Day 3:
First stop of Day 3 is to have breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang (阜杭豆漿). It is located in a food court near Shandao Temple area. I deliberately set off late so as not to clash into the breakfast crowd but the queue is still surprising long.
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| Queue in front of 阜杭豆漿 |
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| Queue extended all the way out onto the stairs. I'm was another flight of stairs away. =( |
A lady in front of me started chatting with another person in queue. She recommended the salty soya bean (咸豆浆). It is her 90 year old mother favourite breakfast. She also recommended thick pancake with fried dough. (厚餅夾油条). She also mentioned that the queue could extend to outside of the building during weekends.
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| Busy kitchen |
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| Pancakes are baked in this traditional furnace |
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| Menu |
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| 咸豆浆 |
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| Zoom in to 厚餅夾油条 |
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| My order |
Salty soya bean (咸豆浆) - taste more like mashed tofu soup rather than the usual soya bean drink. Most people ordered Salty soya bean but I still prefer the usual soya bean. (Rating: 3/5)
Thick pancake with fried dough. (厚餅夾油条) - there is 2 versions of pancake; thick and thin. There are bits of spring onion in the pancake. The fried dough was freshly made and was still crunchy when served. The size of pancake is rather overwhelming. (Rating: 4/5)
The length of the queue was still the same after I finished my food.
Next destination was Xing Tian Gong (行天宫). It is a popular Chinese temple in Taipei. Due to the respect to the deity, I only took a picture of the exterior of the temple.
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| Xing Tian Gong (行天宫) |
After visiting Xing Tian Gong (行天宫), I proceeded to Shin Guang San Yue (新光三越). It was a normal shopping centre. Nothing much to comment about. Took a walk in the Shin Guang San Yue food court. Nothing caught my attention thus I decided to leave the place.
When I was on the shuttle bus back to ZhiSan MRT station, something caught my eye. It is a famous braised meat rice chain in Taiwan, Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張). Lunch is on the way. =P
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| Famous sign of Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張) |
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| A bowl of braised meat rice (魯肉飯） |
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| Fried toufu |
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Braised meat rice (魯肉飯）is quite delicious. (Rating: 4/5) However, the toufu is disappointing. The outer crust is not crispy and the sauce is watery. (Rating: 2/5)
The next item on my itinerary is Beitou hotspring.
As it is not advisable to visit hotspring after a meal, I took a stroll around Beitou.
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| Cute art piece at New Beitou MRT station |
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| Beitou public library - nice building |
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| Lotus pool in front of the library |
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| Mini waterfall beside the library |
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| Who needs a Canon if you have an attention-seeking squirrel that like to pose for you |
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| Beitou hotspring museum |
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| Side view of Beitou hotspring museum |
It has been over an hour since my last meal. It is time to proceed to SweetMe Hotspring Resort. =)
I opted for a private room. The cost is NT$840 (non-peak pricing) for 90 minutes. Cost for peak days is NT$1200.
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| Long bench |
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| Towels are provided |
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| Shower area and hotspring tub |
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| Hot spring water - up to 55 degrees |
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| Shower area |
The hotspring is quite enjoyable on a cold day like this. Private room is recommended for lazy people like me who do not like to travel carrying lot of stuff. Basically everything is provided in the room except for hair gel. =p
Finally, it is time for my last spot on Day 3 - DamSui.
Damsui is a beautiful place. Although the sky is slightly gloomy, Damsui give me a very relaxing feeling. When I started my stroll along the Damsui river, there was a street artist singing a soothing Taiwanese song. It was a perfect atmosphere for couples.
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| Early evening view of Damsui River |
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| Sky turning dark. Nice. |
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| Bought fried scrimp to munch along the way |
My camera battery went flat halfway through my visit to Damsui. =( It is time to head back to hotel.
There was a lot of area in Shilin Night Market that I have not explored. It will be the place for dinner today.
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| Grilled pearl corn |
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| Auto rotating corn grilling machine |
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| Final product |
The first item I bought was grilled pearl corn. It is the most expensive snack i had during my entire trip. The corn is sold by weight. I paid NT$110 for the corn. The texture is almost like glutinous rice but I find it was lacking the aroma of the usual sweet corn. (Rating: 2.5/5 considering the price)
As I was walking towards my hotel, I noticed there was a long queue in front of a stall. I squeeze through the crowd and the smell of BBQ meat overwhelmed me. I decided to join the long queue. =p
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| Long queue leading to the BBQ stall |
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| Lot of meat rolls on grill |
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| BBQ meat roll with spring onion/leek |
One roll cost only NT$10. It is one of the cheapest snack you can find in the night market. But the taste is one of the best snacks you can find anywhere in Taipei!!! I gobbled up all 4 rolls in no time. Highly recommended. (Rating: 100/5!!! haha)
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| Very sweet pink guava with plum powder |
It's time for dessert - fresh pink guava with sour plum seasoning. The guava is soft and sweet. The sour plum seasoning added a hinge of sour taste. Very refreshing. (Rating: 4/5)
It's time for me to lay back and enjoy the 42 inch LCD TV.
End of Day 3.
