We stayed at Ximending (西门町) in Taipei. It is a source of Taiwan's fashion, subculture and Japanese culture. Thus, it has been called as the 'Harajuku of Taipei'. Ximending was once a well-known theater street in old era but it is now a more popular area for small concerts, album launches, street performances or shopping district for youngsters.
Above is where we stayed in Taipei and recommended by our driver. It is not a hotel or hostel nor a guest house, but is more like a luxury condominium. We rented a unit and it was about ~RM250.00 per nite. The security was 1st class and it is just 5 minutes walk to Ximending Pedestrian Area.
After throwing our baggages, we rushed to the Ximending streets to hunt for foods. Here is the entrance to its pedestrian area.
They are many street performances in Ximending where u can enjoy them for free! Sometimes, u may experience flash mobs over here if u are lucky!
Not forget our group photo again ;)
People are getting more and more crowded as the night progresses.
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There are many other things u can do over here besides shopping, e.g. hairdo, cinemas, KTV lounges and even go for a gym class!
Not to miss out the very famous Ah Zhong's noodles (阿宗面线) or literally called Ah Zhong's line noodles. The store is easily identified as u can see many tourists or locals huddle outside holding hot steaming small bowls.
The recipe is unknown but it is cooked with pig intestines, slice of bamboo shoots, parsley-basil and Ah Zhong's specially made chili. P/S: Not to put too much the chili because it is really HOT. I was suffered bad diarrhea and fever after all as a result of 'chili-greedy'.
Another famous bubble tea drinks in Taiwan is Qing Wa Xia Dan (青蛙下蛋) besides 50岚 but it does not impress me though. Note: I'm not a fan of bubble tea!
The only 2 foods in Ximending that I strongly recommend here are cuttlefish skewer and bean curd's skin skewer. The taste of the marinating sauce is perfect and the texture of the cuttlefish is simply mild-firm and chewy. I will rate it 10 out of 10, A-MUST-TRY-SNACK in Ximending. It was sold by an elderly woman on a mobile stall.
