Highlights of Taipei: Keelung Miaokou Night Market (基隆廟口夜市)

Night Market Hopping @ Keelung Night Market

After our visits to the Old Streets of Shifen and Jiufen, we took a bus to Keelung Night Market for dinner.

The Keelung Miaokou Night Market is situated near a temple and hence you see 2 rows of yellow-coloured lanterns being hung up high along both sides of the street.

There are a few specialities available at Keelung Night Market and Seafood is one of them.

Stall Selling Butter Crabs

三商巧福营养三明治 (Sān Shāng Xîu Fú) Nutritious Sandwiches

三商巧福 (Sān Shāng Xîu Fú) Sandwich Shop

There are several sandwich stalls along Keelung Night Market but this stall caught our attention because of its ultra long queue. 

Not only does it cater to an extremely long queue, the variety of sandwiches offered is plentiful as well!

The stall was packed with sandwich ingredients and they looked pretty fresh :)

  

Also, we were amazed at how speedy the staff prepared the sandwiches. 

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It is pretty puzzling why are people having sandwiches at night rather than for breakfast ... Hmmm...

形记鼎边锉 (Xíng Jì Dîng Biān Cuò)

This is another speciality which can only be found at Keelung Night Market.

This stall is situated very near the temple. 

The key ingredients of this dish are Mushrooms, Abalone and Shrimps. According to online sources, this dish is of Fuzhou origins and it has over 60 years of history!

However, I felt that this dish tasted so-so. It was just a small bowl of soup packed with many ingredients, that's all?

Curry Noodles (咖喱面) 

Sweetie Muffin needed some carbs so he ordered a small plate of Curry Noodles to try.

I felt that the noodles are somewhat soggy and starchy and hence am not too keen on them. 

Desserts @ 三兄弟 (Sān Xiõng Dì)

In a bid to make me feel happier, Sweetie Muffin brought me to the dessert stall :)

Dessert Menu

Snack Menu

综合宝心 (豆花＋花生＋包心) 

Sweet Red Bean with Bubble + Peanut + Beancurd (TWD40)

We ordered one of the recommended dessert item on the menu to share as I was curious how would the "Bubble" taste like.

The bubble actually tasted rather starchy.. Like those pearls in bubble teas.. LOL.

The overall taste is pretty OK just that I would personally prefer the natural fragrance from the bean curd and soya milk (Yes, I am a huge fan of Mr. Bean's Beancurd!).

It was getting late and hence we headed off to the train station to take a train back to the hotel.

What an eventful day!!

Beautiful Night View

Unwrapping our Sandwiches onboard the train

We were grateful as we were allowed to eat onboard the train.

Sweetie Muffin unwrapped his nutritious sandwich and started munching it as he could not resist the temptation to savour it for breakfast on the following morning.

And.. Guess what? The sandwich tasted really delicious!!!! 

Greedy Muffin

Yumz!!

Until Next Time :)


Please check out our previous post: Highlights of Taiwan: Jiǔfèn 九份老街 soon!

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Highlights of Taipei: Shifen Old Street (十分老街)

Releasing Sky Lanterns Along Le' Old Railway

We took a cab to the Shifen Old Street as it was a hassle to take public transport - as tourists, we cannot afford to waste time on waiting for bus. In order to maximise our time and money, we shared the same cab with a few other tourists who were coincidentally waiting for public transport and heading towards the same direction as us. After a round of haggling the taxi fares with the cabbie, we managed to get a good rate and departed for Shifen and then Jiufen. 

Shifen Old Street (十分老街)

The Shifen Old Street section of Pingxi District (平溪) is situated in an Old Railroad Town setting. 

The Pingxi Branch Line of the TRA (Taipei Railway Administration) was initially built to transport coal. Now, it is a tourist hotspot to release Sky Lanterns (天燈) along the old railway!

In the past, Sky Lanterns were released as a form of reminder for those living and working in the rugged terrain to watch out for their safety. In today's context, tourists paint their prayers /wishes onto the Sky Lanterns and release them in the hope of getting them answered. 

Rows of shops selling food, souvenirs and sky lanterns were present along the old railway to cater to the needs of the influx of tourists. 

Releasing Sky Lanterns (放天燈)

Releasing Sky Lanterns is a must when you are here. 

We've always thought that Sky Lanterns look best when released during dusk as they can glow in the pitch darkness. However, our cabbie uncle advised that the best time to visit Shifen is during the day as your photos will turn out a lot better when you take them in broad daylight. 

And we do agree that it is true as our cameras cannot capture night scenes perfectly :)

Chart explaining the what each colour represent and the sample wishes you can paint onto the Sky Lanterns

Different colour of the Sky Lantern represents different desires...

As greedy homo sapiens, we chose the four-facet multi-coloured Sky Lanterns so that our wishes are being granted in all aspects!

Releasing OUR Sky Lantern

The staff helped us to light up our Sky Lantern after we have written our prayers and wishes on it. 

The Sky Lantern floated up into the deep blue sky after it was filled with hot air. 

However, you have to beware of incoming trains as the Old Railway is still very much functioning! The bell will ring whenever the train is approaching and tourists were being shooed off the tracks to let the train pass by. What a rare sight!

Along the Old Railway

We thought that the trains would look really old and fugly.. But they were spray painted with a vast array of vibrant colours :) After posing along the old railway, we headed off to the bridge area for some sight-seeing. 

We spotted a few Sky Lanterns which have collapsed along the river bank and we hope that none of them belongs to us as we wanted our prayers to be answered!

Exploration @ the Jing An Bridge (静安桥)

View @ the Other End of the Bridge...

Ending off with a Selfie which left me feeling really amazed - coincidentally the cloud looked like a RABBIT at the top left corner of the photo below!!

Da Rabbit posing with a Rabbit Cloud!! How Fluffy ~

Do check out our previous post - Highlights of Taipei: Tamsui (淡水老街, 渔人码头) & Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) soon!

Coming Up Next: Highlights of Taiwan: Jiǔfèn 九份老街

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Highlights of Taipei: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)

Highlights of Taipei: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂 Zhōng Zhèng Jì Niàn Táng) is a famous monument and tourist attraction in the memory of the former President of China - Chiang Kai-shek who passed away on 5 April 1975.

Climbing Up to the Memorial Hall...

At the Entrance of the Memorial Hall :)

The design of the premise was by architect Yang Cho-cheng which incorporated the essence of traditional Chinese architecture. The Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness (大中至正) serves as the main entrance to the premises and is placed at the west end on Chung Shan South Road, with a Gate of Great Loyalty (大忠门) standing at the north side of Xinyi Road and a Gate of Great Piety (大孝门) standing at the south on Ai Guo East Road. The main building with the square stands at the east of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park (中正紀念公園), occupying approximately 240,000 square metres in the Zhongzheng District and is connected to a Boulevard of Homage framed by manicured bushes.

Beautiful Landscape behind -- Boulevard of Homage framed by manicured bushes...

Lots of pruning done to the shrubs.. 

Reminds us of Chinese Garden.. LOL

Witnessing the Hourly Change of Guards at the Memorial Hall

The details of the ceiling in the Memorial Hall

Posing with the Guard...

The square soon became Taipei's hot spot for mass gatherings shortly after it was opened. Many pro-democracy demonstrations occurred in the square which drove Taiwan into its era of democracy in the 1980s and early 1990s. The significance of this square in the development of Taiwan's democracy led to the plaza's dedication as Liberty Square (自由廣場) by President Chen Shui-bian in 2007.

Posing at the Liberty Square (自由廣場)

In summary, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a historically meaningful place that all tourists should visit if they are in Taipei - we spent a morning touring around the area and snapping pretty good photos to commemorate our visit :)

Artefacts displayed in the cabinet...

Fragments of Memories... 

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)
Location: 100 Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, 中山南路21號
Operating Hours: 09:00 to 18:00
Tel: +886 2 2343 1100
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

Check out our Previous Post: Highlights of Taipei: Shilin Night Market (士林夜市)
What's Next? - Highlights of Taipei: Raohe St. Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)

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