Shilin Night Market & Jiantan hiking trail

Taipei Shilin Night Market (台北市林夜市/Táiběi Shìlín Yè Shì)

The weekend started with a night at the famous Taipei Shilin Night Market. A friend told me about snowflake ice (雪花冰/xuěhuā bīng). It was described to me as shaved ice made with various liquids like milk, egg, tea, coffee and others. The ice is shaved, layered and looks sort of like snowflakes.

A particular shop was recommend as a 'must try'. With some help I managed to get a bowl of green tea with red bean (NT$70). It is difficult to describe the feeling of this special ice. It was sort of a mix between ice from a popsicle and ice cream. When I tried to bite into a spoonful it felt chewy. A very unique experience!

My green tea & red bean snowflake ice:


The shop:



Shop name (店名): Xinfating Crushed Ice and Fruits (辛發亭/Xīnfàtíng)

Address (地址):
No.1 Anping Street, Taipei City
台北市安平街1號
Ānpíng Jiē yī Háo, Táiběi Shì

Telephone (地址): n/a
URL (網址): n/a
Menu (菜單): Chinese
Operation Hours (營業時間): 12:00 pm - 12:00 am

MRT (捷運/Jiéyùn) Directions:
Take the red MRT line (Danshui-Xindian line; 淡水/Dànshuǐ - 新店/Xīndiàn) to Jiantan Station (劍潭站/Jiàntán). Take exit 1 and walk along Wenlin Road (文林路/Wénlín Lù). After the Yangming Theatre turn left into a very narrow street, Anping Street.



Jiantan trail (劍潭山親山步道/Jiàntánshān qīnshān bùdào)

After taking dessert I decided to explore the area. I walked over to the Jiantan trail entrance to see how far it was from the MRT station. It turns out it is about 5 minutes walk if you take exit 2 of the MRT station. It was too dark to walk the trail so I was planning for the next day.

I noticed there were bus stops at the trail entrance. I noted down which buses from my area stop there (they have some major landmarks in English for each bus at the bus stop).

The next day I headed out for the trail. I took the bus and it was my first ride I planned on my own. The bus system is very similar to Singapore except for the payment system. You either pay when you get on or off the bus. One needs to look at a Chinese sign above the driver's head to find out. Alternatively, you observe other passengers to see if they pay when they board or alight the bus.

After a 15 minute bus ride (I felt it was much faster than taking the MRT from my place) I arrived at the trail entrance.


I found the beginning of the trail to be quite difficult as there are steep steps. Once you get further up it was much easier.

Just about at the top:


I noticed there were lots of temples on this mountain. There were sounds of music being played, insects and people talking all around. Did not seem like a quiet place to me.

View of the Grand Hotel from the trail:


Not a very difficult walk overall. Took about an hour to walk it quickly and exit at Beian Road (北安/Běiān Lù).


You can walk towards Grand Hotel (圓山大飯店/Yuánshān Dà Fàndiàn) along Beian Road and eventually get back to the Jiantan MRT station. The area is referred to as Yuanshan Scenic Area (圓山風景區/Yuánshān fēngjǐng qū) as shown in the map above.


MRT (捷運/Jiéyùn) Directions:
Take the red MRT line (Danshui-Xindian line; 淡水/Dànshuǐ - 新店/Xīndiàn) to Jiantan Station (劍潭站/Jiàntán). Take exit 2 and walk along Zhongshan N. Rd. Sec. 5 (6th Ave.) towards the Grand Hotel.

Bus services: From my place I can take either the 277 & 612 to get to the Jiantan MRT station trail entrance.

Japanese food & cakes in Neihu

Tonight I met up with a Taiwanese friend I have not seen for many years. We went down to Neihu (內湖/Nèihú) and tried a Japanese restaurant inside the Grand Victoria Hotel (維多麗亞酒店/Wéi duō lì yà jiǔdiàn).


They have unique seating areas around the restaurant. Have a look at their URL below for more details.

View of the garden and a sample of the private booths:


I had the "fish set" which came with a lot of nice dishes. The best dish was the beef! It was very tender and delicious. The setting is very nice and you can even talk a walk in the garden.

Salad, sashimi & the very tender beef:



Restaurant: Izakaya Japanese Dining (小魚日式居酒屋)

Address (地址):
No. 168 Jing Ye 4th Rd, 4th Floor, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
台北市中山區敬業四路168號4樓
Jìngyè sì Lù, yìliùbā Hào, sì Lóu, Zhōngshān Qū, Táiběi Shì

Telephone (地址): (02) 6602-5678
URL (網址): http://www.grandvictoria.com.tw/en/rest2.php
Menu (菜單): Chinese (English upon request; set menu is only in Chinese)
Operation Hours (營業時間): Refer to URL above.


We then went on to try some cakes. I was told that there are only 2 such shops in Taipei City. One of them is in Neihu. The cakes are nice and my favorite for the night was the lemon cheesecake.

Black forest, lemon cheesecake & a caramel cake:



Restaurant: Yannick

Address (地址):
No. 15, Lane 178, Ruihu Street, Taipei City

Telephone (地址): (02) 2657-4837
URL (網址): http://en.yannick.com.tw/
Menu (菜單): English & Chinese
Operation Hours (營業時間): 9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Beautiful and great tasting

Thursday: 15ème

On Wednesday I found I missed out on a snack run. My friends arranged to goto my favorite squid stall to buy snacks. Even though I missed out I was offered some samples and even a drink! How nice! Thanks guys!

Somehow we got into a discussion about a bakery. I was told it is very good. It just so happened that I walked past the very location. What a nice place! They had beautiful cakes and cookies all over the shop. Even the boxes are nice to look at. They offer eat in and take out service. I decided to buy some cakes back for my friends. I did not have my camera so no photos this time. You can have a look at another blog for some photos. Thanks for the suggestion Mike!

The cakes are beautiful and have this fresh and no after taste effect. All my friends loved the cakes. Just note, the cakes cost about as much as a basic Taipei lunch (about NT$100-140 each). But I felt you get what you pay for. Enjoy!


Restaurant: 15ème (15區法式烘焙)

Address (地址):
No.11, Alley 6, Lane 113, Sec. 3, Minsheng East Road, Taipei City
台北市民生東路三段113巷6弄11號
Mínshēng Dōng Lù, sān Duàn, yìbǎishísān Xiàng, liù Lòng, shíyī Hào

Telephone (地址): (02) 2545-6760
URL (網址): n/a
Menu (菜單): Chinese with some English titles
Operation Hours (營業時間): 10:30 am - 8:30 pm

It is just behind Sherwood Hotel (西華大飯店; Xīhuá Fàndiàn).