Photo Diary: Taipei Throwback

I never got around to finishing Part 2 of my Taiwan photo diary from last year. But since I recently wrote a 24-hour guide to Taipei for SPOT.ph, I thought this would be a good time to revisit that trip.

What We Ate

When we planned to go to Taipei, I was mostly excited to eat. I heard wonderful things about the food from people who have traveled to Taiwan. A few things that stood out for me (and I still wish I could go back for) are in this photo.

The iced Sea Salt Coffee from 85°C Bakery Cafe was so good. There was a branch near our hotel, so we got to go back for seconds.

We had xiao long bao from a stall at the Raohe St. Night Market. We headed here just as it was opening, so stalls were just opening up and there were barely any lines. We made sure to get hu jiao bing or black pepper pork bun from the stall by the entrance. By the time we left, the line was snaking past the entrance already.

Winner who provided our car service recommended Fu Hong Beef Noodle as it was just a couple of minutes away from where we were staying. There was a big bowl of orange stuff on the table and we weren’t sure what to do with it at first. It turned out to be tallow or rendered beef fat. LOL! You stir some into your soup.

And finally, Mimi said we couldn’t miss the Mala Hotpot experience when we’re in Taiwan. So, that’s what we had for lunch on my birthday. Two hours eating everything we could and saving room for dessert because it is EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN Movenpick and Häagen-Dazs ice cream! I had 10 scoops. HAHA!

Dihua Street

Patty took us to Dihua Street in the Datong District, where she had previously stayed. It’s a bit old school with buildings dating back to mid-19th century Taipei. Of course we got sucked into this pretty tea store called Dae by Day that had beautiful packaging. I ended up taking home some oolong and a caffeine-free quinoa blend for pasalubong and my personal stash. Did I mention this trip turned me into a tea drinker?

There was also a store that turned plastic bottles into clothes, pouches, and other cute stuff. A lot of things were on sale, too, so it was very tempting to shop. Ended up just buying a few postcards aside from the tea.

Huashan 1914 Creative Park

We knew we wanted to visit one of the creative parks in Taipei. So on our last day (we had to kill about 12 hours before our flight), we headed to Huashan 1914 Creative Park. It was fun to go in and out of the different buildings in the area and peruse all the goods. It was hard not to buy anything, so we ended up with a few things from here. I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful paper goods, ceramics, and even just the building exteriors. We spent a few good hours here and ended up having a late lunch at one of the cafes that had a hydroponics system inside.

Spectrum Eslite Songyan

Songshan Creative and Culture Park was already closed when we got there, but the gorgeous Eslite Spectrum right beside it was still open. My feet were killing me by this time, so I wanted to sit down somewhere. We had a snack before going around the entire mall. At the very top floor, it was handcrafting heaven. There were different areas where you could buy a souvenir and make it yourself. There was a woodworking, pottery, glassblowing, and even jewelry making. Made me want to spend an entire day there. I took photos instead.

All this talk about travel is making me want to go on a vacation. Here’s to saving up for more trips next year!