Jiufen

We’re heading to Jiufen today. It’s a popular tourist spot in the North East of Taiwan. However, before setting off, we gather for a little bit of breakfast. We meet at a small streetside store and order a few breakfast staples like sandwiches, green onion pancake and radish cake. All of it is delicious and a great way for us to start the day. After breakfast we make our way onto the bus that takes us to Jiufen in about an hour.

Jiufen Old Street

Upon arriving we head over to the Jiufen Old Street. This is a series of small alleyways and streets lined with shops, eateries and tea houses. It’s vibrant and beautifully decorated. Since Jiufen is on a mountainside, there is a fair amount of elevation. This makes for some interesting navigation up and down sets of stairs and ramp ways. The four of us spend time slowly browsing through the different stores. Some will sell foodstuffs while others sell cool little keepsakes. All in all, it’s great to check out and I’m told we are lucky that its not very busy. I can’t imagine what it would be like on a busier day given the amount of people and limited space.

Jiufen Lunch

Halfway through we stop at a small restaurant for some lunch. King decides to order some food items for all of us to try. It looks pretty traditional and is all delicious! Between the four of us we easily munch our way through the meal. While also enjoying a short reprieve from walking for the past few hours. It’s an opportunity to recharge and refuel.

Jiufen Views

Because Jiufen is on the mountainside and overlooks the ocean. There are plenty of places to take in the amazing scenery. We are also blessed to have a beautiful clear day so at every opportunity we stop to admire the view of the lush green mountainside and the bright blue ocean. 

Amei Tea House

One of things that makes Jiufen a popular tourist spot is the Amei Tea House. It’s said that it serves as an inspiration for the movie Spirited Away even though the directors have denied it. With the traditional architecture and the hanging red lanterns, I can totally see how the connection can be made. It further encourages me to rewatch the movie and see if I can pick out elements that I can relate to Juifen now! The teahouse is quite busy and we didn’t go in. But seeing it from the outside is something worthwhile nonetheless.

Yushi Twilight Coffee

As we near our time to head back to Taipei, I see a very cool looking coffee shop named Yushi Twilight and decide to pop in for a cold drink. After another hot Taiwan day, the iced coffee is refreshing and makes for a great exclamation point to our Juifen visit.

We hop in an Uber to take us back into Taipei and settle in for the hour long drive back. From there We part ways so that King and Antetokounmpo can give their daughter a nap. Before heading back to my hotel, I pop into a convenience store and pick up a cold treat. I’ve been seeing very elaborate popsicles on sale at different stores and decide to try one. It’s pretty rich but also very tasty! It’s a shame we don’t have more of these types of desserts in Canada!

Lao Shandong Homemade Noodles

After a time of rest we meet back up again and head out for dinner. We head to Lao Shandong Homemade Noodles as it’s a Michelin Bib Gourmand recommended restaurant. We sit down and order a variety of items including some cold appetizers, boiled dumplings and Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup. While everything is very tasty, I think my expectations are a bit too high given its popularity and recognition. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with the food, I just think I expected more excellence. I feel like their food is probably on par with most beef noodle stores and that’s not an insult either. Nonetheless, it does satisfy and we end up finishing everything we order!

Ximending

After dinner we spend some time exploring Ximending. This is a lively vibrant shopping area in Taipei. There are lots of walking shopping streets and we spend some time perusing some of the stores. We did end up stopping at a few claw machines to try and win some the items. I think the irony of trying to use a claw machine to win a souvenir claw machine is hilarious! We did end up winning but I’m not entirely sure how much we spent in total to secure our victory!

Xing Fu Tang

On our way back to the subway, we stop to get bubble tea at Xing Fu Tang. It’s a popular bubble tea shop which I believe is known for their brown sugar boba. We wait in line for a short time and make our order. One thing I didn’t get to do too much of so far in Taiwan is drink bubble tea. So I’m hopeful this will spark more bubble tea visits for my remaining time in Taiwan. 

After our sweet treat, we head back to our respective accommodations. I need to do a little packing as tomorrow we head to Tainan!