Highlights of Xi Men Ding (西门町), Taipei
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| We attempted to take a photo of the bustling streets of Xi Men Ding... ... But... ... |
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| We were surprised that we managed to capture a candid shot of a lady munching her Taiwan Street Snacks.. It was really funny and this attests that Taiwan Street Snacks are indeed yummy :) |
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| We managed to capture a photo of the cast filming an action movie in the street at night... |
Our hotel was in Xi Men Ding (西门町), Taipei and hence we would be hanging around the Xi Men Ding area pretty frequently :)
Hotel Name: iTrip Taipei Inn (日安西门城市旅店)
Website: http://itrip-taipeinn.com.tw
Address: 9F.-2, No.36, Xining S. Rd., 西门町, 台北, 台湾 108
We love the spacious bathroom with the huge bathtub and shower area (although we have never used the bathtub). Conducive bathrooms have always been our top priority in booking a hotel as it affects our morning mood when we wash up and clear our bowels. Also, returning back to a clean bathroom after a long day's travel is vital as it is something that is very welcoming - at least to me... I will suffer from severe constipation if the bathroom is dirty as I will not have any urge to use it at all.
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| Pointing towards the Emergency Exit Route on the Hotel Room's Door... |
However the down-side to this hotel is that their sewage pipes lack maintenance - you can smell poo whenever you return to your hotel room despite that your rooms are being cleaned daily. This is a small issue to us as the smell will go off after some time (when you get accustomed to it).
The receptionist is very friendly, they would provide us with very useful travel tips and information and they also helped us to reserve the Feigou bus to send us back to the airport at the end of our trip.
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| Having Breakfast @ the Pantry area in the morning with Tracy |
Also, the hotel serves local Taiwanese delights for breakfast - our favourite is the warm Taiwanese Porridge and hot soya bean milk provided. They also provide toasted bread with jam as an alternative if you would like to keep your breakfast simple (I enjoyed toasting my own bread and applying peanut butter every morning). The breakfast is not fantastic but the spread is rather decent judging from the price we paid.
Overall: ★★★☆☆
Pricing: ★★☆☆☆
Comfort: ★★★☆☆
Service: ★★★◐☆
Oyster Vermicelli from 阿宗面线 (Ah Zhōng Miàn Xiàn)
The very first thing we tried after we checked-in to our hotel is the Oyster Vermicelli from the infamous 阿宗面线.
阿宗面线(西门町店)
Address：万华区万华区峨嵋街8之1号(近西门町)
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| 阿宗面线(西门町店) |
This is Sweetie Muffin's favourite dish in Taiwan but both Tracy and I felt that it tasted a tad too saltish and starchy to our liking. However it is indeed comforting to eat something piping hot in such a cold and rainy climate like that.
Pricing: ★★☆☆☆
Food: ★★◐☆☆
Braised Pork Rice (乳肉饭) from 金鋒西门 (Jīn Fēng Xī Mén)
Besides the Oyster Vermicelli from 阿宗面线, another must-try dish when you are in Taiwan is their 乳肉饭 (braised pork rice).
金鋒西门
Address: 台北市萬華區昆明街89號
Tel: 02-2381-2561
Operating Hours：11:00 to 21:00 (Closed on Tuesdays)
For just TWD25 (approx SGD1+, using the exchange rate of 1SGD=23.6TWD), you can enjoy a tiny bowl of Braised Pork Rice with Mushrooms. We also ordered the Fried Pork Ribs Soup (TWD50) and Clams Chicken Soup (TWD50).
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| Hearty Lunch @ 金鋒西门 |
The braised pork rice tasted rather normal as there was more rice than meat served. Would appreciate if they can serve more meat gravy with their rice.. Also, the Fried Pork Ribs Soup is more flavourful that the Clams Chicken Soup although the Clams Chicken Soup has ginger in it.
The total expenditure is TWD150 (approx. SGD6++) and is totally worth it for a restaurant setting.
Pricing: ★☆☆☆☆
Food: ★★★◐☆
Ambience: ★★◐☆☆
Snacks from 365台湾小吃 (365 Taiwan Xiâo Chī)
This eatery comprises of 2 levels and we were intrigued that food was served via an elevator system to the 2nd level within their premises.
365台灣小吃
Location: 台北市萬華區漢中街34號
Tel: 02-2314-9889
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| Oyster Omelette from 365台湾小吃 (365 Taiwan Xiâo Chī) |
We liked the Oyster Omelette there and it was tasty (not to mention cheap too!). We tried other snacks from the other eateries nearby 365 but we felt that 365 offers the most variety of snacks :)
Pricing: ★☆☆☆☆
Food: ★★★☆☆
Ambience: ★★☆☆☆
Spring Onion Pancakes from Roadside Stalls
炸弹葱油饼
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| 炸弹葱油饼 |
The Zhà Dàn Cōng Yóu Bîng (炸弹葱油饼) has a more eggy taste than the other version named below. The Spring Onion Pancake's texture is more or less similar to Egg Roti Prata but it has the fragrance of spring onion in it and we loved this lots.
葱抓饼
The Cōng Zhuā Bîng (葱抓饼) on the other hand has more spring onion taste to it. I personally would prefer this version to the eggy one as I loved the spring onion fragrance which the Indians could not replicate for their Roti Prata :D This dish is highly recommend by me if you should visit any Night Markets in Taiwan :)
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| 葱抓饼 |
Snowy Ice Dessert from 三兄妹雪花冰 (Sān Xiōng Mèi Xuê Huā Bīng)
I have to agree that you can never get Ice Kachang as fine as this in Singapore and hence this makes it a must-try dish when you are in Taiwan.
西門町三兄妹雪花冰專門店
Website: http://www.ximen.com.tw/store_139
Address: 萬華區漢中街23號Taipei, Taiwan 108
Operating Hours: Daily, 11:00 to 23:00
The graffiti on the walls of the eatery is also another attraction for this place...
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| Snowy Ice Dessert from 三兄妹雪花冰 (Sān Xiōng Mèi Xuê Huā Bīng) |
The Menu offers a huge variety of ways to consume your Snowy Ice dessert - with different fruits / with taro cubes / puddings etc.
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| Menu Page 1 |
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| Menu Page 2 |
Pricing: ★☆☆☆☆
Food: ★★★◐☆
Ambience: ★★◐☆☆
Fried Chicken from 富士宫
This stall offers fried noodles and fried chicken. The fried chicken tasted somewhat like KFC's Popcorn Chicken LOL.
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| Fried Chicken from 富士宫 |
Bubble Tea from 茶茶果 (Chachago)
As a lover of Pearly Milk Tea, Tracy has tried the milk teas from most of the stalls in the Xi Men Ding area and has concluded that Chachago serves one of the best Pearl Milk Tea.
Other milk teas which we have tried were too milky to our liking. The milk tea served by Chachago has a faint tea fragrance and a milky taste which is more suitable to our local tastebuds.
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| Bubble Tea from 茶茶果 (Chachago) |
满汉大餐 (Mân Hàn Dà Cān) Instant Noodles from 7-Eleven
I know this sounds crazy. But only Taiwan sells this brand of Instant Noodles which is really yummy and tasty accordingly to Sweetie Muffin and Tracy.
Moreover, there are TWO 7-Eleven outlets in the Xi Men Ding area so it is VERY convenient for you to buy the instant noodles there :)
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| 满汉大餐 (Mân Hàn Dà Cān) Cup Noodles from 7-Eleven |
I tried the Braised Beef Noodles and indeed the soup base is very flavourful although I still prefer my favourite Nissin Cup Noodles.
Perhaps you can try savouring this brand of cup noodles in your hotel room when you are bored of checking out the Night Markets at night or you can try eating them for supper if you are still feeling hungry (which is rare when you are in Taiwan).
I do hope you will like my first sharing on the highlights of Taipei and I will be posting more about our Taiwan trip shortly after I have consolidated all my photos :)
What's Next: Highlights of Taipei: Shilin Night Market (士林夜市).
P.S.
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