Taiwan-deful Too (Part 2)

The second half of Taipei was equally packed and we got to discover more of this amazing country. A bus tour around many of the popular areas was excellent, as was discovering some more of the cuisine and drinks available.

Getting to try our hands at making it was a delicious bonus!

Bus Tour

Another Delay

Up bright and early, we headed off to the Taipei Main Station to catch our bus tour. This was going to be a long day as there was apparently quite a lot to cover, we were close to calling it off after a long day the day before but thankfully didn’t!

After waiting for one final couple (this seems to be a regular occurance) we set off a little late but the driver did his best to get us back on track during the first leg towards the Yehliu Geopark.

Yehliu Geopark

As we got closer, our guide for the day started giving us some information about the park, what we were going there for, and some of the history. The area used to be a military base and closed of to the public until a, now famous, young photographer Huang Tse-Hsiu. The pictures were released and eventually the area was opened up for the public to visit. ¹

The park has many ‘attractions’ which are different types of rock formation, named after images that they are similar to. The most well-known of these is the Queens Head. The queue to get a photo in front of this iconic silhoutte was far too long to be standing in with the Taiwan heat and humidity so we took a few photos from a bit of a distance then explored the rest of the area.

It was really interesting seeing all the different rock types and how they’ve formed due to varying density and erosion. Whilst the ground that we were walking on was being erroded from all the foot-traffic, this meant that new fossils were being uncovered in the sandstone! Very cool.

Shuinandong Smelter and the Gold Waterfall

On the Northern coast lies the disused Shuinandong Smelter which used to be a large copper facility. The evidence of copper was all around and, before going to the Gold Waterfall, our guide took us to the coast to see what the locals called the Yin Yan water. The name comes from the water running off of the hillside and getting a golden/copper tinge. Where this water joined the water of the bay, it created a distinct shape that gave it the Yin Yan name.

A little way up the road from here we went to the Gold Waterfall which looked exactly like you’d expect! The copper had stained the rocks around and under the waterfall, giving the falls their name.

Juifen Old Street

One of the main draws of the area and a common stop in the tours of the area is the Juifen Old Street. Our guide took great delight in parking the bus at the bottom of Juifen (pretty much at sea-level) and pointing us the way of the giant staircase that we needed to climb to get to the old street above.

The staircase alone looked ancient: narrow, winding and with lots of small nooks along the way for small vendors and shops to set up. Staggering over the final couple of stairs we were greeted with the sight of one of the old tea houses that the area is known for: A-Mei Teahouse. This old building looks incredible with it’s red lanterns and banners, it looks like somewhere straight out of a movie… Which is apparently where some inspiration might or might not have come from for the Spirited Away movie.

However, this place was incredibly busy, as was the rest of the area, so we kept walking a little until we came to the comparatively quiet Jioufen Teahouse! This remains one of my favourite places visited in Taiwan. We were able to get table in a small glass gazebo out the back of the tea house that was airconditioned. Perfect! Even though it took us a long time to cooldown after the walk up the stairs, we were able to enjoy a stunning view out across the surrounding area whilst trying some delicious aged tea (I think it was one of these: Aged Tea).

As part of the experience, one of the waiters (brewers?) came to show us how to properly brew a cup of this tea. Each table had metal insert in the middle that housed a “Golden Flower White Pummelo Kettle” ². These were large heavy kettles that were kept warm from individual oil burners, giving the whole process a very old feel to it (other than the glorious aircon!).

After finishing the most expensive tea we’ve ever had, we had a look in the shop and found out that the owner also made a lot of the ceramics that the teahouse used. These were stunning and so we picked out some of our favourite sets to send back home.

Given that we spent most of our time in the teahouse, and anxious not to be the last to the bus, we looked around for something to eat. We came across a small kitchen selling double sausages (can’t remember the actual name) that consisted of one larger rice-based sausage sliced open and a smaller one put inside (similar to a hot dog) and served with onions and peanuts. Fantastic! It was delicious. To round off the meal, and to cool down, we got an iced taro and bean dessert: a mix of sweetened taro balls and beans served on top of shaved ice and with some of the sweet sauce served over the top. Perfect! I’ve really been enjoying the beans-as-a-sweet style of dessert over here.

Shifen and Shifen Waterfall

Our final stop was to Shifen and the Shifen Waterfall which was accessed via a long suspension bridge that was anything but stable! Getting to the otherside we were able to see Taiwan’s “Niagara Falls”, nicknamed this due to the similar horseshoe shape ³. The area was stunning and the walk there was also incredibly nice. There was also the usual frequent stalls set up to sell any number of different foods, drinks, and souvenirs. Settling down with a couple of beers and some grilled food (tried some pigeon!) we enjoyed the scene and tried to cool down. A never ending quest in Taiwan.

The 58

After finishing off here we headed back to Taipei Main Station and started walking back home. That was until we came across a pub that we’d seen mentioned on one of the best bars in Taipei lists (Wanderlog) so we just had to stop in to see the beer list and, boy, what a list! Heaps of local beers and different Taiwanese offerings.

Chill Out Day

Fong Da Coffee

After looking up best coffeeshops in the area, we found that Fong Da Coffee was just down our street (https://www.taipei-expat.com/fong-da-coffee/) so got to try their coffee for the first time. Delicious!

Taihu Craft Beer

Chilling out for the rest of the morning before going out for a wander for a beer. Had a recommendation from a friend to try Taihu Craft Beer if we went to Taichung, but they also had a taproom in Taipei, so I gave that a crack for lunch and brew. Excellent burgers, excellent beer, but you had to get the attention of the servers frequently for refills. Probably not a back thing considering the strength of some of the beers!

Ximending and Xiao Long Bao

After a wander around the bustling Ximendu area and looking at some of the shops, we grabbed some of the famous Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings ⁴. These were delicious! Once you bite in, all the broth from the pork inside spills out, making it an interesting thing to try and eat! After this we stopped for a drink at a bar we looked at on one of the previous days, ParkJ for a couple of beers.

Just behind the area we came across a street that that some pretty amazing art/grafitti covering the walls!

Whisky, Cats and Hotpot

Looking for another couple of drinks, and as single malt whisky fans, we headed over the the Kavalan whisky shop looking to try some of the famous Taiwan whisky! It’s won a lot of awards and even was picked over some Scottish whiskies in a blind tasting ⁵. However, the shop was busy and we weren’t able to really get to try anything so gave up and went around the corner to beerCat bar instead.

It was ok, despite the not so great reviews ⁶, but there was delicious beer, cats and it was quiet, and that’s fine in our books!

For dinner we finally went to a hot pot restaurant that had been calling out to us everytime we walked past it. It was delicious, had cheap/cold beers, and a huge selection of meats, sides and other dishes. Yum.

Final Day

Cooking Class

To round out the trip, we spent our final morning/afternoon taking part in a Taiwanese cooking class at the CookingFunTaiwan kitchen.

The kitchen was incredibly well set up and the hosts were incredible. Very welcoming, friendly and informative. After getting a welcome tea, we got stuck straight in to making some of the dough for for our Xiao Long Bao and preparing some of the ingredients for the other dishes. The whole class was well paced, VERY well thought out, and we got to try lots of different techniques and flavours. Plus the final products were delicious.

Great way to spend a morning/afternoon!

Remaining Time

As was seemingly customary by now, the remainder of our final day was very chilled out. A small dinner (still full after lunch!) and packing up.

I think that Taiwan was a surprise to both of us for just how much we enjoyed it, especially after not having known too much about it in the first place. Would definitely recommend people to give it a try, the food alone was worth the trip.