Snacks, from all over

Long long overdue... and thus I'll try to collate them in one long entry or possibly a few. Yes, yes, it's all about food and I just love talking to you about them ;)

Some time ago, boss gave this to us at work. Apparently, it's from Scotland. It's Tunnock's Caramel wafer, I normally dislike caramel because it's too sweet for me. Since it's imported, I decided to give it a try. The caramel made the wafer very sticky and chewy, unlike the crisp ones we normally get here. My colleague didn't enjoy it, however I quite like the "chewy" feel :)

Another Scottish import! Well, I brought this one back the other day... I happened to see this when I was having tea at Haddo House, it was sold in their bakery cum cafe. Apparently, it's handmade. It's more chocolate than toffee really, a misperception I had from the packaging. Milk chocolate with crunchy toffee bits, and yes it's sweet. I'm not a toffee person, bought this for anyone who likes it but ended up poor chocolate is being neglected so I had to do it. But it wasn't as bad as I thought as the toffee was minimal.

I am not sure where this box of Pocky is from (I bought it in a snacks shop), I think it's manufactured in Thailand. It has two of my favourite things, chocolate and banana - always the best combination. I always got to have it when I see chocolate banana crepe, ice cream, muffin... or anything you can think of!

A colleague got back from Hong Kong and has a whole bag of these duck tongue. She asked if I would like to try as she has too much for herself. So I said, "Why not!" Mmmmm, I kind of regretted saying that because after the experience, I didn't even want to bring the rest home for my family. I passed them on to the daring souls in the office who have acquired tastebuds for them! Fortunately, a Hong Kong girl, an Indonesian guy and another guy from China seem to enjoy them :)

Let me share with you the experience. When I opened it, it literally looked like a tongue! It was coated with some sticky syrup. So I decided to close my eyes and popped it in. It was soft and the texture felt like eating a chicken heart (if you ever tried)... except that there were bones!!! I didn't really enjoy it as I felt like I was biting some muscles (attached with bones) off an animal. Ermm... I guess let's just stop here.

Hell no... Don't underestimate these small little packets. There are very addictive. I think I had almost 30% of the whole box my colleague brought back from the Philippines.Wikipedia says Polvorones are spanish shortbreads and indeed Philippines is one of ex-Spanish colonies, so no surprise there! It's said they are popular during the Christmas season, I wonder if they have it during the normal time... If I ever visit, I will buy a whole lot of these! By the way, the original flavour is the best, I also like pinipig and cashew!

These are variation of the normal "Baby Ball" or so called "Egg Boro" snack I used to have when I was young. They melt in your mouth after some time... that's why it's a baby snack, you don't need to have teeth to eat them. But the Japanese version as captured above has exotic flavours, spinach and pumpkin. I thought these are also a more healthy type of snacks, my parents also seem to enjoy them.

I bought this the other day because it looked so queer. It's sweet potato ice cream shaped just like sweet potato. The Japanese are really imaginative! But it's not cheap, it's about S$5 for this, but just for the novelty of it, why not! I find it pretty unique, it has sweet potato flavoured ice cream and bits of sweet potato on the bottom as shown. It's also not too sweet for me.

Credits to my dearest Taiwanese friend, Carrie (I mentioned this the other day but without a picture)!! Thanks for the authentic sun biscuits from Taichung, they are simply the best :) I prefer these to wife biscuits from Hong Kong now.

This has been my dinner for some of my fat-free diet days. Oh my... I always like the Dairy Farmers yogurt; they are Australian, thick and creamy just like the tagline says. I used to buy the small cups which do not come as worthy as this. I have been dying to try this flavour ever since I saw it but it doesn't come in the small cup. So there, I just gotta have this! It has real passionfruit in it!

7. 台北夜市 & 九份，念念不忘

7. Taipei Nightmarkets & Jiufen, unforgettable

Back at Taipei, I wasn't sure if I was feeling more relieved and proud of myself that the solo traveling had more or less came to an end... or I was getting a little upset that my holiday was coming to an end very soon. But one thing for sure, I was looking forward to hooking up with 2 of my Singaporean babes whom freshly arrived for their short holiday!

After settling in at Cat's Pajamas, I made a trip down to Taipei Main Station for an easy night of shopping. Cat's Pajamas is a really nice cosy place, the beds are thoughtfully designed with what travellers would need! I wasn't sure about the bathroom though because it always seemed to be flooded. The location is great and feels very safe, even walking back at 1am! As the babes are staying near the Taipei Main Station, I rang them but to my disappointment, they were out. After much hoo-ha, we finally caught up that evening and went to Shilin nightmarket for some Oyster Omelette and Mango 绵绵 ice. It wasn't like the Matcha shaved ice I had, they seemed to have added condensed milk or some sort to sweeten the ice.

We did some quick shopping at Shilin too. I didn't get much as I had already bought a few things back at the main station underground and Shilin's stuff didn't really appeal to me. Bought the stuff friends back home had requested, normally I don't enjoy running errands during my holiday, but since I came across them, I guess I would just do them the favour. I just wished I had a bigger luggage then, and not a backpack :P

After that, it was back to the hostel and a good night of sleep. The next morning before I went out, I briefly chatted with this Finnish guy who was travelling alone. He had just arrived, and so I thought I would give him some suggestions where to go. Then I roamed around on my own at Taipei City Hall area, I went to get a recyclable bag from Daiso after I realised 7-11 never give us bags for our loots. It was also the first and only time I was near 101 building, so I used the chance to snap some photos before meeting the girls for lunch at Mr J restaurant.

Mr J restaurants are Jay Chou themed dining places with french-italian cuisine. The one we visited has a very classic design, the place is beautifully decorated with framed posters of Jay. It was extremely hard to locate, all my friends whom been there had the same problem, I hope they will put up prominent signages on the alleys! I got lost in that area for 10 minutes and was starving when I finally found it! The set lunch was very affordable, it came up to less than NT200 after excess charges if you didn't order anything extra. Food was good. I had soup, smoked duck salad and bubble milk tea, they didn't last long in my stomach though.

After lunch, next on the itinerary was to visit Jiufen, which is approximately an hour away by train and bus. I got myself another bento lunch box from the Ruifang station, but it wasn't as good as the one I had from the train (TRA's). When we finally arrived some time after 3pm, I was thrilled. It's situated at the north-east coast where you get a view of the Pacific Ocean. We caught a beautiful view when we alighted from the bus.

The must-do in Jiufen is probably walking down the old street (the entrance is below the 7-11 logo sign in the picture), there you walk down the cobbled pathway to lots of local food, eateries, souvenir shopping, leather shops... alongside a massive crowd of tourists :) Then you would come to an intersection where you could walk up or down the stairway lined up with teahouses. There by the 阿妹茶楼， it was indeed the one of the most beautiful parts of Jiufen to witness sunset! We tried the popular Taro balls at 賴阿婆芋圓 and then settled for a tea-making experience in 九份茶坊 which was quite a pricey experience, considering a NT1000 bill for 3 of us. Still we enjoyed it, well we were tourists... so I guess we ought to act like one. Some friends had recommended me to do Pingxi as a detour back to Taipei, however we were really in a rush, so I really hope to do that the next time! It was past 7pm when we caught the bus back to the train station, I had a feeling we missed the last train back. I was right, so we topped up some money to take another train back to Taipei. Then it was Miramar ferris wheel time! I really hate dislike the inconvenience of Miramar, so out of the way.

The ride was alright, there wasn't any sight nearby, we could almost see the lit up 101 from where we were. It was at Miramar we chanced upon Havaianas and they seemed much cheaper than Singapore, but it was almost closing time and we didn't have time to shop. I decided to hunt it down the following day! Then we bought ourselves dinner at Mos Burger, it was like way past 10pm!! The girls headed back while I decided to continue to Shi-da Nightmarket near my hostel.

I got to Shi-da near midnight, but there was still a crowd. Shi-da is a more funky nightmarket than Shilin, there were more exclusive boutiques selling better quality stuff. Shilin shopping gives me a more "thailand goods" impression, where goods' quality are relatively poor. I also realised on my photos (when I am back) that I missed out the Havaianas stores there! I didn't eat or buy anything, as nothing caught my fancy... guess being fussy sometimes helps ;) But I enjoyed the smaller nightmarket, with a cool younger crowd and better quality clothings. I headed back, and didn't sort myself out till about 2ish in the wee hours. I was still awake near 3am when I saw the Finnish guy came back. He climbed back on his bed (we were on the upper bunks) without a shower (eeewww) and then tried to make a conversation on seeing that I wasn't asleep. His breathe reeked of alcohol. I told him I was doing research for tomorrow, and he went to bed.

The most horrific thing I realised next was that he jumped onto my bed... the rest you can read on my earlier entry. Such a monster! It ruined my whole night, my sleep and my energy for the following day :(

5. 吃喝玩乐在台中

5. Eat & be merry in Taichung

The first sight of Taichung wasn't impressive, more so after I had a short stroll around. The location of the hostel was a mess, I ended up on the right address but the place wasn't there. After getting lost for 15 - 30 minutes with my 10kg burden, I finally saw a familiar face. My friend had arrived and I managed to get into the hostel. The owner is a real beautiful Taiwanese woman, I swear the most beautiful I saw on this trip! And she carries a very unique style, I like her. She lives across the road but checking in is troublesome as she's not always at the place. There are only male and female dorms, and I had only one roommate, a Hong Kong girl who was travelling alone too.

It was great to get around Taichung with the locals. BS had arranged a steamboat dinner with his friend, and she had reserved a table and also came to pick us up from the hostel. Taiwanese are a welcoming bunch of people! The steamboat was in this lovely local restaurant that was apparently very busy... no reservation probably means you won't be able to dine there! The girls ordered so much food that I was already stuffed after the first 15 minutes!

After the rest managed to clear the plates on the table (they really did, so impressed!), the girls drove us to an area of Taichung with uptown fashions. Things were definitely pricier than many places I been to, but it was a quiet and nice chill-out place. They introduced us the famous Taichung's "Sun Biscuit" (Thanks Fenny & friend), and I am so in love with it! I still can't bear to finish the 2 precious pieces in my box! Pineapple tart is another of the popular Taichung delicacies but I don't fancy them really. I tried the ones friends brought back, they were moist, sweet and a bit too heavy for my liking. I also found a cute affordable "Alice in the Wonderland" necklace in one of the petite boutiques the girls brought me to! Then we settled for a bubble tea place (which is also well-known), and only 2 of us still had some space in the tummy for the drinks. I couldn't find space in mine for even a sip!

The night ended with the girls surprising us each with boxes of sun biscuits and cheese cake. They are seriously too kind... Now we owe them a favour when they are in Singapore! We returned to the hostel. I took hours to settle in: showered, chatted with the roommate, laundry before finally knocking out... and more packing the next morning!

I forgot to mention I arrived on a Monday, the two exciting museums in Taichung are closed on Mondays. What a shame! It would be great to see them, oh well... next time! We also didn't go to the Feng Jia night market which was supposedly very good. It was rainy that evening and well we had very good dinner too. It all has to be a next time!

The journey to Cingjing the following morning wasn't the easiest but we had yummy cheesecake for a good start. We took a cab for 100NT to get to the Nantou bus station where we had to take a 1.5 hour coach to Puli and then another hour of bus up to Cingjing. The cab driver kept trying to talk us into taking a cab there which will cost 2500NT (after his discount!)... God, that is a lot of money! So glad we found our way there...

1. 迷失在台北

Chapter 1 - Getting lost in Taipei

Something I can learn very quickly, the skill of getting lost. Immediately upon arrival, I already picked up the skill! I took over 2 hours to get to my hostel, I would think if I hadn't lost my way, I would arrive in an hour and a half. It was situated at one of the small alleys, and I swore it was no joke walking under that freaking scorching weather!

By the way, I applied for a youth pass at the airport , it's eligible for any travellers between age 18 to 30. It gives really good deals for admission fees, accomodation stays and also train passes. I also changed some money at the airport, the rate was not bad really.

Fortunately, I had a Taiwanese mobile number and it really helped me when I got lost! I managed to get to the hostel near to 3pm (after landing at 1130am). The hostel is named Eight Elephants, they hanged a pink elephant on the lamp post outside but it was useless for me as I couldn't find it still... After settling in, and paying a 1000NTD deposit (that's a shocking amount), I made my way to the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 where they displayed lots of old gems and treasures from the early Chinese dynasties. You can visit the website for very good examples of what to see to decide if you like to make the trip down. I went down as I was given a free admission ticket... and also to have a look at their renowned jade cabbage and meat-shaped stone! Pretty impressive but no pictures allowed! I was overwhelmed by the size of the museum, it was too huge and I was pretty exhausted by the early morning flight and all the getting lost. I love the Ming & Qing Dynasties' porcelain design best, that blue and white dragon and the floral prints, so pretty! I had a quick browse around, took me about 2 hours before I decided to call it an end to pay Shilin night market a visit.

Shilin night market is huge! So big that I almost had a headache after all that browsing! As it was my first day and I had a round the island trip to do, I couldn't buy anything! I looked around, checked out the stuff... It was my lucky night as there was an outdoor bazaar right outside the food centre, and I got my 冰糖葫芦! They are actually skewers of fruits coated in caramalized sugar. I bought them mainly because I only saw them on TV and I really wanted to take a picture of me eating it! LOL. They were too sweet for my liking, but I loved the fruits inside. I did have a lemonade there though and it became my favourite drink in Taiwan, it's so refreshing!

So the night ended with me getting lost on the way back again. Not surprising. I decided to stay at another hostel on my return at the end of the trip (I heard this place was full anyway), so I went to look up at the other place. It took me a while to find it but eventually I did! That night, I heard some people watching World Cup outside my room, as the lounge was just right outside. I woke up to use the ladies and then decided to sit with them to finish the game :) But I was a little sleepy and feeling anti-social, so I decided to join again the following night as Germany was going to play!

Next morning, I planned a daytrip to Wulai. It's actually a very serene place, I really enjoyed it. Wulai is famous for the waterfall, also hot springs (not in this hot weather!! it was something like 35 or 36 degrees!). There's also this little train I took to get to the gondola station, the gondola goes right to the peak where there's the waterfall and a man-made park. I met a Taiwanese mum and her teenager daughter whom travelled from Kaohsiung and we spent the time together at Wulai. My friend saw my picture of Wulai (similar to above) and commented that it looks like its flooded! That's what I called Venice style! This is also where I ate a stick of chicken backside unknowingly :S They named it such a nice name in Chinese called 七里香！

After Wulai, I got back to Taipei to meet my sister's friend, Grace. She's living in Taipei as her husband has been moved there for work. Grace and I visited the Taiwan Storyland which was great for photo taking and seeing the old Taiwan, the place is set up nicely to depict the olden days. Then we headed to 龙山寺 temple which is really touristy. Many people were there even at night... and it was spectacular. I went around to snap a few pictures and then headed to the nearby night market for food. It was really nice to have Grace around as she introduced me to many local delicacies that evening. We had BBQ cuttlefish， 甜不辣 (like yong tou foo stuff)，爱玉冰 (like Singapore's ice jelly without the fruit bits) and 葱抓饼 (like chinese version of roti-prata). I was stuffed!

Then it was time to go back and yes I got lost again!!! I sorted myself out and rejected a partying invite as I had to wake up for World Cup match at 230am! Kevin, a Canadian-chinese bloke, in the hostel was my World Cup companion, so I woke him up and we watched the match with 5 other people. I also enjoyed my last stick of 冰糖葫芦 during the show :)

Time to leave Taipei the next day...

台湾零食

My colleague came back from her trip in Taiwan and bought us some goodies! I haven't been there though I'd really like to in near future... and perhaps on a solo trip.

This is Taiwan's Sun cake, it looks and tastes very similar to Hong Kong's Wife cake. But compared to Wife cake, this is incredibly soft. The soft crust fell off the moment you bit into it... and you would end up with flakes all over your clothes if you're not careful. My sister came back from Hong Kong recently, and now suddenly I'm not a big fan of their Wife cakes after sampling Sun cake... mmmmmm.

Taiwan's mochi. Singapore imports a lot of Taiwanese mochi... and to be honest, they aren't cheap at all over here. Despite that, I'm still a big fan. I love the black sugar one because they are not too sweet, the yam because I'm a fan of taro, and the green tea because they are always so fragrant! This green tea mochi has a very intensive green tea flavour, unlike the ones I bought here at NTUC/Cold Storage Taiwanese imported section. It literally tastes like the green tea powder... and I also like its soft and not too thick skin. I heard there's an even better brand out there, can't wait to try them out!