The second day in Taipei was for shopping =D I purposely arrange to go shopping at the wholesale at the beginning of the trip so that I can check out what is there and later on of my trip when I see something I liked I don't have to worry that it will be cheaper at the wholesale clothes market =D *smart leh* =P
Anyway we skipped the hotel breakfast and went to have breakfast at 'Fu Hang Dou Jiang Dian'. A popular breakfast place among the locals.
The cold soya we ordered is really yummy and refreshing =D
We also ordered the shop specialty 'xian dou jiang' (salty soya milk) which tasted really weird to me!! It's like those steam egg (that is something like toufu) but this is soya instead of egg and they put some soya sauce and crispy 'you tiao' (fried cruller). It's special, as in something I have never tried before and it is not that it tasted bad but it is just too weird and I didn't liked it very much. We also had 'dan bing' (egg bun) which is actually fried eggs wrapped in a crepe which tasted nice but just a bit too oily =) Its actually the order that I liked best in this shop besides the soya milk =D. We also ordered 'shao bing you tiao' (oven baked sesame bun with fried cruller) which tasted nice too. The 'you tiao' was really nice!
'xian dou jiang'
'dan bing'
'shao bing you tiao'
After breakfast we went to Zhong Xiao Road to walk around. This is where the whole stretch of shopping is (something like Orchard Road) with lotsa branded shops and departmental stores.
Since I didn't go to Taiwan to buy branded stuff we walked for a while and proceed to Taipei 101 - the world tallest building. It has 101 floors and is 508m tall.
Us with Taipei 101
The entrance to the building
Just like Petronas Twin Towers, Taipei 101 also has an adjoining shopping mall and the tower consists of offices and others. However, we didn't go there for shopping..... We went to the observatory level at 89th floor.
Taipei 101 by day
Taipei 101 by night
The indoor observatory has a 360-degrees view of its surrounding. The recorded voice tour device is also provided free of charge. (However you have to pay to go into the observatory level - NT$400 each which is about RM43). With their high speed elevator, you can reach 89th floor in just a few blinks!!
There is a section where they list down the top 10 tallest building in the world. Our Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers comes in at second place where we were beaten by 56m. However, the Burj Dubai will overtake Taipei 101 in the world's tallest building when it opens in mid-2009.
Us pointing at our Twin Towers =D
The Taipei 101 is said to be designed to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors. They also have this huge steel pendulum that serves as a tuned mass damper to offset movements in the building caused by strong gusts. The biggest damper is located at the 88th floor where visitors can go and have a look. Hence, they came out with this cute mascot called baby damper.
Us and baby damper
The entrance to the damper is quite cool where they have top view graphic of buildings on the floor passage way. When you walked pass, the clouds will open up and you can see the buildings underneath. They also have baby damper flying around underneath.
Us with baby damper and the real damper
If you go up to the 91st floor, there is an open air outdoor observatory.
After touring around the observatory, we went back down. There are a few art works in and around Taipei 101 and the one I wanted to see most is ‘LOVE and 1-0’
You LOVE me, I LOVE you =D
Then after that we had lunch at 'Ding Tai Feng' a famous place for 'xiao long bao' (shanghai dumplings). Almost every review or article that I read about visiting Taipei, it also mentioned that you must eat at Ding Tai Feng. With such high publicity and recommendation, no wonder the place is packed and there was a long queue when we were there! They even have a queue system where you take your number and sit down to wait for your number to show on the screen and then be brought to your table. However, I must say that their turn over of tables are quite fast as there were about 30 numbers before mine and we only waited about slightly more than 30 minutes.
Long queue of people waiting for table outside Ding Tai Feng.
When we finally have a table we ordered and the food came rather quickly. They actually have an open kitchen concept where you can see a lot of kitchen staff mass producing the xiao long bao. Almost every table will order at least one basket. I must say I wasn't disappointed with their food. Btw, they have a branch in The Gardens but I don't know if it tasted the same as I haven't been there yet!
Anyway, we ordered 'xiao long bao' *obviously* and it was yummy yummy, some dumpling stuffed with glutinous rice and pork which was quite unique, shrimp and pork dumplings, 'zha jiang mian' (noodles with minced pork), and this chicken soup which was super yummy and honeydrew's favourite dish there. He said that the chicken soup will be the reason for him to revisit Ding Tai Feng (if we ever goes back to Taipei). Basically everything we ordered was really good!! Thumbs up!!
xiao long bao
bun stuffed with glutinous rice and pork
shrimp and pork dumplings
This is what the shrimp and pork dumpling look like inside
zha jiang mian
the chicken soup that honeydrew loveyyyy
The very happy us, enjoying our food =D
After eating so much, what better way to burn some calories other than shopping?? *hehe* Our next destination is to 'Wu Fen Pu' the wholesale clothes market *Shopping HAVEN*
Me at Wu Fen Pu - grinning from ear to ear =D
Knowing that I wanna spend 'some' time shopping, I asked honeydrew to do some sight seeing on his own. We were there at about 2pm and honeydrew said he will come back at 5pm but I told him I think 6pm will be better =D So he went sight seeing at Sun Yat Sen Memorial and me shopping at Wu Fen Pu. It is really something like Cha Tu Chak in Bangkok with rows and rows of shops but just that it is not as big and not as hot!! Oh btw, forgot to mention that the weather in Taipei was good!! I was afraid that it will be too hot like when I went to HK last July but luckily its not. I didn't sweat or feel the heat the whole time I was there except for the last day which was quite hot. It also rained a while for two nights.
Anyway back to Wu Fen Pu, there were really a lot of clothes but not all are cheap (though its cheaper than the shops outside) Some were really quite cheap but some especially those from Korea were not that cheap. Also one thing is that you can't try on the clothes hence I don't dare to buy a lot. I didn't finished walking everything and its already 6pm. =(
After burning my calories while shopping, we were hungry again and had dinner at 'Shin Yeh' a original Taiwanese cuisine restaurant. Again, the place is packed and fully booked!! Since we didn't make any reservation, there was no table for us unless we come back at 8pm. Hence we decided to walk around the area till 8pm!! I always love a restaurant that is packed as this shows that the food must be of some standard for so many people to want to eat there. It makes me want to eat there even more =D
I must say again, the food really did not dissapoint me =D Yummy Yummy Yummy!!! We ordered an egg omelet with salted radish and I noticed that almost every table I passed by have this dish there and it was veryyyy good!! Though honeydrew said that it is a very common dish and even the chap fan stall has it!! HUH!!! really?? but I have never tried before and I think it tasted really yummy lor!!!! =D We also ordered 'gua bao' (pork bun) which is a steamed bun with sliced stewed pork which the waiter describes as Taiwanese burger. The waiter recommended the fresh oysters cooked in black bean sauce and honeydrew wanted the deep fried pig intestines and also stir fried beef in a special sauce. Again I give thumbs up for everything was really yummy!!!
gua bao
oysters in black bean sauce
the yummy yummy egg omelet with salted radish
deep fried pig intestines
stir fried beef in special sauce
Then every table gets complimentary mochi..... very yummy too..... soft and chewy…. and we ordered their famous 'dan ta' (egg tart). The dan ta is freshly baked when you order and hence we waited a good 20 minutes for it but it was worth the wait!! It came piping hot where the crust is flaky and the egg custard is soft and not too sweet - just right!!
Mochi covered with peanuts
Very yummy egg tart - just the way I like it =D
Then next, we had desserts at Hello Kitty Sweets which is just near by!! When I found out about this place on the internet I knew I must pay it a visit =D
The whole place is full of pretty cutesy Hello Kitty!! *hearts*
Inside the shop, on top of the cake display
The various Hello Kitty desserts on display
Hello Kitty cake
The inside of the shop, as you can see the downstairs dining area is full hence we were seated upstairs which was only us and another table that is occupied.
The upstairs of the shop
Even the chandeliar have hello kitty soft toys sitting on it =D
Me in Hello Kitty Dreamland =D
The food and drinks were all very cutesy as well!! I don't usually drink coffee but the waitress told me that only hot drinks will come with a hello kitty deco on it and hence coffee it is!!
Then the desserts we had *hearts* Its so pretty and cutesy lar!!!! I ordered a strawberry cake and honeydrew ordered a tiramisu.
Then we had complimentary Hello Kitty Jelly. One thing bout Taiwan, most restaurants give complimentary desserts one. They are not just helpful and friendly, they are also generous!! *haha*
You are so sweet... me?? *hehe*
Even the washroom is so pretty and cutesy!!
Honeydrew paying at the Hello Kitty Counter
I must say it was a really great day!! Although we were dead tired but the food we had that day were among the best in our trip. However, it’s more of restaurants food and not hawker street food. So of course the standard and quality is different as the price is also different!!
Back in the hotel, I tried the clothes that I bought at Wu Fen Pu and really liked some of it.... am secretly planning when to slot into the itinerary that I have planned to go back to Wu Fen Pu to buy more stuff for my website!! *kekekeke*
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