Taiwan trip Day 8 (Danshui , Xinbeituo, Shilin night market )

March 20, 2014

Taiwan trip Day 8 (Danshui , Xinbeituo, Shilin night market )

Today we did not plan to have breakfast at the hotel and we do not have many plans so we woke up later than usual. It was going to be a relaxing day. Instead of following our previous itinerary of first going to Beitou then to Danshui, we decided that this time round we were going to switch. We would go to Danshui first and then Beitou

We went to the breakfast shop near just 1-2 min away from the hotel

麥而美胖子早餐店

台北市成都路119號

We ordered ham and cheese 蛋饼 and carrot cake to share.

Both the 蛋饼 and carrot cake were yummy. I love especially the 蛋饼. The carrot cake was good but the one at 第二市场 was much better. After the light breakfast, we proceeded to Danshui

We took the mrt to Danshui station along the red line and changed to a bus (Bus Red 26) to the fisherman's wharf. Due to the change of public transport there was a discount and the bus trip only cost (NT9)

This was the very first time we tried to visit the fisherman wharf as the previous time when we were here it was already night time and there wasnt much to be seen.

淡水漁人碼頭

Tamshui Fisherman’s Wharf is a scenic spot at the western tip of Tamsui, Taipei County, Taiwan.

The Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf is well-known for its beautiful sunset and fresh seafood. Besides, having sightseeing and leisure facilities, it still holds its functionality as a harbour for fishing boats.

From the boardwalk, we could get an unblocked view of Bali Island.

There was peace and tranquillity everywhere. There was also a light drizzle. From the boardwalk we could also hear love songs coming from a distance. Besides that with the light drizzle, the whole ambience was very romantic as we took a slow stroll around Danshui

情人橋 (Lovers bridge)

We were finally on the famous Lovers bridge- a white coloured Cable-stayed bridge, which derived its name since it was started on February 14, 2003, Valentine's Day.

The total length is approximately 196 meters and the walk across takes approximately 3 minutes.

As we got nearer to the end of the bridge, we found out the source of the love songs. There was a busker who had been singing. Mr Cheong got kinda interested and went forward to give him a token as well as to take a look at the CD he was selling. The CD is a compilations of songs re-sang by him. We didnt buy his CD though he can sing really well

Didnt manage to take a photo of him but one of his back view. We also realised that he was bare-footed when performing

Again, we could find fences of wishes

After which we went across the bridge again to the rows of stores. We ordered 豪大鸡扒 to share. Initially we had plans to order 芋圆 from the store beside it but cant really remember what happened, eventually we did not

After the 鸡扒, we decided to proceed to the old street.

The walk around the fisherman's wharf was indeed rejuvenating. Such serenity and tranquillity is something which you wont be able to find in Singapore. It is a great way to escape from the hustle and bustle of city lives.

Dan Shui old street (淡水老街)

Unlike the previous time we were here when most shops had already closed, this time round the street was bustling with life. There were many shops along the streets and some of them were rather interesting. We came across 1 shop selling toys and one of their toys displayed was a 'crazy rabbit'.. It was crazy at least to me. (Take a look at the video if you want to see how the crazy rabbit was like

紅櫻花 Hello Kitty台灣伴手禮

http://www.redsakura.com.tw/

Another store which I thought was worth mentioning was the 紅櫻花 Hello Kitty台灣伴手禮 store. Unlike the usual Hello Kitty stores which sell westernised cakes, this store sells the traditional Chinese cakes.

Like many stores in Taiwan, the shop is tastefully decorated, with cute Hello kitty statues. They also sell Traditional Engagement cakes in the shape of Hello Kitty. The cakes are not cheap. 1set of 6 costs NT660 (with promotion) which is about S$30. Unlike those in Singapore which are usually sold at half the price or those more expensive ones from Thye Moh Chan, I think that these cakes are worth the price. If I am to pay the price I pay for Thye Moh Chan, I would have paid for this instead.

Danshui has a speciality food called Ah Gei (阿給), which is basically tofu stuffed with glass noodles in a spicy sauce. if you are at Danshui, I think you should give this dish a try as I didn’t see this anywhere else in Taiwan. There are many stalls in Danshui selling Ah Gei, make sure you patronise the original store.

阿給老店

台北縣淡水鎮真理街6-1號

We have no idea what it was prior to eating. So we only ordered 1 to share. EAch costs NT35

It’s basically a fried tofu that has been stuffed with glass noodles and then sealed with fish paste. Finally the whole tofu which has been stuffed is soaked into a gluey paste/sauce. I though the taste of the paste is like those on the oyster omelette. I thought that this is rather unique but not really that spectacular. However, definitely worth a try.

Just when we were about to leave the place, we came across the popular ice cream shop at the entrance of the old street. It is the famous shop which sells tall soft serve. Besides its famous height, it also sells 6 different flavous: vanilla and/or chocolate. green tea and/or mango, taro and/or strawberry. It wasnt like the ordinary soft serve which is creamy in taste. It was more like a sorbet. I didnt quite like it as I find the taste very diluted. If you order the large one (NT35) it would end up to be very tall. about an arm's length. But I ordered the small one which costs (NT10)

After which, sun has set and is time for us to go xinbeitou. The mrt train to xinbeitou is beautifully drawn n painted.

And there is a interactive system there for you to find out more about xinbeitou vicinity

We had came unprepared as Mr Cheong had been flicker minded about going for hot spring this trip. We can't really remember which got spring resort we went to at that time, so we just walked and randomly go into any hor spring resort we saw that were not too bad to enquire about the pricing and if whether the hotspring bath is in room or not. We wanted something private and outdoor. After enquiring quite a few, we came to 北投華心溫泉雙魚館

北投華心溫泉雙魚館

http://www.hs-beitou.com.tw/

We checked out their outdoor private hotspring and thought that it wasnt that bad and the price is reasonable, and decided to have our hot spring bath there.

The interior of the hot spring bath looks kinda old actually and it seemed as though, it has not been used for a long time. However, we could hear another couple in the 'room' besides us. We did not really take note of the time we spent in the hot spring. We just prepare to leave the moment we thought that we had enough, on returning the key to the reception counter, it was realised that they had given us a hotel room key instead and created a fuss over it... thinking that we had used the hot spring in their room instead ( hot spring bath in the room is more expensive than the outdoor ones...) but if I had wanted to have a hot spring bath in the room itself, I wouldnt need to walk so far here..zzzz.. anyway, we told them they were the one who gives us the key and we thought that the key is for the outdoor spring bath and we didnt use their room at all... after all the mess, we departed 華心 and proceeded to Shilin night market. It was about 10+ when we reached there.

Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)

No. 101, Jīhé Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 111

Most shops were about to close even though the shops there are supposed to be open from 11 00 to 02 00 daily (souce: http://travel.network.com.tw/zh-cn/tourguide/point/showpage/103004.html)

We walked around but Mr Cheong could not find anything to his liking. Moreover, with the shops closing, there werent many choices.

We decided to patronise 忠誠號蚵仔煎

忠誠號蚵仔煎

60號, Jihe Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 111

This was not the first time we were here. We ate at this shop previously too and I remembered that their oyster omelette was quite good.

Their lu rou fan 鲁肉 aka minced meat rice costs NT25.

Worrying that most of the shops would be closed by the time we finished our food here, we ordered 2 oyster omelette :) Their oyster omelette costs NT55 each.

I would say the price of both their oyster omelette and lu rou fan are very reasonable. The ingredients used are fresh and their servings are reasonable for the price which they are charging.

After our late dinner here, we decided to go and check out the eateries at the basement. Many of the shops were closing and left with not many choices. We decided that we should stop eating and proceeded back to the hotel. just before leaving, we found few shops at the junction which were about to close. We bought 大肠包小肠 from 官之林franchise