In a Nutshell
First destination of the day, Taipei Story House (台北故事馆) – a guest house that was once for rich merchants, now serves Turkish art museum, followed by Taipei Expo Park (花博公园) – a multifunctional park that holds various exhibitions from time to time. Around the corner was Maji Square (集食行乐) – consisting of marketplace, shops, food court, restaurants and expo spaces, and ending the day with café, Shelter (别所), some BAKE cheese tarts, and yummy street food at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) – one of the largest and most popular night market in Taipei!
Starting the day off with 7-11’s vacuum-packed corn! Everyone at work would know I’m a huge fan of 7-11’s corn! The corn here taste totally different! Singapore’s is sweet, while Taipei’s is firm and savoury. I think I prefer Singapore’s!
Roaming around Yuanshan for this morning. First destination was Taipei Story House (台北故事馆). Previously known as Yuanshan Mansion (圆山别墅), it is a historic house in Taipei, now opened as a museum. The house was built in 1913, originally used as a guest house for rich merchants. According to the caretaker, the house is being renovated based on its original looks, thus it cost more to do so as it is challenging to find resources identical to those used 100 years ago. The place is now used as a Turkish art exhibition, displaying Kilim - an ancient art of weaving - and Ceramic Painting. The huge ground right next to the house where Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美术馆) stands now was once a private turf club.
Taipei Story House 台北故事馆
No. 181-1, Section 3, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
台北市中山区中山北路3段181-1号
Opening hrs: 10am-5pm, Closed on Mondays
Admission: NTD50
Subway: Yuanshan Station Exit 2 (line 2 red)
#1: Taipei Story House, admission NTD50 = SGD2.25.
#2: Pretty flowers by the front garden.
#3: Kilim.
#4: Natural ways to get various dye colours.
After which, I went to Maji Square (集食行乐) and Taipei Expo Park (花博公园). Maji Square was planned by Taiwanese artiste, Harlem Yu, together with Taiwanese designer, Eugene Yeh. Incorporating containers and wooden barns, the market includes Maji Food and Deli, street food of various countries, restaurants, specialty shops, and a multipurpose performing space. Sat down at the café within Maji Food and Deli for a cup of coffee and people watch. Really nice soothing jazz music going on~ Next, I went to the Expo Park that currently exhibits Hello Kitty – Around the World, Robocar Poli and Despicable Me.
Maji Maji Square 集食行乐
No. 1, Yumen Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
台北市中山区玉门街1号
Opening hrs: 11am-9pm (Mon-Fri), 11am-10pm (Sat-Sun)
Subway: Yuanshan Station Exit 1 (line 2 red)
Taipei Expo Park 花博公园
No. 1, Yumen Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
台北市中山区玉门街1号
Subway: Yuanshan Station (line 2 red)
#5: Taipei Expo Park.
#6: Maji Square.
#7: Maji Square.
#8: Maji Square.
#9: Maji Food and Deli.
#10: Maji Food and Deli.
#11: Cappuccino, NTD120 = SGD5.45.
#12: Food Court.
#13: Restaurants.
Definitely I have to go to the Minion exhibit! Not quite interested at the other two though. Mind blown~ Feel so happy and like a little girl again looking at all the pretty set-ups. At the end of the exhibit, there are some game stalls (ranging from NTD9 – 15) and of course a souvenir shop. Not quite sure what to get as most of the items are pretty costly. Lastly, I got myself a set of 5 prettily designed beach-themed Minion postcards for NTD160.
#14: Despicable Me Exhibition Admission Ticket, NTD280 = SGD12.70.
#15: Despicable Me Exhibition.
#16: Fire Minions.
#17: Knight Minions.
#18: Gru and the Boys.
#19: Minions.
#20: Minions.
#21: Egypt Minions.
#22: Soldier Minions.
#23: Eskimo Minions.
#24: Minion.
#25: King Minion.
#26: To the Game Stalls.
#27: Game Stall.
#28: Game Stall.
#29: Anna and her fluffy Unicorn.
#30: Minion jacket that cost freaking SGD80.
#31: Hawaii Minion.
Next, I went to ‘Shelter’ (别所), my first café to go amongst the long list of cafes. Had a hot chocolate and traditional rice rolls (onigiri) – sweet peanut rice roll and savoury mix of cai por (pickled radish), dried shrimps and mushrooms rice roll; together with scallion omelette, Taiwanese sausage in lemon sauce, and housemade pickled vegetables.
Shelter 别所
No. 18, Lane 51, Section 3, Chengde Road, Datong District, Taipei City
台北市大同区承德路3段51巷18号
Opening hrs: 11am-11pm
Subway: Minquan West Road Station Exit 5 (line 2 red, line 4 yellow)
Instagram: @shelter5118
#32: Shelter.
#33: Shelter.
#34: Shelter.
#35: Shelter.
#36: Shelter.
#37: Dark Chocolate (hot chocolate), NTD160 = SGD7.25. Traditional Rice Rolls, NTD240 = SGD10.90.
Thought it was too early to go to Shilin Night Market as it is only 3pm. So I dropped by BAKE Cheese Tart, located just 2 metro stops away. Got myself a couple of freshly baked cheese tarts and a yummy vanilla soft serve in 2mins! While in Singapore, you probably have to queue like 2hrs~ BAKE Cheese Tart originated from Kinotoya, a long established Western confectionery store in Sapporo, Hokkaido; selling chilled blueberry cheese tarts. The eldest son of Kinotoya, Shintaro joined the company at the age of 24, and was tasked to build up the sales. One day, in the midst of an event, Shintaro sold the tarts unchilled and suddenly a queue starts to form. Recipe after recipe, and slowly removing the blueberries, they arrived at the freshly baked cheese tarts that everybody went crazy about today. I kept mine chilled and microwaved it for about 20secs later on. It is the BEST tart that I have ever had! Now I understand why everyone goes gaga over it. It tastes like heaven food! The crust was still slightly chilled, but the cheese just melts in your mouth. It tastes really light as well, so you will not feel the heaviness if you had too much. The sweetness, the savoury, everything is so well balanced.
BAKE Cheese Tart
No. 15, Nanjing West Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
台北市中山区南京西路15号
Opening hrs: 11am-9:30pm (Sun-Thu), 11am-10pm (Fri, Sat)
Subway: Zhongshan Station Exit 3 (line 2 red)
#38: BAKE Cheese Tart.
#39: BAKE Cheese Tart.
#40: Freshly baked cheese tarts.
#41: BAKE Ice Cream, NTD120 = SGD5.45.
#42: Super good cheese tart! NTD70 = SGD3.15.
#43: Check out the oozing goodness of the cheese!
After BAKE Cheese Tart, I went to Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). Shilin Night Market is the largest and the most popular night market in Taipei. It consists of street food stalls, as well as a basement food court. There are also many non-food stalls and game stalls. I didn’t really try a lot of food as I was too full after having the ice cream from BAKE. I tried oyster omelette, which was totally different from the ones served in Singapore. I prefer the Taiwan version as the flour and egg are cooked very well together, and I love the sauce that is paired with the omelette. Next, I tried Cheese Potato, Hawaii Cheese version, which comes with ham, corn, pineapple, and a scoop of cheese sauce. Nothing special I would say, just worth trying once. The taste of the sauce is just off~ I also tried Fried Milk. It is deep-fried milk jelly cubes. It is sweet and because of the temperature that it is cooked in, it kinds of melt in your mouth really quickly. It tastes pretty good!
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
No. 101, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City
台北市士林区基河路101号
Opening hrs: 5pm-1am
Subway: Jiantan Station Exit 1 (line 2 red)
#44: Shilin Night Market.
#45: Shilin Night Market.
#46: Oyster Omelette, NTD60 = SGD2.70.
#47: Cheese Potato (Hawaii and Cheese), NTD65 = SGD2.95.
#48: Fried Milk, NTD20 = SGD0.90.
#49: Caramel Macchiato (tall), NTD125 = SGD5.65.
Expenses for the Day
7-11 Corn: NTD39
Taipei Story House Admission: NTD50
Maji Food and Deli, Cappuccino: NTD120
Despicable Me Exhibition Admission: NTD280
Despicable Me Postcards: NTD160 (for 5pcs)
Shelter, Traditional Rice Rolls: NTD240
Shelter, Dark Chocolate (hot chocolate): NTD160
BAKE Cheese Tart: NTD140 (for 2pcs)
BAKE Soft Serve Ice Cream: NTD120
Oyster Omelette: NTD60
Cheese Potato: NTD65
Fried Milk: NTD20
Starbucks, Caramel Macchiato: NTD125
Total Expenses for Day 2: NTD1,579 = SGD71.77
Previous Total Expenses: SGD962.17
Current Total Expense: SGD1,033.94