Food & Dining Kap & Me My Kids Staycations & Vacations The GOppets

Taiwan Day 4

Ate is a momma’s girl through & through but I’m not perfect -I don’t complete her, lol. Try as I might, I just can’t give her everything she needs. 😛 For her is-portslakwatcha activities, she gravitates towards her Dad. Mas may mapapala sya sa tatay nya. And she knows how to milk her parents so that she gets the best of both worlds too. Matalinong bata! 😉

She knows she won’t be able to get me up at the crack of dawn.. more so before! And climbing up flights of stairs? Uhhmm, no thanks. So she buttered up her Dad & they went on a hiking expedition on our last morning in Taiwan up Elephant Mountain.

Day 4 

  • Early morning walk (Ate w/Daddy) to Elephant Mountain (Xinyi)
  • Taiwanese Rice Balls for breakfast
  • Addiction Aquatic Development for fresh seafood/sushi/sashimi lunch (Zhongshan)
  • Donghua for shopping (street wear)
  • Ximending night market (Ximending)
  • Head to airport

For the best view of Taipei City, a hike to the top of Elephant Mountain is “all” it takes. Also known as the Nangang District Hiking Trail and Xiangshan (象山), the hiking trail is located close to the Xinyi Shopping District and Taipei 101.

Elephant Mountain, a photographer’s delight, is one of the 4 beasts which is the term for 4 small peaks on the east side of Taipei City. The three other Beast Mountains are said to resemble a Tiger, Leopard & Lion, and named aptly so.

The hike takes a total of around 15-20 minutes to the top, and includes lots of stairs so make sure you bring plenty of stamina as baonAyan si Kap, uugod-ugod na hehe. May dala nang tungkod! 😛 Ilang taon pa, oxygen tank na ang baon nya! ;))

Unguided hikes up the mountains are free (magic word for Kap & incentive –tignan nyo na lang ang galak sa mukha nya. Nakalibre!). The Tiger and Elephant Mountains are the most famous with the most complete trails, but there are said to be some hidden gems around the Lion and Leopard Mountains too. Kung medyo nagtagal-tagal pa kami, malamang inakyat ni Ms. Fitness #GoJanaGo lahat ng bundok, at nagpahanap pa sa Department of Tourism ng ibang mga hayop na bulubundukin! @_@

Of course while they were away, the 3 tamad piggies caught up on sleep & woke up only when our tummies rumbled, begging to be fed. ;))

Babyson had been looking for 糍飯糰 (Cí fàntuán) –Taiwanese breakfast rice balls, for the 3 nights we went to the various night markets. Eh kaya naman pala hindi namin mahanap kahit sinuyod na namin bawat kanto at nagka-paltos-paltos na nga paa namin, pang-breakfast lang sya, zOMG! @_@

Finally we found it on our last day! We like to go local whenever visiting a country para hindi naman masayang ang punta. What they eat, we also want to eat. Where they hang, we also want to go. Kaya sige, hanap.

Very simple mix of minced pork & veggies, deep fried dough sticks (bicho-bicho), and iron egg all squished inside a balled-up sticky rice -but oh so good, especially as it’s still steaming hot. Heavy brekky for a long, busy, active day. With taiwanese cuisine, pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy are very common ingredients. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment and feeling of gratitude and thanks to the animals traditionally used for very hard labor.

My less than 100 twd (120 php) breakfast back at the BnB: Pork Riceball 30 ntd + Tiramisu in a pot dessert 50 ntd. Riceballs for brekky is available from 6:30 am to 1:30 pm only. Food here is sooooo unbelievably cheap! And yummy too! Yayaman kami if we move to Taiwan, lol. Malaki ang matitipid ni Kap sa pagkain. Bakit hindi ganito ang presyo sa Pinas??

You’d think that with the low price, they’d scrimp on presentation. But just look at this gorgeous pot of tiramisu! 75 pesos worth of LHAV! <3

The kids are perfect travel buddies coz they load up on info prior to our departure so that once we get to our host country, the itinerary is iron clad & perfect. Plus they are walking & talking pinaghalong encyclopedia & waze. Sunod lang kami ni Kap, sila na ang bahala sa lahat. It’s like being on a guided tour every single time, may photographer at taga-bitbit pa kami hehe.

Because there is really nothing to do in Taiwan except to eat & eat, we went off to lunch at Addiction Aquatic Development (上引水產).

Located at the Taipei Fish Market on Minzu East Road near Songshan Airport, a portion of the traditional fish market has recently been developed by Mitsui Food and Beverage Enterprise Group and has transformed into one of Taipei’s newest and hottest places to eat. Many of the older traditional market stalls are still around, and make for a great sightseeing spot before heading on to the new Addiction Aquatic Development for some of the freshest catch at such affordable prices.

Housed in the former Taipei Fish Market is a huge blue-and-slate-grey building with food sections serving the freshest seafood imaginable.

Once in the main complex there are four dining areas. One is an indoor hot pot dining, an outdoor bbq style dining, a posh fine dining TRESORS DELA MER, and the indoor market where you buy your ready-made food then opt to either eat outdoors, or take ’em home. Of course, cheapskate that Kap is hehe, we went with the market-bitbit style. Hay!

Greeting  you upon entrance is a series of fish tanks housing some the biggest crustaceans I’ve ever seen! <3 Too bad they’re only for take-out, to be cooked at home.

In fairness, Kap was ready to order this giant alaskan crab but none of us wanted to crack it open & get our hands dirty especially since we were eating outside. So pass. Nakalusot si Kap my Kap! 😛

We settled for ready-made cooked items which we piled up in our grocery carts & paid at the counter.

But before that, Ate made sure I was ready for lunch so soon after brekky by burning off & digesting the rice balls. She tricked me & made me walk a good 30 minutes instead of just riding the bus. Kunwari daw may scenery (park). Hay, daig pa nya ang personal trainer sa higpit!

The weather when we were there was so nice. Cold, but not biting. I survived with just my trusty woolen shawl. Taiwan lies on the Tropic of Cancer and its general climate is marine tropical. The entire island experiences hot, humid weather from June through September. Typhoons are most common in July, August and September. During the winter (November to March), the northeast experiences steady rain, while the central and southern parts of the island are mostly sunny.

Thinking back, walking MAY have been a good idea. Just look at what we ordered for lunch! Jusme para kaming hindi kumain ng isang linggo diba? 😛

My OC at work, flat-laying. Sige Ate, paki-damay na rin ako for my blog, lol.

Lunch. Assorted sashimi & maki, cod, swordfish, scallops, various tempura pcs, and steak tartare. Total cost: 3.5k ntd (around 5k php), not bad! Definitely Kap-approved for our last meal in Taiwan hehe. #malamiganghangin #malamigangulo .

The sashimi was really fresh, and the steak tartare wasn’t malansa at all. It was quite an enjoyable outdoor lunch.

Picnic at the park 😉 Tip from a dear reader, @ajanema (thank you), buy food for take out & enjoy the outdoor dining area for clean, fresh Taiwan air. . ADDICTION AQUATIC DEVELOPMENT (AAD) No.18, Aly. 2, Ln. 410, Minzu E. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City.( Map) Hours of Operation: 06:00 to 24:00 TEL. 886-2-2508-1268 FAX. 886-2-2508-0268

Plus we got to buy a box of the yummy mochi Mister Donut on the way to the dampa! <3 I promise you, the consistency & pillowy-softness of the donuts are SO different from what we have back home. Ito sobrang nakaka-addict!

Mister Donut is a fast food franchise founded in the United States in 1956, now headquartered in Japan, where it has more than 1,300 stores. The primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Lyons in 1990, most North American stores became Dunkin’ Donuts. Mister Donut maintains a presence in Taiwan, South Korea, Mainland China, Philippines, Thailand, and El Salvador.

We bought a box of freshly-baked assorted mochi donuts. Hindi lumampas ng isang araw, ubos agad with 10 pcs. divided amongst ourselves. 🙂

Ate made me walk again after lunch with the promise of shopping up ahead. Only Kap was successful though with his shoe finds at 80% off. Happy Kap! Si Babyson mas mataas ang standards, walang pumasa kaya umuwi syang luhaan.

We went to Ximending for our last stop with just a couple of hours to spare. Ximending has been called the “Harajuku of Taipei” and the “Shibuya of Taipei”. It is the source of Taiwan’s fashion, subculture, and Japanese culture.

Last minute shopping at Ximending Night Market. Hanggang sa kahuli-hulihang sandali talaga may mabibili at mabibili ang mga anak naming babae! ;))

Kap saw a long line outside a chicken place & declared it to be our huling El Bimbo. Kailangan daw namin masubukan ang Taiwan’s #1 Fried Chicken bago tuluyang umuwi! 😉 Ok fine, pila.

Of course, kung ang shopping may pahabol, hindi magpapahuli ang eating. #EatPaMore

We had to hurry back to our BnB as our service van was picking us up for the airport at 8:30 pm and we still had to pack! So we hurriedly bought chicken (said to be Taiwan’s #1) & duck (surprise!) for take out.

Took home & tried out these taiwan-grown, taiwan-style popcorn chicken, the J&G Fried Chicken (Jane & the GOppets???) Taiwan’s supposedly number 1 fried chicken! (Est. 1973) Masarap naman.

and of course, no trip to Taiwan is complete without DUCK! <3 Finally, I got to have some quack quack before we left Taiwan. Thank you Honey. Only 300 ntd for half a duck. KENYA BELIEVE? My eyes almost popped when I found out that my duck costs only 450 php, lahat ng nasa peechur! I seriously wanted to bring some home waaaa!

My first time in Taiwan & I am definitely impressed with the cleanliness, orderliness, and safe environment of the country. Not once did we see a beggar loitering around, and no trash! At all! Eating is prohibited in public transportations & even the streets at the night market are so clean. Taiwan is definitely one destination we’d love to visit again. <3

At the airport, as usual, sobra sa timbang na naman kami hahaha. After 987654321 times of emptying & transferring & moving around our things from one maleta to another, and the heavier stuff into our backpacks just to get within our allowed baggage weight, we were finally allowed IN, whew!

Panic repacking doth not dwell well. We Indulged in Godiva ice cream to cool our hot heads. Godiva Chocolatier‘s soft serve is available in 3 flavors: Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Twist and Vanilla White Chocolate at 160 twd each (approx 240 php).

Out of stock in the whole of Taipei (I kid you not), I’m sooo happy they had soft serve at the airport, yahooo! Nakumpleto ang food trip namin. PS: Clearly the video below is not an epileptic episode. Nag-“brain freeze” lang si Kap my Kap hehe. He always does this to me, grrrr. What is annoying. Pagpasensyahan nyo na!

Full of Pinoys going back home after a long holiday in Taiwan. 1 am and we were already so tired & sleepy from a very full day. Kayo ba hindi napagod sa haba ng na-blog ko? 😉

Even with all the walking & tiring days, I’m still happiest when we go out of the country coz we’re always together. As in 24/7. Yes, we get on each other’s nerves like any normal family, but the experience brings us so much closer. It’s worth all the muscle & joint pains brought about by too much walking. Ate does not know the word “relax” when on a trip. Every second for her counts & fills our days with so much activities, hay.

Oh my Honey, “Basta’t tayo’y magkasama, laging mayroong umagang kay ganda. Pagsikat ng araw, may dalang liwanag sa ating pangarap. Magkasama, haharapin natin.”

Sa susunod, swede ba sa Maldives nalang para sa tubig lang kami. Tignan ko kung mapalakad pa nyo ako doon! Sana sa birthday ko.. wishful thinking. 😉

At syempre naman, kahit na anong sarap pa ang mamasyal sa ibang bansa, iba pa rin ang sariling atin. There will only be one place we can truly call home. Pilipinas aking mahal, you will always be my home sweet home..

Babalik Ka Rin by Louie Ocampo/Gary Valenciano (OFW Theme Song)

Saan ka man naroroon ngayon, Saudi, Japan, HongKong o Taiwan.

Babalik ka rin, babalik ka rin, babalik ka riiii-iiin.

Ano mang layo ang narating, Singapore, Australia
Europe o Amerika, 

Babalik at babalik ka rin.
Kaytagal mo nang nawala, babalik ka rin, babalik ka rin.

That’s it folks. Thank you for sharing in our Taiwan food trip & for bearing with my loooong posts. :-* To read more about the best of Taiwan Eats, just CLICK HERE.

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16 Comments

  • Reply Erika

    The Mochi Donuts (Pon De Ring) of Mister Donut!!! Grabe no? di ko inexpect na ganyan kasarap MD sa ibang bansa! Deadma MD sakin dito satin eh haha! and the Godiva Soft Served Ice Cream!! Ay grabe I gained weight in SG dahil dyan. nakakamiss tuloy! Waiting na ko ng seat sale, gusto ko next tong Taiwan!

    January 30, 2017 at 9:03 am
    • Reply Jane Go

      Ay hindi ka magsisisi. Puro leggings lang ang dalhin mo para stretch, hindi puptok sa #busoglusog mission hahaha! :-*

      January 30, 2017 at 9:12 am
  • Reply ANNA

    Yay! Finally natapos ko na this series 🙂 I wanna go back to Taiwan and eat eat eat! HUHU SO MUCH LOVE FOR YOU GUYS 🙂 We have Pon de Ring din here 🙂 Just look for the Mister Donut with Japanese (?) characters or try Gavino’s there’s on at Megamall 🙂 Next adventure naman would hopefully be your summer edition! LOL

    January 30, 2017 at 11:22 am
    • Reply Jane Go

      Oh wow thank you so much for telling me about the mochi donuts!! <3 Pramis ha exactly the same texture & taste? I've passed by Gavino's - will most certainly try. You rock! \m/

      January 30, 2017 at 8:47 pm
  • Reply Kat A.

    Thanks for sharing your family travel story :).. #familygoals
    Reading your blog is a hard habit to break.. Hope my office does not check my browser history, or else…
    Cheers to you Ms. Jane and to the GOppets.. xoxo

    January 30, 2017 at 11:24 am
    • Reply Jane Go

      Hahaha please don’t stop reading my blog. Thank you for your support, much MUCH appreciated! :-*

      January 30, 2017 at 8:48 pm
  • Reply Mae

    Bookmarked this post for our family trip this April esp the leggings ootd to accommodate the local delicacies of ??

    January 30, 2017 at 11:26 am
    • Reply Jane Go

      hahaha yes sa lahat ng suggestion ko yang leggings na yan ang wag na wag kalilimutan! ;)) Have fun, I envy you. Sana makabalik kami uli sa summer. :-*

      January 30, 2017 at 8:49 pm
  • Reply Med

    CORRECTION: when in Taiwan, EAT & SHOP GUCCI. #aminin

    Nasa list ko din ang Maldives. Let’s go???

    January 30, 2017 at 2:03 pm
    • Reply Jane Go

      Sama ako sa maldives promise me haaaa! :-*

      January 30, 2017 at 8:51 pm
  • Reply Jackie Uy

    I agree with your last paragraph Ms Jane. Kahit gano man ka convenient ang buhay sa ibang bansa like Taipei, home will always be home :). Naiiyak na ko kasi babalik na ko ng Taipei bukas after the CNY break hehe. Kiong hee huat tsai! So happy you enjoyed your Taiwan trip! 🙂

    January 30, 2017 at 5:30 pm
    • Reply Jane Go

      Waaaah hindi man lang tayo nakapagkita here or Taiwan anubaah. Hopefully when we go back I will get to see you na hehe. Kap wants the kids to take intensive mandarin lessons there so for sure may repeat. Safe travels Jackie! :-*

      January 30, 2017 at 8:51 pm
      • Reply Jackie Uy

        Awww i super hope i get to meet you some day Ms Jane!!! #idol hehehe 🙂 if ever you do decide on sending the kids to tw to learn Mandarin, Shi Da (Nat’l TW Normal Uni) is the place to go 🙂 thanks ms jane and take care always! 🙂

        January 31, 2017 at 11:11 pm
        • Reply Jane Go

          Wow thank you for another great reco Jackie!! :-* Will most certainly look it up. Mwah!

          February 1, 2017 at 9:13 am
  • Reply Mom South of Manila

    Nakakatakam yung rice balls and chicken! 🙂

    January 31, 2017 at 6:25 am
    • Reply Jane Go

      Super. Mura pa. 🙂

      January 31, 2017 at 9:23 am

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