So, where were we? We just finished up with Liberty Square and were starving from all of the walking. It was finally time for lunch. Little did I know that after this, the rest of the day was going to be filled with food (and drinks).

Hangzou Xiao Long Bao

We decided to try the “best” xiao long bao place in Taiwan – and truthfully, the queue was long when we got there! We had to wait around 30 minutes to be seated. The wait was worth it, although I cannot say that it’s the best XLB I’ve tried. The taste is similar to Din Tai Fung, but I believe the selling point of Hangzou is that it’s not as expensive. I had 2 containers all to myself!

After eating, we started walking to the nearby train station for our next stop.

CoCo Stopover

What is a trip to Taiwan without trying out their world famous milk tea? On the way to the train station, we stumbled upon a CoCo branch that – get this – does not have any queue (because the lines are crazy here in the Philippines for this specific brand). We had to get our milk tea fix for today.

When we got to the train station, we had to quickly finish up our milk tea because drinks are not allowed inside (take note for your travels!). And then, we were on our way to the other world famous landmark of Taipei, Taiwan – the Taipei 101!

Taipei 101

Tall buildings are mesmerizing. Seeing the Taipei 101 up close made me dizzy, but in a good way. I took my time staring at it, appreciating the work that went into building this once-tallest-structure in the world.

Because we were skimping on funds, we did not go up the building anymore. We spent a few minutes outside, resting, people-watching, talking and laughing – until it was time to go back to the hotel!

A splendid sunset

On the way back to the hotel, the sun was already about to set – and it was a splendid sun! While in the bus, we saw people rushing to the middle of the street with complete camera gears taking photos of what could have been a great view. We couldn’t see it properly for ourselves because we were in the bus – but when we got down and walked from the bus stop to the hotel, we witnessed a bit of it.

We passed by a small street-side cafe that looked so cozy and lovely – I made sure to come back and try it on our last day. But that’s for later!

When we got back, we washed up and prepared for dinner. While waiting, others were taking a nap – but I went to the lobby and tried the coffee from the cafe. It was one of the best coffee I had in Taiwan!

Raohe Night Market

For dinner, we headed out to Taipei’s busiest night market! When we got there, I was overwhelmed by the number of people. You could barely walk in there without bumping into people. That said, there was a lot of variety in terms of street food, so I don’t have any regret coming here!

We did our research and tried out the top recommended food on the internet. The first of which is the Pork Pepper Bun – the first stall when you enter the night market from this gate above. It had the longest queue, but I’d agree with the reviews – I’m actually craving for this right now!

You have to keep moving while eating because there’s not enough space to hang around. When you see a stall serving food you are interested in, you stop and buy!

This grilled squid also came recommended but I found it underwhelming. It was expensive, too! I had better grilled squid in Japan.

Perhaps my favorite out of everything we’ve tried is this puffy, crumbly bread that caught us just by its smell. It was freshly baked and tasted like heaven. You can have it with ice cream inside (like a sandwich) – but I had mine just with a slice of butter. Also drooling for this right now.

Another favorite is the torched angus beef cubes that simply melt in your mouth! The serving is huge so it’s a bang for your buck. One order is good enough for dinner. Totally worth it and a must-try! I don’t have a photo of the final product because it was gone before we knew it.

We also ordered some dorayaki for dessert. It comes in different flavors but my favorite is custard.

After stuffing ourselves full, we decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel. I had a lot of fun on the first day – we did so many things that it felt like I’ve been in Taipei for several days already!

Let me end this post with a photo of a cat because why not.