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Travel Taiwan: Jiu Fen Old Street

Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 8:30 pm | 0 comments

Jiu Fen is located on a mountainous area and the place is aptly named, because there used to be only 9 families staying in that area. It has long since ceased to be just 9 families, as shops and all sorts of minsu, hotels are popping up all over to accommodate the influx of tourism activities in this area.

We weren't sure of what to eat in Jiufen, so we just walked on and stumbled upon this stall.

It attracted me because they were making some weird concoction of Ice Cream Peanut Roll. I'm serious. It's like sweet and salty all thrown together and put into a wrap reminiscent of our local Poh Piah.

Weird dishes aside, we saw that they had Beef Noodles so we headed inside. I later found out that this stall is a pretty old and famous eatery in Jiufen, and their specialty turned out to be..beef noodles.

Beef Noodles 牛肉汤面

I love love love the herbal soup base, so rich and satisfying.

The beef pieces were tender and flavourful. The noodles are like our Ban Mian..which means I can eat them! So happy, Taiwan is probably the first place ever to serve mainstream noodles that I can eat.

By mainstream, I meant most of the stalls in Taiwan serve this type of Ban Mian noodles in their noodle dishes.

Bamboo Shoots & Minced Meat Rice
笋丝肉燥饭

This might be mistaken for Braised Meat Rice 卤肉饭 but it's actually not.

It's good but probably not to my liking. I prefer Braised Meat Rice.

But the shredded bamboo shoots were really crunchy and fresh.

Verdict: 5/5

Really love the Beef Noodles, looking at the photos makes me crave for more now!

Definitely worth a visit.

九份老面店

224新北市瑞芳区基山街45号

平日10:00 ~ 19:00；假日10:00 ~ 21:00

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Time for some dessert after that satisfying meal.

On the search for the famous Jiufen Yam Balls!

Find this flight of stairs and you'll be able to spot the shop. Good thing they placed that giant yellow signboard there, else I'll be walking in rounds.

The shop space is huge, and the shop itself only houses tables and chairs.

You have to place your orders outside.

Pick a window seat and be rewarded with a scenic view of Jiufen.

It was winter time, which is why the weather is kinda unpredictable and cloudy.

This is the cold version, and there's no soup. You have to mix it all up to find some crushed ice and red beans. underneath. I love the myriad of colours, so tantalizing and appetizing!

These come in 3 types - yam, pumpkin, and green bean.

My personal favourite has got to be the pumpkin one!

This is the hot version, it comes with soup.
The balls tasted like the real deal, with very minimal starch added so you can actually taste the freshness of ingredients (pumpkin, yam, green beans).

Verdict: 4/5

Personally not a hugeeee fan of such dessert, but they say it's a must-try in Jiufen so here I am haha!
I love the freshness of the ingredients, and also it's not too sweet and definitely not artificial.
This is good but like I said, not my type of desserts.
But that's just me, if you enjoy these type of desserts, I guarantee you'll love this place.

阿甘姨芋圆

No. 5, Shuqi Road, Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 224

平日9:00 ~ 21:00

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How to get there:

From Taipei, take the train to Rueifang, then a bus to Jiufen.

Direct trip by Keelung bus:

MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station Exit 1; walk 30m towards Andung St

Labels: Food, Lifestyle, March2013

Travel Taiwan: Eating in Dan Shui

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

My favourite place in Taipei.

I love the sea, so this seaside town had an extra appeal.

Love the amazing views, people and food!

Let's go on a foodie experience now, I shall save the sightseeing scenery shots for another entry.

Red Bean Pancake 红豆饼

Freshly made and hot off the stove, the outside is crispy and the inside is chocked full of big fat Azuki red beans. The pancake doesn't taste floury and thick, like those lousy ones I've tried in Singapore. This is surprisingly light and fluffy, and the red beans are sooooo sweet. They are so generous with the red beans here, just stuff it full for you only. I've tasted some where you have to bite all the way to the middle before you can spot the red beans, stingyyy!! This pancake is bursting with goodness, and the sesame serves to heightens the fragrance of the pancake. Yummy!

Danshui Fishballs 淡水鱼丸

The must-eat when you visit Danshui is of course this!!

Their fishballs are long, and there's some minced meat in the middle.

The texture of the fishball borders more on the chewy, qq type. I like!

The ingredients are very fresh, and the soup has a very light and refreshing flavour.

Mixed Bowl 综合丸子

From the left clockwise: meat ball, mushroom ball and Danshui fishball.

Their meat balls and mushroom balls are the tougher kind, the ones we eat here are a little more bouncy.

Even though I say tough, it's not difficult on the teeth. On the contrary, it has bite and texture. Quite an interesting experience.

Beancurd with Glass Noodles in Spicy Sauce

阿给

This is our Tau Pok stuffed with glass noodles (tang hoon), then sealed with a layer of fish cake on the top. Kinda like Yong Tau Foo with a twist. The sweet spicy sauce is also very appetizing. Yum yum..

I know I know, you're supposed to eat this in Shilin lolol. But hey, since it's already here, why not?

Spotted this at Fisherman's Wharf!

Crispy Chicken 豪大鸡排

HOT STUFF.

Hahaha! This is so good!! Okay I don't like the bones part, makes eating a tad more troublesome. But whaaa.. the meat so juicy and tender, the batter is not those super gao thick layer. The chicken is coated thinly in the batter and deep-fried to this alluring golden brown. The seasoning is mad awesome, wayyyy better than the one in Singapore. It tasted less like MSG, and more like real pepper and spices.

Fried Mushrooms 椒盐香菇

We also bought the mushrooms to try, so juicy!

We bought the Warm Yuzu Drink to wash down the fried food, and that was delicious too! Very refreshing and citrusy.

We ate soooooo much in Danshui man, please read on.. more food photos ahead.

This caught our eye!

Grilled Scallops - Salt & Pepper

椒盐干贝烧

The bonito flakes greatly enhanced the flavour of the scallops.
Scallops tasted so juicyyyy!
And I sincerely hope I didn't mix up the flavours of the scallops, because the Taiwanese all name their food with similar flavours.

Grilled Scallops - Lemon Mustard

柠檬芥末干贝烧

This is a little sweet, a little citrusy, a little salty.

The combo, unbeatable.

Tadahhhhhh! Amazing stuff.

It's just chickenm, but they managed to turn it into a roll, and came up with a bombastic name lol.

If you spot the "Anything 随便" flavour, you must be thinking what on earth is that man.

HAHA! I asked the boss, he says 随便 means you can't make up your mind and he'll decide for you.

So cute right!

Chicken Roll - Black Pepper

黑胡椒酱爆鸡肉卷

This stall has the best rolls. Juicy, slightly charred, and not too oily.

In case you're wondering, the food tasted as bombastic as the name.

Spicy Fishballs 麻辣鱼蛋

This is probably best eaten in Hong Kong, but whatever, just eat!

This one ah..hot ahhhh.. Tickled my throat so bad I nearly had a sore throat the next day.

But so worth it. The spring onions and all sorts of seasonings paired with the spicy fishballs is really amazingly fragrant. The fishballs are all bite-sized and very bouncy.

Another must-eat when in Taiwan!

Grilled Squid 炭烤鱿鱼

Hahahahah so so good!!

Everything tastes soooooooo fantastic, why?!

The squid was really fresh, and I have no idea what is that sauce but it tasted divine. You just can't stop popping the pieces into your mouth.

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this was..

KUROBUTA!!!

Then I saw a long queue, which means.. MUST TRY. hahaha!

Black Pork Sausage 黑猪肉香肠

The lady boss made these ladder-style cuts into the sausage, so interesting!

This one really didn't disappoint, much better than the traditional Taiwan sausage!

This is even more jucier and meatier, and the slightly charred grilled flavour really enhances the whole street food experience. Immensely flavourful and not too oily, I highly recommend this!

Waaa finally, the end of this post. The photos itself took at least 2 hours to sift through and edit, and the post took another hour plus I think. @_@

There you have it. Danshui in an entry.

Verdict: 5/5

I love Danshui!!

If you love seaside towns, then you'll probably love this place too.

I like the very laidback feel of this place, strolling beside the sea, stopping for an ice cream, taking photos or just plain sitting by the sea people watching. Everything is done leisurely and the vibrant vibe of this seaside town is infectious. Oh and that place is windy. Very windy. Go with a cap, and make sure it doesn't get blown off!

How to get there:

Danshui is at the end of the MRT Danshui (red) line.

The journey from Taipei Main Station takes about 35 minutes and costs NT50

Labels: Food, Lifestyle, March2013

Travel Taiwan: Eating in Xi Men Ding

Friday, March 22, 2013 | 5:24 pm | 0 comments

The youthful vibrance of this renowned shopping area greets me the minute I step out of the MRT station.

To get to Xi Men Ding, alight at Xi Men station and take Exit 6.

Stumbled upon the famous Ay-Chung Flour Rice Noodle and I told myself I have to try this.

Despite everyone telling me it's overrated, and despite the fact that I'm not a fan of mee sua.

They call this "flour rice noodle" which is way too complicated, basically it's just MEE SUA.

Yeah the mee sua we ate while growing up.

Part of the Taiwan foodie experience is to stand at the road sides with a steaming bowl and try to consume it without spilling. The crazy crowd weren't ordering, they were all eating haha!

Even though I'm not a fan of mee sua, I think this one is not bad.

At least, it hit all the spots for me.

It was a cold drizzling night in Taipei, and this was sizzling hot.

Comfort food for the soul.

There were generous portions of oysters and intestines, and the mee sua were cut thickly. It is generally thicker than the ones we see in Singapore. Despite that, everything slid down my throat smoothly and the hint of vinegar simply enhances the overall flavour of the dish. Delish.

Xi-Meng-Ting Headquarter/西門町總店：
Address: No.8-1, Emei St., Wanhua District, Taipei City
Walking Directions: 5 minutes walk from Ximen MRT station, exit 6
地址: 台北市峨嵋街8號之1
Opening Hours: 11:00 to 22:30 (Mon – Thu); 11:00 to 23:00 (Fri – Sun)
Tel: 02-2388-8808

From this point on, the food we ate were all from roadside stalls, so it's kinda difficult to tell you the exact location. Another thing is, roadside peddling is illegal in Xi Men Ding, so the stall owners tend to run about here and there, changing locations to avoid police detection. If you see something that interests you, JUST BUY. If you hesitated like me, then you'll have to stand around and wait until the stall owner came out of their hidey holes.

Just remember, always make sure they handed over the food to you before you pay.

If you happen to be the suay zai who paid first, and the police were to come, good luck getting your food. The stall owners will run so fast and hide in the numerous alleys, you can either wait around or kiss goodbye to your money. The latter is more likely to happen.

Quail Eggs 鸟蛋

This is some amazing stuff. We opted for salt and pepper flavour, the grilled quail eggs were coated in a layer of batter and they tasted soft and fluffy. Quite an interesting taste.. we gobbled it up before I can take any photos. I saw this in Dan Shui too, but like I said, if you see something you want to try, don't hesitate because there is no guarantee you'll find the same stall again.

Taiwanese Sausage 台湾香肠

Local specialty right, how can you some to Taiwan without having Taiwanese sausage?!

I only have one sentence to say.

This is 100x better than the one sold in our Pasar Malams.

Big, fat and juicy with minimal fat, every bite is flavourful. The juices simply burst into your mouth, and the slightly charred skin just adds a teeny hint of freshly grilled bitterness to the taste. Overwhelmingly good.

Not sure what flavour we picked but I think it's the original flavour. They always have a dozen different creative flavours for you to choose, so go crazy trying them all!

Salted Crispy Chicken 盐酥鸡

Something that I've been wanting to try ever since I landed in Taiwan!

The salty and spicy combination is really tempting.

Ate them hot off the stove, quite amazed I didn't end up with a sore throat after 10 days of such heaty food.

Verdict: 4/5

Xi Men Ding is just like our Bugis village in an bigger, open-aired concept.

But I like Xi Men Ding better. There are all sorts of retail shops, theatres, hair salons, and row after rows of eateries selling unique Taiwan cuisine. If you don't want Taiwanese food, you can also find Japanese food, Korean restaurants lining the streets. The key to having a good time here, is to plan in ample time so you can explore every nook and cranny, and sample every street food delight.

How to get there:

MRT blue line to station Xi Men Station 西门站.

Labels: Food, Lifestyle, March2013

Travel Taiwan: Yong Kang Street

Monday, March 18, 2013 | 7:00 pm | 0 comments

Welcome to Yong Kang Street.

I love the mish-mash of eclectic shops and eateries along this street. Makes exploring rather fun and exciting.

This is the place where most locals frequent for some xiao long baos and noodles.

You enter from the kitchen, quite unique. The tables are all upstairs.

Siew Mai 烧卖

I think these are on par with Din Tai Fung, good but nothing too wow about it.

Maybe because I still prefer the traditional siew mai with yellow skin

Mushroom Noodle Soup 蘑菇面汤

This was pretty good, I think Taiwan noodles are all of decent standard. Best thing is their noodles are not like the yellow ones in Singapore. It is more of a ban mian quality, except they are lighter and tastier than ban mian. I like. Most importantly, these are noodles I can eat. Hurray!

We also ordered the Beef Noodles, but I didn't really like them. The gravy/soup is too sour to my liking.

Abalone Porridge 鲍鱼粥

This was mehhh..

I'm starting to think Taiwanese don't do porridge very well, so if you crave porridge, possibly it's better to go to Hong Kong instead.

Crab Roe Dumplings 蟹黄小笼包

We ordered the normal xiao long bao and this, I prefer the ones with crab though.

But having tasted mind-blowing tasty xiao long bao in China, I've resigned to the fact that everywhere else only serves mediocre xiao long bao.

Prawn Dumplings 鲜虾水饺

This is not bad, huge prawns inside, but the dumpling skin could be thinner.

苏轼汤包

This has got to be my favourite dish out of everything we ordered.

I was intrigued by the name so we just ordered one to see what it looks like.

They come in bite size, so I can literally pop them in my mouth.

You're supposed to dip it in the soup then finish it off one shot haha!

Awesome please, the soup inside the dumpling burst forth and were mixed with the egg soup.

Delish delish!

Verdict: 3/5

Plenty of hits but also plenty of misses, but this is definitely the place to go if you're looking for cheap and heartwarming food. There is Din Tai Fung and Kao Chi in the same district, also selling xiao long bao and other varieties of dim sum, but Din Tai Fung is too common and Kao Chi is too high-class. Jin Ji Yuan is the place where locals go for their dim sum fix, so I recommend you to visit if you have a craving for xiao long bao.