Shida Night Market Eats, Taipei, Part II (師大路夜市, Picture heavy!)

Really struggling to put up these last Taipei food posts here...

Lantern Soy Sauce Braised (燈籠滷味) is one of the more well known and popular stands at Shida Night Market.  We actually stumbled onto it prior to reading the CNN 40 Taiwanese Food article and went in head first, not knowing what to expect. There was always a giant crowd gathering around the stand, and given there were several similar food stands at Shida Night Market that were often deserted, our curiosity couldn't resist the consistent stream of business this particular stand got and so we got in line ourselves ^.^

Basically, this is a Taiwanese version of the Japanese oden. Mind you, this is not to say "who came first". I honestly don't know and I don't give a rat's ass. I just know I love oden, and when I saw this I must have it, because I miss oden very much T.T Of course it's not identical to oden, but it's very similar in terms of ingredients: eggs (quail, versus chicken in oden), a wide variety of fish cakes, konnyaku, tofu,  mochi, a variety of vegetables (daikon, shiitake, enoki, green leafy greens, etc.), with added extras of noodles (cellophane noodles 冬粉, ramen, etc.), even meats, seafood, and intestines (a Taiwanese favorite!). 

Day Trip to Tamsui, New Taipei, Part II (淡水, Picture heavy!)

Hey guys, running so behind on some posts here :( Sorry!

My sister came for a short visit earlier in the month and hubby and I took her to Tamsui again. It was her second time in Taipei actually. Two winters ago, she was still living and working in Japan and had been here on a group tour along with her colleagues and fellow teacher. However, her group tour had a super tight schedule full of "touristy" places, which didn't give her any time to explore the city on her own at all. So this was an attempt to chill out a little, taking time to leisurely stroll around, check out the shops, eat some snacks, play some games, etc. 

We started out with lunch at my favorite neighborhood's Fortune Garden. Then at the Taipei Main Station we met up with J., whom my sister used to tutor way back in high school. She's a Taiwanese native but went to high school and college in the US, in the same state and city where we did. Hearing of my sister's visit, she was ecstatic as they had lost touch for a while before finding each other on FB several months earlier.

The funny gold statue man was there again! ^.^

Ningxia Night Market, Taipei (寧夏夜市)

While my old college friend A. is in town to visit, she and her fiancé S. took us to Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市). Being only 2 rows up and down a short strip of road, it is a tiny night market in comparison to my local Shida Night Market, but I was told the locals go here to eat and else where to shop.

And indeed, the Ningxia Night Market was food, food, and more food. It was literally one food stall after another and we all walked up and down the whole place twice before we could make our decision on what to snack on. There were so many choices and everything looked equally delicious!

Day Trip to Tamsui, New Taipei (淡水, Picture heavy!)

Yet another long post.

My cousin Q. is finishing her last year of college in Taipei, and so after having not seen each other for many years, we now get to hang out every now and then in a city unfamiliar to the both of us ^.^ One weekend we met up for a day trip in Tamsui, and she brought her classmates with her, all 10 of them. Yep. That's how they roll I guess xD Hubby and I were a bit surprised at first since we weren't expecting a giant get together but we all ended up enjoying ourselves so much we forgot we were moving about in a big mass LOL! 

It's so so convenient to travel about here in Taipei, as there are subway, bus, etc., to every where. It is cheap too, and public transportation here costs less than 1/3 of what it does in Japan! The nearest MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station is literally outside my alley, and I'm on the Red Line, which goes directly to Tamsui in about 1 hour. So yeah, I just got on the train and that was that! Super nice...

A farmer's market and a human statue at the start of the Tamsui Old Street.

Shida Night Market Eats, Taipei (師大路夜市, Picture heavy!)

Here's your warning - long post ahead!

Hubby and I live about a 10-15 minutes walk from Shida Night Market (師大路夜市), and since we can't cook in our tiny apartment (we don't really want to, why would we?), every other night is a leisurely stroll in search of good food to eat.