Waffles and Coffee

There's something about Melange Cafe that makes me want to visit it each time I go Taipei.

The strawberry waffles are very nice.

It comes with a generous helping of sweet strawberries, custard, strawberry ice-cream and strawberry sauce.. but it's somewhat cake-ish and far from being the best-ever waffles.

They have a great selection of coffee. Exotic, interesting and extensive, you can check their menu here. And oh yes, expensive.

The cafe is also set up beautifully and comes with quaint details like small pots of flowers here and there.

Mostly, I think it's the crowd that attracts me to Melange.

Predominantly female, you see small groups of friends, mothers and daughters... and couples where the guy accommodates the lady's choice of restaurant (yes, The Husband included).

Melange Cafe
米朗琪咖啡館
聯絡電話：(02)2567-3787
地址：台北市中山北路二段16巷23號

Interesting Places to go in Taipei

I have been to Taipei for quite a number of times now for holidays.

After the first 3 times, I get a bit tired of the usual spots - Taipei 101, Shilin night market, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

This trip, I discovered a few nice places to go in Taipei.

1. Song Shan Cultural Park 松山文創園區

There are many reasons to visit this cultural park.

1. There is a modern museum of sorts in this old cigarette factory
2. They tend to have interesting temporary exhibits there. There was a futuristic Hello Kitty one when we visited
3. There is a very nice Eslite Store there with a lot of good food
4. The famous Wu Bao Chun Bread store (吳寶春麵包店) has a branch there. This is the guy whose bread won first place in a bread baking competition, leaving all the French and European bakers speechless.

 

 

2. Yangmingshan National Park

I can't believe it took me so long to visit Yangmingshan National Park but it really is a huge and beautiful place.

We visited it on a day where the weather wasn't exactly the greatest. It was drizzling and rather cold that day.. too cold for Little N. But it was a beautiful park and we did have a nice walk while it lasted.. so, I'd definitely be back.

3. Addiction Fish Market 上引水產

The Husband didn't like this place but I quite did.

Addiction is an interesting fish market located near a traditional market. So you can visit the fish market, have some freshly prepared seafood there and then visit the traditional market nearby.

Things to do in Taichung

Here is a list of some of the things I think you can do in Taichung.

1. Visit the night markets

Fengjia night market is very good.. It's very big.. the biggest night market in Taiwan and there are some very famous food stalls there.

Personally, I prefer Yizhong Street night market. It is smaller but the food is very good.. and there are also some pretty good restaurants there. I don't usually shop at night markets.. but the shops looked interesting at Yizhong Street and there are a lot of shops selling sports shoes at reasonable prices.

There is a very famous "Barbequed Chicken Chop" stall in the night market. The chicken chop is first deep fried and then dipped into a very light barbeque sauce. It's crispy, salty, sinful and totally addictive.

2. Take a walk along Calligraphy Greenway

Take a walk along the "Calligraphy Greenway". This is a belt of greenery in the middle of the city. There is an outdoor museum (勤美術館 CMP Block Museum of Arts) that is interesting.. It's right behind the 勤美诚品 (Eslite bookstore), which itself is (as all Eslite stores are) a nice place to visit - for books and interesting shops. There is a coffee place within the outdoor museum where you can have a nice cup of coffee and cheesecake if you get tired.

Sometimes, there is also some sort of flea market near the outdoor museum on weekends.

Do note the opening hours though. The place is only open from 2pm onwards. For more details, visit their facebook page.

3. Have lots of bubble tea

Bubble tea originated, after all, from Taiwan. This drink was supposedly created by Chun Shui Tang Teahouse. I find the bubble tea at Chun Shui Tang really quite good. The "pearls" used are medium sized ones and you can drink the tea using a standard straw and not a big straw like most other places. The noodles and snacks at Chun Shui Tang are pretty good too. Taichung is pretty famous for its beancurd so do try out some at Chun Shui Tang. Their Oolong beancurd with Blood Ricecake (烏龍豆干米血) is really good, if you dare to eat blood ricecake.. It's a ricecake that is made with pigs' blood added to it. It sounds totally gross but it taste okay actually. I also like their mixed shao mai (綜合燒賣) and Burdock tempura (山根甜不辣).

There are a lot of good takeaway bubble tea shops that originated from Taichung as well. Recent popular ones are those that sell bubble tea with fresh fruits and juices added.

When I was in Taichung, I made sure I had bubble tea every day.

The bubble milk tea is fragrant, frothy and has chewy bubbles

I like the burdock tempura (more like a fishcake than "tempura")

The noodles are good too. Little N love the chewy noodles

4. Buy some Sun Cakes (太陽餅）

Sun cakes, or Sun biscuits, are from Taichung and there are lots of shops selling these in Taichung. Everyone has a view of which shop is the best. I think in general there are 2 types - the traditional type which is made with animal fat and the modern type which is made without. I like the modern ones from Gong Yuan Yan Ke.

This shop is an over-the-top pastry shop - selling pastries at top prices in a beautiful shop. It's like the Tiffany's version of a Taiwanese pastry shop. The shop itself is quite worth a visit, even if you don't like their prices. Apparently they have really good ice-cream as well so be sure to try some if you visit.

5. Take a day trip to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭)

The Sun Moon Lake is a beautiful lake that is about an hour's drive from Taichung city. It is actually the largest body of water in Taiwan. The east side of the lake resembles a sun while the west side resembles a moon, hence the name. It's a nice place to visit - you can take a boat trip around the lake, ride a cable car to the top of a nearby hill for some gorgeous view.

Little N loved the cable car ride and goes "car car" ever since that day whenever she seems a picture of a cable car
 

 

6. Visit a lavender farm

I really wanted to do this but we didn't have time. I've read quite a lot of good reviews of this place.. so it's on my to do list for my next visit to Taichung!

I didn't get to visit the farm but we did see some lovely flowers at Sun Moon Lake

Taichung

I last went to Taichung in 2009, when I was exploring whether or not I should be setting up a drinks business.

I had 3 impressions of Taichung back then:
1. There are a lot of nice drinks shops in Taichung.. It is, after all, the "birth place" of bubble tea
2. The Fengjia Night Market is very big and probably one of the nicest I've been to
3. Taichung people are very friendly.. Someone offered to help me with my luggage up and down the stairs at the train station, which did not have any escalators

This trip to Taichung with The Husband and Little N, I still think that the above holds true.

Except I also think now that:
1. Things in Taichung are very affordable.. compared to Taipei and certainly compared to Singapore
2. The Yizhong Street night market is smaller than Fengjia but nicer.. with delicious street food, good restaurants and small shops selling nicknacks
3. Food in Taichung overall is of very high quality.. and there are lots of options available

Most Singaporeans tend to travel to Taipei when they travel to Taiwan. With some direct flights now to Taichung, I think it is actually a good city to travel to for just a long weekend.

In my next post, I'd share what are some of the things I think one can do in Taichung.

Loads of yummy food in Taichung. Bubble tea is a must!

We stayed in a hotel room with loads of sheep on the wall. 

Little N went "Baa Baa Baa" in the room all day.. very funny!

First Birthday and a Trip to Taiwan

I have really been neglecting my poor blog.

Being busy is never a good excuse but it is indeed the reason why I haven't been blogging.

I haven't even been reading the blogs I follow too much. Tsk tsk.

Anyway, a lot has happened over the last couple of months... apart from super hectic days at work!

Firstly, Little N turned one. Yep, she's officially a toddler now... Aw... only, I still feel she is a little baby. Maybe it's because she doesn't walk yet... nor talk too much... Maybe it's just the way all mothers feel.

It was a little milestone for me, nevertheless. I survived Year 1 of motherhood - breastfeeding (yep, still continuing somewhat), middle of night wakings (yep, definitely still happening) and diaper changing (yep yep).

In celebration, we went to River Safari to see some pandas, fishes and alligators. The River Safari is under soft launch and I feel it's such a far cry from the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari. I probably will not be visiting it any time so soon. But the pandas made a big impression on Little N and she now says "da" when she sees any pictures of pandas.

We also had a few other other things happening at home. My grandma fell quite ill and got us quite worried. It is unlikely she'd recover so we are just treasuring the time we have left with her.

This Saturday, we will be going on our first family vacation. Just the 3 of us. We'd be in Taiwan for 10 days and honestly, I feel a bit nervous.. The food will be new to Nicole because we'd probably not be able to cook most of the time (we are only staying in an apartment for part of the trip).. and I have no idea how she'd handle air travel and missed naps plus late nights.

But still, I'm looking forward to a break from work and lots of time with The Husband and Little N.

Wish us all the best!

Overpriced panda "bao" but so cute!

Little N at 1 year old and her daddy (whom she calls "paaaa")

Fabulous Eel Rice

I've blogged about this restaurant in Taipei before - see this post for more.

I guessed the eel rice here left such an impression for me that I had to go back this trip with The Husband.

With the 2 of us, we were able to try out more stuff than I did the last time. The eel rice is what this shop is famous for. Be sure not to leave without trying this. The sauce is especially good - it is slightly sweet and goes well with the grilled eel and rice.

The yakitori range of grilled meat on sticks are all very good. The restaurant serves a wider range of yakitori during lunch, for some reason. If you are interested in eel kidney - you should visit during lunch. We had the grilled pork and grilled squid and both were very good.

Egg rolls - plain or with grilled eels are very famous in this restaurant as well. These were perfectly cooked so that the egg is still soft and slightly wobbly.

The sashimi is also very very fresh and popular with guests.

The overall quality of the food here is really good and the food is very reasonably priced. No wonder the long queues then. Go just before their opening time to avoid queueing.

Note though that the restaurant can be really packed, so it might not be an ideal place to go for a nice, long meal. This is a place you go for good food and then hurry off so other people can come in for a good meal as well.

 

 

See the long queue outside the restaurant? 

Good thing this was the queue as we were leaving the place..

 肥前屋
Address: 台北市中山北路一段121巷3号
Opening Hours: 11:30~14:00 17:30~21:30

Taroko National Park - Swallow Grotto

Some trails at Taroko can be dangerous because of falling rocks - visitors have been injured and killed even by falling slabs of marble.. Hence, there are lots of signs along more "dangerous" sections of the gorge. A particular section was closed to the general public when we were there, as work is being done to clear off loose rocks from the cliffs above the walking trails.

The Swallow Grotto, however, is a safe and pleasant, slightly downhill walking trail. If you ever go to Taroko and have time for only 1 trail, I would recommend this one.

This part of Taroko Gorge is composed of marble cliff faces covered with small holes, the result of long-term erosion by river and ground water. Swallows used to nest here, giving the place its name.

There are lots of interesting rock formations to see along the way, the accompanying music of the trickling stream at times and the louder sound of gushing water at various points of the river makes the 40 mins trail even more pleasant.

Come walk with me along the path!