Din Dai Fung Restaurant At Taipei 101

YES, DIN TAI FUNG.... No doubt they are here in Malaysia too, but since we were in Taiwan, we should try the original DTF....

We were at Taipei 101 on the last day of our 7 days trip.  We visited a few places on this very day, taking taxi from our hotel Midtown Richardson.  This is the second time we stayed in this hotel, it is very convenient, walking distance to shopping and eatery places anytime of the day.  Breakfast buffet is inclusive and it has a wide spread of Taiwanese food.  The rooms are spacious, we opted for a family room, according to my son, the rates is the same as with twin rooms.  There are two queen size beds in each room with a small round table and sofa chair which could accommodate two persons.  Each night cost around RM400-500 which is quite reasonable.

Back to our lunch at Din Tai Fung, this restaurant is in 101, the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan.  When we reached there, we had to take a number and our waiting time is at least half hour.  To while away the time, we walked around the vicinity, buying some cookies and snacks in the mall.  By the time our number was called, all of us were hungry for anything!

Outside the restaurant where we waited....

Started with these.... one for each of us...

Kiamsiap a bit... hahahaa...

Main courses.... 

Fried rice with pork chop....

Whole slab....

One without the meat but with lots of shrimps....

Third bowl with noodles....

For the little girl....

Taiwanese vegetables....

Tasted like Yau Mak...

After "healing" our tummies, we adjourned to another place...

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall...

 

Tremor Lunch At Full Go Roast Chicken

IT LASTED LESS THAN TWO SECONDS.... 

We were taking our lunch at Full Go Restaurant, famous for their Roast Chicken roasted in stone kiln.  The tour guide told us this is a Must Try dish while we were there.  Situated in Yilan nearer to the eastern part which is near to the affected earthquake in Hualien.  It was the fifth day after the major earthquake and tremors were felt numerous times each day.  But we did not really experience the tremors until that moment when we were having our scrumptious lunch.

The moment after the two seconds tremor, we asked ... "Did you feel it?"  Then my daughter-in-law received a warning alert message on her phone.  Should we make a run outside, I asked them... 

We looked around the restaurant, nobody made a dash towards the door or anything.  It was like nothing happened, everyone carried on eating as if nothing happened.  Then the tour guide came over and asked us whether we felt the tremor... Of course!  LOL... He said no worries, these tremors are common after the major earthquake... aftermath... no need to panic.... 

And so we carried on eating with an unease heart... LOL... 

This is the name of the place... 

I know I will definitely forget the name when I come home... 

This is their famous roast chicken...

I like it cos the skin was thin and crispy...

Spring onions omelette...

Some greens... 

Fried rice cake which we did not finish... 

The total cost.. 1300 NT around RM160.... 

 

Chilly Cold Day In Gaomei Wetlands, Taichung

CHILLY DAY... After three days of hot weather, it was a wet day on the fourth day and I was glad I brought out my jacket.  There was rain but the drops were super fine, we did not get drenched but it was quite cold and the hoodie jacket helped a lot... 

I did not take much of the food pictures, maybe it was because we did not eat fancy food in restaurants.  We took mostly local food in shops and their main dish is normally rice with minced meat...

The tour guide cum driver took us for local food... 

It was raining "finely" and I did not capture the name of the shop....

Plate of rice comes with braised minced meat and one beancurd....

We ordered two bowls to be shared... 

Soupy noodles with braised egg and meat...

Dry noodles with the same condiments....

Mixed condiments all soya based....

and two types of vegetables...

Our simple lunch....

And the next destination... Gaomei Wetland...

We did not see these here cos it is not autumn or winter yet.... 

but there were a lot of tiny crabs cos of the low tide...

We walked quite far out cos it was low tide.... 

Kind of windy and chilly.... 

We walked and walked...

The route seemed endless 

and then we turned back after taking a number of pictures....

Our Visit To Rainbow Village, Taichung

THE NEXT MORNING.... after having our breakfast at a small stall, driver took us to Rainbow Village, one of the most popular attractions in Taichung.

This is my second visit to this place, my first time was in 2019, some five years ago.   I wrote this in my post in 2019....

There is a history behind this brightly painted village, a cluster of houses was in fact a veterans village back in the 1940s.  Huang Yong Fu also known affectionately as Rainbow Grandpa was one of the last remaining veterans living in this area.  He is a military veteran who was born in Hong Kong and fought against the communists in the ROC army.  Rainbow Village was started by Mr. Huang who came up with a way to protest against the demolition of this small collection of houses.  The government began an aggressive program of demolition the villages in the 1990s and replacing them with new high rise apartment buildings for the displaced families.  Rather than fighting with the government, he decided to paint so as to brighten up the village, starting with his own house and moving on to the next house and soforth until the whole village has turned into a colourful sight.

This time 2024, we were told that Rainbow Grandpa has passed away... he passed away in January 2024 at the age of 101.  RIP... His legacy lives on though.... tourists swarmed into this place, no entrance fees, just a donation to the "Superhero" who was still around to take pictures for us....  

We lingered around for a short while and off we went for our dessert Ice Cream cafe... 

The Superhero entertaining the tourists with his songs....

And here we were in 2019....

And now in 2024....

Oh... his attire has changed color...

So has my hair....

From black to white... 

LOL....

Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan

NO TREMORS FELT ON THE FIRST NIGHT... or perhaps we were too tired to feel anything when we hit the pillows....

The next morning our day trip began at 9am.... tour guide cum driver was waiting for us at the hotel and we were taken to Sun Moon Lake in Nantou.  It is one of the most popular scenic attractions and we went island hopping for a fee of 300NT per person.  

I am amazed to see so many tourists in Taiwan overall, people are like endless, as the Chinese saying goes, "mountains and seas are full of human beings".... something like that.  I would say this is good for the country's economy.  Despite the major earthquake in one part of Taiwan, people are still swarming in.... 

At the mainland before boarding the ferry.... 

A very scenic place to visit...

Inside the ferry... 

one side air con and one open air like this....

Hot weather but not as hot as in Malaysia...

Ferries are ongoing... 

At one of the islands...

Bustling with people ....

We have to find a place to have lunch...

Milk tea is famous everywhere...

Long queues are worth the wait for many...

We entered into one of a small shops and had these for lunch...

This is not to be missed...

Pork belly with scallion and peanuts as fillings...

We had these too... froggy cakes... 

And we went back to mainland around 3pm....

First Dinner Meal In Taichung, Taiwan

BY THE TIME we came out from the airport, it was almost 6pm in the evening. 

After getting everyone settled comfortably into the big MPV van, the tour guide cum driver took us to our first destination.... Taichung.  On the way, he stopped at a restaurant for our dinner.  A modest restaurant frequented by locals and by then, I was too hungry to stop and take photos of the place.

Good that service was fast.... initially ordered 4 dishes and midway, we ordered another two... just in case, our tummies were not satisfied... LOL.... 

After our dinner, the journey took another one hour to reach our hotel for the next three nights... Talmud Hotel, a very strategic place cos it is just right in the midst of the night market.  That is where we love to be... 

First four dishes....

Famous for their signature dish... meehoon with minced pork as toppings...

Minced pork is common dish...

Rice and noodles are often topped with minced pork...

Taiwan vegetables which we could not catch the name....

Pork balls in hot soup....

Crispy and salty Pork belly

Added this dish while eating halfway...

Yellow noodles... and minced pork... LOL

Oysters fried eggs....

Total cost around RM130 according to my son...

One for the camera before we dig in the food!