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 11)

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016Leave a comment

On our fourth day in Taipei, we took the MRT to Beitou station. It took around 30-40 minutes from Ximen. Upon exiting, you will smell the sulphur from the hot springs. Beitou is famous for its hot springs and is also the most mountainous and highest of Taipei’s districts.

We had pre-booked a private hot spring in advance as they are reasonably priced compared to the ones in Canada. I did some searching and chose Grand View Resort in Beitou. The great thing is that they offer a shuttle bus from Beitou MRT station and drive you up the hills (which you otherwise would need to walk or cab).

The resort is gorgeous! I found service to be rather cold, but the people here can speak fluent English. The great thing is that you do not have to stay here to use the hot springs. You can just pay for a one-time use charged by time. They do however offer hotel rooms with hot springs within your room. That is so neat and I would love to try it sometime.

You can choose between public or private hot springs. We ended up choosing the private hot spring where you get an independent bath house with the hot bath outdoors.They have different rooms with designs that are a bit different. You can email the resort to ask for the pictures. We chose Ylang-Ylang. The room was spacious and had a couch, private shower, bathroom, closet, and sink.

For our room, the hot bath is outside. They have high brick walls so there is absolute privacy but you can still sort of hear the people next to you when you’re outside. The price is fixed at NT$2,300 for the room and allows two guests for 90 minutes. You can add NT$600 for each additional guest. The 90 minutes includes showering and getting dressed. They will call you 15 minutes before your time is up.

This was a super relaxing experience and we enjoyed that it was private. The other option for hot springs was to use the famous Millennium Hot Spring which costs a fraction of the price but is filled with people. We opted for this so we could really relax. Plus it was super clean.

They also provide you with all amenities you need, whether it be shampoo, bath wash, lotion, makeup swabs and even a brush. They also provided these cute little matcha panna cotta kind of desserts. It was refreshing to eat after being in the heat.

After the hot springs, we took the shuttle to take us back to Beitou station. They are only able to drop you off at the Beitou main station. Therefore, we had to walk back up the hills to go to sight see the area. Along the way, we found 山西刀削番茄牛肉麵, which features hand-cut noodles.

We got their famous hand cut noodles which were mixed with beef and vegetables. The plate was large and good value. We also got their fried rice which was pretty good. All their dishes had that wok flavour. The ambiance is rather shabby, but we found many locals coming here during lunch hours.

Of course, we had to get some beers as our drinks along the way… Fruit beers are the way to go!

After around a 15 min walk, we found Beitou Hot Spring Museum. The building was actually built as a public bath house under the Japanese rule and was once the largest bathhouse in east Asia.

Today, the bathhouse is a free museum where you can see the old bathhouse on the ground floor and other history of how hot springs became significant in the area. Only downside is that they have no air conditioning in here, so it’s super hot inside still!

Take another 5-10 minute walk, and you will find the Beitou Thermal Valley (地熱谷). It is also known as Hell Valley.

The Geothermal Valley is a volcanic crater filled with steaming natural sulfuric hot spring water and has a temperature between 80 to 100 degrees Celsius and therefore is fenced. Not the best place to linger around on a hot day, but it’s pretty neat!

The water from the Thermal Valley are the source of the hot spring bathing facilities in Beitou. The water contains radium, which is said to have beneficial health affects for fertility, long-term illnesses, rehabilitation, and skin beauty.

After exploring Beitou, we took the MRT to Dongmen Station to meet up with J who had took the train from his city to meet up with us. So nice to have a Taiwanese take you around! He took us to Smoothie House (思慕昔) for some desserts pre-dinner.

Smoothie House is now a chain dessert shop and they have so many flavours! The menu looks so appetizing already.

We got two shaved ices to share. Both were mango flavoured with tons of fresh mango. One had a pudding on top while the other had a scoop of mango ice cream. They were really good! The shaved ice is super thin just like the ones in Korea.

After shaved ice, we headed over to 8% Ice 冰淇淋專門店. I guess we were on a dessert hopping trip.

8% Ice is famous for their ice cream and is pretty hipster inside. Prices are not as cheap though, but the ice cream and popsicles looked delicious!

J had the Passionfruit while me and S shared the Sakura Plum. We found the passionfruit to be too sour and the Sakura Plum to have an odd flavour. Flavourwise, they were just okay. Pretty to look at though. J said that the gelato is much better.

We were going to meet our celebrity friend E for dinner that night, so we took a taxi to the restaurant. He had suggested to eat hot pot at 火鍋世家涮涮屋(台北延吉店).

You get individual hot pots here and you can order a la carte or combos. Sort of Gokudo in Richmond. We chose the combos so they came with a variety of vegetables, shrimp, and fish balls and that sort of stuff.

The combo also comes with your choice of noodles. I got the udon.

S and I both got a meat combo, so we ended up sharing our meat. We got the regular beef and it was very good already. Extremely tender with the right amount of fat.

We also got the pork bacon which was surprisingly quite good. The meat combos range from around NT$280 and can go up to NT$580 for premium cuts. The restaurant provides unlimited drinks, self-serve ice cream, and self-serve sauces. Quite a good value to get you full.

After dinner, we decided to go get drinks. We ended up taking a nice walk after a huge meal and headed into the Da’an district where E normally hangs around. He took us to this nice cozy bar called Tickle My Fantasy. It was very quiet when we got there as it was rather early, but it got very crowded at the end of the night.

E suggested we all get the famous Long Island. This is not your typical Long Island, but rather known to be potent. The ones we get in Vancouver usually have very little alcohol, but these were strong! We watched the bartender make our drinks and noticed it was mostly all alcohol. The drink is around NT$500 but a good deal because one drink will be enough. We all had a good night and it was great to see our friends again. As we stayed out past 12, the MRT had closed so we ended up taxing back to our hotel. A great night indeed.

Details:

Grand View Resort: No. 30, Youya Rd, Beitou District, Taipei City

山西刀削番茄牛肉麵: No. 142-1, Guangming Rd, Beitou District, Taipei City

Beitou Hot Spring Museum: No. 2, Zhongshan Rd, Beitou District, Taipei City

Beitou Thermal Valley: Zhongshan Rd. near Wenquan Rd, Beitou District, Taipei City

Smoothie House: No.15, Yongkang St., Da’an Dist., Taipei City

8%ice冰淇淋专门店: No. 6, Lane 13, Yongkang St, Da’an District, Taipei City

火鍋世家涮涮屋(台北延吉店) (Songshan district): 105, Taiwan, 台北市松山區, 台北市松山區延吉街30巷1號

Tickle My Fantasy: No. 8, Section 2, Anhe Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City

Singapore & Taipei Trip (Day 8)

January 7, 2016January 6, 20161 Comment

Day 8 of our trip in Singapore really only gave us enough time to grab breakfast and head to the airport since our flight was at around 10:30am. We went to Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Hawker Center and tried Granny’s Pancake.

We got one Peanut and one Coconut Pancake and oh my goodness! These are so good! They are sort of like mochi cakes and the filling inside is really good. Must try! They are under a dollar too.

I ordered from San Yuan Gourmet which features different noodles soups.

I ordered the Laksa for a killer price of $2 SG. It came with bean sprouts, tofu puffs, fish balls, and fish cake. Really good!

S got a BBQ Pork Noodle. I don’t remember which stall he got it from.

I had the Grass Jelly Soya Bean drink again. We don’t seem to have this a lot in Vancouver.

The aunt then drove us to the Changi Airport. Such a nice modern airport. Security was very quick and we had tons of time to spare.

We took China Airlines again and took off at around 10:30am. At around 3:00pm, we arrived in Taipei. It’s actually a pretty long flight as the two cities are actually quite far. Luckily this aircraft was brand new and was barely at capacity so we had tons of space and great service.

We arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan Airport and customs took quite a long time. Finally we collected our luggage and we went to the basement floor to the HiLife convenience store to retrieve my pocket WiFi we had rented. Wifi on the go is convenient so we had ordered online from iVideo before arriving. Super convenient as you just order in advance and pick up at your chosen location with two being in the airport. When you leave, you can drop it back at the same location. The employees were super helpful and friendly. Depending on which device you get, it can cost around CAD$15-18 for five days. If you can read Chinese, check out the Chinese version of the site and you can enter a promo code to get some discount off. We ended up paying only around $20 for 7 days. It can support up to 8 wifi devices so great to share. The only downside was the battery only lasted around 6 hours and it would shut down when we most needed it. Remember to bring a portable battery pack or purchase one to rent as well.

After picking up our wifi, we headed to the bus station. You can purchase your ticket easily inside with a vending machine. If you are going to city center like us, take the 1819 Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport and it will take you to Taipei Main Station where you can exchange to a metro or cab to get to your hotel. It’s a pretty long ride and took around an hour. It only costs NT$125 one way so around CAD$6.

As our hotel was right in the heart of Ximending, we had to transfer after getting off at Taipei Main Station. We decided to cab since our luggage was quite heavy. Cab fare was quite reasonable at around NT$100 and was only a short 5-10 minute ride. We stayed at Westgate Hotel which was awesome!

The rooms were spacious enough for us and the bed was comfy. The only weird thing is the sink is right at the entrance of the room but I didn’t mind it as I could use it while someone was in the shower. We paid less by choosing a room without windows but that actually didn’t bother us. There are tons of complimentary items including bottled water and a pineapple cake on the first day. Water and amenities are replaced every day if you finish.

The bathroom situation is pretty unique with the shower and toilet separate. Pretty good again since we don’t need to wait for one another. Loved the faucet of the shower with different massaging heads. The design was great so that none of the water spilled out. Only downside is that you sort of need to come out to get dressed so not ideal for sharing with friends.

Although Westgate Hotel was a bit pricier than the other options, one thing we loved about it was the location. Literally one minute away from the MRT and a step away from the crowds of Ximending. Ximending was super cool since it was sort of like Taipei version of Shibuya in Japan. Bright lights and tons of trendy young shops. Great for the young crowd!

Of course I had done my research for food, so we took a 10 minute walk to find Tao-Yuan Street Beef Noodle Shop. It’s a bit away from the bright lights and a little quieter in this area. It was pretty hard to find but look for that big red sign!

The tricky part is you also have to head up stairs. The waitresses barely speak English, but she was super nice and gave us a stack of all the order sheets that had gone through to show us what the popular dishes were. Menu is in Chinese so if you can’t read it… you’ll have to order with a surprise.

We both got the Signature Beef Noodle Soup with S getting one with all beef, while I got a mix of beef, beef tendon, and brisket. The noodles and soup were really good! My beef was really tender although S had a piece that had a lot of tendon in it and he didn’t quite like it. You pay when they place the bowl in front of you. A must try! Prices are around $6-8 a bowl. Consistent with Vancouver pricing.

After dinner, we headed back to the Ximending area and checked out the Ximen Red House. This is a historic theater and built back when this area was under Japanese rule. Today, it houses a display of the history of the structure, some cafes, and shops where artists sell art. Around this area, there was also a night market going on where many vendors sold handmade products.

We then headed back into the busy streets of Ximending where there were tons of shops and food carts. This is actually the first pedestrian area and the largest in Taiwan.

Getting thirsty, we headed into a 7-11 to purchase my favourite Taiwanese fruit beers! These are so cheap here…at around less than CAD$2. Mango was my favourite! Oh and by the way, 7-11s are literally on every block of this area!

The famous Modern Toilet was a place I wanted to see. I’ve heard negative reviews about the food, but I’m a sucker for restaurants with a cool design so I wanted to check it out.

The restaurant’s ambiance definitely wowed us. Super fun since you sit on a toilet and everything is just bathroom themed.

They serve actual meals, but I heard pretty bad things about it, so we decided that desserts couldn’t be too bad… Well we were wrong. We ordered the Passionfruit Shaved Iced and this was the largest bowl of shaved ice I’ve seen! But it was also disgusting.. The toppings they put on there were the sweetest and cheapest stuff ever. We barely made it through because it was so sweet and it just didn’t taste any good!

We also ordered the Fresh Milk Boba and paid extra to have it in an urinal. This was also disgusting…

Apparently fresh milk literally means fresh milk… I guess we missed the word tea in it? So we were served fresh milk in an urinal and for some reason the inside looked really dirty… Why was their brown stuff in it? The pearls were pretty good though as they were the clear ones which I haven’t tried before. But other than that, Modern Toilet was a miss and I would recommend skipping it altogether.

Since we were pretty tired from our flight, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night.

Details:

Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Hawker Center: 210 Lor 8 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310210

Taipei Westgate Hotel: No.150 Sec.1 Zhonghua Rd Wanhua Dist. 10843 Taipei (Take 1819 Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport to Taipei Main Station and change to Line 5 to Ximen Station Exit 6 OR take a cab when you arrive at Taipei Main Station)

Tao-Yuan Street Beef Noodle Shop: No. 15, Taoyuan St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100

Ximen Red House: No. 10, Chengdu Rd, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

Modern Toilet (Ximending branch): 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Lane 50, Xining S Rd, 7號2樓

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

Fondway Cafe – Media Launch

November 20, 2015November 22, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary as part of the media launch, but all opinions are based on my personal experience.

I was invited to Fondway Cafe‘s media launch last Sunday organized by Chobee PR. Apparently Fondway used to be inside Crystal Mall, but it has relaunched near the Metrotown skytrain station, so is very accessible.

Their menu offers coffees, teas, and cafe style snacks. It is a Taiwanese cafe but mixed with a hipster European feel.

They offer over 60 teas and you can purchase the teas to bring home. They also sell a variety of tea and coffee appliances.

For the media launch, we got to sample an array of their garden fruit teas. The teas are brewed with a special machine called Teapresso that uses a 9-bar water pressurizer to extract the flavour of tea.

Signature Iced Tea

I tried the Fruit Garden, which had hibiscus, rose-hip peels, apple bits, citrus peels, and sunflower petals. The teas were served cold and I enjoyed the fruitiness and floral flavours.

We then moved over to the coffee bar where the girls were pumping out the drinks. They offer coffee beans from Elysian coffee roasters and the beans are from Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Nitrogen Coffee

Fondway differs from other coffee shops as they feature a Nitrogen Coffee, which is cold brewed and infused with nitrogen gas to create a silky texture and bubbly taste. The coffee was very smooth and clean but I found it very odd that that the coffee taste disappears after you consume it. Your first initial contact with the coffee will give you that strong coffee flavour, but it disappears right after. It’s great for people like me who do not enjoy the after coffee taste that lingers in my mouth.

Honey Lemon Coffee

The Honey Lemon Coffee was a bit of an odd one for us. We found it to have that odd sour taste that we didn’t really enjoy.

Grass Jelly Milk Tea

One of my favourites was the Grass Jelly Milk Tea. The milk tea was strong in fresh tea flavour.

Caramel Macchiato

We also tried the Caramel Macchiato with one shot of espresso. The coffee was smooth and the caramel wasn’t too sweet. I also noticed they have really neat menus where you can check the items you want to order with an erasable marker. Pretty neat!

And then we hurried over to the food! This was a foodie’s dream with all the food presented beautifully!

Belgium Waffles, House Salad

Taiwanese Sandwich, Chicken Croissant

Tuna Waffles, Cheese Salmon, Pumpkin Cracker, Daily Sandwiches

Daily Soups

Daily Soups included a Minestrone and Clam Chowder Soup. M and I both agreed the chowder was the best. It was flavourful and didn’t taste like your typical canned soup.

These were the items we sampled. Our favourite was the Cheese Salmon which featured smoked salmon on top of a cracker along with cheese, lettuce and dill. The Tuna Waffle was also a favourite as the waffles were light and fluffy and tuna was flavoured nicely with a light mayo. The Taiwanese Sandwich was a nice twist as it featured waffles as the bread.

Coffee Pana Cotta

And onto the desserts! We started off with the Coffee Pana Cotta which is more like a creme brulee with coffee caramel liquid at the bottom. Quite sweet, but the custard was smooth.

New York Cheesecake

The homemade cakes then started rolling in. The New York Cheesecake had sugar on top and it was torched to give that creme brulee hard sugar feeling. The cheesecake was denser than what I would’ve liked as I prefer the light and fluffy Japanese ones, but good nevertheless.

Ujikintoki Cake, Seasonal Fruit Cake, Earl Grey Cake, Concentrated Chocolate Cake

We also got to try a variety of their daily cakes. Since we were too full, we only tried the Earl Grey Cake. The cake itself was very fluffy, but I found that the hazelnuts on top stole the show so it tasted more like a hazelnut cake. More earl grey flavouring and less hazelnuts would’ve made the cake perfect.

Overall, we had a good time and enjoyed the beverages and snacks that Fondway offers. Service was also extremely friendly and waitresses are able to speak both Mandarin and English. I can see this as a cute place to catch up with your girl friends.

Fondway is offering a grand opening day special and you can experience a 4 signature course for only $20. You can choose from either option A or B. Please see picture above for details and contact details to reserve your ticket in advance.

720 Sweets

November 6, 2015November 6, 2015Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were free, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

If you have Instagram, you’ve probably been seeing pictures of ice cream with smoke coming out. The ice cream is from the newly opened 720 Sweets on Broadway and Blenheim. I’ve been wanting to try this because of the pictures, and since the owners reached out to us to give it a try, we headed over after work. It’s quite hidden, but it appears that many people have found their way here.

The shop is very small, with tables along the two sides of the wall which fits probably 10 people. Simple, clean decor, but I especially like their little saying on the wall.

They currently offer 5 flavours, which are all priced at $5.95:

The Classic: crushed graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, and freshly baked butter cookie
Honey720: rich honey drizzle and golden honeycomb
S’Mores Please: chocolate corn flakes, dark chocolate drizzle, crunchy almond stick, and toasted marshmallow
Milk’ee: crushed walnuts, light caramel drizzle, Espresso grass jelly, and crunchy almond cookie
Cloud Nine: crunchy almond stick, cotton candy popcorn, and dreamy n’ fluffy cotton candy

They also carry an assortment of marshmallows from the famous Archimallows. Great for gifts!

What’s different about 720 Sweets is that their ice cream is visually appealing and fun to look at. The ice cream sits on top of a separate cup which is filled with hot water and dry ice to give the liquid nitrogen smoking effect. It only lasts for around 2 minutes, but is quite fun to watch. Unfortunately, liquid nitrogen isn’t churned into the ice cream like they do in Korea and many other cities which that type of ice cream is the trend now. This makes it much quicker for them to get the ice cream to you. Marshmallows are also toasted on the spot.

S’Mores Please

S chose S’Mores Please, which is perfect for chocolate lovers. The ice cream is rich in chococlate flavour and extremely smooth. It came with a crunchy almond stick and on top, the toasted marshmallow, which was fun to eat.

Milk’ee

For myself, I chose the Milk’ee since it had everything I liked in it. The milk tea flavour was strong and delicious when paired with the grass jelly. I especially liked it since it wasn’t too sweet and the crushed walnuts gave it a good texture.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with 720 Sweets and am happy that there is a new spot for ice cream lovers. I found the pricing very fair as you got a good amount of ice cream and toppings. We were actually quite full after each having one. Service was also friendly and quick. Definitely will be returning to try out the other flavours, but for now, the Milk’ee is my favourite!

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015Leave a comment

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

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining 60 other foodies at the Taste of Aberdeen event hosted by ChineseBites. When you think of the food court, you might be thinking of Flaming Wok, Taco Bell and that sort of stuff. Well, the Aberdeen food court is a whole different story, with stalls serving up cheap, delicious Asian food. You’d be surprised to hear that many people regularly dine here for lunch or dinner. I brought along S to dine with me and we were seated with fellow foodie Instagrammers, Tea.Latte and Vancouverfoodie.

Dinner started off with an array of drinks from various shops. Starting from left to right was the Matcha Soy Bean from Strike, Iced Lemon Ribena from Bubble Waffle, Iced Honey Matcha Tea from Teppan Kitchen, House Special from 8 Juice, Milk Tea with Pearls and Coconut Jelly from Estea Express, and Iced Genmaicha Tea from Saboten. I was able to try the House Special which consisted of mango coconut juice with tapioca, mango and pomelo bits. It’s like drinking the mango pomelo dessert!

Sakura Roll

First up was the Sakura Roll from Aji Hana, which is the only Japanese stall selling sushi at the food court. The roll is filled with prawn tempura and avocado and topped with chopped scallop and tobiko. The toppings are quite abundant and I would say it’s pretty good considering it’s from the food court.

Bubble Waffle

Next was the infamous Bubble Waffle from Bubble Waffle. This was the original flavour and the outside was crispy with the interior having that nice mochi-like chew.

Curry Fish Balls

Included in my top favourites list (at the bottom of the post) were the Curry Fish Balls from Bubble Waffle. I loved the kick these had without it being numbing. These bite-size fish balls had that bouncy texture and were fun to eat.

Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Also making it on my favourite list is the Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Chives from Chef of Dumplings. I would have never thought of ordering these at the food court, but these were amazing! The wrappers were pan fried to a nice crispiness and there was a ton of filling inside. Flavours were great!

Hot Sour Noodle

The Hot Sour Noodle from Szechuan House was average for me. It had the strong numbing effect and reminded me of the Szechuan Boiled Fish Soup. Not sure if I would consider this a soup since I wouldn’t want to drink it… There were mostly glass noodles in it and tons of chilies. If you like spicy and Szechuan food, this is for you.

Prawn Wontons

The Prawn Wontons at Lung Kee were surprisingly pretty good! The wrappers were thin and the prawn was big and juicy. These are big wontons for sure!

Deep Fried Squid and Deep Fried Chicken Wings

Always making it on my favourites list is the Deep Fried Chicken Wings from Wu Fung Dessert. They are famous for them and you’ll always find the stall with a line up. What surprised both S and I were how good the Deep Fried Squid were! I never even knew they sold them, but they are just as good as the wings! The squid is extremely tender!

Drunken Chicken Hot Pot

The Drunken Chicken Hot Pot from Tofu Hot Pot was a crowd-pleaser as the broth was delicious. You get an array of vegetables, chicken and glass noodles in a broth cooked with Chinese wine. I could really taste the Chinese wine in the chicken and it tasted great.

Popcorn Chicken Nuggets

The Popcorn Chicken Nuggets from Yougo Chicken were nice and crispy and well-seasoned.

Club House Sandwich

The Club House Sandwiches from Strike were visually pleasing and was a bit of a surprise for us. The triple stacked sandwiches are filled with a meat patty, eggs, cucumbers and tomatoes. It had a sweet flavour to it and wouldn’t be bad for lunch.

Egg Rolls

Also from Strike were the Egg Rolls, which are filed with a thin slice of egg, canned tuna and corn. The wrapper reminded me of the Chinese chive pancakes. Thought this was just average.

Baked Pork Chop on Rice

A typical order from Mambo Cafe usually consists of the Baked Pork Chop on Rice. This is a huge filling portion at a cheap price. You can probably share this between two people. You get a ton of pork chop and the cheesy tomato sauce is delicious on top.

Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly

My least favourite item of the night was the Chicken Bulgogi & Pork Belly from Kitchen Korea. I found that both the chicken and pork were rather dry and tough. The flavours were also rather bland. I’ve tasted better Korean meats for sure.

Sticky Rice

The Sticky Rice from Leung Kee is filled with Chinese sausage and was quite flavourful.

Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken

Also from Leung Kee was the Soy Sauce Chicken and Long Gong Chicken. Both had a nice gelatinous layer of jelly and were marinated well.

Saboten Set

From Saboten, we got to try the Saboten Set which came with prawn, pork tenderloin and pork loin. It comes with a large choice of dipping sauces as well as a miso soup. The batter is extremely light and crispy. I preferred the tenderloin and the prawn the most as I found the pork loin to be rather dry.

Hainanese Chicken on Rice

Making it on my top favourites list is the Hainanese Chicken on Rice from Cafe D’Lite Express. The rice was well seasoned and the chicken had that nice jelly like skin. Loved the chili sauce on the side too!

‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn

If you like sizzling meat and rice, then Teppan Kitchen‘s ‘A’ Grade Ribeye Teppan with Egg and Corn will satisfy you. Coming in a hot skillet, the meat is sizzled along with the rice and you just mix everything together. Similar concept as Pepper Lunch.

Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks

Onto desserts! First up were Mini Cream Puffs and Cheesecake Sticks from Beard Papa’s. Always a good option for desserts!

Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe

The Choco Banana Fresh Cream Mini Crepe from Mazazu Crepe was a bit of a disappointment for me since it had way too much cream. The crepes you normally get when you order the full size is usually really good with delicious fillings.

A Dream in Eden

To finish off our enormous meal, we got to sample two shaved ice from Frappe Bliss. The first was A Dream in Eden which came in these adorable flower shaped bowls. Almost looks like a bouquet of flowers! This one has strawberries, kiwi, mango, and mango ice cream. I liked the sweetness from the condensed milk.

Matcha Delight

The second shaved ice from Frappe Bliss was the Matcha Delight and this was one of my favourites. Topped with matcha icream, chewy rice balls and red bean, this is perfect for those who like matcha desserts. I especially like their shaved ice since it is the snow powder type where it isn’t chunks of ice. The powder like ice just melts into your mouth.

Thanks again to ChineseBites for hosting the event. To finish off, here are my favourite items from the night:

Deep Fried Squid
Deep Fried Chicken Wings
Hainanese Chicken on Rice
Curry Fish Balls
Pan Fried Chinese Chives with Pork Dumplings

Hugo’s Churros

September 11, 2015September 14, 2015Leave a comment

The Hawkers Mercado in the new McArthurGlen Designer Outlet has been opened for the summer, but if I’m not mistaken, it has been closed since now as it was a temporary pop up location so shoppers could have something to snack on while the restaurants were being constructed. There are a variety of food stalls that you normally may find all over Vancouver.

We came here for Hugo’s Churros, which also has a sister store called Hugo’s Tacos (which sells tacos). We actually saw the stall on the opening day when we went, but we weren’t too hungry, so we skipped it. A few months later, my Instagram feed has been filled with their pictures and I knew I had to go back.

Their menu is small with Mexican food, but most people come here for the churro ice cream sandwich.

Your churros are made to order so they are extremely fresh. You’ll have to wait at least 5 minutes since she will literally pipe out the dough and deep fry it after you order.

Churro Ice Cream Sandwich ($7.50)

The Churros Ice Cream Sandwich features two churros rolled into a swirl and sandwiches three scoops of vanilla bean gelato. I heard that they have since teamed up with Nice Vice, the gelato shop also in the same outlet to offer vegan friendly gelato. The ice cream melts extremely fast, so scoop it up as quick as you can. It’s pretty messy to eat, but the flavours of cinnamon and vanilla work perfectly together.

Be sure to follow them on their social media accounts, like Facebook to see where their cart is located daily, as they move around.

Pros:
– Delicious churros

Cons:
– Pricey

Price Range: $5-10

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

Food: 4 Service: 3 Ambiance: 2 Parking: 4 Overall: 4

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Dessert

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 12)

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 11)

Singapore & Taipei Trip (Day 8)

Singapore & Taiwan Trip (Day 2)

Fondway Cafe – Media Launch

720 Sweets

Taste of Aberdeen – ChineseBites Media Event

Hugo’s Churros