Taiwan Day Four and Five Part 1

For the rest of our China Trip:
1. China Part One - Meizhou
2. China Part Two - Guangzhou (Destinations)
3. China Part Three - Guangzhou (Eats)
4. Macau - Destinations
5.Taiwan Day One
6.Taiwan Day Two
7. Din Tai Fung - Taipei 101, Taipei
8. Taiwan Day Three
9. Taiwan Day Four and Five Part 2


Our trip was coming to an end. We've highly enjoyed our first two and a half days in Taipei, but there were still so much we wanted to see, do and eat.

DAY FOUR:

After breakfast on the fourth day in Taipei, we headed out to the Q Square, a shopping centre right next to Taipei Main Station. We didn't plan ahead to explore Q Square, we sort of just stumbled into it after hopping off at Main Station. The shopping centre was filled with international brands such as Kiehl's and Zara and there was a department store as well with local brands. We shopped for a little while, then found ourselves in the food court.

There was such a large range of food in the food court, but we unanimously agreed on a hot pot restaurant. Unfortunately, I've forgotten what the place was called, however, it was the only place that served hot pot. The food court is located on the last floor of the mall.


Complimentary platter with every dish ordered
Seafood and Pork (NT$420)
Prime pork and seafood (~NT$600)
Snowflake beef (NT$320)

My family and I ordered beef, pork and seafood, so pretty much everything on offer. After you order they send over a complimentary platter filled with rice noodles, mushrooms, vegetables, tofu and fish cake. One thing I like about hot pot in Taipei, each person gets their own small pot, rather than sharing a big one in the middle of table, which usually results in one person busily cooking and missing out on food. By getting our own pots we were able to season the soup according to our tastes and eat just what we wanted. They were also very generous with the soup, refilling it when they see we were running low. Also, they give complimentary iced tea and a red bean dessert. The price of the dishes ranged for NT$200 - NT$500, for that price and considering all the freebies, I thought it was well worth it! We had a really enjoyable and satisfying meal there!

After exploring Q Square a little bit more, we decided to head to the Hello Kitty Cafe! I was beyond excited about it, just imagining how cute everything will be.






As you can see, the cafe was the absolute cutest cafe I've ever been too. I've never seen so much pink in one place before. When we arrived, we were asked how many people were joining us and if we were having meals or just desserts. We were then told that there is a minimum spend of NT$300 per person. I was a little taken aback, we were asked and told all this even before they said welcome! Anyway, we waited about 10 minutes before being seated. We were then taken upstairs to our table, only to find out half of the top floor was empty, so unsure why we were made to wait.


Cookies and Cream (NT$300)
Chocolate Pie (NT$300)
Strawberry Mousse (NT$300)
Chocolate ice cream sandwich (NT$300)

It turns out most dessert dishes were NT$300 and they come with a free drink, so we had no problem reaching the minimum spend. The descriptions I've put under the photos are not the actual names of the desserts but my short description as I've forgotten what each dish was called. My favourite had to be the cookies and cream, it was like eating a giant Oreo. My second favourite was the ice cream sandwich, the ice-cream was nice and chocolate-y and the Hello Kitty shaped bread was nice and moist. The rest of the desserts were mediocre. If I lived in Taipei I probably wouldn't visit this cafe regularly, the service was good despite the rude maitre d', the place was super cute, but the desserts were underwhelming.

The second last place we visited on this day was the National Palace Museum. We didn't see any exhibits there, just walked around the area admiring the buildings and the surrounding land. To get here, we had to catch a train to Shilin Station on the Tamsiu-Xinyi line, then catch a bus, we caught the 255 bus as it was the first to arrive, but there are other buses that will pass the National Palace Museum.


Entrance gate to National Palace Museum
National Palace Museum


The National Palace Museum was built in 1964-1965 and is home to hundreds and thousands of ancient Chinese artefacts. As the name suggests, the building is majestic and palace like. The inside of the building is highly modern and sophisticated, giving it a real contrast to its facade. We arrived just half an hour before the museum closed, so we didn't get a chance to see any exhibitions. Either way we were just glad we got to see it and will definitely give ourselves more time on our next visit!

This isn't even everything we saw on our fourth day in Taipei. Please stay tuned for the part 2 of our fourth and fifth day in Taiwan, it will also be the last post in the China Trip series!

Information

Q Square
No. 1, Section 1, Chengde Road
Datong District
Taipei
Ph: +886 2 2182 8888
Website: Q Square (Taiwanese)

Hello Kity Sweets Cafe
No. 90, Section 1, Da'an Road
Xinyi District
Taipei
Ph: +886 2 2711 1132
Opening hours:
11:30am - 10pm

National Palace Museum
No. 221, Section 2, Zhisan Road
Shilin District
Taipei
Ph: +886 2 2881 2021
Website: National Palace Museum

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