Taipei - A Foodie's Guide (Day 1 - Taipei Zoo, Maokong, XiMenDing)

Clockwise from top left: Koala mascot at Sydney Airport,
Taipei Zoo South Gondola Station, Entrance of Taipei Zoo, Maokong tea district

Aunt-T and Uncle G has shared the last 8 years of cherished memories. So needless to say, it has been a long time since I've traveled without his company. However this year, I was ambitious to feel independent and the rush of adventure in a foreign land, so it's off to Taiwan I go!! Ms Strawberry joins in the fun!

Airport to Ximending (西门町）

At 04:00 hrs we arrive in Taiwan's Taoyuan Airport. There was a flight delay, so by the time we pass customs and get to the bus stop, it was past 6:00 AM. Buses run from area 'B1', where you will see numerous ticket counters. Guo Guang 國光 runs direct buses between Taoyuan airport and Taipei Main Station (that's their 'Central'). Generally they run every 15-20 mins and takes around 50 mins.

We were fortunate as we chose to stay in Muzik Hotel (儷夏商旅 Zhonghua Rd Branch) in Ximending. A different bus company (FreeGo) runs a service to Ximending and will drop you off directly in front of your hotel. Just look for the "FreeGo" sign at the B1 ticket counters, and show the lady where you hotel is. It doesn't cover every single hotel in XiMen area, but certainly most of them. Remember to tell the driver as well as you board the bus!

Lesson 0: Chinese skills highly recommended. Spoken Mandarin is a necessity to fully experience what the city has to offer.

The locals in Taiwan are extremely helpful but you will struggle if you don't understand Chinese at all (as most of them don't speak much English). You can get by, but you will be limited by what you can do as most places won't have an English menu or English speaking staff.

Ximending to Taipei Zoo

We get to our hotel (see separate review) to put our luggage down. But its 8:00 AM and nothing is really open.

Lesson 1: Nothing in Taipei is open before 9AM; boutique shops & entertainment areas don't open till 11 AM.

So its breakfast time!

Overwhelmed by the Chinese menu 

But never fear! Pictures are here!

This modest looking breakfast joint is buzzing from the crack of dawn, right into the evening!

Lesson 2: Looks can be deceiving. Modest, run down joints offer the best food (in Taiwan at least).

Now, I'm a Chinaman proud of my heritage, so I consider myself savvy when it comes to 'real' chinese food (from visiting Shanghai over the years). I'm certainly no stranger to Yong He Dou Jiang (永和豆漿). This is certainly the most run down Yong He I've been to but umm (might have to bite my tongue here) its like, the best?

Noodles (I saw in the picture), milk tea,
蛋饼油条 (fried dough wrapped in egg), Taro bun hamburger with egg

This is totally my comfort food. The noodles taste a little like Spag Bol, but breakfast style with an egg. The best part was the 蛋饼油条. I've had this in Shanghai, but this was better. It didn't feel too greasy and was perfectly seasoned with their special sauce. The Taro bun was massive~! The two of us couldn't actually finish all the food.

We returned here another day and had their 火腿蛋煎饼（favourite breakfast item on whole trip, taiwanese ham & egg wrapped in pancake) and 饭团 (rice wraps filled with condiments & 油条).

Ok now its seriously time to head out though. First thing's first! We get our Easycards from Ximen MRT. The machines at all the MRT stations sell them. From Ximen station Catch Blue Line (Nangang Exhibition Centre 南港展覽館站 bound). Alight at Zhongxiao Fuxing 忠孝復興站 Station to transfer to Brown line. Then catch the Brown line (Taipei Zoo 臺北市立動物園 bound). Alight at Taipei Zoo 臺北市立動物園 (terminus); take Exit #1 to Taipei Zoo or Exit #2 to Maokong Gondolas (貓空纜車).

Taipei Zoo

Clockwise from top left: Orangutan, white rhinos, Panda(s), Giant gorilla.

Taipei Zoo boasts Asia's largest zoo with numerous exotic animal exhibition, ranked one of the country's top 10 attractions and all for an entrance fee of $60NT. That's like $2AUD - say whatt!?!

I highly recommend this place, if you have kids its a MUST! But if you don't, or your not too into animals or zoos (like yours truly), prepare to be surprised! It makes Taronga Zoo (in Sydney) look like a backyard. And the animals are so active in here too, you actually SEE them, moving and doing stuff!! 

The highlights for me were the pandas (there was a baby panda too), rhinos, hippos, Mr Gorilla, numerous bears. The insectarium was awesome too. You need to be ok with the idea of butterflies (lots of big butterflies) flying around and landing on you though. The zoo keeper was extra nice - she found a dead butterfly and gave it to us as a specimen because we were from far away (we didn't keep it but she meant well). If you visit this place, be prepared to do A LOT of walking and an exhausting day!

Maokong

Mao Kong (貓空) is famous for their stunning views & tea planations. A perfect relaxing destination to take in fresh air & a bird's eye view of most of Taipei city, especially after the exhausting morning. We caught the Zoo shuttle to Taipei Zoo South Gondola station & caught the gondola up to Maokong. The gondola trip up takes between 15-20 mins.

After getting out of the gondola station, we came to an intersection and follow the road to the left. After a short walk we arrive at Red Wood House tea house 紅木屋休閒茶館.

Red Wooden Tea House 

Oolong tea - grown in Maokong 猫空

We rest our feet by enjoying some locally grown tea. We've been warned its pricey here (tourist trap heaven), but after so much walking this is well deserved break!

Chicken Soup with Yam & Dates

Nothing like a giant pot of nourish chicken soup to help us recuperate from our overnight flight and strenuous morning.

Loofa with Bamboo Fungus

This was the BEST! I know the name/ ingredients sound a little peculiar but trust me, its delicious. The loofa melon was so tender and smooth, contrasted by the crisp crunch of the bamboo fungus and all soaking in umami goodness.

Enjoying the views

The meal didn't feel expensive at the time by Sydney standards but it turned out to be our most expensive meal in all of Taiwan. The total was just over $980NT (~$40 AUD).

Ximending (part 1)

We finally arrived back at the hotel, checked in and despite all intentions to unpack, we could only throw ourselves on the bed. We could have easily fallen asleep - if had our stomachs not called for dinner. 

A Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗麵線) $60NT for large.

This was destination street food for us. I have heard and read so much about 'Ah Chung's famous rice noodles - the best in Taiwan. It's a noodle soup with oysters, pig intestines and.. who knows what else. There's garlic, chilli and vinegar on the side, which you can add to your own liking.

The noodles were perfectly 'shuang (slippery, al dente yet soft), not gluggy as Mee Sua can get sometimes. But personally it missed the mark for me. Maybe the crown of "best in Taiwan" just put too much weight on the expectations. It was ok though.

O a chian (蚵仔煎) Oyster Omlette

We visited a random eatery next the Hotstar at Ximending (because it had seats and sells everything). We ended up ordered some Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯) and an 'o a chian'. I am inclined to advise: Do Not Go To This Shop! That's how bad the o a chian was. We couldn't eat a second bite. There was a stinky flavour to the sauce. But to be fair the Lu Rou Fan was recent and we finished that.

Really good cafe/restaurant we went to!

As the last joint was a disappointing experience, we relocated a couple of doors down. Cha Ku Chu GuiMy chinese is at its limits - I'm not certain what this place is called but here's a picture :). The food here is actually very good. Has the taste of home - just what I miss after moving out!

Beef and Egg stir fry set meal ~ $180NT , Fruit tea $140NT

I wanted some beef noodles which was sold out. So I reluctantly opted for the beef and egg stir fry set while Ms Strawberry got the fried pork katsu. Each meal came with rice, soup and side dishes. We also ordered a 'Tian Bu La' (we later found out this was basically fried fish cakey thing). Can you see how big that drink is? O yes... that's the regular size for their drinks. We felt bad we couldn't finish out food again. So it's Tian Bu La & Pork Katsu take away for breakfast time!

Pork Katsu meal set, Fruit tea

So that concludes our first day of adventures. Here's a summary of our eateries:

• 永和豆漿 (Yonghe Doujiang). No. 30 Hankou Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei. 
• 紅木屋休閒茶館 (Red Wooden House Teahouse), No. 33, Lane 38, Section 3, Zhinan Road, Wenshan District, Taipei City
• 阿宗麵線 (Ay Chung/A Zhong Mian Xian). 8-1, Éméi St, Wanhua District (Ximending), Taipei City
• 茶堀都市茶館 (Cha Ku Chu Gui). No. 30, Hanzhong Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City