Hah! That last one got your attention eh? But before I get hounded by his fans, I should clarify that we slept one wall apart. You see, he was my neighbour on the hotel's executive club floor.
That was the most exciting part of my trip, unless you count gorging on beef noodles daily as something very exciting too. Taiwanese people seem really enthusiastic over beef noodles. Every subject I interviewed would ask me two things - if I have tried Taiwanese beef noodles and if I have seen the Taipei 101.
Eventually, I was so motivated, I had beef noodles for lunch three days in a row.
I had beef noodles somewhere around Jhongsiao East road, down a bustling alley of various eateries that the working community patronised for lunch. This shop apparently is very popular and have been around for 20 years.
Beef noodles here is cheap - NT$80 (approx S$4).
I also had some expensive beef noodles from Grand Hyatt - NT$300 (approx S$15). This was also apparently famous. In my opinion, it sucks. It made me miss Lai Lai stewed beef noodles in Singapore!
And as if I didn't have enough of beef noodles, I had some more the afternoon of my departure at a cafe in the airport. This bowl of beef noodles came with super tasty meat dumplings that resembled balls of tissue paper dunked in soup.
Fortunately, it was not all beef noodles I had. I managed to splurge on dinner the night Manna was in town with me. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau recommended Dian Shui Lou, a Shanghainese restaurant that is on par with the famed Din Tai Fung.
Dian Shui Lou has a couple of branches across Taipei and there was one just a five-minute walk from my hotel.
We got our appetite going with some steamed chicken doused in shaoxing wine and chinese ham in a savoury jelly. They were too strong for my palate.
No Shanghainese meal is ever complete without Xiaolongbaos. Dian Shui Lou does theirs fabulously with a chewy, firm skin that does not break easily and a juicy meat filling bathe in a tasty broth. Umm! Better than those from Din Tai Fung... in Singapore, that is!
We had the pan fried version too. These were even better!
And yes, there is no escaping the beef. I had beef for dinner too. Look how the hot pepper oil glowers. So red. So potent. Manna gave up after a couple of slices. I happily sup everything.
Apart from the eats, I did go see the Taipei 101 and the mall within. Seriously, it reminded me of Paragon and KLCC with all the big brands dotting the interior.
I was too poor to shop at Vivienne Westwood and the likes, and the local designer made clothes that were more suited for Barbie Doll. So after a while Manna and I went in search of a stylish bar where we could rest our feet and have some wine.
We found this place called In House just round the bend from Taipei 101. It was stylish, spacious but quite empty, which was a shame cos it was really a great place to chill over wine and bubblies. Are Taiwanese not quite a party bunch?
We ordered a bottle of good Aussie white, cleaned it out within an hour and headed to Raohe Night Market, which was also very near my hotel. In fact, my hotel seems to be near every darn thing, including the Taipei Arena.
Everyone said I MUST go see Taiwan's night market. So I went. And I think it is just like Hong Kong's Lady's Market / Woman's Street / Lui Yan Gai. Or Singapore's own pasar malam.
But of course, Taiwan's night market offers a lot more to eat than the Hong Kong and Singapore versions. Their street food is so widely-acclaimed, travelogues always feature them. Still, the shops in the night market sold knick-knacks that I have no interest in. Gah, bazaars are just not my thing.
Sadly, because the drains near the food stalls sort of stink, I lost all appetite and chose not to eat.
The only thing I did try was a bowl of pork ribs soup that Manna was madly craving for. The Taiwanese love their pork ribs soup with a strong herbal flavour. I prefer the Singaporean version.
Ah well, that's all I did in Taipei City. Hardly much really, as I was fighting for time. And since I was always so tired by the end of the day, I was hardly in the mood for photos.
Not buying anything while overseas made me uncomfy. So to satisfy the shopping monster in me, I bought this little box of treasures inflight:
Now I smell like flowers.
1 blistering yaks:
Since the food is no good for your liking, you should have stake out outside Daniel Wu's room.
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