香锅 in NUS's The Deck, I find myself to quite like Mala Hot Pot. It's not really hot pot imo, more like stir-frying your favourite ingredients in 麻辣 sauce. It's usually super oily and sinful but I crave for it a lot, even on sunny days!

So Mum told me about this place called 日日红 at Chinatown that serves really good Mala Hot Pot so I had to give it a try!

They had all my favourite ingredients: pork, pork balls, enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom and bai cai. Generous serving only for $11 (for 2), including rice. Best thing is I didn't feel super thirsty after eating this like I would at many food outlets

And I must say it's really good!!! I craved for it the very same afternoon that I just had it. There's just something super addictive about 麻辣香锅.

This place is located at the coffeeshop of People's Park Complex. It's the first row facing the MRT station. If you are facing the coffeeshop, it's towards the left.

So.............Christmas went by and that means I had more feasting to do!!!!!

Christmas Gathering with my secondary school bunch. We had our usually steamboat and for once we didn't overbuy BECAUSE I WAS AROUND TO STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING.

Sc was my secret santa this year and she got me scarves for my Taiwan trip! :)

Then it was potluck with my Poly bunch! 

Kw & I were in-charge of the pasta which I must say that I didn't really do a good job cuz I under-prepared the sauce, making my pasta a bit dry -_- but it was a good dish overall! 

Daphne's (or her mum's) ribs! 

Jennifer & Jiehao's salad

Ok doesn't look so appetising -_- but it tasted better than it looked!!!

Jean's kimbab!

Christmas-sy decor at the back! 

Last but not least, BBQ with my proggies!

Yes everyone looking oily and messy and gross after an intense BBQ session.

Secret Santa Shirlynn bought me very chio scarf too (cuz I duplicated my wishlist lolol)

My gift exchange with Kw was so exciting because he gave me this super big present which was rather heavy!

And I totally guessed it

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A WAFFLE MACHINE!!!!

Okay yes I am rather obsessed with waffle machines and I always knew I would own one someday! (But I was expecting when I have my own house or something haha)

So that's all for my December food adventure & my Christmas. I have less than 5 hours before I wake up for my flight to Taiwan. SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR MY FIRST TRIP TO TAIWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even think I can fall asleep tonight but I'll try.

Will be back to blog about my Taiwan trip, PROMISE!

See you guys next year! :)

Daphne's 22nd!

Short entry on Daphne's 22nd birthday celebration!

We held a small celebration for her at my favourite japanese buffet restaurant: Irodori @ River View Hotel. It's a little bit more expensive than I last remembered. The bill added up to $43 per pax on a Friday night. But for food of such quality, I think it's still worth the money!!!

As we were all famished, I didn't manage to take pictures of most of our food. (Yes I was busy devouring so I forgot.) But I manage to take pictures of our second servings!

 Octopus and Swordfish Sashimi
(Swordfish is the only sashimi I eat besides salmon)

Succulent slices of salmon sashimi

 This is under Irodori Special, IF I didn't remember wrongly, this is called Lobster Roll.

And honestly, given the variety of offerings on their menu, this is the only sushi you need to eat so you won't be too full from the rice!

 Soft Shell Crab Handroll! Super good stuff, I had 2 even though I was already super full!

 The legendary: Teapot Soup. 

It's usually served in smaller teapots but we ordered 10 teapots and only 4 were served after 2 hours. So we asked them to give us a super big pot, which they did!!! This is really a MUST TRY!!!! The last time I was there, I only took a sip to see what it tastes like, and to my surprise, it's super sweet (from the seafood) and sour (from the lime) and refreshing! I subsequently ordered another 3 pots just for myself! This time, I cannot remember how many times Jason and Jiehao (and myself) recited 'teapot soup teapot soup... ...' while we waited impatiently.

I guess it got really popular so the wait for it is unbelievably long. Now that I'm telling you guys........ok I'm regretting already.

Cake cutting time!

They sang a 2nd time for me to take this video lolol

Full attendance again!

Five & Dime

There're too many things I wanna blog about but do not have time for. Now that my internship is over, watch out for many outdated blog posts coming up!!!

Kw has been very tied down with work so we mostly spend only 1 out of 7 days a week together. With that prolonged absence, it calls for the need to hunt for some good food!!!

With so many people raving about cafe hopping and brunches, we went to Five & Dime for some good noms!

Here comes my first throwback:

Still have personalised reservation card one so nice!!

Hibiscus tea for me as I wanted something light and refreshing!

Take a good look at the sugar cup behind my teacup.

Minutes after this photo was taken, I accidentally knocked the cup off the table and a loud "PIANG" sounded, followed by a super embarrassed me because the glass pieces got to the next table. >< sian why do I have to be so accident-prone?? I had to sit through the next hour of brunch in guilt and shame.............but the staff were all so nice about it!!

Anyways, I really loved the hibiscus tea! It's quite tangy and sour without sugar which was already good but I prefer popping in a cube of brown sugar!

Looking at this photo makes me wanna have a cup of this right now. Slurps!

While we were waiting for food. Someone please tell me why can't he ever look normal in candid photos....

Eggs benny for me as usual 

Can't really recall but I think this is smoked salmon salad!

American breakkie for him

 Dig in!!!

 See what I mean by him never taking a proper photo?

And when asked, he just gave a slight smile. Even the waiter at the back looked more appropriate. 

End of brunch date!

I think that the food was pretty good and for brunch food, it's pretty reasonably priced given the portion and standard!

However, I've came to the conclusion that brunches are super overprices breakfast food which I do not absolutely love. Having said that, I guess there won't be anymore brunch dates in awhile. Cheena me still loves traditional kaya butter toast + soft-boiled eggs for breakfast!