Archive for May 23rd, 2008
Taipei, Day 6
This was the day we ate our way throughout Taipei. At the risk of making people laugh, I’ll admit that I actually planned out every meal, planned our destinations by where we were going to eat. Ha. We started off the day walking to a 大排档 (dai pai dong) near our flat at serves great 大肠米线 (intestine noodles). It’s not famous but it’s brilliant, plenty of intestines in a broth that’s just the right balance of watery and stickiness. Ma took us to the nearby market where she seemed to be greeted by shop-owners that actually KNEW her. That’s what you have for being a see lai.
As dad was back in Singapore for a work trip, Uncle Calvin was free to bring us around. So even after our large breakfast, we didn’t have very much time between that and our second (or third as well, depending on how you see it) meal. We wanted to have 小笼包 (xiao long bao) for lunch but didn’t bet on being able to get a seat at Dingtaifung. We got lucky, arriving at Yongkang St slightly after 11am, and while the place was buzzing with activity, we didn’t have to wait at all.
No surprises there, Dingtaifung was as good as I remembered. Perhaps it’s not a local’s first choice, but it was very good from a foreigner’s perspective. We had a tray of xiaolongbao and chicken soup, which is not a lot for three to share. That’s because we wanted to keep space for 冰魔(Ice Monster). I wanted mango but it was out of season, so we settled for strawberry instead. Ohh, it was so good. Heaps of ripe strawberries over a mountain of ice, drizzled with condensed milk. It was so bad for my then non-existent diet.
It was off to shopping after that. C wanted to go to 诚品 (Eslite) in town. I’ve never been to the newest Eslite and it was massive. It seemed to have everything going for it: an inexhaustible throve of books, upmarket trendy shops, silly knickknacks that no one should spend money on…except for people. Granted it was a weekday, but still, the crowd was a little too thin for comfort. C and I each bought a book and after that we set off to (why not) eat again.
Mom suggested Melange Cafe, probably one of the city’s most popular cafes, located in a small alley in Zhongshan. We were there at 3pm and it was completely packed and there was a long line. What a bummer. After some thinking, we decided to come back the following morning before our flight to try out the waffles and tea. Mom had raved about it so much I had to try it.
So our next best choice was beef noodles at the Sheraton hotel cafe. It’s one of those places Dad loves to bring guests and apparently all my cousins and in-laws who have been loved it (even those who don’t like beef, apparently). C loved it and so did I. This was among the best of beef noodles I’ve had. Beef was tender (not a bit chewy), noodles were good and broth was hearty, what’s not to like. Mom didn’t want a set so C and I had a set each and we polished it off. By the time we were done, it was completely gone.
But my stomach was gone by then, I couldn’t stuff anything anymore, so we went home and watched TV till later in the evening. Since it was our last in Taiwan, C and I wanted to try Taiwan’s Mos Burger at least once. We caught a short ride to 天母 (Tianmu) and shared a basic set. It was, umm, how should I say…average? Much better than Hong Kong’s but lacking Singapore’s. It’s odd to say that, seeing that it’s supposed to be the same thing, but it tasted different. The patty seemed looser and the fries were kinda hard and not crispy as I’m used to. I used to love fries from Mos, so I know the difference.
On a side note, C and I walked around Tianmu one day and we popped into dunkin donuts. C has never seen it before (Boston donuts perhaps weren’t quite popular in HK), but I had grown up with those mini donuts. Just for nostalgia’s sake, we bough half a dozen. Sigh, but it really wasn’t quite as nice as I remembered them to be…
