Taiwan Trip Day 2: 8th Feb 2015, Sunday - Pingxi Line Day Trip
台湾之旅第二天：2月8日2015年, 星期天
Attractions for the day:
Liang Pin Beef Noodle Restaurant 良品牛肉面館 [Google Maps link]
Jiufen Old Street 九份老街 [Google Maps link]
Houtong Cat Village 猴硐貓村 [Google Maps link]
Pingxi Old Street 平溪老街 [Google Maps link]
Accommodation for the day:
Royal Hotel 皇家飯店 [Google Maps link]
We were given vouchers to have breakfast in our hotel. However, the dining area was a small little room with very simple food like porridge and bread and toast. Not very appealing at all. Thus, we decided to explore the area around the hotel for better food. Right around the corner, we found a bakery called "meri maki", which looked pretty modern and packed with many nice-looking pastries and breads. We got ourselves some bread to munch on later in the day.
2017 Update
Sadly, this bakery has closed permanently.
This bakery is conveniently located just a minute's walk from our hotel.
Right next to the bakery was an old-fashioned eatery. Their specialty was Braised Beef Noodle Soup - 红烧牛肉面. It also served plenty of other dishes like fried dumplings, chicken and duck rice. Of course, I had to try their braised beef noodle soup since it was their specialty. Dear ordered her favourite Zha Jiang Mian 炸酱面. Our orders were served pretty quickly. The smell of my noodles was heavenly. The savoury taste of the soup and the perfectly braised beef was something I expected from an old Taiwanese eatery. Dear also finished up her Zha Jiang Mian since it was also so good. And of course we had one fried dumpling each to start off the day with a bang. What a heavy breakfast it was.
Fried dumplings or potstickers literally (NT$14).
I ordered their specialty Braised Beef Noodle Soup 红烧牛肉面 (NT$120).
As usual Dear orders her favourite Zha Jiang Mian 炸酱面 (NT$70).
Many other items available on their menu.
Just an ordinary looking local eatery.
2017 Update
The restaurant had a complete makeover and looked more high-class. I'm sure the prices are increased as well.
Check out their new look and location here on Google Maps.
Pingxi Line Day Trip
After breakfast, our day trip on Pingxi Line began! First, we walked over to Taipei Main Station, which was just a five minutes walk, crossing Zhongxiao West Road. From the outside, the station was a huge building which you could see from several streets away. On the inside, there were plenty of shops and restaurants, including a huge hall area. The ticketing counters could be found on the ground floor as well as basement. We had to find a special counter, Counter 12, which was the only counter which sold the Pingxi Line Day Pass, as well as other passes. It cost NT$64 for each day pass.
We did some calculations before the trip. Each ride between any station along the Pingxi Line costs only NT$15. Therefore to make it worth getting the day pass, we would have to take more than 4 trips. We had planned to visit Shifen, Houtong, Pingxi and Jingtong, which would make it worthwhile to get the pass.
Time to take the train at Taipei Station!
A large hall in the centre of the station.
Why are so many ticket counters closed!?
Our Pingxi Line One-Day Passes (NT$128) and tickets to Ruifang Station (NT$49).
The ticket counter specially for pre-paid tickets like the PIngxi Line One-Day Pass.
Eagerly waiting for our train to arrive.
At Taipei Main Station, we took the train which took us along some rural as well as residential areas and stations. Took about close to an hour to reach Ruifang Station. There were three platforms at Ruifang Station. Had to look carefully which platform to go to. The exit was at Platform 3. From there, we walked towards the left of the station, past the New Taipei City Government Police Department 瑞芳派出所 until we reached a bus stop 瑞芳火車站(區民廣場). Note: Bus 825 at the bus stop 瑞芳火車站 directly in front of Ruifang Station only operates on public holidays! Which was why we had to walk quite a distance to board either bus 825 or 788 at the bus stop down the street.
Note: Bus 825 has fewer stops to reach Jiufen Old Street, hence it is a better choice if both 825 and 788 arrive at the same time.
We have reached Ruifang!
Welcome to Ruifang Train Station 瑞芳车站.
A nice landmark to take a picture with.
In front of the station were plenty of shops and restaurants.
One of the stalls selling pork and pig heads.
Take bus 825 to reach Jiufen Old Street.
Another bus to take to Jiu Fen Old Street - 788.
Upon going through the towns and the winding roads up the hill which Jiu Fen Old Street was situated, we alighted, amidst the throngs of tourists jamming up the road. Guess there will never be a day when the Old Street is uncongested. The last time I was here, it was back in 2008. Nothing much has changed. A few stores sold different stuff back then, but the few stores selling fishballs were still around. Looks like business had been good for these guys.
My second time here.
The narrow walkway of Jiufen Old Street.
The first stop had to be fishballs soup. This was one specialty of the area which one simply had to stop over to give it a try. We got the bowl of fishballs combo, which had fishballs made from different types of fish. Having a warm bowl of fishball soup on a cold day really was pretty satisfying.
Momo Dear wanted minced pork rice as well. One of her must-eats for this trip. The aroma of the minced pork soaked in soy sauce was simply irresistible. All for only NT$25. The portion was however quite small to fill our hungry stomachs. The store sold plenty of other items as well, but we shall reserve some space for other food from other stores.
The fragrant smell of the Minced Pork Rice 卤肉饭 (NT$25) was hard to resist.
Fishball Soup (NT$45)
They have other items if you are not into fishball.
Another restaurant selling similar fishball items.
As we continued along the Old Street, which was a one-way street, on both sides, we could find many other interesting shops selling all types of items. There were two shops selling ocarinas. I vaguely remembered there was only one such shop in my last trip here. Other shops sold other interesting snacks as well.
Link should probably visit this place to try these ocarinas.
What a massive crowd.
You can find malt candy too.
A-jou Peanut Ice Cream Roll. Looks interesting.
A shop which sells all kinds of masks. Some of them look very creepy.
Finally, we reached the spot where we could supposedly see the mountainous regions and the sea right before our eyes. Unfortunately, it was a hazy day, hence visibility was drastically affected. We could hardly see the sea. Still, it was quite a sight, with the gentle breeze brushing against our faces. It was at this point where there was a store selling some kumquat juice. Had to get one to quench our thirst and at the same time enjoying it while enjoying the view. At this point, we turned back and exited the Old Street via one of the small side lanes, downhill towards the main road. There we took the bus back to Ruifang Station.
Hazy conditions reduced the visibility.
A view of the houses around the area.
A picture with the blurry scenery.
金枣 in Chinese. Kumquat or date. Not exactly sure what its English name is.
Got a bottle of juice (NT$60).
Our next destination was the Houtong Cat Village 猴硐貓村. Been wanting to visit this place after hearing and seeing it on travel programmes and articles online. We love cute little furry animals so this was a place not to be missed.
The moment we alight from the station, we found various things which were made to resemble cats. And there were cats all over the place! A cat-lover's dream place. This place only started becoming a popular tourist destination when in 2008, a local cat-lover started the initiative to offer abandoned cats a better living area, and thus the village become known at Houtong Cat Village ever since.
We took plenty of pictures in this village, thanks to the numerous cat art installations, cats, and a museum dedicated to the once booming coal mining history of the village.
On the Pingxi Line train towards Houtong Cat Village 猴硐貓村.
All things here are made to resemble cats.
The cuddly cats welcome you to Houtong Cat Village.
The cats here have pretty good lives I must say.
A map of the village.
This kitty here is telling you not to throw your rubbish around the area.
Aw this kitty looks so innocent.
"What you looking at?"
"Yawn...who woke me up?"
In honour of cat captain - Black Nose.
There are plenty of interesting pictures of cats here.
Even the road signs are not spared of cat designs.
Toilets as well!
Right outside the station there were rows of shops selling souvenirs and local food. Straight ahead was a coal mine museum, which contains a cafe and an information centre. We wondered around the place exploring the area. On the other side of the station, there's a bridge across the tracks, and inside this bridge, there were cat-houses with plenty of cats. And, across the other end of the station, there were other shops and homes in the area. As it was raining I quickly went to explore the area and snapped some pictures before meeting up with Momo Dear back at the station. We took the next train to Pingxi Station.
A replica of the old mining station.
A rainy day at Houtong Station.
A bronze sculpture of a cat's head.
Can you tell which is the real cat?
Many such shops along the streets.
A look at the railway tracks from the station.
A cute kitty display with homes for some of the cats.
A look of what is available at Shifen Station.
We passed by Shifen Station, where we would have alighted to visit the Shifen Waterfall, but it was getting late and we had not much time left in the area, therefore we had to forgo the visit. Once we reached Pingxi Station, we were greeted with tons of shops all offering to sell you the experience of flying some sky lanterns. There were pretty much the same, and prices were similar at NT$150, so we randomly chose one shop to patronize.
The first thing we saw when we alighted at Pingxi Station.
Which colour should we choose?
Blessings for Momorange.
Hope all is well.
After choosing a lantern, we then used Chinese brushes, which were the only writing tools given, and wrote some blessings on the lanterns. Then the shopkeeper helped us take some pictures, before assisting us in positioning our lanterns in the correct way. And there it flew, up into the sky. May our blessings and wishes come true.
And just to add, the shopkeeper mentioned the temperature at that time was about 6 to 7 degrees. Really!? He said it usually is colder than what is reported by weather forecast. But yea we could even see our breaths. It was really super cold and that was mainly because we did not wear enough to keep ourselves warm. (Back in our hotels later at night, we saw from the weather report from the news that the temperature was 11 degrees.)
And just to add, the shopkeeper mentioned the temperature at that time was about 6 to 7 degrees. Really!? He said it usually is colder than what is reported by weather forecast. But yea we could even see our breaths. It was really super cold and that was mainly because we did not wear enough to keep ourselves warm. (Back in our hotels later at night, we saw from the weather report from the news that the temperature was 11 degrees.)
Next, we walked further down the village and found some shops selling local snacks. We bought a 大肠包小肠, literally 'big sausage wrapping small sausage'. We asked for all ingredients in, as we were given options to include things like garlic, parsley, mustard etc. Momo Dear was on cloud nine after having the first bite of this snack. It was definitely a pleasure having this hot food in the middle of the cold night, at about 5 degrees celcius. Next door was a shop selling yam balls 粉圆, another popular local snack, therefore we bought a bowl to share as well. It was getting really late, hence we made our way back to the station and returned via the Pingxi Line back to Ruifang Station.
It looks like a real mailbox.
Momo Dear loves the Taiwanese sausage here.
The auntie skillfully barbecues the sausage to perfection.
A hot bowl of yam balls on a cold wet day. Perfect combination.
All ingredients in.
We took the train back to Taipei City and decided to try the Coco Ichibanya Express at the station. We got a curry set to share for only NT$150. There was no choice of spice level. And the result was curry which was not spicy at all. At least for our Singaporean tastebuds. In the same food court area, we bought some Krispy Kreme back as snacks.
Curry lovers like us can't resist the temptation of trying Taiwan's Coco Ichibanya.
A curry set for only NT$150.
Even comes with toothpick and napkins.
Who can resist Krispy Kreme donots?
Original (NT$35) and Green Tea (NT$40) flavours.
A cool-looking battleship.
Along the way back to our hotel through the underground mall, we saw some displays of Lego military battleships, tanks, jets. Apart from all the shops that line up the whole stretch of the underground mall, there were plenty of other exhibition areas such as these. Therefore this place is another area worth visiting if staying near the Taipei Main Station area.
Battle of tanks.
Check out more information on a day trip on the Pingxi Line here.
For a list of the hotels available for booking in Taipei City, Taiwan via Agoda.com, click here.
To make a hotel booking at Royal Hotel, click here.
Links to our Taiwan Trip 2015
Day 1
Day 3
Day 4
Day 4 - Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
Day 5
Day 5 - Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining
Day 6
Day 7
Souvenirs
To make a hotel booking at Royal Hotel, click here.
Links to our Taiwan Trip 2015
Day 1
Day 3
Day 4
Day 4 - Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
Day 5
Day 5 - Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining
Day 6
Day 7
Souvenirs
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