2019 Summer Trip to Asia
August 23~25, 2019 -- Taoyuan and Taipei
We have not seen MOR's uncle and aunt for a couple of years so we decided to visit them on this free day. It was a beautiful day and a perfect time to take the long distance bus ride to Taoyuan. I figured out how to take the bus from Hsindian to Taoyuan using Google map, which turned out to be quite easy and convenient.
Our bus crossing Bitan. What a beautiful day!
MOR's cousin happened to be visiting uncle and aunt on that day also and he came to pick us up from the bus stop. Then we were taken to a nice restaurant serving Hakka cuisine.
I love chicken!
Uncle and aunt who are always gracious.
Cousin and wife who were visiting from Taichung.
I have no idea what all the dishes were but they were all delicious.
Rice noodle soup with taro, again.
Steamed fish
Exterior of the restaurant in the city of Taoyuan.
New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum
We were surprised that they had arranged for us to visit the Ceramics Museum in Yingge, which is not far from Taoyuan. We have never been there before so it turned out to be quite interesting. I did not expect to see such a modern and huge museum in this little town that's famous for high-quality ceramics and dinner wares.
As we entered the museum.
Huge!
We spent a couple of hours checking out the many exhibits on different floors of this building. They were all very organized and set up nicely.
Model of an old kiln.
tiles
Main hall
Cute display outside the building.
Entrance
Yingge Old Street
Seems like every town has their 'old street', no difference in Yingge, except they have many stores selling ceramic products here.
Not a busy day.
One of the ceramic pottery stores.
Old kiln
Dong Je (East Street) Japanese Restaurant, Yingge
Before leaving for Taipei, uncle and aunt insisted that we stay for dinner. We were treated to a fancy and wonderful Japanese meal right there in Yingge.
After the wonderful dinner, cousin took us back to the bus station so we can take the same bus back to Hsindian.
August 24, 2019 - Taipei
MOR had a lunch appointment with his college friends today at their favorite seafood restaurant, North Sea. This group of friends always make it a point to meet and share a good meal whenever we are back in Taipei. A nice way to keep in touch other than chatting on LINE.
The small bus stop that is also a tiny library.
MRT station.
Freshest sashimi
After close to fifty years, they are still friends.
I can never get tired of food from this restaurant.
They are seafood from the island of Penghu, arriving daily via the airplane.
Abalone
Desserts
We had such a big lunch which means we only needed something simple for dinner.
We just bought a couple of bento boxes to take home that evening.
August 25, 2019 - Ximending, Taipei
We spent many days and hours in Ximending in our younger days, before we were married. Many things have changed but it is still a very busy part of town with tourists and locals alike. We wanted to get our fix on the most delicious pork chop rice there from the eatery that we used to patronized years ago. Of course, they are not at their original location any longer but we still make it a point to visit whenever we are in Taipei.
A very busy part of town.
Exit of the MRT station.
Not sure what these young people were in line for.
Exit 6 on the blue line.
Pedestrian street
Quite crowded inside this tiny restaurant at the underground food court.
MOR's noodle but I always want rice to go with my pork chop.
Flavorful pork chop.
Got some bitter melon juice from this vendor.
Quite refreshing!
Banqiao
I don't think I have ever been to the city of Banqiao, which is part of the New Taipei City district. That was why we decided to take a short trip there from Ximending. It was quite convenient taking the MRT there using the blue line. They have a huge transportation hub there with MRT, trains, Buses and HSR right at the same spot. That's quite understandable with Banqiao being where the New Taipei City Government Office is located.
After strolling inside the huge train/MRT station, we walked across to the Mega Shopping Mall and found that to be a very popular destination for locals. Other than shops and department stores, they also have a giant food court where food from all over the world could be found.
A branch of the famous Din Tai Fung.
Super market and grocery stores.
Such a busy place!
Outside the mall, one of the high school orchestra was performing for the crowds.
I think that's the New Taipei City Government Office.
Mega Mall
The new Hilton Hotel in over that direction.
Train/MRT station.
Back to the food court, we had to decide what we were going to have for dinner.
We ended up with Hainan Chicken Rice from here.
Not a bad meal to end the day!
"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." -- Isaiah 26:4
Wow! Just catching up. Beautiful park land in the last post. Yummy looking food. I love all the photos of Taiwan and will really have to look into a trip there in the future. So gentle, peaceful and green a country.
ReplyDeleteI love the finessed look of the food at the Japanese restaurant! Almost too pretty to eat!
And the big question: how on earth do you stay so slim eating these feasts? :)
Raining here, a day to get a lot done in the kitchen so I don't have to cook for a couple of days. I am a master at warming things up!
Patricia
Aw...thank you! Actually I have to be watchful of what I eat with the health conditions that I have. One disadvantage of getting OLD! Usually I skip the food that I know I don't like that much and save the quotas for the ones I really enjoy. It's hard, and my doctors have to keep reminding me. Now that we are not eating out, I am doing pretty good health wise. Can't wait to be eating out again. It's tough having to plan and cook 3 meals a day!
DeleteWe are having summer-like weather, sunny and hot, but loving it!