Felicia: Shopping

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Things To Buy From Taiwan Supermarket / Convenience Stores

Taiwan's supermarkets and convenience stores are everywhere. Aside from the really affordable prices, they offer an extensive selection of products which are good for your own consumption or gifting as a souvenir. If you are stopping by any stores, make sure to add the following items to your shopping cart!

卡迪那香脆芋片 (Cadina Yam Chips)

Things to Do Around Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Do you know that apart from visiting the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall located just outside Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall Station, there are other places at the vicinity which you can visit as well? Read on to find out more!

中正紀念堂 (Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall)

Address
21, Zhongshan S.Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10048

Getting There
中正紀念堂 (Green / Red Line) Station, Exit 5

Probably the most prominent historical landmark in Taiwan, the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall was erected in honour and memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, the former President of the Republic of China, and was opened in 1980 as part of a national park.

Standing at 76 metres, the octagon shaped white building is covered with blue tiles and red accents, echoing the flag of Republic of China. The eight sides represent the Chinese cultural symbolism of the number eight which is traditionally associated with wealth and fortune.

The two flights of stairs that leads to the 76 metres building which houses a large bronze statue of Chiang Kai Shek, consist 89 steps each flight represent Chiang Kai Shek's age of death.

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The hourly changing of the honour guard is probably the most popular sight with visitors. I wasn't there at the right time, so I missed the session.

The majestic view from the memorial hall.

Opposite the memorial hall is 自由廣場 (Liberty Square), it is named to honour Taiwan's long road to democracy.

At the sides, it's the 國家戲劇院 (National Theatre) and 國家音樂廳 (National Concert Hall) where renowned musicians and arts group hold their concerts and performances.

The place is enriched with the beauty of chinese architectures which makes it a must visit attraction for sightseeing and photo taking.

南門市場 (Nanmen Market)

Address
中正紀念堂 (Green / Red Line) Station, Exit 2

Getting There
8, Section 1, Roosevelt Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

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Nanmen Market is one of the oldest traditional markets in Taipei that was established during the Japanese Colonial Era. Located just opposite Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, the 4 levels market offers a diverse variety of food and is mostly frequent by locals to purchase their groceries, dried goods and Chinese New Year's goodies.

There are a number of similar stalls that are selling preserved food and snacks. You can get the pork paper which I've mentioned in my previous post from here as well!

Get glimpse of the Taiwanese's daily life here!

金峰魯肉飯 (Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice)

Address
中正紀念堂 (Green / Red Line) Station, Exit 2

Getting There
10, Section 1, Roosevelt Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan

Found my favourite place for Taiwan's national dish, 魯肉飯 (Braised Pork Rice), and that's no other than the famous Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice.

We arrived during lunch hour and there was a long queue outside the shop. But the queue moved pretty quickly as the patrons are required to share tables in the shop and time taken to serve order, less than 10 minutes. If you wouldn't want to wait, takeaway service is available!

The combination of the moist short grained topped with slow cooked braised minced meat and mushrooms is so satisfying and comforting. The ratio of the lean and fatty meat is perfect. And it's best enjoyed with a braised egg. I think I can have this everyday, it's so simple yet delicious.

Apart from the signature Braised Pork Rice which you can't miss ordering, try their double boiled soups! Ordered a Ginseng Chicken Soup and it only cost around SGD2. Double boiled, comes with real ginseng and chicken thigh, wolf berries. And the best thing, I don't feel thirsty after the meal. We all know how annoying it is to feel super thirsty after having a really delicious but MSG loaded soups.

Apart from braised meat rice and double boiled soups, they have plenty of sides to choose from as well as noodles! Guess I will need a trip there again to try out the other food options.

In my opinion, Jin Feng served the best Braised Pork Rice, even better than 鬍鬚張魯肉飯 (Formosa Zhang). It is also much more affordable, and they are generous with the food portion. Totally worth standing in the queue for as long as it takes.

So, don't waste your trip to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall by just visiting the memorial hall!

17 Reasons To Visit Taiwan

Guide to Korea · Hongdae & Tosokchon Samgyetang

Last post on Seoul and I'm done sharing on my trip to Seoul.

Hongdae - one of the must visit places when you're in Seoul.

That's also where I stayed for this trip.

This district is pretty popular among travelers because there are malls around and it's really easy to travel around from Hongdae Subway Station.

Shopping

Shopping at Hongdae was alright for me, definitely not as awesome as Express Bus Terminal and Ewha Womans University because these places had better offerings and prices. However, you can find international brands like H&M and F21 there and the prices are slightly cheaper than Singapore's.

Oh, and there's Daiso! Instead of retailing everything at $2 (~ ₩2,000), the prices range from $1 to $3 (₩1,000 - ₩3,000). Food items were actually cheaper at Daiso instead of Seoul's well known supermarket, Lotte Mart. If you come across any Daiso in Seoul, just walk in and have a look, you'll be surprised at the offerings and prices. I went to 3 Daiso outlets and never fail to walk out of the shop with a huge shopping bag :3

Not forgetting, the popular Korea homegrown fashion brand - Stylenanda!

Guide to Express Bus Terminal, Gangnam Station & Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain

I'll be covering Express Bus Terminal, Gangnam Station and Han River together in this post as they are located near each other and you can visit these places in 1 day.

Shopping

Apart from Ewha Womans University that offers shoppers with good deals, check out Express Bus Terminal and Gangnam Station underground shopping malls that are just located at the train station!

The concept of these underground shopping malls are pretty much similar to Bugis Street.

You can find apparels, bags, shoes, accessories, cosmetics and even household items there!

It's really a huge shopping area.

Express Bus Terminal

Address

19-4 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul

Directions

Express Bus Terminal Station (Seoul Subway Line 3, 7, 9)

Take Exit 8

Gangnan Underground Shopping Arcade

Address

Yeoksam 1-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Directions

Gangnam Station (Seoul Subway Line 2)

Take Exit 10 or 11

Who says Gangnam is only for the rich?

Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade is pretty much like Express Bus Terminal. You can find like $10 - $15 apparels there. However, I would prefer the former as it offer much more stuffs.

On the other side of the train station, there is another mall that sells more expensive items.

Dining

There isn't much choices at Express Bus Terminal, so we decided to settle our meals at Gangnam.

Lotteria

Address

1317-5, Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul

Directions

Gangnam Station (Seoul Subway Line 2)

Located near Gangnam Train Station

Beef Bulgogi Burger and ordered almost all the sides from the menu.

Don't try the calamari rings and cheese stick cause it doesn't taste good. But the rest are alright.

Fast food is actually pretty pricey at Korea. This meal cost about SGD$15.

Nolboo Budae Jjigae

(Sausage Stew/Army Stew)

놀부 부대찌개

Address

1317-14 Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul

Directions

Gangnam Station (Seoul Subway Line 2)

Take Exit 9

Definitely doesn't look appetising like that.

Adding all the ingredients that includes, sausages, spam, ham, instant noodies, tofu, dumpling, mushrooms, cheese-filled rice cakes and plain rice cakes.