Sunday 23 April 2023

Da An (大安 ) @ TAIPEI (台北)😋🍹🎉😴

 “Every travel will give you more reasons to travel.”

Welcome back to the 4th blog of my Taiwan trip, I hope you enjoyed my previous blogs of Zhong Zheng, Wan Hua ,  Shi Lin , & Neihu Autumn 2023 

DaAn District
Da means "Great" and An means "Peace" in Chinese was the name of this district during the Qing Dynasty.
Today it is a mega shopping district like Singapore's Orchard road and the living standard is also like our Singapore's Orchard Road. The real estate prices for the residential building are also at the higher side.
Beside well known for a commercial district, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall is also located here.


Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall
First stop of DaAn, I visited Sun Yat Sen memorial hall. 

From here, I can see Taipei 101 clearly.


Sun Yat Sen, a native Taiwanese was born in 1912 who became a doctor, politician and first president of Taiwan.


This memorial hall was built in 1972 to honor Dr Sun Yat Sen who was regarded as the "Fathe of the Nation".
He was well beloved in both Taiwan and China; he was a key player in the overthrow of Qing Dynasty.



The well-known Guards Changing Ceremony which takes place at every hour.






In this memorial hall, there are exhibits on his personal possessions. It is also an educational hub to the younger generations. The Grand Hall here witnesses many important events of Taiwan like The Golden Horse Award. There are public park and lake within the memorial hall where the public visit daily for their morning exercise.



Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao (Da'an) 杭州小籠湯包
Just only 5 minutes walk from Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall.
This place is packed of locals at the point of my visit.
Staff are polite, helpful and efficient I was ushered to my table within 3 minutes after my arrival despite of a short queue. 


The place is airy and spacious with the aroma of freshly cooked food filled the air. 
There is a transparent glassed kitchen where staff are busy feeding the crowd and I am pleased that the kitchen looks clean. 
There is a self-service counter for side dishes, cucumber is really my favorite here. Crunchy and refreshing. 


My main dish is a basket of Xiao Long Bao(XLB), the skin is thin, and the filling is big. The soup in the XLB is flavorful, it is really comparable with those big brands and the price here is much cheaper than them. 
I am very happy with the food and service here. 





Cherry Blossom AKA Sakura
If I were to be in Taipei a week earlier, I will be able to busk through the air of sakuras. 
Glad that some Sakura trees last slightly longer here that I am able to admire them. 


This light pink Sakura is the typical one kind of the breeds of Sakura that we can see almost everywhere in Japan. 
For better understanding, kindly check out this blog when I was soaking in the air of different breeds of Sakura in Japan: Sakura is blooming everywhere.




Whereas these few darker colours ones are the Taiwanese Sakura known as "Kanhizakura (台湾山樱花)".
It is the most common type of Sakura in Taiwan. The flowers are in darker color of pink and it is one of the best sights in Taiwan.


ZhongXiao Road A.K.A. ZhongXiao East Road
The famous ZhongXiao Road is located here, which is where I am going to spend my day aimlessly. Heard that the whole stretch is 10km long and it is divided into many small sections and further divided to smaller lanes.
I start my day from ZhongXiao DunHua station, the whole long street is lined by blocks and blocks of malls. 


Here I am at ZhongXiao East Road which is a long commercial street with many little alleys.
There are two Night markets in DaAn area: TongHua Night Market & ShiDa Night Market
Too bad, we are visiting neither due to limited time. 



Lavazza (老咖啡館(東區)
Personally, I really like this cafe alot which located right opposite of an atas SOGO. 
The entrance of the underground mall is also located within 2 minutes walk from the shop. 
The place is big and clean and most of the guests here are locals.
Coffee and cakes are good and they have a comprehensive menus selling pasta & other western foods.
It is a good place to chill and relax for a couple of hours here.















Du Hsiao Yueh Zhongxiao Branch (度小月擔仔麵 台北忠孝店)

This old named chain shops in Taiwan have been around for more than a century. It started out as a humble shop until today shops are scattered over Taiwan. 
We visited the one in ZhongXiao area and we ordered a lot of food.




This sinful fried rice taste so good that you can feel every single grain of the fried rice. There is so much carb! 


The pork chop is served in a big plate, taste soft and crunchy and we like it very much.


Curry fish balls are handmade, and the texture is really good, the sauce is nice too.


Forever classic dish - Fried Egg with Oyster. alot of big and fresh oysters!


This 3 cups chicken is a letdown, yet it is put on the top of the menu. It is not the kind of flavor I eat, and my man thinks my 3 cups chicken taste even better than here.   




Jiu Zhen Nan
Another century year old shop that is still thriving today.



Traditional chinese bakes for daily consumptions, gifts and even wedding cookies. 
Staff are polite and chatty, though I spent a mere 15 minutes there only (because I pre-ordered), I enjoyed my time there chatting with staff who shared with me some knowledge of the backgound of JiuZhenNan. 


Bought total of near 20 boxes of pineapple cookies & sun biscuits.
The pineapple cookies is made of read pineapple instead of syrup. It is really nice and good.


Love the sun biscuit that they took the effort to inprint the word "safe" on the surface on the biscuit. The filling is just nice, not too sweet. The flaky skin is buttery. It is yummy. 



Our happy times end here, and we have come to the end of this blog on Da An, coming up next will be on the famous TamSui.


While the last blog on DaTong where the famous DiHua street is located. will be next on the queue for publishments. 


We visited Europe recently like The Netherlands & Belgium recently : AmsterdamThe Hague , Rotterdam , Kinderdijk , Naarden ,Muiden , Haarlem , Nijmegan, Brussel, Bruges 
and Antwerp

Meanwhile we will driving for short trips to nearby Malaysia especially gourmet trip to Johore.

Feel free, you are most welcome to browse through my other blogs to France, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia and cruises etc. I will be deeply blessed if you can like my facebook page:: followblueginger


Lastly, thanks for dropping by.
Wish you good luck.
Cheers


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