Retro Window White Sugar Cake (老窗白糖粿) @ Yizhong Night Market in Taichung City [Taiwan]

Now that I am aware of White Sugar Cake, my eyes would automatically scan for Taiwanese snack whenever I am at a night market in Taiwan! 

This time was different as I specifically searched online for white sugar cake at Yizhong Night Market in Taichung, and this popped out on Google Maps; Retro Window White Sugar Cake (老窗白糖粿).

Instead of one retro window, it's literally various retro window frames that made up the frontage of the takeaway store; interesting yet totally mismatched! 

Whatever the case, I am here for the white sugar cake and this shop had seven flavours; original, green tea, peanuts, yellow beans, purple sweet potato, tie guan yin cocoa and sesame! Four pieces for NT$60 and you can mix a max of two flavours.

Freshly fried; I can't wait to bite into it!

Original and Peanut - to put it simply, this was deep fried mochi without much batter. Yes, it's nice to eat the piping hot snack, albeit with a thin crisp that lacked the shiokness I craved for! And the taste was a tad on the bland end, although you can argue it's likely healthier. Personally, this one is way better. 

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Address

No. 20, Yucai S St, North District, 

Taichung City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

1.00pm to 10.00pm

Pricing

4-piece pack - NT$60

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Christmas 2025 - Unwrapping the Presents

It's already the first week of 2026 but given the long weekend (thanks to my company's president); I was out of the house most of the time and only got to unwrapping the Christmas presents received two days ago! 

Well, not much unwrapping to do as the vogue presentation for Christmas presents in 2025 was to put everything in a bag; like a goodie bag! Frankly, it's quite sustainable since reusing unwrapped wrapping paper is harder, and imagine the amount of scotch tape and double sided tape that was saved.

Above were the items I received for Christmas 2025; a variety including chocolates, pineapple tarts, tea, cookies, portable fan, a foldable neck pillow, lamp, self care kit, a six-port international fast charger etc! 

Least unexpected present was a can of Taiwan beer from a friend and colleague! No, I love it but because she was always so prim and proper; I didn't expect her to buy me alcoholic drink! Hm... I must have commented that beer relaxes me in the midst of too much work in the office!  🥰🥰🥰

佳佳火雞肉飯 - Jia Jia Turkey Rice @ Chiayi in Taiwan

Have you tried turkey before? I did after being attracted to the pictures of large roast turkeys that appeared on Thanksgiving Day a long time ago, and didn't understand why people would prefer tough turkey over tender chicken meat! 

I thought that would be the last time I would actively seek turkey meat but when I was in Chiayi county at Taiwan in early 2025, the must-have dish was said to be their turkey rice and a local friend brought us to 佳佳火雞肉飯; second best in his opinion as the best was closed that day.

Located in a town far from the city centre, and commanding a review score of 4.3 from over 550 reviewers on Google Map, we came to a full house eatery, and, thankfully, managed to secure a table without much wait. 

With quite a number of options instead of just turkey rice, we happily asked our friend to order for us, emphasizing that we only wanted turkey rice, and maybe some soup. 

Menu, in Chinese, for your reference, and your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The turkey rice cost just NT$35, and that's less than S$2! Eating at the outskirts is definitely friendlier for our wallet! 

Turkey Rice - to be honest, the serving was quite little (and rightfully so for the price) and I am so glad we ordered extra soup. And unlike chicken rice in Singapore, the plating here for the turkey was simply rice drenched in rice and topped with shredded turkey.

Texture wise, the turkey meat was much tenderer than expected, although the bite was meatier and tougher. The rice was plain with flavor coming from the sauce, which wasn't your common soy sauce. Personally, I like the turkey rice, even though chicken rice in Singapore was still better. p.s. turkey meat is healthier than chicken meat though. 

Clam Soup - simplicity was key here with a stronger touch of raw ginger in the light, seafoody rice. At NT$45, I would have thought more clams would be given. By the way, I don't know how much clams cost. 

Milkfish Soup - taste was fishier but looked at the rich layer of collagen! As I mentioned numerous times in postings for the Taiwan trip made in 2025, milkfish is second to cod fish on my list of favourite fishes! 

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Not rejecting turkey rice and I would be back to try this Chiayi signature dish again, at other eateries, when I return in the near future. Want to know why Chiayi is known for their turkey rice? Click here! 

Address

436, Zhongxing Road, 

Shuishang Township, 

Chiayi County

Taiwan

Map

As above.

Order List

As above.

Pricing

Turkey Rice - NT$35

Clam Soup - NT$45

Milkfish Soup - NT$75

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Last Day of Our 3-Day Trip to Sapa @ Vietnam

<<< Day Two

Detailed Postings for the Day

• Sapa Lake
• Sapa Stone Church (Exterior)
• Private Limousine Transport from Sapa to Hanoi

Morning breakfast - fresh fruits drenched in the signature Vietnamese yogurt at ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel! This was almost my defacto hotel breakfast every morning in Vietnam! 

Temperature for the morning.

Venturing out on our last day in Sapa! Despite the cold in the Vietnamese highlands, it was a happy three days spent and to think that we didn't even manage to cover most of the attractions! 

Making a mental note to return in the near future, maybe with my mom, and to stay at least four nights, flying in from Singapore and directly up to Sapa.

By then, the Sapa Square would have been refurbished and open for more activities. And hopefully, I would also blessed with better weather, one with clear blue skies. 

In spite of their adorableness, it's my wish that kids from the ethnic Hmong tribes would also be focusing on their studies, instead of being pulled out of schools to earn dough at such a young age.

Still drizzling lightly, it was still nice to breathe in the cool crisp morning air. My intention then was just to walk walk a bit before we were scheduled to leave for Hanoi.

Met up with my dad and Alex, who were done with their breakfast much earlier, and decided to venture out for a last glimpse of Sapa town. 

Sapa Lake - one of the highest man-made lake in Vietnam! If not the low lying fog, it would have been much more beautiful with buildings of European architecture surrounded it.

More photographs, and meeting up with the rest of my family.

Wait, this looked familiar! Was this a sister branch of Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su at Hanoi, famous for their beef pho!? Judging from the Google review score of 2.7, I doubt it.

Not sure if this was a replica of Fansipan! 

Nevertheless, let's be the human-Godzilla! 

The simple yet classic Sapa Stone Church! Built in 1895, with a 20-meter high bell tower, it's unfortunate we didn't manage to step in for a closer look.

Personally, I think Sapa town was quite touristy, with many restaurants and hotels serving visitors and tourists, instead of shops serving the locals; convenience for non locals for sure.

Continuing our way.

With a local hmong kid pestering us to buy her products. We really felt bad but knew that should our hearts soften, it would encourage more kids to approach us, or entice us to continue sacrificing their childhood to earn money. 

Taking the golf cart shuttle back to the hotel as we were too lazy to walk! Once I knew how much it cost in Day Two, it's just a no-brainer given that the walk back was close to 600 meters; uphill! 

Final look at ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel before checking out, including the balcony of my sister and brother in law's room, the eerie corridor and the swimming pool that no one in their right mind would swim in with such chilly weather! 

Even on our last day, the climate remained foggy and depriving us of the breathtaking views that guests of ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel were supposed to be rewarded for staying there! Well, the operator can't dictate nature, and we could only blame our luck.

Hopping onto the private limousine that shall transport us, comfortably, from Sapa to Hanoi, at a price of S$321, and took us about five hours to arrive at Hanoi Tirant Hotel! 

>>> Summarized Itinerary