Monday, April 28, 2008

Welcome to Taipei (Part 5) - 淡水+士林夜市

Mousie was very sweet and took leave on the Tuesday that we were going to visit 淡水 so that she could go with us. That morning, she also brought us to eat the famous 永和豆浆. There are several branches of 永和豆浆 in Taipei (even in Singapore) but this, apparently, was THE authentic one. I remember the taste of the hot soya bean milk (served in a bowl) was really good.. silky and smooth with a slightly burnt, fragrant taste. We ordered a few side dishes to share and all tasted good, except that we ordered too much. It was only when I had finished all the food that I realised I forgot to take a few pictures!

As it was still quite early, we went to a nearby Sogo departmental store to take a look and managed to catch a miniature performance of "It's a Small World". Reminded me of Disneyland!

I saw this at the entrance of the shopping centre and couldn't resist taking a picture. See how safety conscious the Taiwanese are?

The train ride to 淡水 was close to 1 hour. When we arrived, it was fairly crowded as it coincided with the school term break.

We walked along the old streets of 淡水 for a while before my stomach started growling. I think it's the holiday effect but I always get hungry easily when I go overseas. Mousie introduced several famous local snacks to us, such as 阿给, 淡水鱼丸, 酸梅汤, 桂花汤圆, etc. I think I was the only one who was eating non-stop. :p


After a satisfying round of food hunt, we took a bus to 渔人码头. This place is quite popular with young couples as it's considered a romantic haunt. Well, with three 30 years old girls, the romance is not quite there but it's definitely a scenic place worth seeing.


In the evening, we took a speed boat back to 淡水车站 to begin our next food journey to 士林夜市.

士林夜市 is one of the most famous night markets in Taipei and has undergone refurbishment in recent years such that all the food stalls are now located under one roof while clothes and other accessories are sold a street away.

I guess I ate too much that afternoon so I wasn't that hungry at 士林. Tried the 生炒花枝 and 姜汁番茄 which were average.


It could be due to my not-so-ravenous appetite then. :p

We took a long stroll along the street to look at clothes and fashion accessories. It was interesting though I wasn't quite in the mood to buy stuff that day. Perhaps I was coming to terms with the fact that my holiday in Taipei was ending soon. We were leaving for Singapore the next day so decided to go back earlier to pack and chat. The usual girls' practice. :)

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