warpus
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Yes! Very good catch, I missed that.
Yes! Very good catch, I missed that.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Dadaocheng Pier Plaza (大稻埕碼頭廣場)
This area used to be a major commercial port, famous for its oolong and black tea exports during the 1800s and early 1900s. Many early Taiwanese companies had their headquarters here. Over time larger ports in Keelung and Kaohsiung took over as Taiwan's major ports, and the Tamsui river became less navigable due to significant sedimentation and water being diverted due to the urbanization of Taipei.
In the early 2000s revitalization efforts lead to the creation of this pedestrian promenade, plaza, walking and cycling paths, waterfront cafes, open-air markets, and art installations. Cultural events, concerts, art exhibitions, and festivals are often held here.
Peeking at some of the food stalls the focus seemed to be on light meals, snacks, desserts like ice cream, and various kinds of tea, beer, and other drinks. People basically come here to relax by the river and enjoy the cultural and leisure space that Dadaocheng Pier Plaza is.
The best time to come here is in the evening, when everything becomes a bit more vibrant. Unfortunately for me I was passing through, waiting for a message from a friend who I was due to meet nearby. It would have been great to return here after dark, but it wasn't meant to be.
This area used to be a major commercial port, famous for its oolong and black tea exports during the 1800s and early 1900s. Many early Taiwanese companies had their headquarters here. Over time larger ports in Keelung and Kaohsiung took over as Taiwan's major ports, and the Tamsui river became less navigable due to significant sedimentation and water being diverted due to the urbanization of Taipei.
In the early 2000s revitalization efforts lead to the creation of this pedestrian promenade, plaza, walking and cycling paths, waterfront cafes, open-air markets, and art installations. Cultural events, concerts, art exhibitions, and festivals are often held here.
Peeking at some of the food stalls the focus seemed to be on light meals, snacks, desserts like ice cream, and various kinds of tea, beer, and other drinks. People basically come here to relax by the river and enjoy the cultural and leisure space that Dadaocheng Pier Plaza is.
The best time to come here is in the evening, when everything becomes a bit more vibrant. Unfortunately for me I was passing through, waiting for a message from a friend who I was due to meet nearby. It would have been great to return here after dark, but it wasn't meant to be.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Baian Tang Herb Store
The area around Dadaocheng Pier Plaza is known for its variety of small shops, markets, and local vendors selling unique goods. Walking through the streets you see all sorts of stuff being sold.
I happen to be a big fan of mushrooms so this particular store caught my eye. What you are looking at is a traditional Chinese herb vendor selling among other things many packets of different varieties of medicinal mushrooms. There's a lot more there, but the mushrooms interested me the most. These were likely dried reishi, shiitake, and cordyceps mushrooms, but I couldn't really be sure. There are larger bags of them off to the side, not visible in this picture.
This was the sort of interesting local scenery I encountered on my walk to meet up with my friend.
The area around Dadaocheng Pier Plaza is known for its variety of small shops, markets, and local vendors selling unique goods. Walking through the streets you see all sorts of stuff being sold.
I happen to be a big fan of mushrooms so this particular store caught my eye. What you are looking at is a traditional Chinese herb vendor selling among other things many packets of different varieties of medicinal mushrooms. There's a lot more there, but the mushrooms interested me the most. These were likely dried reishi, shiitake, and cordyceps mushrooms, but I couldn't really be sure. There are larger bags of them off to the side, not visible in this picture.
This was the sort of interesting local scenery I encountered on my walk to meet up with my friend.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Xia Hai City God Temple (台北霞海城隍廟)
This temple, built in 1859, is one of the more popular temples in Taipei. It is dedicated to the City God (Chenghuangye, 城隍爺), a deity responsible for overseeing justice, protecting the city, and maintaining order in the spirit world. However, the most popular deity worshipped here is Yue Lao (月下老人), the Matchmaking God, who has a golden statue right in front of the entrance. This draws many people here seeking love and marriage.
I had no idea at the time, but this temple has the highest density of deity statues of any temple in Taiwan. There are over 600 of them. You'd never guess that at first glance as it is a relatively small temple, but there is actually a 2nd level and all the deity statues are displayed in a compact way, making efficient use of the limited space.
Another interesting fact about this temple is that it has been maintained by several generations of the same family ever since it was built.
Xia Hai is a reference to the Xiamen region of Fujian province in mainland China, which is where the temple's original founders and the family that maintains it originate. Fujian province is where many who live in Taiwan can trace their ancestry to.
When you're passing by this temple it is easy to dismiss it as small, minor, and relatively unimportant. I admit that this was my reaction at the time. Had I known about the 600+ deity statues, I would have stopped here for a bit to take a closer look.
This temple, built in 1859, is one of the more popular temples in Taipei. It is dedicated to the City God (Chenghuangye, 城隍爺), a deity responsible for overseeing justice, protecting the city, and maintaining order in the spirit world. However, the most popular deity worshipped here is Yue Lao (月下老人), the Matchmaking God, who has a golden statue right in front of the entrance. This draws many people here seeking love and marriage.
I had no idea at the time, but this temple has the highest density of deity statues of any temple in Taiwan. There are over 600 of them. You'd never guess that at first glance as it is a relatively small temple, but there is actually a 2nd level and all the deity statues are displayed in a compact way, making efficient use of the limited space.
Another interesting fact about this temple is that it has been maintained by several generations of the same family ever since it was built.
Xia Hai is a reference to the Xiamen region of Fujian province in mainland China, which is where the temple's original founders and the family that maintains it originate. Fujian province is where many who live in Taiwan can trace their ancestry to.
When you're passing by this temple it is easy to dismiss it as small, minor, and relatively unimportant. I admit that this was my reaction at the time. Had I known about the 600+ deity statues, I would have stopped here for a bit to take a closer look.
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warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Meeting Alexander Synaptic
Who is Alexander Synaptic? Our paths crossed multiple times in the mid to late 1990s at a time when Bulletin Board Systems (BBS') and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) were the means by which digital subcultures organized and exchanged information. Both me and Alexander lived in Southwestern Ontario at the time, and although we never met in person, we were subculture acquaintances.
Years later I noticed that Alexander's Instagram posts seemed to contain a heavy Taiwan focus. His curious mind took him on bike rides around the island, where he explored abandoned theatres and other structure, and was prolific in researching and documenting everything he came across. Every once in a while he would post some of the food he found in Taiwan as well, and eventually I gathered that he had moved there somewhat permanently.
Today Alexander is a bit of a walking encyclopedia of everything you'd want to know about Taiwan. A couple weeks before my flight to Taipei I reached out to him, and we agreed that it was time for us to finally meet. We shook hands for the first time in front of one of Alexander's favourite teppanyaki restaurants, where we spent about an hour consuming plates of delicious food and conversing about all sorts of things Taiwan related. This was my chance to pick his brain and learn more about the island, just to satisfy my own curiosity, but to also get tips and ideas for the rest of my trip.
Alexander truly seemed to know a lot about everything. This did not surprise me one bit, as he is known for being somewhat prolific when it comes to everything he touches. To see some of his work yourself, you can visit one of his websites, Spectral Codex, where you'll find a plethora of posts detailing Alexander's visits around Taiwan, as well as other countries. They are very well researched and written, as you'll see if you visit the site:
https://spectralcodex.com
https://spectralcodex.com/about (More about Alexander)
Afterwards we spent a bit of time exploring the nearby Ningxia Night Market. I have absolutely zero pictures of any of this, unfortunately, so I can't really remember if we ended up buying anything at the night market.. To be honest, what was on my mind was this walking encyclopedia I had access to, which is where my focus was at the time. We discussed everything from Taiwanese history, to Taiwanese politics, geography, the future of the island, Mandarin, Taiwanese food, culture, and everything in between.
Alexander is also an established DJ and musician. He founded the Ektoplazm website for the free and legal distribution of electronic music. In the music world he goes as DJ Basilisk. Some of his accomplishments include founding the Drumlore music label and promotional agency, and the Omnitropic music label.
A truly fascinating individual! I am glad I got the chance to meet him on my trip and spend a couple hours hanging out with him.
Who is Alexander Synaptic? Our paths crossed multiple times in the mid to late 1990s at a time when Bulletin Board Systems (BBS') and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) were the means by which digital subcultures organized and exchanged information. Both me and Alexander lived in Southwestern Ontario at the time, and although we never met in person, we were subculture acquaintances.
Years later I noticed that Alexander's Instagram posts seemed to contain a heavy Taiwan focus. His curious mind took him on bike rides around the island, where he explored abandoned theatres and other structure, and was prolific in researching and documenting everything he came across. Every once in a while he would post some of the food he found in Taiwan as well, and eventually I gathered that he had moved there somewhat permanently.
Today Alexander is a bit of a walking encyclopedia of everything you'd want to know about Taiwan. A couple weeks before my flight to Taipei I reached out to him, and we agreed that it was time for us to finally meet. We shook hands for the first time in front of one of Alexander's favourite teppanyaki restaurants, where we spent about an hour consuming plates of delicious food and conversing about all sorts of things Taiwan related. This was my chance to pick his brain and learn more about the island, just to satisfy my own curiosity, but to also get tips and ideas for the rest of my trip.
Alexander truly seemed to know a lot about everything. This did not surprise me one bit, as he is known for being somewhat prolific when it comes to everything he touches. To see some of his work yourself, you can visit one of his websites, Spectral Codex, where you'll find a plethora of posts detailing Alexander's visits around Taiwan, as well as other countries. They are very well researched and written, as you'll see if you visit the site:
https://spectralcodex.com
https://spectralcodex.com/about (More about Alexander)
Afterwards we spent a bit of time exploring the nearby Ningxia Night Market. I have absolutely zero pictures of any of this, unfortunately, so I can't really remember if we ended up buying anything at the night market.. To be honest, what was on my mind was this walking encyclopedia I had access to, which is where my focus was at the time. We discussed everything from Taiwanese history, to Taiwanese politics, geography, the future of the island, Mandarin, Taiwanese food, culture, and everything in between.
Alexander is also an established DJ and musician. He founded the Ektoplazm website for the free and legal distribution of electronic music. In the music world he goes as DJ Basilisk. Some of his accomplishments include founding the Drumlore music label and promotional agency, and the Omnitropic music label.
A truly fascinating individual! I am glad I got the chance to meet him on my trip and spend a couple hours hanging out with him.
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warpus
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Junjianyan Hiking Trail
During some downtime at the hotel I was able to make a new online friend who lives in Taipei and has a keen interest in hiking. I got some invaluable advice about a few of the trails I was hoping to hike on my trip as well as some new ideas. Imagine my surprise when she invited me to go on an evening hike with her into the mountains just outside of the city, promising a worthy lookout point overlooking northern Taipei.
This is something I had to query Alexander about. Hiking with a stranger after dark? Into the mountains? Surely this was not a good idea for me or for her! Who's crazy enough to invite a stranger on a hike like this? Should I be worried? Turns out evening hikes are fairly common in Taiwan, and it being one of the safest countries on the planet, the people who live here are a bit more open to adventures like this.
I was a bit apprehensive, but eager to see Taipei from an interesting vantage point. After saying goodbye to Alexander I jumped on the MRT metro and headed north, to Beitou district. There I met up with my new hiking buddy, with whom I hit it off right away. It was about a 20 minute walk to the trailhead and about a half an hour climb up to the lookout point. Not the most demanding hike in the end, but the views made my day.
You must be asking yourself, what is that motorcycle doing there? Funny story, that.. When we reached the lookout point we found a comfortable place to sit down from which to admire the view. We sat there for over 80 minutes looking at the city and things got more than a bit romantic..
SUDDENLY I heard a loud noise from straight ahead and a saw a bright light shining right at us. For a couple brief seconds I had no idea what was unfolding in front of me. Then a guy on a friggin motorcycle revved his engine again and came into full view. Another motorcyclist was right behind him. To this day I have no idea how we didn't hear them at all until that very last second. In those brief moments all I could think was that I really needed to pull up my pants.
These pictures don't really do the views justice, but they were taken on my new friend's phone.. which admittedly takes much better pictures than mine, so there is that. We thought that what had transpired was hilarious, but stuck around a bit longer to take in more of the amazing night views of Taipei.
At 10:20pm or so it was time to begin our descent.. My friend suggested an alternate route down to the trailhead, on which we ended up getting a bit lost.. or actually lost I suppose, as I had to use google maps to see how we could get back to a nearby road down below, from which we could make our way to an MRT station. My friend knew the area well enough, but in the dark it was not as easy to figure out exactly where we were. Fortunately enough we made it back to the MRT station in time to jump on one on the last subways.
With the story out of the way I can tell you a bit more about this hiking trail. Junjianyan literally translates to "Battleship Rock", named after a large rock you pass along the way, which is shaped like a battleship. Supposedly this rock and other geological formations in the area are of interest to geologists. Unfortunately it was too dark to really get a good picture of it for you to see.
During some downtime at the hotel I was able to make a new online friend who lives in Taipei and has a keen interest in hiking. I got some invaluable advice about a few of the trails I was hoping to hike on my trip as well as some new ideas. Imagine my surprise when she invited me to go on an evening hike with her into the mountains just outside of the city, promising a worthy lookout point overlooking northern Taipei.
This is something I had to query Alexander about. Hiking with a stranger after dark? Into the mountains? Surely this was not a good idea for me or for her! Who's crazy enough to invite a stranger on a hike like this? Should I be worried? Turns out evening hikes are fairly common in Taiwan, and it being one of the safest countries on the planet, the people who live here are a bit more open to adventures like this.
I was a bit apprehensive, but eager to see Taipei from an interesting vantage point. After saying goodbye to Alexander I jumped on the MRT metro and headed north, to Beitou district. There I met up with my new hiking buddy, with whom I hit it off right away. It was about a 20 minute walk to the trailhead and about a half an hour climb up to the lookout point. Not the most demanding hike in the end, but the views made my day.
You must be asking yourself, what is that motorcycle doing there? Funny story, that.. When we reached the lookout point we found a comfortable place to sit down from which to admire the view. We sat there for over 80 minutes looking at the city and things got more than a bit romantic..
SUDDENLY I heard a loud noise from straight ahead and a saw a bright light shining right at us. For a couple brief seconds I had no idea what was unfolding in front of me. Then a guy on a friggin motorcycle revved his engine again and came into full view. Another motorcyclist was right behind him. To this day I have no idea how we didn't hear them at all until that very last second. In those brief moments all I could think was that I really needed to pull up my pants.
These pictures don't really do the views justice, but they were taken on my new friend's phone.. which admittedly takes much better pictures than mine, so there is that. We thought that what had transpired was hilarious, but stuck around a bit longer to take in more of the amazing night views of Taipei.
At 10:20pm or so it was time to begin our descent.. My friend suggested an alternate route down to the trailhead, on which we ended up getting a bit lost.. or actually lost I suppose, as I had to use google maps to see how we could get back to a nearby road down below, from which we could make our way to an MRT station. My friend knew the area well enough, but in the dark it was not as easy to figure out exactly where we were. Fortunately enough we made it back to the MRT station in time to jump on one on the last subways.
With the story out of the way I can tell you a bit more about this hiking trail. Junjianyan literally translates to "Battleship Rock", named after a large rock you pass along the way, which is shaped like a battleship. Supposedly this rock and other geological formations in the area are of interest to geologists. Unfortunately it was too dark to really get a good picture of it for you to see.
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warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Small Sausage in Large Sausage (Dàcháng bāo xiǎocháng - 大腸包小腸)
This is a now iconic Taiwanese street food that was invented in the 1990s. It is a grilled Taiwanese pork sausage stuffed inside of a larger Taiwanese sticky rice sausage that's been cut open like a hot dog bun. The Taiwanese sticky rice sausage consists of sticky rice and various herbs and spices that have been stuffed into a pig intestine casing, which is then steamed and later grilled.
Other ingredients that accompany this street food snack depend on the vendor, but pickled bok choy is common, as well as other pickled vegetables, garlic, cilantro, chili sauce, and sweet soy sauce.
This street food snack is often called a Taiwanese hot dog, since that's what it sort of resembles.
I was a bit hungry after returning to my hotel from the hiking excursion, so I ventured out onto Ximending Walking District to find something to eat. This is how I eventually ended up buying one of these Taiwanese hot dogs, although at first I lined up to buy something else. It was already 12:30am, and apparently street food vendors are no longer allowed to sell food at this time. The full story is best copied and pasted from my instagram post:
This is a now iconic Taiwanese street food that was invented in the 1990s. It is a grilled Taiwanese pork sausage stuffed inside of a larger Taiwanese sticky rice sausage that's been cut open like a hot dog bun. The Taiwanese sticky rice sausage consists of sticky rice and various herbs and spices that have been stuffed into a pig intestine casing, which is then steamed and later grilled.
Other ingredients that accompany this street food snack depend on the vendor, but pickled bok choy is common, as well as other pickled vegetables, garlic, cilantro, chili sauce, and sweet soy sauce.
This street food snack is often called a Taiwanese hot dog, since that's what it sort of resembles.
I was a bit hungry after returning to my hotel from the hiking excursion, so I ventured out onto Ximending Walking District to find something to eat. This is how I eventually ended up buying one of these Taiwanese hot dogs, although at first I lined up to buy something else. It was already 12:30am, and apparently street food vendors are no longer allowed to sell food at this time. The full story is best copied and pasted from my instagram post:
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Day Three Reflections
Friday, November 8, 2024
Total Distance Walked This Day - 15.6 km
Day three was the most adventurous day of the trip so far, with plenty of sights explored, two new people met, and a fair distance covered on foot. In fact, I ended up walking more this day than on every other day on the trip except for one.
One thing I caught on to fairly quickly was that Taiwanese culture puts a strong emphasis on social harmony and respect for others. The internet tells me that this stems from Confucian values that prioritise the family and community over the individual. In practice this leads to eating and drinking being forbidden on MRT metro trains, for instance, and people riding these trains generally staying fairly quiet. When you exit the train those waiting to get on queue up off to the side in a very orderly fashion, so that there is always ample room to exit, even if the area is packed with people. On the escalators everybody stands off to the right so that those in a rush can walk on the left. Always. This all reminded me of what I experienced on my travels through Japan, although my research tells me that in Taiwan these expectation are a bit more relaxed.. Having said that, the fines for drinking or eating on the MRT range from the equivalent of $50 USD to $250 USD. I was holding a water bottle in my hand on the MRT once and swear I saw people cautiously glancing at me, wondering if I was going to break the taboo.
Friday, November 8, 2024
Total Distance Walked This Day - 15.6 km
Day three was the most adventurous day of the trip so far, with plenty of sights explored, two new people met, and a fair distance covered on foot. In fact, I ended up walking more this day than on every other day on the trip except for one.
One thing I caught on to fairly quickly was that Taiwanese culture puts a strong emphasis on social harmony and respect for others. The internet tells me that this stems from Confucian values that prioritise the family and community over the individual. In practice this leads to eating and drinking being forbidden on MRT metro trains, for instance, and people riding these trains generally staying fairly quiet. When you exit the train those waiting to get on queue up off to the side in a very orderly fashion, so that there is always ample room to exit, even if the area is packed with people. On the escalators everybody stands off to the right so that those in a rush can walk on the left. Always. This all reminded me of what I experienced on my travels through Japan, although my research tells me that in Taiwan these expectation are a bit more relaxed.. Having said that, the fines for drinking or eating on the MRT range from the equivalent of $50 USD to $250 USD. I was holding a water bottle in my hand on the MRT once and swear I saw people cautiously glancing at me, wondering if I was going to break the taboo.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Day 4
National Taiwan University Hospital MRT Station
Saturday, November 9, 2024
This day began a bit later than usual, as I didn't really end up getting much sleep. This was probably a blessing in disguise, as I likely needed a bit of rest from all the walking so far anyway. The total distance covered on foot up until this point was just over 43km, including walking around the airport and then to the hotel.
Alexander had suggested several cafes within walking distance of my hotel and I was basically trying them out one a day. Today's cafe took me close to the NTU Hospital MRT station, from where I would get to my next destination. There I ran into fairly prominent large sculptures of interlocked hands.
From what I understand these sculptures are supposed to represent a helping hand, in reference to the nearby hospital. The second one could indicate a gesture of offering or humility in service, or stability.. or a combination of those ideas. I am uncertain whether it could also be a reference to a meditative hand gesture. The closest meditative gesture I could find is the Bhairava Mudra, which seems to always involve the right hand resting on the left, whereas in the statue the opposite is happening. It could be a reference to it nevertheless, as that particular gesture references security and inner balance, and Taiwanese art is known for mixing elements from various philosophies and religions. That would make sense, as a hospital is supposed to provide both physical as well as mental healing, although this could have just been an artistic interpretation of a generic hand gesture that has nothing to do with those specific ideas.
Either way, these large statues definitely drew the eye.
National Taiwan University Hospital MRT Station
Saturday, November 9, 2024
This day began a bit later than usual, as I didn't really end up getting much sleep. This was probably a blessing in disguise, as I likely needed a bit of rest from all the walking so far anyway. The total distance covered on foot up until this point was just over 43km, including walking around the airport and then to the hotel.
Alexander had suggested several cafes within walking distance of my hotel and I was basically trying them out one a day. Today's cafe took me close to the NTU Hospital MRT station, from where I would get to my next destination. There I ran into fairly prominent large sculptures of interlocked hands.
From what I understand these sculptures are supposed to represent a helping hand, in reference to the nearby hospital. The second one could indicate a gesture of offering or humility in service, or stability.. or a combination of those ideas. I am uncertain whether it could also be a reference to a meditative hand gesture. The closest meditative gesture I could find is the Bhairava Mudra, which seems to always involve the right hand resting on the left, whereas in the statue the opposite is happening. It could be a reference to it nevertheless, as that particular gesture references security and inner balance, and Taiwanese art is known for mixing elements from various philosophies and religions. That would make sense, as a hospital is supposed to provide both physical as well as mental healing, although this could have just been an artistic interpretation of a generic hand gesture that has nothing to do with those specific ideas.
Either way, these large statues definitely drew the eye.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Daan Forest Park
This is the largest inner city park in the city and is often referred to as the lungs of Taipei. It is sometimes described as Taipei's Central Park in reference to the famous park in Manhattan, although Daan Forest Park is about 12 times smaller. This nickname is mainly a reference to it being a major and accessible central green space. There is also a similarity in the shape of the park, when viewed from above. (The following photo is not mine, but I felt it was good for you to see this park from above)
The land that would become Daan Forest Park was designated as urban parkland by colonial Japanese authorities in 1932. Later the area was used to house military personnel from the Republic of China armed forces, along with other military installations. Afterward, Chinese Civil War refugees and others moved into temporary housing here. This situation persisted until the city decided to build a park here in 1989. After a long legal battle, 12,000 people were evicted from the site and Daan Forest Park was formally opened in 1994.
The park is considered an ecological park, with a focus on biodiversity and natural preservation.
This park is where I saw the clearest signs that a supertyphoon had recently slammed into the city. Workers were still actively cleaning up parts of the park, there were downed branches here and there, and some of the trails were outright closed.
Daan Forest Park is especially popular with birdwatchers, as the park pond and the diverse tree cover attract a variety of bird species. This lead me to a silly thought.. Who watches the birdwatchers? In this case that would be me. I wonder if someone was watching me too..
This is the largest inner city park in the city and is often referred to as the lungs of Taipei. It is sometimes described as Taipei's Central Park in reference to the famous park in Manhattan, although Daan Forest Park is about 12 times smaller. This nickname is mainly a reference to it being a major and accessible central green space. There is also a similarity in the shape of the park, when viewed from above. (The following photo is not mine, but I felt it was good for you to see this park from above)
The land that would become Daan Forest Park was designated as urban parkland by colonial Japanese authorities in 1932. Later the area was used to house military personnel from the Republic of China armed forces, along with other military installations. Afterward, Chinese Civil War refugees and others moved into temporary housing here. This situation persisted until the city decided to build a park here in 1989. After a long legal battle, 12,000 people were evicted from the site and Daan Forest Park was formally opened in 1994.
The park is considered an ecological park, with a focus on biodiversity and natural preservation.
This park is where I saw the clearest signs that a supertyphoon had recently slammed into the city. Workers were still actively cleaning up parts of the park, there were downed branches here and there, and some of the trails were outright closed.
Daan Forest Park is especially popular with birdwatchers, as the park pond and the diverse tree cover attract a variety of bird species. This lead me to a silly thought.. Who watches the birdwatchers? In this case that would be me. I wonder if someone was watching me too..
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Moon Moon Food
Moon Moon Food is a popular Taiwanese chain of restaurants with 4 branches in Taipei and 13 in Taiwan overall. They are famous for their soups and pride themselves for having been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand award for 17 years in a row.
I heard great things about this place and waited for over a half an hour at their Daan Park location to get a seat. It was well worth it! I should have definitely tried one of their famous soups, but I ended up going with the following noodle dishes:
Spicy Sesame Peanut noodles - $80 NTD or the equivalent of $2.44 USD
Black Truffle Sauce Noodles - $99 NTD or the equivalent of $3 USD
These noodles tasted even better than the artful way they were presented on the plate. The black truffle sauce noodles were just incredible, and the spicy sesame peanut noodles blew me away as well. They might look a bit plain in the pictures, but they were packed with fragrant flavour and the noodles tasted super fresh. This is one of the restaurants I would 100% recommend to anyone visiting Taipei.
Moon Moon Food is a popular Taiwanese chain of restaurants with 4 branches in Taipei and 13 in Taiwan overall. They are famous for their soups and pride themselves for having been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand award for 17 years in a row.
I heard great things about this place and waited for over a half an hour at their Daan Park location to get a seat. It was well worth it! I should have definitely tried one of their famous soups, but I ended up going with the following noodle dishes:
Spicy Sesame Peanut noodles - $80 NTD or the equivalent of $2.44 USD
Black Truffle Sauce Noodles - $99 NTD or the equivalent of $3 USD
These noodles tasted even better than the artful way they were presented on the plate. The black truffle sauce noodles were just incredible, and the spicy sesame peanut noodles blew me away as well. They might look a bit plain in the pictures, but they were packed with fragrant flavour and the noodles tasted super fresh. This is one of the restaurants I would 100% recommend to anyone visiting Taipei.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Taipei Main Station (臺北車站)
Taipei Main Station is the central transportation hub of the capital. It connects Taiwan High-Speed Rail (THSR), 4 of the 7 lines of Taiwan Railways (TRA), the 2 busiest lines of Taipei Metro (MRT), an express rail link to the airport, a commuter rail link to the airport, as well as over 100 bus routes. There is also an underground walkway to Beimen MRT station, which services the green MRT metro line. On average over 200,000 passengers pass through Taipei Main Station every day.
The station was initially opened in 1916 under Japanese colonial rule, although it has been reconstructed and renovated several times since then. Right underneath the station is one of the largest underground shopping complexes in Taiwan, spanning several levels. Everything is connected to nearby parts of the city via underground walkways.
This is the station I first arrived at from the airport, although at the time I did not really have a chance to stop and take it all in.
Taipei Main Station is the central transportation hub of the capital. It connects Taiwan High-Speed Rail (THSR), 4 of the 7 lines of Taiwan Railways (TRA), the 2 busiest lines of Taipei Metro (MRT), an express rail link to the airport, a commuter rail link to the airport, as well as over 100 bus routes. There is also an underground walkway to Beimen MRT station, which services the green MRT metro line. On average over 200,000 passengers pass through Taipei Main Station every day.
The station was initially opened in 1916 under Japanese colonial rule, although it has been reconstructed and renovated several times since then. Right underneath the station is one of the largest underground shopping complexes in Taiwan, spanning several levels. Everything is connected to nearby parts of the city via underground walkways.
This is the station I first arrived at from the airport, although at the time I did not really have a chance to stop and take it all in.
warpus
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Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)
Raohe Street Night Market first opened in 1987 and stretches 600 metres from end to end. Pedestrian traffic flows counterclockwise; most enter from the east and walk west down the right-hand side of the street, while passing food stalls on the left and the right hand sides. There is an island of food stalls in the middle of the street that separates east and west flowing traffic, with occasional gaps in the food stalls so you can make a U-turn. There are also shops and at times seats and garbage bins on the right, accessible via at times larger gaps in between the food stalls on that side.
This street market is at the very other end of the city, but is easily accessible nevertheless. The eastern terminus of the Green MRT Line is just across the street.
This is one of the most popular night markets in the country, with a bustling & vibrant atmosphere when you show up after dark. There are dense crowds of people walking down Raohe Street in a very orderly and relatively respectful fashion. You become a part of a sort of flow of a pedestrian river all moving in the same direction at the same pace heading west, and rub shoulders with people waiting in lines by some of the food stalls on the banks. When you're ready to head back to the eastern entrance (where the nearest MRT metro station is) you cross through one of the gaps in the island to the river heading in the other direction. It should really be a lot more chaotic than it is. Nevertheless, It took me over 50 minutes to make my way from the eastern entrance of the night market to the entrance at the other end in a way that would allow me to even just briefly inspect every food stall, stopping at a couple of them. I was exhausted from the little sleep I got the previous night, and generally hate crowds, but this experience was something else and I was having a great time taking it all in.
One of the first food stalls you see is Fuzhou Pork Pepper Bun, which I had already tasted at their brick and mortar location at the other end of the city.
What kind of food can you find here? All sorts of traditional Taiwanese street food, along with food innovations at times incorporating other types of cuisines or modern takes on East Asian food in general. There is a decent amount of what North Americans might call state fair type food here, but you'll find all sorts of stuff, including a large variety of classic portable Taiwanese meals, portable versions of other dishes, a decent amount of Japanese-inspired foods, with some western influences thrown in here and there, random stuff from other cultures, and of course fusion dishes.
One thing I learned on my trip is that vegetarian and vegan eating options are quite popular in Taiwan. Buddhist influences, which began to take root here in the 17th century, and Taoist beliefs both had an impact on this. One Taiwanese person I met told me that she doesn't eat beef because cows help society. I had to look this up, and for a long time in Taiwan cows were considered helpful beasts of burden and not eaten. This extended to other types of meat in a lot of cases too, and now Taiwan is often referred to as one of the most vegetarian friendly country in Asia
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Raohe Street Night Market first opened in 1987 and stretches 600 metres from end to end. Pedestrian traffic flows counterclockwise; most enter from the east and walk west down the right-hand side of the street, while passing food stalls on the left and the right hand sides. There is an island of food stalls in the middle of the street that separates east and west flowing traffic, with occasional gaps in the food stalls so you can make a U-turn. There are also shops and at times seats and garbage bins on the right, accessible via at times larger gaps in between the food stalls on that side.
This street market is at the very other end of the city, but is easily accessible nevertheless. The eastern terminus of the Green MRT Line is just across the street.
This is one of the most popular night markets in the country, with a bustling & vibrant atmosphere when you show up after dark. There are dense crowds of people walking down Raohe Street in a very orderly and relatively respectful fashion. You become a part of a sort of flow of a pedestrian river all moving in the same direction at the same pace heading west, and rub shoulders with people waiting in lines by some of the food stalls on the banks. When you're ready to head back to the eastern entrance (where the nearest MRT metro station is) you cross through one of the gaps in the island to the river heading in the other direction. It should really be a lot more chaotic than it is. Nevertheless, It took me over 50 minutes to make my way from the eastern entrance of the night market to the entrance at the other end in a way that would allow me to even just briefly inspect every food stall, stopping at a couple of them. I was exhausted from the little sleep I got the previous night, and generally hate crowds, but this experience was something else and I was having a great time taking it all in.
One of the first food stalls you see is Fuzhou Pork Pepper Bun, which I had already tasted at their brick and mortar location at the other end of the city.
What kind of food can you find here? All sorts of traditional Taiwanese street food, along with food innovations at times incorporating other types of cuisines or modern takes on East Asian food in general. There is a decent amount of what North Americans might call state fair type food here, but you'll find all sorts of stuff, including a large variety of classic portable Taiwanese meals, portable versions of other dishes, a decent amount of Japanese-inspired foods, with some western influences thrown in here and there, random stuff from other cultures, and of course fusion dishes.
One thing I learned on my trip is that vegetarian and vegan eating options are quite popular in Taiwan. Buddhist influences, which began to take root here in the 17th century, and Taoist beliefs both had an impact on this. One Taiwanese person I met told me that she doesn't eat beef because cows help society. I had to look this up, and for a long time in Taiwan cows were considered helpful beasts of burden and not eaten. This extended to other types of meat in a lot of cases too, and now Taiwan is often referred to as one of the most vegetarian friendly country in Asia
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warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Curious Treats at Raohe Street Night Market
I did not order food at any of these stalls. Not to say that the food isn't delicious, but I had to take some time to warm up to the smell of stinky tofu enough to try it.. More on that in another post.
For context's sake, $1 USD gets you about 33 NTD.
To figure out what they're selling other than what you can see in English I was using the google app and translating the options to English on the fly. If there wasn't a good way to stand there staring at your phone, the alternative is to take a photo and use the same app to translate the image and read the menu off to the side. The translations were usually pretty accurate, from what I could tell.
To this day I wish I had tried the donut fried chicken.
I did not order food at any of these stalls. Not to say that the food isn't delicious, but I had to take some time to warm up to the smell of stinky tofu enough to try it.. More on that in another post.
For context's sake, $1 USD gets you about 33 NTD.
To figure out what they're selling other than what you can see in English I was using the google app and translating the options to English on the fly. If there wasn't a good way to stand there staring at your phone, the alternative is to take a photo and use the same app to translate the image and read the menu off to the side. The translations were usually pretty accurate, from what I could tell.
To this day I wish I had tried the donut fried chicken.
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Fried milk?
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
You bet!
Here's how wikipedia describes Fried Milk, which has its origins in Cantonese Chinese cuisine:
Cow or buffalo milk is combined with flour, cornstarch, and sugar and thoroughly mixed. The milk mixture is cooked over low heat, and stirred constantly until thickened and sticky. The mixture is then poured into a container and refrigerated until it solidifies. Once firm, the mixture is cut it into rectangular pieces and coated in a batter typically made from cornstarch, water, and eggs. The pieces are then deep fried in hot oil until golden brown.
It’s basically milk custard that’s been breaded and deep-fried until crispy. The inside is supposed to be soft, creamy, and only slightly sweet. There are different flavoured versions like matcha, chocolate, or taro milk. The "Mellow" here is likely a marketing term that points to this particular version having an especially soft and silky inside.
This Taiwanese Fried Milk is similar to the Spanish Leche Frita, except that the Spanish version is sweeter, uses a slightly different batter and toppings, and there is more focus in the Taiwanese version on a creamy pudding-like inside.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Cute Night Market Dog & More
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Zardnaar
Deity
Can get that curly fries here. Corkscrew potatoes
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Nice! I bet I could find them at one of the fairs here in North America. From what I've read they were invented in Korea in 2007-2008, although I'm not sure how accurate that is.
The ones at Raohe street night market are supposedly 77 cm long. Here's how they're made, the one step missing from the video is the addition of the seasoning at the end:
A popular Taiwanese flavour for these is plum powder, although cheese, garlic, paprika, wasabi, curry, etc. are also popular.
Zardnaar
Deity
I first saw them a decade ago or do. Not common a food truck does them.
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