Taipei Day 5 - Tallest building in Taiwan - Taipei 101

We visited the tallest building in Taiwan which is the Taipei 101. The queue was pretty long. We queued for around 20 minutes to take the elevator up the tower.


City view from Taipei 101.


Guess what this big pendulum is? It is actually for neutralizing the effects of the typhoon. When typhoon hits Taipei 101, this pendulum will sway and neutralize the vibrations.


At the rooftop of Taipei 101, this is another beautiful night view of Taipei city.

Taipei Day 3 - Xin Bei Tou (Ramen, Hot Spring Museum, Hot Spring Valley)

The metro easily takes us directly to Xin Bei Tou where all the hot springs are.


The guardian of hot springs.


Road signs showing all the hot spring attractions and hotels.


Since it is lunch time, we decided to have lunch at this ramen house.


Do not be mistaken, the ramen is not cooked using hot spring water.


The menu.


The place is crowded.


Excellent half boiled egg!


My chaw siew ramen!


After lunch, we walked around. The water is actually warm. It is hot spring water!


Tourist map to guide us around.


Visited the Hot Spring Museum. Free entry.


Bath tub.


A very large pool in the middle of the hot spring museum.

Taipei Day 2 - Shi Fen Old Street (十分老街)

Our last stop for the day which is Shi Fen Old Street (十分老街).


Our Sky Lantern!


Hope our wishes come true in coming year 2015!


Night falls and there are still many people lighting up sky lanterns.

Taipei Day 2 - 金瓜石 / 新北市立黃金博物館 (Gold Museum) / Golden Waterfall (黃金瀑布)

After Jiufen, the taxi driver brought us to the Gold Museum.

This is the Crown Prince Chalet.
"The Crown Prince Chalet is a residence built in 1922 for the proposed visit of Crown Prince Hirohito to the area (a visit that never materialized). Decades later it was used by Chiang Kai-shek as lodging in the area." - Extract from Wikipedia















Some mining machinery.


Big piece of gold!


After the museum, on the way down hill, you will reach the Golden Waterfall (黃金瀑布).

Taipei Day 2 - Jiufen Old Street (九份老街）

The second day in Taipei, we decided to visit Jiufen Old Street (九份老街）.

Entrance to Jiufen Old street.


Map of the area.


Locally hand made flutes of various designs.


Excellent ice coffee!


Golden preserved eggs.


Some kind of red colored Kueh that is cooked in oil. It is filled with minced pork (Char Siew).


My wife tried this but I didn't. A bit too oily for me.


There are various stalls selling fish and meat balls. However we settled for this stall.




Another of my favorite desert in Taipei. It is ice cream wrapped in popiah skin sprinkled with crushed peanuts.


Another of my favorite desert. Yam balls. This is the famous stall everyone is talking about.


Not that fantastic. I still prefer the one at Shilin.


Fantastic sea view from the end of Jiufen Old Street.

Taipei Day 1 - Dinner at Shilin (Oyster Egg, Braised Meat Rice, Smelly Beancurd, Ice Soya Beancurd)

We decided to find dinner at the famous Shilin Night Market.

Taiwanese version of the Fried Oyster Egg. It is sweet and have a taste of ketchup. I still prefer Singapore version!




Cuttlefish soup. Didn't really like the rubbery texture of the cuttlefish. However, the soup broth was sweet and tasty.


Smelly Beancurd that is not really that pungent. Freshly fried and delicious!


After dinner, we bought 大饼包小饼 for supper.






Ordered fresh fruit juice. One of the best highlights of Taipei is the fresh fruits you can find here. Look, spotted a durian!


This is my favorite desert in Taipei. It is Soya Beancurd topped with red beans, grass jelly, yam or potato balls.




Many toppings to choose from.


Spotted a old lady selling Muah Chee or Mochi. But I was too full already.