Pinoy in Taiwan - Back in Taipei for an enjoyable visit

I was back in Taipei with my mom and sister to celebrate my mom's birthday. Though I had been to Taipei before, this trip was even more enjoyable than the first time. We even had time to see Jiufen in this trip.

Let me take you on a virtual tour of the sites and landmarks in the city.

We stayed in the Ximen or Ximending district of Taipei. We also stayed here when Mijo and I visited Taipei for the first time in 2010 and we liked the location and it being central to a lot of things including the Ximen train station.

[read my Taipei blog, April 2010]

This neighborhood has changed and it has become trendier judging by the hip shops and cafes dotting this now vibrant shopping district.

One of the tourist attractions in the area is the Red House theater. It used to be a market place but it is now used to promote culture and creative activities.

The neighborhood is also home to this iconic and Instagram worthy  street art. I had to go take this picture early in the morning when the crowd was thin.

Had I waited long enough, the crowd would have gotten thicker especially when the stores start opening their doors.

After the sun sets, the district is inundated with the young, beautiful and the hip to shop, eat or just to walk around.

This is also where the Ximen night market comes alive.


While I had stayed in Ximending district during my first trip to Taipei over ten years ago, I had not been to the Ximen night market. It must be a new addition to the neighborhood? In any case, I am glad that there is now a night market in this area.

Just like in any night markets, they sell lots of things there - food, drinks, clothes, accessories, housewares, etc. This night market covers several blocks and not situated like a long straight line just like Shilin. You have to criss cross and turn left and right to see all the stores and food carts available.

Of course, a stinky tofu food cart is part of the mix. My mom, sis and I did not try this particular stinky tofu. Though my mom was game to sample it. I love her!

Covid made the news for the first time when we were in Taipei and it was not a big deal yet because it was local to Wuhan at that time. Nevertheless, there were people already wearing masks in the crowd.

My mom, sis and I tried this tasty onion pie by Yilan. I don't remember the location of this particular food cart and I think the carts move around anyway in the duration of the night market. The good thing about traveling with my mom and sis is that we got to share the food among the three of us. This meant we had more room to sample more food. The best part was my sis and mom love to sample food as much as I do.

I think the base is similar to other Taiwanese or Shanghainese pancakes I've had where the dough is savory and has onions or scallions. These are served as cakes instead and smothered with hoisin or oyster sauce.

We did find the stinky tofu to sample. The smell was scary but the first bite took all my fears aways.

 

We also found this sweet potato ball cart for our dessert.

 

We washed down all our savory food samples with a sweet milk tea. We found Xing Fu Tang to be our favorite in this trip. The city is dotted with Xing Fu Tangs. We found several XFT at the Ximen night market. You could tell XFT milk teas are good judging by the long lines in front of their stores.

The aroma of brown sugar, tapioca and other ingredients fill the air near their stores as if it is an invitation to go and sample a milk tea.

I really enjoyed their milk teas. The ingredients seem simple but the combination of flavors is simply amazing!

Here's another location of Xing Fu Tang which can also be found at the Ximen night market. The long queue at that time of the night!

The following morning, the street was empty and quiet like nothing happened the night before. There were a few food carts that remained but they are serving Xiao Long Bao (XLB), pork buns, and other dishes that are eaten in the morning in Taipei.  I could see a few tourists snapping pictures of the area and people buying breakfasts.

I tried the pork XLB. One order included eight pieces of XLB which is perfect for sharing with my mom and sis.

I also bought one order of pork bun.

Here's what my morning food haul looked like that morning. They were all tasty and quite delicious.

We pre-booked a city tour and we were picked up from our hotel right after our breakfast. The first site in our tour is a photo op at the North Gate.

We were told that there was once a wall that surrounded the old city and this gate was part of that wall in the 1800s during the Qing dynasty. There are others like this in Taipei but this particular is the only one that retained its style.

Even the door shows the tests of time.

    Our next destination was a beautiful memorial dedicated to Taiwan's former President Chiang Kai Shek called the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial.

We were taking the tour on the eve of Chinese New Year and unfortunately, the memorial was closed that day. We could only walk around the premises of the complex but not inside the hall.

It looks like we came in through the side gate. We were told that stairs have eighty nine steps which is the age of Chiang Kai Shek when he died.

 

The surrounding landscaping and foliage are a good refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. There were joggers and walkers in the complex.

Here's what the front of the memorial looks like.

Here's what's inside the hall. I took this black and white picture during my trip to Taipei ten years ago with Mijo.


 Our next destination was the Xingtian Temple. We were told that the temple is dedicated to the god of business folks Guan Yu.


We were told that the temple is a center of a set of beliefs combining the elements of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. It is located Zhongshan district of the city but they have other Xingtian temples located in Taipei.


Even though there were a lot of devotees inside the temple the day we visited, it felt peaceful and relaxing being there with them.


Since we were in the area, our tour guide did a drive by with a photo op at the Grand Hotel. The hotel was built in 1952 but underwent several renovations and expansions to its present day size. We were told that Nonoy Aquino, Bill Clinton and other famous people had stayed there before.



Another landmark in the Zhongshan district is the Martyrs' Shrine. This site is dedicated to the Taiwanese people who died during the wars of the 20th century including the war Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the China's last dynasty and created Taiwan or Republic of China.


The complex is big and it consists of a main gate, an area for parades or marches, another gate which serves as a portal to the shrine, a terrace with reliefs and the shrine itself. I was impressed with how the entire place looks new.

Here is the relief of the Guangzhou Uprising. This was going to be the 10th uprising in Guangzhou but it was thwarted. Even though the uprising failed, it led to a trend of nationwide revolts which ended the Qing government's regime and the birth of the Republic of China.


On the opposite side wall, is the relief of the Battle of Shanghai.
 

Here are the massive doors of the portal to the shrine. Red and gold are the dominant colors here.

Here is the shrine.


Here is the view of the gate from the shrine. The brown lines on the floor are markings from the sole of the guards from years of marching from the shrine to the gate and back. There is a changing of the guard every hour but we did not see that because of timing issues.


Our next destination was the National Palace Museum. There are two locations and this is the Northern branch. Mijo and I have been there before but we were in and out of the museum because we went there as part of a tour. My mom, sis and I visited as part of a tour so it was again an in and out sort of thing. I think this museum deserves a couple of days visit as the museum houses massive number of items from the Qing dynasty.


We went to see their exhibition at the time called A Garland of Treasures. The exhibition featured small precious craft from the Qing Dynasty. The pieces below are hairpins, collar and head bands made from pearls and precious stones.


Since we were being whisked from one section of the museum to another, I was not sure if I was looking at an item from the exhibit or from the museum's permanent collection. One of my favorites is a painted pottery figure of Standing Lady from the Tang Dynasty. 


Here is the back of the figurine.


Another one of my favorites is this concentric ivory balls.


Here is the ball upclose. The details and the design are awe inspiring. I was trying to imagine how this was made and for how long?


Here is a carved coral in the image of the planetary deity Kuixing.


Here is one of the vases in this section showcasing revolving porcelain vases.  A revolving porcelain vase consists of two vases - an inner and an outer vase.


I wanted to see the paintings but there was not enough time to linger at the museum. Because of the that, I decided to just send myself a postcard with one of the more famous paintings at the museum.


Here is the view of the museum gate from the museum balcony.


One evening, even though we were tired touring and site seeing around the city, we managed to conjure strength and will to go to the Shilin Night Market.  I had been to this night market before but I do not remember it being this crowded.


Our first food conquest was these delicious Xiao Long Bao by Taiwan Xiao Long Bao.


Here are the XLBs upclose. These were very filling which was a problem since we were going to continue with our food conquest.


Our next food conquest was these sweet and tasty rice cakes by Champion Rice Cakes. The rice cakes were made on demand and served fresh from the rice steamers. We had to wait for a few minutes for our rice cakes.


The preparation seems like a lot of work for such a small thing. There were using several rice cake steamers at the time so their setup looked like an assembly line. It was mesmerizing to see. The wait was all worth it because they came out so delicous. The rice cakes came in three variation - sesame, peanut and coconut.

 

There were more food that I wanted to try but we got full right away.


We found this milk tea place but the name is in Chinese so I won't be able to tell you.


What I can tell you is that they serve this decadent Lava Pure Boba Double Milk. It was so good!


Sweet food galore but I had to say no to myself too many times.

They sell lots of items at the night market. These pins are interesting. If you are in the market for one of a kind pins, they sell them at the night market.


This store called Good Logo sells stylish clothes at reasonable prices. Since I already ate a lot that evening, I didn't look cute and looked plump in all the clothes that I tried on.

No visit to Taipei is complete without going up to the observation deck of the Taipei 101 building and see Taipei from above.


For a perspective, Taipei 101 is truly one of the tallest skyscrapers, not just in Asia, but in the world. Even San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid is tiny compared to Taipei 101.


I have been up there before with Mijo but I don't remember seeing all these Instagram perfect displays before.


One thing that has not changed is this amazing city view from the observation deck. I tried so hard to figure out where the Ximending district is located but with no luck.


My sis, mom and I were snacking on Big Tom's mango freeze while enjoying the city views.


Another Instagram worthy display is the Fumeancats.


To stabilize the building during an earthquake or strong winds, they installed this damper on the very top of the building. I actually felt little movements while taking pictures in this area.


There is a food court in the basement of the building but we did not eat there.

We got around the city using the efficient and clean MRT. 


The MRT also goes all the way to the Taoyuan International Airport from the city center. There were trains every couple of minutes so the turnover is pretty fast. Passengers are not shoulder to shoulder even though lots of people use it.


There are even antiquities on display like this water drain built in Qing dynasty that was unearthed during construction of the subway.


I also enjoyed their playful and fun posters sending a reminder to passengers to give way and give space.


The MRT crowd during a ride.


I especially enjoyed this specific mural.


Here's the mural upclose.


Another thing I would like to mention in this blog is the proliferation of snacks in Taipei and how unique some of them are.


Which one to choose?


It was my first time sampling a bubble milk tea cake. If you like milk teas, you'll relate to the tast of this cake. It was truly tasty!


This cream puff was also one of my favorites. They are quite addicting!


Lots of different kinds of cold beverages.


There was one breakfast when we tried a KFC breakfast. They have unique offerings like this delicious congee and egg custard pie.


Another favorite of mine was a lunch of fishball soup with a serving of sticky rice.


It is always fun to visit Taipei. Lots of things to do, to see and lots of unique food to sample. I hope to be able to visit again in the future. 

~rl