Top 7 Must Have in Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan

Upon stepping your foot in this busy street especially walking out from Ximen MRT station, take a minute to look around – you will find yourself lost for a moment, not knowing where to go as there just seems impossible for you to navigate your way.

Nonetheless, you will be greeted with one of the best news ever that you will never get hungry in Ximending. All you need to do is to eat like the locals and walk like the tourists. Story cut short, let me take you to the top 7 must have in Ximending, Taipei.

1. J & G Fried Chicken

It’s a very high chance for you not to miss this! Right after you step out from Ximen MRT Station, you will come across this. When sunset resides, you will somehow see a long queue in front of this shop. Known for their fried chicken, I suggest that you should also try their fried squid. For just 190 Taipei Dollar, you get the best out of both worlds.

2. Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (Ru Rou Fan)

There are plenty of stalls and restaurants that sell this staple dish. During my stay in Ximending, I managed to try two different shops and both were pretty delicious. Rich in taste, not oily and it goes really well with any side dishes even fried oyster omelet.

3. Papaya Milk

Am not a fan of papaya milk but this orange cup has totally changed my perception (especially my tastebuds). The original taste of papaya retains well.

4. Bubble Tea at Men’s Uno

Before you know it, bubble tea shops have invaded Taipei. Literally, you can find at least 1 – 2 bubble tea shops on each street. Thanks to Ximending Food Tour Map, I decided to try something that is not available in Malaysia which is Men’s Uno. Voila, I think this is one of the best bubble teas that I ever had. It’s not sweet, the boba is soft and chewy and the tea taste is so fragrant.

5. Burgers and fried chicken at KFC

Yes, you read it right! Kentucky Fried Chicken – one of our Taiwanese friends had alerted us to try their KFC. As curiosity hit us in one of the mornings, we opted KFC for our breakfast. And no regret indeed. Unlike KFC in Malaysia which is usually oily, the KFC in Taiwan comes with a much healthy chicken version. I felt so nice eating it without having any guilt feeling. I kid you not that I had actually tapao-ed KFC burgers to airport before I left Taiwan.

6. Ma-La Hot Pot

There are few branches of Ma-La Hot Pot in Ximending. Just pick any outlets and pray hard that you do not need to queue for it. Alternatively, just go there early and you will be guaranteed to get a table. With a wide selection of food for one to choose, you will have a tough time to choose what you want to eat. Strongly recommended!

7. Grilled Sausage

Oh yes, never said no! One of the snacks which I ate whenever I was in Taiwan. Regardless which stall you go to, be sure to be spoilt by the grilled Taiwanese sausage that goes well with any of your favorite flavors.  

All in all, I said yes to Ximending this time! Wasn't in favor with Ximending in my first visit but it turned out really well during my second visit. I enjoyed strolling the busy streets while immersing with tons of street performance plus witnessing a couple of creative shows and face arts on random roads.

Hope this post does not make you salivate.

Regards,

Foodiestravel

Satisfy your Xiao Long Bao cravings at the ORIGINAL Din Tai Fung at Dong Men Station, Taiwan

Yes, yes and yes. Just yesterday I did the 24 hour food tour in Penang and today, I'll be bringing you to Taipei, Taiwan. As we had paid our flights to Taipei, we decided to go all out by visiting the original Din Tai Fung restaurant which is opened in year 1949. Upon stepping out from Dong Men MRT station, we tailed the large group of MRT commuters. And it was one of the wisest decisions as they led us to Din Tai Fung and we joined the queue like the rest.

Make sure you take your number first!

On average, the waiting time is an hour, be it you are in small group or big group. After jotting down on what we would like to order, we decided to stroll along Da’an, marveling each and every Yong Kang street. We couldn’t resist our temptation so we had some light snacks in between. Not so-wise decision in fact.

After an hour, we got our table in Din Tai Fung. It is a narrow 3-storey space with a really, really small space. At most, it can accommodate up to 8 – 10 tables in each floor while ground floor is mainly taken by its main kitchen.

This is how the order chit looks like

The service was great! Every few minutes, the servers would check on us. At some point, it gave us the feeling as if they were rushing us to quickly finish our meals. Nonetheless, first that came to our table was the signature xiao long bao.

Paired with soy-sauce, vinegars and strips of freshly ginger, a bite of xiao long bao should smack your lips with juicy pork fillings and delicately flavored broth, however, I was quite disappointed as it didn’t taste like what I would have expected.

Next up is the Pork Chop Fried Rice. One of the staple dishes which I would order whenever I visit Din Tai Fung in Malaysia. One thing about this dish is that you can choose to opt for brown rice or white rice. And as always, white rice will bring out the best version of the taste and smell -   Good taste with aromatic smell.

We opted for another of their signature dish called Steamed Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai. I would rate this as our least favorite dish. The combination of prawn and pork didn’t seem to gel well. The prawn is too dry and the skin is too thick. It could have been a better dish if they use fresher prawns.

Like the saying, when you are in Rome, you must behave like a Romans. So, when you are in Taipei, you must eat like them. Hence, we opted for the Steamed Wantan in Chilli sauce. I was expecting it to be spicy but it was not. A common taste where anyone can eat it. Thus, don’t be afraid to order this.

All in all, the taste doesn’t vary much between Din Tai Fung, Malaysia and Din Tai Fung, Taiwan. In a good way, kudos to Din Tai Fung, Malaysia for retaining the standard. 

If you wish to experience the joy of waiting with a large crowd and squeezing in a small restaurant plus, ticking off the bucket list of visiting the original outlet in Taipei, then head over to Din Tai Fung at Dong Men MRT station. You will like it.

Oh, they sell the above too.

Ambient: 2/5

Price: 3/5

Food: Non-halal, Chinese food

Service: 4/5

Verdict: Try the steamed wantan in chilli sauce
Remarks: Accept cash only!

Din Tai Fung Restaurant

No. 194, Section 2, Xinyi Road,

Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106

Monday – Sunday: 10am – 9pm

Regards,
FoodiesTravel

Chapter 123 - Shurijo Castle Park, Okinawa, Japan

This time, I want to share about my travel experience in Okinawa, Japan. Literally, we had less than 10 hours in Okinawa as we voyaged to this place through Taiwan. Since we were on cruise, I must say that it was an amazing experience! Our eyes were feasted with clear, blue sea together with smooth yet gentle waves and at the same time, the sunny weather made our day in Okinawa a brilliant one. 

Knowing that we were about to reach Okinawa or in precise, Port Naha, we packed our gear and dressed in the most comfortable attire. After all, we were about to start our journey where we had squeezed as many activities as possible in these 10 hours from having Japanese delicacies all the way to shopping at the busy Kokusai street.

There are a few things which I would love to share about Okinawa but firstly, let me talk about Shurijo Castle Park! It is a distance from Port Naha to Shurijo Castle Park therefore, we hopped on a taxi. Upon reaching there, we were greeted with a grand red arch. Certainly, our mind and body did not allow us to waste any single minutes and that led to our poor legs to walk and walk and walk; under the scorching sun. I regretted slightly for not applying much sunblock nevertheless, I was so grateful when I saw the red building stood right in the middle of the park.

Quicken my pace and got myself shaded. By the way, Shurijo Castle Park is so huge. Thankfully, they have the so-called treasure stamp game where we need to visit the areas in order to collect all the stamps. Though we had little time to spend, we still made a good use of it and played the treasure stamp game.

Some of the areas allowed us to take photos while some did not allow. Anyway, a little brief on Shurijo Castle Park - it is a Ryukyuan gusuku in Shuri, Okinawa. It was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom between 1429 and 1879. However, in 1945, Shurijo Castle Park was almost destroyed due to the Battle of Okinawa. Today, Shurijo Castle Park is the 11th World Heritage Site within Japan that tells the tales of Ryukyu Kingdom. In fact, the architecture of Shuri Castle is influenced from both China and Japan, illustrating the rich culture and historical values in its design. 

The entrance to Shurijo Castle Park.

Look at the map! It is so huge. Though we quicken our pace, we still need to spend about 1.5 - 2 hours there.

In total, it was an amazing experience in Shurijo Castle Park. If time allows, we would love to really stroll around, taking our sweet time while taking lots of Instagram-worthy photos. Overall, one should not miss this attraction when you are at Okinawa.

Hooya!

Shurijo Castle Park,

2 Shurikinjocho, Naha, Okinawa Prefecture 903-0815, Japan.

Entrance fee is required.

For more information, you can visit: http://oki-park.jp/shurijo/en/

Regards,

Foodiestravel

Chapter 116 - Is it worth to try Original Cake @ Sunway Velocity, Cheras?

Thanks to the social media, I come across this brand in which it manages to grab the attention of many and people are willing to queue up, just for the original cake.

Original Cake, the name of the brand, is a renowned traditional delicacy originated in Tamsui Old Street. In Taiwan itself, this brand has received positive response from the local and tourists alike. Now, the brand is in Malaysia and no doubt that Malaysians are willing to queue for it.

Many have talked and blogged about how delicious the cake is as it stays true to their traditional recipe but let me share my take here about this brand.

Friends from Singapore came down in one of the weekends and we decided to jump on the bandwagon and queue at one of their outlets in Sunway Velocity, Cheras. The queue was long and I guess this is part of their marketing strategy too; people will tend to queue and follow one another despite not knowing what to expect from this delicacy.

What really stole my eyes was how the staff took out the cake from the oven and presented his stunt which captured lots of cameras attention. I am one of them too. From putting the cake on to the big pan all the way to measuring and cutting the cake, filling them into respective boxes. This was actually a good entertainment for seconds but not for an hour.

I started to lose my patience after 30 minutes waiting in the line. Yes, we can spend our time, thinking on what to order later but imagine, queuing up at 630pm. Hunger started to kick in and the thoughts of having char kuey teow, laksa, chee cheong fun and perhaps, a bowl of red bean soup as the dessert would help to make our dinner a fulfilling one.

Crap! The line was not moving at all! 

The minute we were put at the counter, it was already 730pm. We ordered a box of cheese flavor and an original version. The chocolate flavor was sold out. 

The smell was so good, levitating my expectation that this would turn out well. We quickly grab a piece of it and you know what......Our expectation were put so high that we were brought to a huge disappointment. 

Personally, I would not queue for this cake; if there is no line, then I don't mind to just buy it and treat it as a gift to my friends, citing that this is one of the famous brands in Taiwan which is now put its footprint in Malaysia.

#originalcake

Ambient: 3.5/5
Price: Slightly high
Food: Halal-certified cake
Service: Queue was long

Original Cake,

Sunway Velocity Mall, Kuala Lumpur

Regards,

Foodiestravel