Bak Ku Teh in Taiwan?

Craving for Bak Ku Teh while you’re holidaying in Taiwan? Now you can satisfy your cravings at Raohe Night Market!

Situated just 5 minutes away from SongShan Train Station, Raohe Night Market has a hive of activities. There’s air-rifle arcades for the young at heart to win toys, rows of shops selling various fashion treads and of course, good food. It’s advisable that you go there early, probably about 4pm if you would like to do some shopping before having a meal along the streets later in the evening.

*Now I have to apologize at this part as I do not have any pictures of Raohe Night Market as it was raining when i visited on that particular day :(*

If you do have the urge to taste something that’s rather similar to what’s being sold in Singapore, try one of the plentiful stalls selling herbal pork rib soups!

Look at the generous portion of pork ribs. Only 70NT!

Each night market has their food specialty, and every few food stalls u stop at, you’re bound to see them selling pork rib soup. The aroma of herbal soup was clearly in the air, each stall trying to overpower their counterpart stalls in terms of whose soup is more fragrant.

And for 70NT (SGD $3), you can get a hot bowl of pork rib soup! Rice is not included. But a separate bowl of minced pork rice will set you back another 20NT.

Taste test!

I swear the soup is just so delicious. Not sure what ingredients was included into the soup, but i did see some stalls using wolfberries to make the soup. The meat of the pork rib is not overwhelming, just nice for a munch. And there were almost 15 pieces of pork rib ! You could probably share this with another person!

Not a fan of bak ku teh?

You can try barbequed oysters!

100 NT for about 10 oysters

Or their famous Black Pepper Meat buns

The buns are made on the spot before going into an oven

Overall, RaoHe Night Market was something unique as compared to the tourist-laden Shilin Night Market and it’s something out of the norm. Oh and by the way, there’s a fashion street just a few blocks down but it’s more towards ladies wear rather than mens. Ho hum =/

Hello Kitty Sweets Restaurant

Hello Kitty, the mouth-less kitty that has earned the charms of many people worldwide, is a joy to the young and the young-at-heart.

Besides coming out with plushies of the symbolic kitty, there has other things that could be considered cute or just weird. Some of these include a pink car stickered with the famous kitty on it, toasters and hair clips. It’s safe to say marketers are having a field day trying to come out merchandise that has the kitty on it.

An eatery has gone a step further besides just the normal merchandise that’s on sale. There’s a entire shop with food that has hello kitty’s face on it!

Namecard of the eatery. Cute aye

Directions on how to get there are listed behind the namecard

Located at Daan District, this eatery is always full and it’s best trying to reserve a table if going in large groups. Or prepare to wait at least 30 minutes before getting a table? Why the long wait u say? Because everyone just want to take their time to eat and at the same time get good shots of the restaurant, as the interior is littered with Hello Kitty.

Review of Hello Kitty Sweets Restaurant

Pros

• If you’re an ardent fan of the kitty, this is the place for you. Photo opportunities are everywhere within the shop. But be sure not to block other diners from eating! As decorations are scattered around the dining area

While certain areas have gold wallpapers

Certain areas have pink wallpaper

• More photo opportunities when your food is being served!

Hot Coco with frosting which make out the face of hello kitty

The green tea frosting was just so beautiful. Moments before my cake smashed onto it

• If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place you want to go.

Cons

• Two words that can make you skip the eatery. “Minimum Spending” . Each patron must spend at least NT$300 each, but it’s not much of a problem when the cheapest item costs at least NT$330.
• That waiting time if you just go via walk-in. It’s hard to gauge the crowd, but it’s mostly tourists. So it boils down to luck.
• The deco on the desserts are nicely-done no doubt about it, but the sweetness of the desserts are a little too much for my liking.

Hello Kitty Sweets Restaurant might not be a MUST on your to-go list when you visit Taipei. But if you have the extra time and cash to spare, it would be a pretty decent place to check out.

Paris Baguette Review

It’s pretty much insane that I went to the same cafe for three consecutive days. That’s right. 3 days in a row!

Located at Wisma Atria, the Korean Cafe sees long queues daily. Whether it is to buy some pastry, or to have a meal there.

You’ve probably seen this cafe in scenes from Korean drama shows, and given that everyone is more or less into the Korean trend, this cafe is probably one of the things that’s on our checklist on things to try.

Based from their website, they aim the offer the highest quality products with only the freshest ingredients.

Menu cover

Price wise it’s kind of steep but trust me, the portions makes the price all that worthwhile. (Hey, we all love to pay to enjoy a good meal right!)

Didn’t order any drinks due to money constraints.

Cafe staff were prompt to clean up tables so that the next customer could use it.

I was a little freaked out that there were oil stains all over the menu. Not too sure if I want to smell burger oil on the menu.

Eventually ordered a set of “Scrambled Eggs Brioche Brunch ($18)” and “Club Sandwich ($17)”

So a number tag while we wait for our food. *Bear not included*

After probably after 10 agonizing minutes of tummy growling, the food arrives!

Scrambled Eggs Brioche Brunch

The salad was divine! The vegetables were fresh and juicy and just the right amount of what i suspect is lemon oil, the salad is just divine even on it’s own.

Potato wedges were lightly fried. But not really a fan of potatoes. So meh

Scrambled Eggs! My initial thought was that it was more of a pizza. Hidden beneath the huge chunks of pepperoni, the eggs tasted milky. But when eaten together with the soft bagel, it really tasted like a breakfast fit for a king. I love how they sprinkled parsley on top.

Club Sandwich

More eggs! The egg yolk, sprinkled with a pinch of crushed pickles, was soft moist and delicious when ate together with the wholemeal bread. The bacon portions were generous and juicy.

My only complain about the sandwich was that the chicken breast was a bit too dry for my liking.

CONCLUSION

Oh, the food makes you coming back for more. But what turns most people off, is still the price. But after trying out the food, I’ve come the the conclusion that the portions are pretty much justifiable on the price. Even though it is a cafe setting, but the food are slightly inclined towards the fine dining.

I believe they lived up to their promise of delivering high quality food, by using the freshest ingredients.

Ratings : 3.8★/5★

Why 3.8?!

This is due to the fact that I’ve not tried their range of coffee drinks yet, and the slight demerit points due to the steep prices. But it’s a great place to enjoy good food if you’re within the vicinity of Wisma Atria.

 

Our ever diminishing hawker foods

Hawker food, like this plate of fried carrot cake, may be a thing of the past in Singapore in the near future.Singapore’s ever changing landscape throughout the years has improved drastically. Thus, more people have at least a certain level of education before starting out to work, unlike the old days where it was more of a labor job.

In the past, education was more of a luxury than a necessity. Thus, people might start their own business, such as owning a small convenience shop or just selling food by the roadside. With stalls selling food sprouting around Singapore at roadsides, wide arrays of food could be found. Over time, they would hone their culinary skills, tweaking their recipes so as to sell the perfect bowl of bak chor mee or laksa for example. Thus, everyone might have a particular liking towards that particular stall. It could be of sentimental value such as the first date there. Other times, it could simply cause the food was just that good. When word spread that someone is selling something delicious, everyone would flock to try it. This trend still carries on as of currently.

However over time, when Singapore’s economy became stronger, education became more of a necessity rather than luxury now. What their forefathers and ancestors might have proved to be a successful formula, by selling that perfect bowl of food, might not be able to survive in this current economical state. The high cost of perishable goods, weight-conscious people, direct competition are just some examples why the current generation do not want to take over the reins of their family’s hawker business. Furthermore, they might not want to slog it out from dawn to dusk preparing ingredients and doing countless cleaning everyday. This is why some people would rather be working an office job, probably earning more than what they could earn by selling hawker food.

The rise of fast food, sprawling in every parts of the island, may tempt us to grab a quick bite at their outlets due to the hectic lifestyle. Whereas life was more laid back during the early days of Singapore. Everyone is rushing off to somewhere, heading to work, attending that important meeting or clinching that special deal that finding a hawker centre to have a meal might be hard too.

We should preserve our hawker heritage such as the Hainanese chicken rice or fried carrot cake, for the people of the future might not even have the chance to savour Singapore’s local delicacy.