May 19, 2016

[She Travels: Taipei #2]

"Whoever said that money doesn't buy happiness, didn't know where to shop." - Blair Waldorf

And truer words have never been spoken...well, except by Bo Derek, who might have said it first and then Blair quoted her, or should I say the writer quoted her.  Oh well, never mind my blabbering.


Back to the topic at hand.  So, my second day at Taipei, as you all can guess already, was spent shopping, and my dear friend knew just where to take me.  She took me to a shopping area near my hotel, right behind Shin Kong Mitsukoshi 新光三越, which is located around the Zhongshan area, as I have mentioned in my previous post.


Our first stop of the day was of course for breakfast.  A girl needs her energy before going to war (read: shopping), doesn't she?

My friend suggested a traditional Taiwanese breakfast for my first breakfast in Taipei, which was just fitting.  We went to JSP 甲尚寶 for some dan bing 蛋餅, fried turnip/carrot cake 蘿蔔糕, and breakfast milk tea.  It was about 7 minutes walk from my hotel and right across MOCA Taipei.

That  ripped-off Anpan Man logo tho'

Dan bing 蛋餅 is an egg crepe wrap, just in case you are wondering.  Bacon n' cheese and tuna n' cheese dan bings were our choice that morning.  Each dan bing came with a bit brownish salty and sweet sauce on the side.  Although the sauce went perfectly with the dan bing, I preferred to eat it sans sauce so I could taste both the melted cheese and the bacon wrapped in that perfectly cooked egg crepe.  Have I sounded like those "expert" foodies yet? Nah, I'm just kidding, I'm just not fond of salty sauce with a hint of sweetness.  It was such a bummer that I didn't bring some tabasco or chili sauce with me to Taipei, I bet the dan bings will taste exceptionally more delicious with some chili.
(Note: for you who love spicy food, you may want to bring your own chili sauce to Taipei, because I don't think chili sauce is Taiwanese best forte)
As for the milk tea, why did I call it breakfast milk tea?  It is because, as explained by my friend/tour guide/local, the tea consistency of breakfast milk tea is not as thick as those you drink at a boba store.  So this one won't give you nauseating effect after drinking it.  Moreover, it also pairs beautifully with the dan bing, just the right combo if I may say.
Spent NT 175 for breakfast and I was like "Whaaaaa, only NT 175!? Value!!!"



Tuna n' Cheese dan bing 


Bacon n' Cheese dan bing *we love *

After breakfast, the shopping spree started and all hell broke loose.

First of all, let's talk about the shopping scene in this area.  The stores were scattered on different alleys, kind of reminded me of the scene at Shanghai's Tian Zi Fang 田子坊 (see my previous post about this spot, click here).  Lots of small cool stores and cafes spread across the area, each with its own characteristics, adding some "colors" and attraction to the area.  It was really refreshing to do some shopping outdoor sometimes, instead of hopping from one shopping mall to the others.  You could really feel and breathe in the city's vibes.

Sneaked in a couple OOTD shot session whilst shopping

With la partner-in-crime 

Here are some of the stores that got me all riled up upon entering the premises:


S3 Beauty Store 小三美日 




A beauty store chain selling all these japanese, korean, taiwanese cosmetics brands and other related stuffs.  Something like Sasa and Sephora.  Speaking of Sephora, they don't have store in Taipei, none, zilch.  And I was so shocked when I found out about it, it was Hongkong all over again.  Nonetheless, I was quite content with this S3 store and the other one called The 86 Shop 86小鋪, they have all these kinds of Asian beauty products with affordable price and great quality.  I came out of the stores one happy kid with ample amount of beauty products.  By the way, I'm totally obsessed with this Chateau LaBiotte Wine Lip Tint that I bought three colors at once.  Will talk about it on my next post alright.


[WAM] 




Bought this eye ring at a nearby accessories store, lovin' it!

Knew I would love this store before I even stepped in.  Dominated with black and white clothing, this clothing store had me like WAM bam alright mam.  
Almost bought an oversized T-Shirt with unreasonable pricing but luckily my friend stopped and reminded me that it was only my second day and that I shouldn't splurge right away.  I gotta say, a wise one, she is. 
However, you know when you have that kinda feeling when you must buy something from that very store and you won't back down until you find at least one item, well that happened and I scored myself a long denim vest from the sale rack for NT 700 only *cue evil laugh*  Yay me!
Will show you the denim vest on my next post, because I wore it for my trip to Shi Fen 十份.
And I have to mention the pristine white steam-punk industrial interior that had me wishing if only I get to decorate my room just like that, it was awesomely dope. 

Decided to get some coffee after the first round of exhausting yet exhilarating shopping spree to replenish our energy.  My friend took me to this hidden coffee house nearby, which is located at the second floor of a hair salon if I'm not mistaken, called Light One Cafe 光一咖啡.  My friend told me it will become a music lounge once the sun sets, with bands performing live music.  We didn't stay for the cafe transformation tho', 'cos there were still a lot of shops to cover.

The ambience of the cafe was really cozy, a waft of coffee welcomed you the moment you entered the cafe.  It has native tribe theme going on, with dimmed lighting and lots of Tiki masks decoration laying around.  As for the coffee, I had a cup of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe brew that costed me around NT 300.  It was excellent, sadly I couldn't say the same for the lumpy lemon cheese cake.  It was supposed to taste great if only it was chilled properly.  Overall, I had a great time at this spot, totally recommend it if you're looking for a quite place to hang out.






That poor-looking lumpy cheese cake LOL 

Fast forward to dinner time, where we enjoyed an excellent 90-minute all you can eat ma la hot pot at 馬辣頂級麻辣火鍋 for NT 699/person.  And here is the best part, our reservation was at 10:30 PM.  Diet? What diet?
We got the half-half soup, half chicken stock and half ma la, just to spice it up a bit.  This was #1 on my list because I've been craving it like crazy.  Moreover, my friend always tells me about how good the ma la hotpot at Taipei is, it intrigues me a lot 'cos I'm a sucker for spicy soup dishes.  Alas, my craving was fulfilled.
The menu at this restaurant is extensive, I'm talking about wide selection of meats, seafood, and other side dishes that worth your NT 699.  The condiments and beverages counters also offer quite a selection that won't disappoint.  They even have several selection of teas, starting from the instant one to the one with real tea leaves, not the tea bag kind.  They have beer as well if I remember it correctly.  And last but not least, they serve Haagen Dasz and Movenpick ice cream in various flavors, which my friend still managed to gulp down after all that hot pot bonanza.
By the way, so sorry that I have no pictures to back up my argument since my camera decided to die on me, and silly me didn't bring back-up battery.  But, I have some Instagram pics.  If it's still not enough, I guess you better go and try it yourselves :)



A photo posted by 鄭姍姍 (@triyanakardianto) on

My second day had finally come to an end, and the best way to end it was with some Chinese vampire and scary Japanese ghost sheet masks we got earlier at The 86 Shop 86小鋪.  These character sheet masks are absolutely the cutest 

Psst, put it in the freezer for a while for that chilled refreshing effect.  'Til next post, lads!




A photo posted by 鄭姍姍 (@triyanakardianto) on




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April 11, 2016

[She Travels: Taipei #1]

You know it is time to update your blog again when your last post is about 1 year ago, or when you made a bet with your friend to post at least 1 blog post a month or post a no make-up selfie on Instagram instead, or simply when you have interesting material to write about (well at least it is to me), which I do right now cos' I just got back from my 10 Days Taipei Trip *cue the fanfare* 
Technically, it was just really 9 days, since I got in quite late and flew out pretty early in the morning.

So, let's begin the first part of She Travels: Taipei edition, shall we?

DAY 1 (01.04.2016)

The sun was shining bright, I had not finished packing and my flight was at 2:40 PM.
Oh, what a splendid way to start your vacation.
Do refrain from last minute packing my fellow heavy packers, tho' I made it in time packing all my stuffs, it was so not worth the hysteria.
Got to the airport with enough time to drop my baggage (always do online check-in if that option is available for your flight) and enjoy a cup of Iced Cocoa Cappuccino at Starbucks before my flight.
What's your ritual before flying out, by the way?


Just love the historic architecture of our Soekarno-Hatta airport

Managed to watch the whole Spotlight movie before I passed out 'til the plane touched down at Tao Yuan airport.  You could say it was a pretty uneventful 5-hour-flight to Taipei.
Once I got off the plane, everything happened in a blur cos' I was so excited to meet my long-time BFF who's been living Taiwan since her high-school years, and also for the Pablo cheesecake she queued almost 1 hour for before she came picking me up *evil laugh*
Tho' I did notice a lot of people used pink luggages, I'm not kidding you guys, wish I have picture to show to you.  Luckily I'd marked mine with some colorful tassels so it was easier for me to spot it.
What's with people and the color pink, jeez.  In my defense, mine is actually my mom's luggage cos' it was the only one big enough to accommodate all my stuffs and my hauls later on.

Well, enough with the pink rant.  Before leaving the airport, I went and got myself a local prepaid SIM card to get reconnected with the world wide web.  My friend suggested me to go with the Chunghwa Telecom since they have better reception and a 10-Day-Pass plan that suited my schedule. (For more complete info on how to get a local prepaid SIM card on Taipei, click here)

Took a ± 40-minutes-bus-ride to the city for NT 125/person.  It was way cheaper than getting a cab for sure,  the bus stop however was about 7 minutes walk (500 m) to my hotel, kind of hard to manage with 13kg luggage and an empty stomach, luckily I had my friend helped me carried my carry-on luggage.
I stayed at Royal Inn Taipei in Zhongshan area.  It is no 5-star-hotel, but the hotel is clean, recently renovated, and the MRT station is nearby.  It is also located near shopping area so it is relatively easy to find something to eat, and most importantly...to shop.

My first super late dinner at Taipei was at this sushi-go-round chain restaurant called Sushi Express 爭鮮, or Sushi NT 30 as my friend calls it, cos' they charge NT 30/plate.  It was about 10 minute walk from the hotel.
My first reaction when I got into the restaurant was "What's with the effing crowd!?  It is freaking 10:30 PM!"  As a matter of fact, we still needed to wait for our table for about 15 minutes *slow clap*
My verdict of this sushi chain is it was worth the wait and calories at 11 PM.  I let the following pictures do the talking, savvy?







Must try brown-sugar sauce pudding

2 girls, 25 plates

And the food adventure continued,  remember that Pablo my friend queued for?  Well, they say save the best for last.
It tasted like heavenly egg tart with cream cheese filling, I was lost for words.
My friend told me that one person is limited to 2 boxes per purchase and she almost didnt get it *phew*.  It costs NT 328/box by the way.
Special shout out to my personal tour guide, Triyana, you are the (wo)man!!!





And that was how my first night at Taipei ended, a scrummy Pablo cheesecake with the best friend ever.  Good food, good company, and good night.


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