17°C Dessert Cafe – ChineseBites Media Event

June 19, 2016Leave a comment

Note: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

After our huge meals over at Golden Eats, the ChineseBites crew walked a block over to the newly opened 17°C Dessert Cafe. Pictures have been all over social media and they even ran out of ingredients on their grand opening.

They focus mainly on fruit shaved ice and offer some drinks as well. The interior is rather small so can only fit around 20 people or so.

They also have the famous Lightbulb Drinks featuring four flavours right now.

Cantaloupe Icy

We started off with the Cantaloupe Icy with a milky shaved iced and melon balls scooped out on top along with popping balls. It also comes with condensed milk to drizzle on top. This was refreshing with the shaved ice being very creamy. I quite enjoyed this as it was not overly sweet.

Watermelon Icy

Another popular icy of theirs is the Watermelon Icy. Again, same concept with the watermelon being scooped out into balls resting on top of the same milky shaved ice. This one came with thinly shaved almond and Pocky sticks. The watermelon was not very sweet, so it really helped that a scoop of vanilla ice cream sat on top.

Pineapple Icy

We got to try one of their new menu items which was the Pineapple Icy. Same concept again, but I would say you get less of the pineapple balls just because of the size of the fruit. I was surprised they were able to scoop these out though since it can be quite difficult with a pineapple. This came with blackcurrant gummies which were pretty good on their own but I didn’t think it added much to the dessert overall. This was pretty good since it had a nice balance of sweet and tart.

Lightbulb Drinks

Lastly, we tried their series of Lightbulb Drinks. We tried the passionfruit, kiwi, lemon, and red pomegranate. This were slightly fizzy as they were carbonated and you could choose to mix it with green tea. Frankly, I found these underwhelming as they tasted like artificial flavour. They only look good in pictures but flavour is a definite miss.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the shaved ice but would skip the lightbulb drinks. The shaved ice do come at a price at $14.99 for both the cantaloupe and watermelon but I guess you are paying for the fruit itself and the labour of scooping the balls.

Bubble Tea Shop

May 5, 2016May 5, 2016Leave a comment

The Bubble Tea Shop is tucked away underneath the Superstore parking lot in Richmond and opened up over a year ago. Since then, they have opened up a new location on Robson as well. Trying to get a spot at Snowy Village on a Friday night was pretty much impossible, so we decided to come here instead.

Parking is easy here (when people aren’t out and about doing groceries) and the shop itself is quite spacious. However, the decor is quite cheap and they were playing the most vulgar music even though there were children dining here… They also have a consignment area although I wonder how many people purchase items here.

Ferrero Rocher

S and I decided to share a drink and a dessert. We chose the Ferrero Rocher drink which was more like a slush and topped with whipped cream and a ferrero rocher ball. Frankly, we both found this to be just average as it was more icy than hazelnut flavour.

Super Matcha Bubble Waffle

I also wanted to try their bubble waffles which makes up most of their menu. We got the Super Matcha Bubble Waffle which comes with strawberries, a scoop of green tea ice cream, red bean, and icing sugar. The bubble waffle itself is also matcha flavoured but it was not very strong. With the heavy moist toppings on top, it really made the bubble waffle soggy and their bubble waffle in general isn’t very good. It tasted more like straight batter rather than having a chewy center. Strawberries were also sour so honestly the overall execution was underwhelming.

Overall, we were not too impressed with the desserts we tried at the Bubble Tea Shop. The drink was around $6 and the bubble waffle was almost $9. I much rather go to Bubble Queen for similar items which are more executed much better.

Pros:
– Large selection of deluxe bubble waffles and drinks
– Usually easy parking in the evenings

Cons:
– Items we tried were just average and not well-executed
– Ambiance and service is not that great

Price Range: $10/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 2.5 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 2.5

Shiny Tea

March 5, 2016March 5, 2016Leave a comment

Shiny Tea opened up shortly after the new addition to Aberdeen Centre, called Aberdeen Square, finished renovations. It’s actually really close to the Canada Line skytrain connector. I heard a lot about their tiny white pearls so I finally decided to come check it out.

On a Sunday afternoon around 4pm, this place was PACKED. This is a take away only location and the lineup to order was massive. There were also tons of people waiting for their drinks when we arrived.

They have an extensive list of drinks and many choices if you enjoy tea flavours. They claim that they are authorized by the inventor of Taiwanese’s tapioca milk tea. Prices are around the same as Chatime and they offer large and medium sizes.

Panda Milk Tea

We both got the Panda Milk Tea as it features a mix of small white pearls and regular sized black pearls. You are able to customize your drink by sugar and ice level, just like Chatime. We went for 50% sugar level and found that it was barely sweet, whereas if we got 50% at Chatime, it would still be very sweet. I would suggest getting 25% less sugar then if you want your drink to still be a little sweet. We found that the small white pearls were really just sago which you find when you order mango sago desserts. Therefore, I didn’t find it that special. Plus, they are so small so I found that I swallowed them without chewing which probably isn’t very good for you… Anyways, their milk tea is quite smooth and you can smell the brew of tea all around the surroundings. Still, I think I prefer Chatime’s roasted milk tea, but Shiny Tea is pretty good if you want bubble tea and you’re near Aberdeen. Overall, we waited 10 minutes in line to order and another 20 minutes for our drinks.

Pros:
– Great choice of tea flavoured drinks
– Choice of small and big pearls
– Able to customize sugar and ice level

Cons:
– Long waits to order and receive drink

Price Range: $5/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3.5 Service: 3 Ambiance: N/A Parking: 2.5 Overall: 3.5

Chatime (Surrey) – ChineseBites Media Event

January 20, 2016January 17, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

Chatime is expanding again! For all you Surrey peeps out there, no longer do you have to make the trip to the other locations for your fix of Chatime! The newest addition is in Whalley, right next to Surrey Central in a strip mall. I was invited by ChineseBites to their soft opening and was able to try any drinks I liked.

My favourite thing about Chatime is the ability to customize. You can choose the sugar and ice level. I find that most of their drinks are on the sweeter side, so 50% or less is the best. There are also many toppings to choose from and each topping is $0.50.

I brought K along to the event since we are both fans of Chatime. Our go-to item is always the Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, but since we were able to get our drinks comped, we decided to be adventurous and try drinks we’ve never tried. The first was the Tieguanyin Tea Latte. The drink is divided into layers when you first receive it and after shaking it, you get sort of a milk tea. It’s much thicker than their normal milk tea though. The tieguanyin tea flavour really came through and is perfect for those who enjoy the tea itself. One of our new favourites.

We were curious about what the Oriental Beauty was all about, so we gave it a try and added aloe vera. It turned out to be a tea based drink and was rather sweet due to the aloe vera. We couldn’t figure out what kind of tea it was, but it’s definitely one of those Chinese teas. Quite refreshing actually.

K really enjoyed the Oolong Tea. We added rainbow jelly in it so it was a bit odd due to the sweetness. Also, the jelly is too big to go through the straw. The tea itself is very strong though so more on the bitter side. K loves bitterness of oolong tea so it was perfect for her.

The Matcha Mousse is topped with a thick layer of cream and tastes sort of like a frappucino but without all that crushed ice. Instead, there are just ice cubes at the bottom. I thought this was average as it was quite gritty. Strong matcha flavour though.

Our last cold drink we tried was the Jasmine Green Milk Tea with Grass Jelly. This is pretty good and I would order this again to change things up. The milk tea was smooth and had a nice jasmine tea fragrance to it. It was also my first time trying their hot drinks and we got the Roasted Milk Tea with Pearls. We asked for it to be warm instead of hot so that we could drink it right away. Plus, you don’t need to worry about sucking up the pearls and burning your tongue. This was great and lived up to their cold version! I would highly recommend getting this during the winter.

Overall, Chatime at the Surrey location did not disappoint. Pearls are still on point with a nice chew and not overly sweet. Drinks come in two sizes and most start at around $4.30. This location also has a decent amount of seats for you to enjoy your drinks.

Check out my prior reviews from my visits at the Broadway location: Visit #1 and Visit #2

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 14)

January 18, 2016January 17, 20161 Comment

The next morning, we decided to head out Ximending to look for food for brunch. This place is always bustling with people!

Luckily, many of the street vendors had already opened up. First up was this Green Onion Pancake stall. You can add different flavours or even add cheese or pork fluff to name a few.

We decided to get the original and it cost only NT$25. I wasn’t expecting much from this, but this was probably the best Green Onion Pancake I’ve had! It had such a nice char and they brush on this sweet soy sauce. Delicious!

Continuing on, we tried this Grilled Tempura. Lightly brushed with a sweet savoury sauce, this is fun to snack on. The pieces are quite big though, so i got a bit sick of it after one. Good for sharing. NT$30 for a skewer.

I also decided to get some Hong Kong Style Curry Fishballs. What was I thinking getting fishballs in Taiwan? Yea…these were not good. The curry was not apparent. Perhaps I should’ve gotten the flaming spicy flavour. NT$30 for 4 fishballs.

Getting thirsty, we headed to a 7-11 to look for some drinks. I got the Apple Milk while S got the Papaya Milk. I love how convenient these 7-11s are and how cheap the prices are. The papaya milk was really good while the apple milk was alright. I found it to be slightly tart so it tasted odd.

What to do in Ximending after you’ve visited almost every shop? Go to Tom’s World again and shoot some hoops. S loved this arcade so we ended up doing some exercise and shooting hoops again…

I finally convinced S that we should leave Tom’s World and go do some exploring since we traveled all the way here. Well, we ended up checking some items off my to-do list and that included buying souvenirs. ChiaTe Bakery 佳德糕餅 is known to make some of the best pineapple cakes (鳳梨酥) and it’s a must buy when visiting Taipei! I believe they only have one bakery in Taipei and you can get here by taking the MRT to Nanjing Sammin station and walking straight ahead after you take Exit 2.

When we entered, it was quite a mayhem inside with all the tourists grabbing the pineapple cakes off the shelves. The pineapple cakes are not cheap as they around CAD$2 for one. They have different fillings as well, but after trying many, I still think the original pineapple filling is the best. The filling is not overly sweet and doesn’t stick to your teeth. The outside cake is buttery and flaky. Highly recommend! They also sell other products like wife cakes (老婆鉼).

After doing some pineapple cake shopping, I suggested we visit the Wu Fen Pu Garment Wholesale Area (五分埔). You can get here by taking the MRT to Songshan Station. It is an area known for the largest wholesale garment market in Taipei.

The area is a huge maze with many shops selling mostly women’s clothing and accessories. I did find that the styles were not as trendy as the ones in Shida and Ximending though. Still, not bad and I picked up some cheap scarves. Because S was super bored shopping with me, he suggested we go play bowling at E7 Play (AGAIN). Well, unfortunately, since it was a weekend, the place was super busy and we wouldn’t get a spot until late.

So instead, I suggested we do more touristy things! We took the MRT to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall station and visited the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. This is a memorial to the Republic of China’s National Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Dr. Sun is known for his Three Principles of People: nationalism, democracy, and the people’s livelihood.

Inside the main entrance, you will find a statue of Sun Yat-sen. There is a changing of the guards every hour but we had missed the last one. The building also displays Sun’s life and the revolution he held.

There are also gardens around the memorial hall and you will find many young dancers practicing here. It’s also a perfect spot to see the full Taipei 101.

After, I suggested we visit Ice Monster since it would be a short walk from the the memorial hall. They are famous for their shaved ice.

You can either order take-out or sit in. It was rather chilly that day so we chose to sit-in. The cafe is brightly lit with wooden decor. You order and pay at the entrance and they will bring you your dessert to your table.

We chose the Fresh Mango Shaved Ice because that’s pretty much their signature item. The ice is super light and comes with a scoop of mango ice cream and tofu pudding on the side. At first, we thought there was very little mango but it was actually all on the bottom of the bowl. There were tons! It’s around NT$250 and great for sharing between friends.

After dessert, we took the MRT back to Ximending 西門町and wandered the streets again. You can never get sick of this place! Love the lively crowds and at night you will see many street performers.

S couldn’t resist and had to try the Hot Star Large Fried Chicken 豪大大雞排 at the Ximending location. This location is extremely busy as well.

At this location, they also have a variety of other snacks and also drinks. The wait here was much longer because they have so many other menu items. There is really only one guy who makes the fried chicken so the wait was super long.

At last, we got the Large Fried Chicken again. S and I both agreed that the one from the Shilin location tastes better for some reason…

We also got the Fried Scallop and Squid Balls. These were seasoned with basil leaves so quite tasty. I didn’t really taste any scallop in it though.

I was also on the hunt of Stewed Pork Rice 魯肉飯 so we got take-out at Tian Tian Li 天天利美食坊. They also have sit-in.

It looked pretty underwhelming but it actually tasted okay. Just hard to eat while standing. I didn’t think it was very special but it’s quite the comfort food for locals. Plus it’s only NT$25!

Thirsty, we found a corner shop further away from the busy shops called Mei Tea 梅子兔. Look for the bunny rabbit and the long line ups.

We got a classic pearl milk tea to finish our night off. It was a long wait but this was very smooth and satisfying! Headed back to the hotel and did some packing as we would be leaving tomorrow night.

Details:

Tom’s World: 5th floor of Wannian Plaza: 70 Xining South Road, Ximending, Taipei

ChiaTe Bakery: No. 88, Section 5, Nanjing E Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105

Wu Fen Pu: Yongji Street, Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall: 505, Section 4, Ren’ai Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110

Ice Monster: No. 297, Section 4, Zhongxiao E Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106

Hot Star Fried Chicken (Ximending location): No. 36, Hànzhōng St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

Tian Tian Li: No.1, Lane 32, Han Zhong St., Wan-Hua District, Taipei City

Mei-Tea: No. 7, Lane 50, Xining S Rd, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 13)

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016Leave a comment

On our last full day in Taipei, I suggested that we check out Yehliu Geological Park 野柳地質公園. However, Taipei finally decided to rain on our last two days. It started off as light rain in the morning so I convinced J and S that we should still go. Yehliu is a cape in the town of Wanli, New Taipei. It is around 1.5 hours by public transportation. We took the MRT from Ximen STation to Taipower Building Station. From there, look for the 1068 bus towards Nanshi. You will get off at the Yehliu Geopark stop. It is then a 5 minute walk to the entrance but it took us much longer because it began to pour. It is also extremely windy here as it is on the coast. There were people selling rain ponchos as an umbrella really did no help with the wind and heavy rain. Admission is around NT$80 for an adult.

Yehliu Geopark is famous because of the amazing rock landscapes created by nature. Because of the waves and rock weathering, there have been many interesting rock formations. One of the most famous is the Queen’s Head (女王頭). We found this later on but it was raining too hard to get a good picture. We instead got a picture of the duplicate of the Queen’s Head which is really a replica. The real one looks pretty much the same.

We also found this leopard chilling in the park. This is also a replica because the real one had collapsed back in 2010 during a typhoon.

Of course, the park is not filled with these replicas. The park is pretty big and there are signs pointing you to formations that you may want to see. It was raining quite hard and the real formations were quite far out so we didn’t end up seeing too many.

One of my favourites were the Mushroom Rocks. So cute!

They also have Ginger Rocks and Camel Rocks but we didn’t end up seeing them.

If you look carefully, the real queen’s head is the tiny rock with a circle of rocks surrounding it. You can walk down to the bottom level to get a better view. As it was raining and freezing cold, we really weren’t in the mood to look any further. A bit of a waste, but I’d love to come back to visit next time when it’s sunny. Really interesting if you’re into geology!

We were hungry and cold so we decided to eat at the closest restaurant. There are many seafood restaurants further away from the park near the town, but we were too exhausted. We quickly headed into Shark Bites Toast 鯊魚咬土司野柳店 which is next to the Yehliu Ocean World.

The restaurant is a milkshake and western food cafe. We started off with a Papaya Smoothie even though we were freezing cold. Pretty good.

J got the Pesto Risotto which he said was pretty good.

S and I shared a few snacks. First was the Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets topped with fries. Pretty good but not as good as the ones from the street or night market. Plus it’s pricier.

We also got the Deep Fried Chicken Wings which were also topped with fries. Again, they were average. Nothing too special. After lunch, we decided to just go back to Taipei city center. My original plan was to go to Keeleung for it’s famous night market. This would be around an hour of public transport but would be worth it since we were already quite far from the city. We were all tired and cold from the rain so unfortunately we skipped this. I would highly suggest checking out other cities nearby since you are already so far out from the city. Many people choose to go to Jiufen or Yangmingshan National Park on the same day.

After drying up back at our hotel, J took us to Rahdesign Cafe. You can get here by taking the MRT to Dazhi Station. The cafe is perfect for coffee lovers as they are famous for their coffee. Apparently three national champions from the World Barista Championship opened this cafe.

The inside is pretty hipster and has ore of a European feel. You’ll find many locals here with their laptops doing homework and such.

I got the Matcha Latte and it was beautifully presented with latte art filled to the rim. Very good!

I think J got an Americano or some sort of coffee…

S got the Ice Cream Coffee. This was my favourite! So good!

J also suggested we get the Mochi Waffles. These are so good! Drizzled with honey and topped with a very light whipped cream, the waffles are filled with chewy mochi inside. Prices are around NT$100-170 for beverages, but still a must try! Such a cute cafe to visit!

J then suggested we visit the Miramar Entertainment Park. You can take the MRT to Jiannan Road station to get here. This is a shopping mall which is famous for their IMAX theater with one of its movie screens being the largest in Asia.

Another famous attraction at the mall is the Ferris wheel on the roof of the mall. It is the second tallest in Taiwan.

We weren’t really in the mood for shopping, but the guys were in the mood of bowling… E7 Play was pretty far and we felt like it would be busy, so J did some searching and found Yuan Shan Bowling Alley 圓山保齡球館. It is near Jiantan MRT station and also right across Shilin Night Market.

When we walked in, the first thing I noticed was how old it looked…and also a weird smell inside. Anyways, if you are looking for a retro bowling alley, this is for you. Apparently it’s been open since the 1960s… Look how old the point machine is…

The alley is quite terrible. The lanes are rugged so your ball does not bowl straight since there are dents on the lane. The balls also have dents everywhere so nothing rolls smooth. The balls were also really oily and everything felt dirty inside. Price was also not as cheap as E7 Play. Our pinsetter would also screw up multiple times. It was just a disaster.

Since we were right across Shilin Night Market, we decided to go there again for dinner. I’ve been seeing stalls selling these Flame Grilled Beef Cubes 火焰骰子牛. They place these beef cubes on a grill and then torch them with a flame. NT$100 for a portion.

These were so disappointing though! They were way overcooked and super chewy. The beef had so much fat attached that you could not chew. Really sad because I’ve heard great things about them.

While the guys were lining up for the beef cubes, I couldn’t help but look over at the next stall selling mini sausages. A small bag for NT$50!

Mmm these are really good and fun to eat!

We decided to head down to the basement floor and sat down at this restaurant. They offered a variety of classic Taiwanese dishes.

J was really hungry so he got a bowl of Beef Noodles. He said this was just average.

We decided to give these Bite-sized Crab a try. I was slightly creeped out by all the crab legs and the fact I was just eating mini crabs with the whole shell, but these are deep fried so they are very crispy. They are only seasoned with pepper and salt. Not bad and would be good for sharing with a large group.

We also got this Grilled Squid but I didn’t like it at all. Again it was only seasoned with pepper and salt, and I found it to be rather unflavourful. It still had that slimy texture as well. I was expecting the ones at Japanese restaurants, so it was quite a disappointment.

As J would head back to Kaohsiung that night, we decided to have some Taiwan Beer to end the night. A very light beer so it was easy to drink!

We also headed to 711 to check out some local snacks. We found the Honey Beer this time and throughout the trip, I’ve been trying out almost all their flavoured beers. I quite liked this one as it has a sweetness to it. They sell these in the BC Liquor stores now, but at almost CAN$4 a can!

J also told us that these snacks are really good. They are actually instant noodles with seasoning packs where you shake it up and eat the noodles dry. Not good for you, but great as a midnight snack!

Details:

Yehliu Geopark: Take MRT to Taipower Building Station and take #1068 bus towards Nanshi and get off at Yehliu Park stop: No.167-1, Kangton Rd.,Yeh Liu Village, Wanli Dist., Xinbei, Taiwan

Shark Bites Toast: No.167-3, Kantung Rd., Yehliu Village, Wanli District,, Xinbei, Taiwan

Rahdesign Cafe: 1/F, No.1, Lane 9, Dazhi Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei

Miramar Entertainment Park: No. 20, Jingye 3rd Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

Yuanshan Bowling Alley: 6, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 5, Taipei City

Shilin Night Market: Take MRT To Jiantan MRT Station and follow the rest of the crowds!: Betweet Dadong Road, Danan Road, Wenlin Road and Jihua Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 12)

January 16, 2016January 16, 2016Leave a comment

After a late night out, we started our day off rather late and met up with J and SC again. Since they are pretty much locals, they took us around Ximending for brunch to show us the top eats. The first stop was Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle. When we arrived, there were tons of tourists crowded around the area either in line or eating.

They really only sell one thing and that is the Flour-Rice Noodle. A large bowl goes for around NT$65 while a small is NT$50. S and I decided to share a bowl so we got the large, but it was quite big! Essentially, this is a hot bowl of really soft rice noodles along with pork intestines in a very thick flavourful broth. The pork intestines threw us off a bit but the chewiness gives it a pretty good texture. You can add vinegar and chili sauce to make it even better. The broth is really good and makes a great breakfast. There is always a line but it moves really quick.

Walking around, we found that there were many food carts around and we saw the peanut taro ice cream wrap again! We first had this in Jiufen, and were excited to have it again because it’s that good!

This is so addicting and perfect on a hot day. Love the crunch and sweetness of the peanut brittle shavings along with the ice cold taro ice cream.

After grabbing some snacks on the street, we wandered the streets of Ximending and J suggested that we go to Tom’s World Arcade on the fifth floor of Wannian Plaza.

The arcade is pretty big and there are a variety of games. Our favourite was this air hockey which is great for four people and the number of pucks it spits out is ridiculous at points of the game. Not your typical air hockey table for sure.

The boys loved playing the basketball game.

S and I took our dancing skills to the test with this awesome Dance Dance Revolution which senses your motion.

After some fun at the arcade, we headed back to the streets of Ximending and looked for more snacks. J said that the Ji Guang Fried Chicken 繼光香香雞-西門店 is really good. It is super easy to spot as it is the corner shop with the 1973 sign in red just across the Ximen MRT station.

The guy is super friendly and they make sure the batch of chicken is fresh and that you’re not getting pieces of just fried batter.

We got a freshly made batch and it was steaming hot. I like how these like popcorn chicken so easy to eat on the go.

After some snacking, we took the MRT to Nanjing Station as we wanted to visit Chun Shui Tang 春水堂. They are famous for their milk tea and claim they are the founders of pearl milk tea. You’ll find that many of the famous milk tea restaurants will claim so…

We started off with a dessert which was the Brown Sugar Cake. I quite liked this as it was sort of chewy and not overly sweet.

Of course we couldn’t come here without trying the milk tea. We got a classic Pearl Milk Tea and a Tieguanyin Pearl Milk Tea both in the large size. They feature the tiny pearls which I quite liked and the top was foamy from the shaking of the milk tea. My favourite was the Pearl Milk Tea as I found the Tieguanyin to be a little too strong in the tea flavour so it was a bit bitter. If you love to drink tea though, this might be a good choice for you. Their bubble teas run a bit on the higher end at around NT$150-170 for a large size. Very big though so you can easily share with a friend.

After snacking (once again), we decided to check out the bowling alley since J and S love bowling… J suggested we go to E7 Play 三重店 which we had take the MRT to Taipei Bridge Station and then take a short walk in a pretty random area. Such a witty name because E7 Play in mandarin means “let’s play together”.

Bowling here is super cheap. I think it was around CAD$12 a person for three hours unlimited play and free shoe rental. What a deal! I found it funny that they also have nail clippers here, perfect for us girls who break their nails easily. And they even have tape to cover your nails.

The lanes are pretty new and we had no complaints. Be sure to bring someone who can speak mandarin here though as their English is limited.

After bowling, we took the MRT to Jiantan Station to visit the famous Shilin Night Market. Despite there being a Shilin MRT station, the closest to the night market is actually Jiantan Station. Shilin Night Market is one of the largest and most popular night markets in Taipei. It is also the one that most tourists will visit.

The first stall you will see when you are coming from the MRT station is this yellow fried chicken stall. We saw a huge line up so we quickly got in line.

Look at all that oil…so unhealthy but so good! Fried chicken is around NT$70. I found most items in Shilin to be more expensive because it’s where the tourists go.

We ended up being quite disappointed with the Fried Chicken from this stall. It was actually more of a grilled type of chicken even though it is deep fried. It didn’t have the salt and peppery taste we were expecting but rather a teriyaki like sauce. I would skip this next time.

While the boys were lining up for the fried chicken, I headed over to the next stall which was Fried Milk.

The Fried Milk here is very good! The lady warned me to not eat it right away because it is piping hot. The outer layer is crispy and the inside is sort of like a mochi texture with the milk flavour being strong. Remember to take small bites when you eat this!

J said his all time favourite is to eat at Zhong Cheng Hao Oysters 忠誠號. This is a sit in restaurant although I think you can order to go. Sit in turnover is pretty quick though and you can even order one item to share and they won’t question you. Look for the red signage.

They are famous for their Oyster Omelettes so of course we had to get this. Man, this was the best I’ve had. The egg is fried so the edges are crispy and the amount of gooiness was just right. I also loved the sauce they used. A must try!

We also got the Deep Fried Stinky Tofu. These came with a side of picked cabbage as they usually do. These were pungent but perfectly crispy on the outside with the sauce being soaked in in the centre.

The famous Hot Star Large Fried Chicken is what people come to Shilin for. They actually have one in Ximending as well which we try on a later day, but we think that this is the best location to get it. Of course, there is a line up, but it moves pretty quick as usual. For just around CAD$2, you get a HUGE piece of fried chicken.

The size of the fried chicken is literally the size of your face. It is so crispy and flavourful and is great to share because you will get too full eating this on your own. You can also choose between regular or spicy, in which the latter gets chilli powder sprinkled on. I hear they have a chain store open in Toronto now, but at a price of around CAD$8 a piece…

Shilin Night Market also had an underground food centre that seems to be less popular for tourists. Here, you can sit down to eat your food so great if you want to skip the pushing and crowding outside. You will find more seafood type items that require more care in refrigeration.

That night, it began to rain, so it got pretty messy. Rain and night markets don’t mix well. We decided to just grab one last drink and head back to our hotel. This stall featured the Frog Eggs Drink.

This is of course not actually frog eggs! Rather they are clear tapioca-like balls that look like frog eggs. We got this served with aiyu jelly and it was cold and refreshing. There is not much flavour to it but only the lime flavour.

Details:

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle: No.8-1 Emei Street, Taipei, Taiwan

Tom’s World: 5th floor of Wannian Plaza: 70 Xining South Road, Ximending, Taipei

Chun Shui Tang (Nanjing branch): 105 Taipei Nanjing East Road Section 4 No. 182 1F, Taipei, Taiwan

E7 Play: 241, Taiwan, New Taipei City, Sanchong District, Zhongyang S Rd, 63號B1

Shilin Night Market: Take MRT To Jiantan MRT Station and follow the rest of the crowds!: Betweet Dadong Road, Danan Road, Wenlin Road and Jihua Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 2)

January 1, 2016December 30, 2015Leave a comment

Day 2 in Singapore started off with complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express Orchard. Had fruits, cheese, sausages, bacon, and a different type of fried noodles or rice each day. Not bad for continental breakfast and the chef and servers are super nice.

After our tummies were full, we headed out to explore. The closest MRT was Somerset and I would highly recommend getting either a Singapore Tourist Card that provides unlimited travel for a certain amount of days if you’re there for only a short period or the EZ-Link Card which offers stored value and is more like pay per use. You can get both of these at most MRT stations or at the airport. The EZ-Link Card has a non-refundable cost of $5 so is only a good deal if you stay around a week like we did. The transit system here is awesome and trains are extremely clean. Maps are so easy to follow and I highly recommend downloading a map app on your phone which provides you with the quickest way to get around. Transit here is extremely cheap with many of our rides being under $1! What a steal compared to Vancouver…

Anyways, our first destination was to check out Chinatown. You can get off right at the Chinatown station and take Exit A.

I recommend checking out Pagoda Street if you want to buy Chinese souvenirs but this area is quite touristy. If you walk around the area you will also hit some open markets with more local goods. There is also the Chinatown Food Street with hawker stalls. My favourite was looking at the colourful houses on top of these shops which made it feel like you went back in time.

Continue walking and you will find the Sri Mariamman Temple which is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Mariamman, known for her power to cure illnesses and diseases. The entrance is covered with detailed sculptures of mythological beasts and people. Quite an eye catcher and you can also enter into the temple, although you will need to remove your shoes. We skipped this part.

Moving on, we somehow wandered into the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum. This is a Buddhist temple and you are able to enter for free as well. However, those with shoulders or thighs showing will require a blanket which they can provide.

Wandering around again, we spotted Maxwell Food Centre, which was definitely on my list of places to visit. We decided to grab lunch early which was a good idea.

Maxwell Food Centre is covered and looks very similar to most of the other hawker centres that we would visit later on. At most hawker centres, the stalls will have a sign showing whether it is self-serve or full service. Self-serve means that you will need to line up, order, and wait for your food at the stall. This is the case for most of them. All hawker stalls also show the grading of their cleanliness and any that are A or B are good to go from our experience.

We had originally anticipated the much talked about Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken, but for some reason it wasn’t open that day. We settled on Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice which had the exact same banner and a long line up. Apparently this is opened by a former employer of Tian Tian…

Since we weren’t too hungry, we shared the Steamed Chicken Rice which came with a side of soup and added the hard boiled eggs. This was only $3.50 SG which was a deal! The portion was a bit small but perfect for one. The rice was absolutely delicious and the chicken was tender with a nice jelly on the skin. Pretty good but I can’t say how it compares with Tian Tian since we didn’t get to try. We also got a Soursop Guava Slush which was extremely refreshing! Gotta get the tropical fruits here.

Following lunch, we took the MRT from Chinatown to Clarke Quay station. Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay which was used for trade back in the day. Today, it is more of a tourist area with the river being used for cruises for tourists.

We crossed the river and found colourful buildings all along the quay. The area now houses expensive restaurants and nightclubs. Since it was daytime, they were all empty. I presume they are bumping during night time.

Since it was extremely hazy and humid outside, we decided to head over to The Shoppes at Marina Sands for some air conditioning. The shops here are high end so of course we weren’t going to be doing any shopping here. However, it’s worth checking out if you’re a shopper since it’s very pretty inside.

Although we weren’t planning to shop here, I highly recommend checking out the Louis Vuitton shop here. They have some interesting goods here that appear to be limited to Singapore. Like this chili crab suitcase… A tip is to go to their highest floor and exit to the balcony. You will be able to get a view of the Singapore skyline for free.

Since we were pretty hungry, we decided to just eat at the food court at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. A bad idea, since this food court is overpriced and food is quite average.

We ended up sharing the Char Kuey Teow which is a flat rice noodle stir fried with Chinese sausage, bean sprouts and beef. We found that there were way more bean sprouts than noodles… Would skip this.

We were planning to visit Gardens at the Bay after dinner since it would be all lit up, but we exited the mall and realized it was pouring… We ended up heading back to our hotel, but along the way stopped by 313@Somerset, a mall right at the Somerset station. This mall offers more affordable shops, so we did a bit of browsing here. We then tried Toast Box, which is known for their kaya toast.

Kaya toast is served with soft boiled eggs. And by soft boiled, they are very soft boiled. You crack these open and mix in soy sauce and pepper and stir it up. You can slurp this with a spoon or dip your toast in it. Kind of gross in the beginning, but I quite enjoyed it after…

We ordered their classic Kaya Toast which comes with a thick slice of butter. Oh, this is so bad for you, but so delicious at the same time. Kaya is a coconut jam and along with the butter, this is a killer breakfast or midnight snack. We had this along with an almond milk and satisfied our late night craving. However, Toast Box is definitely not the best for kaya toast. I highly recommend Ya Kun which I will write about later on. You can find both shops almost everywhere you go.

We called it a night since it was raining pretty heavily. Some goodies I found at the supermarket were Singapore only flavoured cup noodles. Mmmm my favourite was the Black Pepper Crab! Great souvenir to bring back for foodies.

Details:

Chinatown Pagoda Street: Take Exit A from Chinatown Station

Sri Mariamman Temple: 244 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058793

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum:
288 S Bridge Rd, Singapore 058840

Maxwell Food Centre: 1 Kadayanallur St, Singapore 069184

Clarke Quay: (Take Exit C from Clarke Quay MRT Station) 3 River Valley Rd, Singapore 179024

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands: 10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956

Toast Box at 313@Somerset: B2 313 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238895

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Coffee/ Tea

17°C Dessert Cafe – ChineseBites Media Event

Bubble Tea Shop

Shiny Tea

Chatime (Surrey) – ChineseBites Media Event

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 14)

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 13)

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 12)

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 2)