In a Nutshell
A bowl of Taipei’s most famous braised pork rice bowl – Jin Feng Braised Meat Rice (金凤卤肉饭) to start it off! Next is Smoothie House (思慕昔) – Taipei’s popular mango shaved ice store； Boite de Bijou (珠宝盒法式点心坊) - artisan bakery cafe; and Woolloomooloo. Moving on to Taipei 101 (台北101) – the skyscraper landmark of Taipei and watching the sun set at 35F Starbucks (星巴克35楼). Ending the day off with the newly opened Skin Food Cafe located at Ximending.
Heard lots about Jin Feng Braised Meat Rice (金凤卤肉饭), so this morning I made time to go give it a try. It is considered as the BEST braised meat rice in Taipei and it was indeed! The queue was really long but since I’m alone, I managed to get a seat within 10mins. One thing that I learned from this trip is that sometimes it’s really better to travel alone as it saves up lots of hassel. Many of the eateries that I visited during this trip are pretty crowded, which saves me a lot of waiting time being alone, as compared to visiting as a group. I could easily get a sharing table even when all the tables are taken.
Jin Feng’s braised meat rice is SO much better than Formosa Chang (胡须张)’s, who is also pretty popular for its braised meat rice, but while I would definitely recommend Jin Feng instead! Formosa Chang’s version has very little meat, it was mainly just rice and the braised sauce. It is also very oily and less flavourful as compared to Jin Feng’s. While Jin Feng’s version is filled with lots of meat and I added a braised duck egg as well.
Jin Feng Braised Meat Rice 金凤卤肉饭
No. 10, Section 1, Roosevelt Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
台北市中正区罗斯福路1段10号
Opening hrs: 8am-1am
Subway: Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall Station Exit 2 (line 2 red, line 3 green)
#1: Jin Feng Braised Meat Rice.
#2: Braised Meat Rice (medium), NTD40 = SGD1.82, + 1 Braised Egg, NTD15 = SGD0.69.
Next, I returned to Yongkang Street to try Smoothie House (思慕昔)’s famous Mango Shaved Ice. I ordered the Mixed Fruits Mango Shaved Ice with Mango Gelato, but they ran out of gelato so I need to have Panna Cotta instead. The Panna Cotta was bad, this is not how one is supposed to be done. The mango shaved ice was good, but I believed I have tried better ones in Singapore. They didn’t allow me to sit at Level 2 when all the tables are taken at Level 1, and I have to stand and eat. Because if you want to sit at Level 2, you have to order at Level 2, what logic is this?!! So I ended up sharing the table with someone else at a squeezy corner.
Smoothie House 思慕昔
No. 15, Yongkang Street, Da’an District, Taipei City
台北市大安区永康街15号
Opening hrs: 10am-11pm (1F), 12pm-9pm (2F)
Subway: Dongmen Station Exit 5 (line 2 red, line 4 yellow)
Instagram: @smoothiehouse_15
#3: Smoothie House.
#4: Mixed Fruits Mango Shaved Ice with Panna Cotta, NT220 = SGD10. Good for 2-3pax to share!
Before I left Yongkang Street, I did my non-food souvenir shopping at one of the stores diagonally across Smoothie House, and here is what I got for about SGD100:
#5: Postcards (buy 10 free 1) > NTD20 x (14-1) = NTD280 (SGD0.91 each).
#6: 3D Pop-up Cards > NTD80 x4 = NTD320 (SGD3.64 each).
#7: That's how the pop-up card looks like!
#8: Rectangle Magnet > NTD120 x2 = NTD240 (SGD5.45 each).
#9: Clay Magnet > NTD120 x2 = NTD240 (SGD5.45 each).
#10: A cute CKS Memorial Hall Pencil for myself > NTD50 = SGD2.72.
#13: Mini Coaster Magnet > NTD60 x 6 = NTD360 (SGD2.73 each).
#14: Wooden Tags: NTD80 x2 = NTD160 (SGD3.64 each).
Next, I went to Boite de Bijou (珠宝盒法点心坊). They are a French-style artisan bakery that specializes in bread, cakes and pastries. This place is well patronized especially by the ‘tai tai’s. It reminds me much of Singapore’s Antoinette. I had the Fraisier, Calisson Nature and Calisson Pistache. They are all VERY good and worth every cent of my money! This is what you call quality food. Super satisfied!
Boite de Bijou 珠宝盒法式点心坊
No. 10, Lane 209, Section 2, Anhe Road, Da’an District, Taipei City
台北市大安区安和路2段209巷10号
Opening hrs: 10am-8pm
Subway: Xinyi Anhe Station Exit 3 (line 2 red)
#15: Boite de Bijou.
#16: Fraisier (French-style Strawberry Shortcake), NTD200 = SGD9.09. Calisson Nature (French candy, original almond flavour), NTD20 = SGD0.91. Calisson Pistache (French candy, pistachio flavour), NTD20 = SGD0.91.
Before I proceed on to Taipei 101, I dropped by Woolloomooloo for a cup of coffee who was along the way. Woolloomooloo is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. This Woolloomooloo cafe in Taipei uses beans from Toby’s Estate, one of the top coffee roasters in Australia. The coffee was good and I really love the design and ambience of the place, giving off an Australia cafe-style vibe.
Woolloomooloo
No. 379, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City
台北市信义区信义路4段379号
Opening hrs: 7:30am-12am (Sun-Thu), 7:30am-1am (Fri, Sat)
Subway: Xinyi Anhe Exit 3 (line 2 red)
#17: Woolloomooloo.
#18: Latte, NTD130 = SGD5.91.
#19: Latte glasses as lamp shade, cool!
Next, I headed off to Taipei 101, the landmark skyscraper in Taipei. It was the tallest building in the world since 2004 till the completion of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2009. In 2011, the building was awarded the LEED platinum certification, making it the tallest and the largest green building in the world. You may buy tickets to go up to the observatory at 89th floor. Alternatively, you can make an appointment with Starbucks located at 35th floor and enjoy the view at the cafe instead. This Starbucks branch is strictly by appointment only and no slippers and shorts are allowed. There is also a minimum spend of NTD200 per pax with a fixed allocated time of 1.5hrs.
A trick that I learnt online was to be the last to enter the lift, so that I ended up being the first to exit the lift and to reach the cafe. Everyone would want to grab a window seat so fastest fingers first! I was also the first to make my order while the rest were busy looking around. Everyone only started queuing after I have received my order. So the ones that queued at the back waited for quite some time. While everyone was queuing, I use this time to take photos of the scenery and the cafe as it looks quite empty with all the rest of the people queuing up. A pity was that it’s always cloudy and hazy during this cold season, so sunset wasn’t really obvious.
35F Starbucks 35楼星巴克
No. 7, 35F, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City
台北市信义区信义路5段7号35楼
Opening hrs: 7:30am-8pm (Mon-Fri), 9am-7:30pm (Sat-Sun)
Subway: Taipei 101 Station Exit 4 (line 2 red)
Taipei 101 台北101
No. 7, 89F, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City
台北市信义区信义路5段7号89楼
Opening hrs: 9am-10pm
Admission: NTD500
Taipei 101 Mall Opening hrs: 11am-9:30pm (Sun-Thu), 11am-10pm (Fri-Sat)
Subway: Taipei 101 Station Exit 4 (line 2 red)
#20: This is where you wait to get brought up to Starbucks. They have a Starbucks located at ground floor though.
#21: Entrance to 35F Starbucks.
#22: Super cute drawing at the entrance!
#23: 35F Starbucks.
#24: Could barely see the sunset because of the cloudy and hazy sky!
#25: Matcha Frapp (Grande)， NTD145 = SGD6.59. Minimum spending is NTD200, so I ordered a Matcha Strawberry Cake Roulade as well, NTD130 = SGD5.91.
#26: Taipei 101.
Since it was still early (like 6:30pm?), I decided to visit the newly opened Skin Food Cafe located back at Ximending. The cafe was so pretty! Just so you know, Skin Food is a South Korean skincare and cosmetics brand established in 1957. The main concept of the brand is to create products with nutritional values of food. The company slogan is 'beauty food for the urban sweety', and the brand is represented by a guardian angel symbolizing purity and goodness of their products. I ordered a strawberry smoothie and a cappuccino and the smoothie was served in a cute mason jar!
Skin Food Cafe
No. 85-3, Section 2, Wuchang Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City
台北市万华区武昌街2段85-3号
Opening hrs: 11am-9pm
Subway: Ximen Station Exit 6 (line 3 green, line 5 blue)
Instagram: @skinfoodtaiwan
#27: Skin Food.
#28: Skin Food Cafe at Level 2.
#29: Super pretty on the inside!
#30: Strawberry Smoothie, NTD140 = SGD6.36.
#31: Even their take-away cup is so pretty! Cappuccino, NTD110 = SGD5.
Expenses for the Day
Jin Feng Braised Meat Rice (medium): NTD40
+ Braised Egg: NTD15
Smoothie House, Mix Fruits Mango Shaved Ice with Panna Cotta: NTD220
Souvenir: NTD2,370
> Postcards (free 1): NTD20 x (14-1) = NTD280
> 3D Pop-up Cards: NTD80 x4 = NTD320
> Clay Magnet: NTD120 x2 = NTD240
> Pencil: NTD50
> Rectangle Magnet: NTD120 x2 = NTD240
> Wooden Tags: NTD80 x2 = NTD160
> Car Plate-style Magnet: NTD60 x12 = NTD720
> Mini Coaster Magnet: NTD60 x 6 = NTD360
EasyCard Top-up: NTD50
Boite de Bijou, Fraisier: NTD200
Calisson Pistache: NTD20
Calisson Nature: NTD20
San Pellegrino: NTD85
Woolloomooloo, Latte: NTD130
Starbucks, Matcha Frapp: NTD145
Matcha Strawberry Cake Roulade: NTD130
Ay Chung Mee Sua (small): NTD50
Oyster Omelette: NTD60
Skinfood Cafe, Strawberry Smoothie: NTD140
Cappuccino: NTD110
Total Expenses for Day 8: NTD3,785 = SGD172.05
Previous Total Expenses: SGD1,521.10
Current Total Expense: SGD1,693.15