Jiufen

I recently spent the day with my two RYE friends, Connor (from USA) and Rike (from Germany), at the famous old street Jiufen! We met at the main MRT station here in Taipei in the morning and took a bus to our destination. I enjoy taking busses every now and again, because they are cheaper then taking the train, they give you time to see the outside surroundings, and just sit back for awhile without having to rush and worry about transferring or the large number of people around you.

We arrived in Jiufen in perfect time for a little snack. Connor, Rike, and I are big fans of the red bean soup Taipei and often meet up just to try a new restaurant that has it. We had done some research before  and discovered a famous old restaurant at this location that had it. The restaurant was located at the very end of the old street, tucked away in a shop. It had no sign, and looked like a big workshop for food. We ordered our red bean soup with our add-in's of sweetened sweet potato balls and taro balls. Then,  worked our way around the many people sitting on stools peeling sweet potatos, rolling the balls, and washing dishes. It was raining so the nice warm bowl hit the spot! I am an expert on this dish now and am looking forward to making it in the USA soon.

Once we finished our lunch, it was time for some shopping! The three of us all had important items that needed to be purchased at this particular old street that is known for it's traditional Taiwanese goods.  This was a perfect time to pick up these items to bring home to our countries.  The items we each purchased are things we often use in Taiwan, and over the course of this year have become quite knowledgeable and have strong opinions about these things. Being able to look at an item, pick it up, and either know that it is good, bad, fits my preference, or the price is right is really cool! The things I am bringing home are a surprise to some reading, so I don't want to say what I purchased, however I am very happy with my purchases!


After we finished our shopping, we had lunch at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant. We ordered some noodles, rice, vegetables, tofu and egg, and some fish ball soup to share. I think one of the hardest adjustments I will have returning to the USA, is getting used to the price of things. Everything we ordered at lunch for the three of us to share, cost less in Taiwan than one entrée in the USA would cost. All together, our food cost 175NT which in USD is the equivalent to $5.85. CRAZY, when you think about it!

After lunch, we purchased a famous ice cream wrap! The outside is like a crepe, but it is a very special wrapping. Inside the wrap there is shaved sweetened nuts, one scoop of taro ice, one scoop of mango ice, and mint. It is very light and nice! We then headed back to Taipei by bus and finished our night with a small dinner at Sushi Express! A nice day spent with good friends!