I’m not going to lie – it’s all about the food here. We did go to a couple of museums in Taipei but then quickly looked for our next meal again. And if the lines at some of the more famous places like Din Tai Fung are anything to go by, we’re not the only ones. (Oh, and pro tip on eating there: go for brunch. We went at 11:30 on a Thursday and walked right in.) So if you’re not interested in pictures of food, maybe skip this post. 🙂
Our AirBnB was directly across the street from a famous breakfast place but every day we’d see a line stretching half-way around the block so we didn’t think we’d bother going. But then on Wednesday the line was only half as long as usual so we rushed out the door and claimed our spot. And it was totally worth it. Hot salty soy milk with scallions and fried dough pieces, cold sweet soy milk, fried dough sticks wrapped in soft bread, scallion pancakes with egg, sesame buns with sweet caramel filling… So much goodness there. Even though between scarfing down food while calming one child’s meltdown over forgotten chopsticks and the other’s over food being too hot and not IN HIS MOUTH ALREADY! all while people around us were waiting for our table meant it was a slightly hectic breakfast and hence no pictures. But I did take a crappy shot at another breakfast place across the street (much less busy, essentially the same fare).
While our kids do enjoy eating, we had to fill up the time between meals somehow so off to the zoo we went. We were excited because it was super cheap to get in but there were quite a few empty cages “under redecoration” so that was a bit strange.
And of course we had to visit the iconic Taipei 101 building.
The damper ball that keeps the building steady in high winds was pretty neat, especially the videos they showed of very high winds and the ball actually moving. (And some tourists who were completely unfazed by the swaying building around them and just continued to take pictures…)
Now we’re by the seaside in a town called Hualien. There’s little English spoken, especially at the roadside eateries but this is where kids come in super handy: no better ice breaker than a smiley toddler who loves to wave at everyone. After that you just point at whatever looks good and bob’s you’re uncle. (Except when looks deceive and you order stinky tofu by mistake. Do NOT order stinky tofu. Seriously, trust me on this.)
Tomorrow we’re going to attempt walking off some of those kilos we’ve amassed. Taroko National Park, here we come!
Jealous! Hualien was great. You went to all the food places that Terry took us to, and now I’m hungry. Enjoy the dumplings!
…and enjoy Taroko gorge tomorrow. keep the kids safe. that place can be scary if you get high enough!
got hungry looking at all these pics. wonder what the aboriginal sausages are 🙂 and the zoo pic of the basksides – interesting to say the least.