[♥Taiwan] Stroll on the old street in Jiou Fen is cool! (but better not on weekends!!)

What if foreign tourists ask you to take them to Jiou Fen (九份) on weekends? As we all know, it’s gonna be like being packed in together as sardines. Yet as the most hospitable local guide, I will say YES!

The old street in Jiou Fen is so narrow that it’s better to walk on the right side, check those stores on the right side, eat at those restaurants on the right side. What about the left side? Check the left side during your return trip. Never Ever stroll along the old street in the route of shape of “Z”.

Here I would like to introduce some food that is featured Jiou Fen:

1.Taiwanese Meatball flavoured with Red Yeast Rice (NT$40)

Red Yeast Rice is bright reddish purple fermented rice, which acquires its colour from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus. Red yeast rice was a commonly used red food colouring in East Asian and Chinese cuisine prior to the discovery of chemical food colouring. It has also been used in Chinese herbal medicine.

Taiwanese Meatball is wrapped by a half-transparent skin which is made from yam starch, corn starch, and other kinds of flour. The meatball is seasoned and coloured by the red yeast rice, so it’s in brick red. Again, tastes differ. So I can’t guarantee that everyone loves it. The best way is to try it yourself J

2.A Lan Cudweed Cake & Taro Cake (NT$10)

Cudweed Cake is one of my favorites food, or I should call it snack, because it’s rather small as the size of your palm. It has a green look, and the texture is a bit chewy and made from glutinous rice flour. The stuffing is grounded pickled radish, so it is vegetarian. If you are really interested, you can stop at A Lan and watch the production process as long as there is no long line or too many people.

3.A Gan Yi Taro Ball (NT$40)

Taro Ball is reckoned as the most famous and the most representative food in Jiou Fen. You will be very full as you finish a whole portion (a bowl full of taro ball!), so it’s highly recommended to order one and share with friends. Another tip is NOT to try Taro Ball the moment you are in the old street of Jiou Fen. Be patient, and you can try more food. Besides, it’s sweet which should be tasted as a dessert after main meals. Again, it’s another chewy snack! I couldn’t help wonder: Why almost all food in Jiou Fen has this kind of texture?

Jiou Fen is also famous for its scenery, both artificial and natural scenes. A lot of tourists come here to have tea on the balcony and appreciate the beautiful view.

In terms of artificial, I am indicating the red lanterns. When it becomes dark, you can even enjoy the beauty of the red lanterns, and the atmosphere these lanterns create.

A lot of movie directors were inspired by the beauty of Jiou Fen, such as the buildings, the stairs, the landscape, and even the narrow alleys. A City of Sadness, directed by Xiao-Xien Ho (侯孝賢), was shot here in Jiou Fen. One of the most popular animation movies of Miyazaki, Spirited Away, has the same scenes in the movie. It’s said that Miyazaki was inspired and touched by Jiou Fen’s beauty, and therefore made such scenes in his animation.

The overview map of Jiou Fen Old Street:

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[愛台灣] 假日去九份是發瘋的行為還是最夯的行為

[♥Taiwan] Superstitious is No Crime

     I am superstitious! Yes, there I admitted it! What’s the matter with being superstitious? There’s nothing wrong and we shall not be despised. People like me will often treat the God as our very best and intimate friend. How? We will reveal everything, anything! For example, our names (even our embarrassing nicknames), birthdays, where we live, what’s our problems (mentally & physically), how do we feel (the very honest feel), etc., and we listen to them and by all means follow their advice. It’s like we are talking to a shrink that we trust very much. The only difference is that we don’t say it out loud. Sometimes, I almost burst out crying when I am revealing some sensitive details. Exaggerated? Perhaps :)

     Taipei Xia Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) is famous for the “Yue Xia Lao Ren” (月下老人) or “Old Man under the Moon” or “The Deity of Love and Marriage”. Let’s be simple, 月下老人 is the Chinese version of Jupiter holding the red thread rather than bow and arrow. Singletons are attracted by this temple for it has made some impressive history. There have been a lot of couples getting married or single ones becoming non-single after visiting the temple. People will go to the temple and pray for true love, for smooth love, for incomparable love, and for impeccable love. Do you notice how greedy they are or I am? Single people are seeking for true love, people with the other half (BF or GF) are wishing their relationship smooth, and then the next level is to compare with other couples and hope to have an incomparable and impeccable TITANIC-style love. Geez, I guess that’s probably why there are endless disciples paying visits to Taipei Xia Hai City God Temple. 

This temple is located in Dihua Street where the famous New Year Market is held annually during the New Year’s Holidays. The neighborhood is way different from the Department Store-occupied XinYi District and from the stylish East Area of Taipei City. In Dihua Street, you’ll find stores selling dried food, traditional snacks, and some specialties of Taiwan. One snack I have to highly recommend is: tortoise jellies fudge(龜苓膏軟糖). It has a black, plain look, nothing special. Yet the herbal & caramel taste and the texture are addictive! You will want one after another when you are in the class, at work, driving, or relaxing. The restaurants there are more like undecorated food stands offering local, simple, and cheap food, such as a variety of side dishes, noodles, sticky rice, etc.

     If you are the rookies, then you will have to pass through more “gates”, so as you can see from the see-saw below, the pressure is more when you are the first time visiting Taipei Xia Hai City God Temple. The only difference is the first step whether you need to spend NT$260 on offerings to the God. Such expenditure includes not only the offerings but a candy suggesting your life can be as sweet as the candy, and the most important of all: The Red Thread of Destiny (姻緣線). 

It is said that people can only have ONE red thread of destiny in their lives. So if you already have one, the first step can be skipped. There are five Gods that disciples need to go through. Tian Gong (天公) is in charge of the overall smoothness; the town god (Chenghuang Yeh, 城隍爺) & Yue Xia Lao Ren (月下老人) are the leading roles of this temple who are responsible for finding you the right one, the MR. Right! If you have someone in your mind, then name it in front of the Gods; if not, then name all the criteria of your dream Mr. Right. Being as detailed as possible is the tip! Here comes the third God: Yiyong Gong (義勇公) is the God of Justice & Courage who can help you fight against the “SH*T* & “SL*T”. The wife of Chenghuang Yeh (城隍夫人) takes care of people’s marriage and the happiness of the family while the deity Guanyin (觀世音菩薩) will bless people with extra luck. One more thing I have to nag about is that when you pray, don’t forget to make a promise that how you will redeem your promise when dreams come true. 

     I seem to be pretty experienced at this; however, no dreams have ever come true and I’m still surrounded by “SH*T* & “SL*T”. But, cases are different. I have to be rather objective about this, and purely suggest this attraction with no hatred. It’s probably a creative topic for Master’s dissertation: Study on the degree of quasi- of the deity of love and marriage. 

     It’s a tourist spot with distinguishing features which is worth visiting once in a life time. For more information about Taipei Xia Hai City God Temple, please go to its official website: http://www.tpecitygod.org/. 

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[愛台灣] 愚婦行程 心想事成

[♥Taiwan] Military Dependants’ Village

     Am I being too patriotic or showing any political pan-green or pan-blue stand if I categorise this travelling review in Taiwan as [♥Taiwan]? I was afraid that certain people will judge me or use a strict point of view to challenge me, but then I thought: Taiwan is such a great country and all man love Formosa! So “♥Taiwan” is just the best category that comes to my mind, and I decided to keep this idea unless there is a better one.

     Recently people are talking fervently about the Military-dependant's village which has become more obvious after the series “Time Story” was broadcasted in 2008. Everyone is talking about the fashion, the life style, and the food of the military-dependant’s village. It’s like an infection or a fever that no one can get away with it. So after 3 years, here I present a blog reviewing Military Dependants’ Village

44 South Village

     It’s the first military-dependant’s village in Taipei City and it has been reconstructed to Xinyi Public Assembly Hall & Cultural Park by the government. The whole military-dependant’s village includes the exhibition hall, the performance stadium, the community hall, the plaza, and the park. The cultural park was rebuilt from the air-raid shelters; however you only see several green hills which are like anything but the air-raid shelters. 44 South Village is located in the most expensive area, XinYi District. The famous Taipei 101, World Trade Centre, TICC, and the grand and luxury apartments of A-Mei are all in the neighbourhood. It completely showcases a strong collision just like the photo below:

     I was focusing more on the bagel store in 44 South Village rather than the village itself, so here I will also put more focus on introducing this restaurant named Good Cho's. 

     Good Cho's lies in the centre of 44 South Village which as mentioned earlier is a restaurant selling bagels. On entering the gate, it's like a platform for those emerging designers or cultural/creative ordinary people to exhibit their works. As I recall, a girl attending the same high school as I did (SSSH) had a photography exhibition on the day I went to Good Cho's. The next "barrier" before reaching to the restaurant is a shop that sells various design works and some products featuring Taiwan. To be honest, the way how they display and the overall layout attract me as a compulsive consumer. Finally, it's the restaurant! Good Cho's is not like NY Bagels even though they feature "Bagels." Why is that and what's the difference you might ask. Good Cho's combines the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and last but not least, the main ingredients for the flavour, whether it is sesame, chocolate, and even the goose oil with the Sanhsin scallions. It's probably the most special and also pretty local flavour! *Sanhsin scallion is originated in Yi-Lan, a city in the North-East of Taiwan. Good Cho's also sells something like Auntie Annes's Pretzel Dog whether its look or even the taste is quite similar to it. I like Auntie Annes Pretzel Dog better though, for it's juicier, and the dough is absolutely softer and more chewy! Yummmmmmm! I won't say that Good Cho is highly recommended because I think some food there is overpriced which in fact can be found way cheaper elsewhere. However, the neighbourhood is worth visiting because the constructions have some retro features that will make people can't help but leave a lot of snapshots there! 

Rainbow Military Dependants’ Village
     It is located in Taichung City near the Ling Tung University. It was almost torn down before, yet people started the petition by writing to the Mayor of Taichung City and as a result an overwhelming amount of mails packed Mayor Hu's mail box. In the end, the "Saving Rainbow Military Dependants' Village" action works! This military Dependants' Village is famous for Grandpa Rainbow's paintings. Grandpa Rainbow, Huang Yong-Fu (黃永阜), out of nowhere started to paint the wall of his house on a random day. His neighbours found it cute and interesting that they all asked Grandpa Rainbow to paint for their house. From one house to a whole village, from the floor to the wall of the entire village, it's the masterpiece of Grandpa Rainbow, Huang Yong-Fu (黃永阜). 

     Let's be bitchy here, or be more critical here. Grandpa Rainbow's painting would probably get a 74 out of 100, or just a B- if it were a school assignment in the art course. But when I witnessed his paintings covering the Rainbow Military Dependants' Village, I was stunned, amazed, and intrigued. It's so eye-catching because of the variety and the saturation of the colours and the figures in his painting made me think of Matryoshka (a.k.a: the Russian Dolls). 

     There were many travellers visiting Rainbow Military Dependants' Village, especially on weekends. So watch out people! Here are some golden rules when you visit there or any other tourist spots: Squeeze Yourself, Excuse Yourself, and 1, 2, 3 Say Cheese!

     Grandpa Rainbow also integrated some wishes and auspicious words into his paintings, and people are like charmed when they take pictures with them. My friends and I also took pictures in front of the walls having Take Good Care, Be Healthy, Make Big Money, etc. as if we would be blessed or become a millionaire the day after. 

    
     You will find Grandpa Rainbow painting on the spot, and visitors can get his autographed painting and take picture with him if they buy beverages. As understood, the earnings are used for purchasing pen brushes and paints.

     I like Rainbow Military Dependants' Village more because I am an exaggerated, overreacted, and what not person that such colourful village is like a work of art to me. What's more, I saw Grandpa Rainbow in flesh!! See, celebrity endorsement here :) I am gonna visit Treasure Hill, another military dependants' village in Taiwan. I am looking forward to sharing my experience with you then!

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[愛台灣] 四四南村 v.s 彩虹眷村