Caught the movie wayyyy before Singapore had it, but I am blogging about it only now. LOLOL.
I wasn't very excited about the movie, but no regrets because it's awesome!
I seldom watch movie genres like this - growing up, discovering yourself - but Our Times was a realistic representation, and not over-dramatic.
Plus, got eye candy for nutrition wahahah.
I only want to complain about the grown up version of 徐太宇 - of all people, why Jerry Yan omggg -_-
Anyway, catching a movie in Taipei is not any cheaper compared to Singapore.
If I didn't rmb wrongly, a weekday ticket actually around $8?
Weekend tickets would definitely be more expensive than sg. :x
Breakfast at 高記 Kao Chi - Dim Sum #omnomnom
Yes I know actually the hanyu pinyin is Gao Ji, but that's Taiwan for you.
Kao Chi
高記
5 Yong Kang St, Taipei City
台北市 永康街5號
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 10 am to 10.30 pm,
Saturday to Sunday: 8.30 am to 10.30 pm
Nearest MRT Station: Dongmen 東門
Exit 5, Walk down Xinyi Road Section 2 信義路二巷
Turn right into Yong Kang St 永康街
Waited around 10 - 20 minutes for a seat - you know what happens when they issue queue numbers.
Shrimp Roll with Tofu Skin 鮮蝦腐皮卷 - NT160 for 3 rolls.
If you've read my HK travelogue, you'd know that this is a must order for me most of the time :D
Glad to say that this one didn't disappoint, with its flaky crunchy tofu skin and fresh shrimps.
BBQ Pork Buns 港式叉燒包 - NT120 for 3
This was disappointing.
1. From the Chinese name, we expected the Tim Ho Wan type, but okay nvm.
2. It was 85% bun and 15% filling. The bun was dry and fluffy, but dryyyyy.
Shanghai Style Fried Pork Buns 上海鐵鍋生煎包 - NT200 for 10 pcs
Kao Chi's specialty - I saw a travel program introducing this dish, and it looked so good I had to hunt it down.
The restaurant is in the hands of the third generation now!
The lady boss noticed that there would constantly be a jam when it came to preparing and serving the buns,
so she boldly made changes - using these smaller pans, insisting on selling on a per pan basis,
much to the violent objections of her dad.
But now, their efficiency has been much improved, and her dad is no longer angry hahahaha.
The bun is slightly crispy on the outside, fluffy inside, and with a generous amount of juicy pork. :D
Imagine if they pan-fried xiao long baos.
Definitely a sharing dish, because it can get kinda greasy on the stomach after 3 buns.
If you'd still prefer your traditional XLBs, they're called Steamed Pork Dumplings 元籠小籠包 here.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings 高記蝦餃皇 - NT160 for 3 pcs.
Fresh shrimp, thin skin, nuff' said.
Just look at the amount of filling! And I'm not even a shrimp lover.
Hong Kong Style Radish Cake 臘味蘿蔔糕 - NT120 for 3
Ahh damn, another disappointment.
Too greasy and not crispy enough on the surfaces. Meh.
Mango Pudding 香芒鮮奶酪 - NT80
Milk Pudding with mango syrup.
Total inverse of our usual mango pudding, but nice.
Got a bad case of stomach cramps after that, and I fell asleep during the long-ass MRT journey to Tamshui 淡水
Almost 40 mins later, Bimb woke me up and we were actually back at Zhongshan.
Turns out the train we boarded terminated at Beitou, and we should have gotten off to take the next train to Tamshui.
Omg I got sooooo annoyed at myself for not checking the train when we boarded,
and the bffs kena because they also never realise that the train is rebounding.
Sighhhh wasted so much time, and we have to take another 45 mins to get to Tamshui again.
As if the cramps wasn't bad enough. RARR.
I need to stop volunteering as tour guide because I seriously stress myself out only, which isn't the point of a holiday.
Oh well, on the bright side, the day's itinerary was not jam packed,
so its not like we had to cancel any places that we wanted to visit.
Took a walk down Tamshui Old Street 淡水老街 & Zhongzheng Road 中正路,
with the intention to reach the docks 淡水渡船頭 before 6 pm.
We wanted to view the sunset from the Fisherman's Wharf 漁人碼頭 :D
Tamshui Old Street is a quaint road, offering local products and specialities to locals and tourists alike.
Did you all notice the abundance of motorcycles, parked super neatly in rows?
I kid you not, they have Birkens and NaRaYa there omg.
Spotted the tall soft serve cone!
Can choose to combine flavours or go solo :D
Someone's looking very excited.
One of their famous foods is Iron Eggs - more specifically, Ah-Po Iron Eggs 阿婆铁蛋
They're actually the usual braised eggs 滷蛋 and were created by accident by a noodle-shop owner, Grandma Nian 阿哖婆.
Her recooking of unsold braised eggs resulted in them shrinking and turning darker in color.
The locals loved the 'tiny' eggs, which packed alot of flavour and was very chewy.
She eventually switched to selling these iron eggs.
Ah-Po Iron Eggs
阿婆铁蛋
No. 135-1, Zhongzheng Rd, Tamsui
135-1號 中正路 淡水區 新北市
Apparently the iron eggs are some kind of longevity/ youth potion because just look at the ahpo.
They even have a iron egg mascot. omg
Wah the egg taste is very strong, totally reminded me of my hated century egg.
The yolk was nicer than the 'white', but eh no thanks omgggg.
Another local specialty was Ah Gei 阿给 - Fried tofu stuffed with glass noodles and sealed with meat paste,
It is commonly eaten with a bowl of fish ball soup in the winter, or cold soy milk in the summer.
Basically looks like Yong Tau Foo, and nope we didn't try it.
No love for stuffed taupok. Bahahahha. :B
Bimb was on the hunt for this stall selling ginger tea 姜母茶
We ended up buying their Brown Sugar Osmanthus Tea too, because it was sooo refreshing.
Its very good for soothing sore throats and coughs.
Black Gold Legend Brown Sugar Ginger Tea
黑金传奇黑糖姜母茶
No. 6 Gongming St, Danshui District
新北市 淡水區 公明街 6號
Opening hours: 9.30 am – 9.30 pm
Other than traditional items, Tamshui has managed to integrate trends into their food too.
They have a Hello Kitty themed souvenir store, selling custard puffs, mooncakes, wedding pastries etc.
Hello Kitty Souvenir Store (Tamshui)
Hello Kitty 台灣伴手禮(淡水店)
No. 101, Zhongzheng Rd, Tamsui District
新北市 淡水區 中正路 101號
Si Levon, always kajiao HAHAH.
We had fun biting off the heads in front of Bimb.
That's the main purpose of buying what. HAHAH.
But yup, its nice, especially when hot. ;p
Photo credit: Levon
Intricate sculptures on the temple roof.
There are actually two types of ferries, traveling to either Bali 八里 or Fisherman's Wharf,
so don't board the wrong one.
Ferry journey takes around 15 minutes, and costs NT50. You can pay via the EasyCard.
Their breakwater rocks remind me of Starmie sia.
Fisherman's Wharf
漁人碼頭
No.199 Guanhai Rd, Tamsui District
淡水區 觀海路 199 號
Reached Fisherman's Wharf on time, and though we didn't get to see a spectacular actual sunset (damn you rain),the change in the skies' gradient was pretty enough.
Walked on the Lovers' Bridge - it was named by former President Chen Shui Bian on Valentine's Day.
Uhmm how creative.. And smart because it'll definitely attract couples to visit. Hahah.
That being said, I do like the simplistic and clean structure.
At night, the bridge lights up in soft neon colors, shifting and dancing with time,
and accompanied with the strains of live music from the nearby restaurant.
I can see how they create such a romantic ambience for couples.
So are we considered legit alr? HAHAH.
Caught the last ferry back - as it is a weekday, the last ferry is around 7.30 pm.
Photo credit: Levon
When we got back to Tamshui, hungry Levon was hungry and started seeking out this '周杰倫雞腿'
We had no idea what's the store name and address, so we decided after awhile to ask this store owner.
Which turns out to be the one she's looking for. LOL.
Funny ah, Bimb how come you nvr say you wanna go?
Headed to Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 for our shopping/dinner !
To get to Shilin, Jiantan 劍潭 Station is actually the one you need to drop at.
Go via Exit 1, turn right and cross street diagonally to the left
We went to walk around the outer rim first, heading towards the famous Prince Cheese Potato 王子起司馬鈴薯
I love potatoes. I loveeee cheese.
I love this.
A giant ball of mashed potatoes, breaded and fried, topped with toppings of your choice and slathered in nacho cheese sauce.
Most people order the Club & Cheese 王子綜合起士, which has a mix of everything: tuna, broccoli, corn, chicken, ham strips, and pineapples.
I tried the Bacon & Cheese too; nice, but do not expect real bacon.
Its more like black pepper ham strips.
The Shilin main store has a seating area, but it's quite small and patrons are expected to eat and go.
For Ximending, there are no seats at all.
Heng we stay in that area so its easy for us to tapao back to the hotel and slurp it up slowly.
Another melty om nom nom is the Fried Milk 炸牛奶, which was sold by a friendly lady.
Walk further down from Prince Cheese Potato to find it!
Each fried milk ball sets off a sweet-salty explosion of milky fragrance in your mouth.
It's super piping hot omg.
The rest of Shilin's food is actually in their underground food street.
Somehow we didn't feel very keen on visiting, because it's an air-conditioned food street,
and we don't miss smelling like 10 times of ITAS.
Plus the fact that their 'main attractions' are items that we've alr tried in Taichung/Hualien.
I would recommend Shilin Food Street for those who are only gonna be in Taipei - it's like a summary street.
Explored around 2 streets of fashion and accessories shops, and we were ready to go back to Ximending.
Because we needed our daily dose of Ah Zong Mee Sua HAHAH.
We had no idea what's the store name and address, so we decided after awhile to ask this store owner.
Which turns out to be the one she's looking for. LOL.
Headed to Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 for our shopping/dinner !
To get to Shilin, Jiantan 劍潭 Station is actually the one you need to drop at.
Go via Exit 1, turn right and cross street diagonally to the left
We went to walk around the outer rim first, heading towards the famous Prince Cheese Potato 王子起司馬鈴薯
Prince Cheese Potato
王子起司馬鈴薯
Lane 300, Jihe Rd, Shilin District
士林區 基河路 300巷
I love potatoes. I loveeee cheese.
I love this.
A giant ball of mashed potatoes, breaded and fried, topped with toppings of your choice and slathered in nacho cheese sauce.
Most people order the Club & Cheese 王子綜合起士, which has a mix of everything: tuna, broccoli, corn, chicken, ham strips, and pineapples.
I tried the Bacon & Cheese too; nice, but do not expect real bacon.
Its more like black pepper ham strips.
The Shilin main store has a seating area, but it's quite small and patrons are expected to eat and go.
For Ximending, there are no seats at all.
Heng we stay in that area so its easy for us to tapao back to the hotel and slurp it up slowly.
Another melty om nom nom is the Fried Milk 炸牛奶, which was sold by a friendly lady.
Walk further down from Prince Cheese Potato to find it!
Each fried milk ball sets off a sweet-salty explosion of milky fragrance in your mouth.
It's super piping hot omg.
The rest of Shilin's food is actually in their underground food street.
Somehow we didn't feel very keen on visiting, because it's an air-conditioned food street,
and we don't miss smelling like 10 times of ITAS.
Plus the fact that their 'main attractions' are items that we've alr tried in Taichung/Hualien.
I would recommend Shilin Food Street for those who are only gonna be in Taipei - it's like a summary street.
Explored around 2 streets of fashion and accessories shops, and we were ready to go back to Ximending.
Because we needed our daily dose of Ah Zong Mee Sua HAHAH.
Every night in my dreams. I see you, I slurp you.
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