Aromatic Garlic Bread from 禾马烘焙 @ Tainan Garden Night Market [Taiwan]

Imagine walking in a crowded night market, surrounded with the mish mash of smells and the sensitive nose suddenly picked up a familiar whiff of deliciousness coming from the above stall. 

Stepping closer to see what it was all about, I noticed the industrial ovens out in the open! Don't Tainan rain at all or their meteorological station is way more accurate, comparing to Singapore, in predicting bad weather?! 

Whatever the case, my focus was on the bakes giving out all the addictive scent! The rectangular blocks of garlic bread! When I was young, this would count as my favorite kind of bread, especially in a bowl of creamy mushroom soup! 

Got one for NT$45 and I am loving the colors; where five sides were smeared with the garlic spread. I immediately took a bite; while it was aromatic, the insides were just plain bread that didn't excite (it was soft though) and a tad too thick for my liking. Maybe I would like it better if it was piping hot, fresh from the oven. 

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Address

Within Tainan Garden Night Market,

No. 533, Section 3, Hai'an Rd, North District, 

Tainan City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Pricing

Garlic Bread - NT$45

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)

Boiled Muah Chee from 董家烧麻薯 @ Tainan Garden Night Market [Taiwan]

Close friends would know I love our local muah chee and even though I do know how to make it myself (recipe here); the portion is usually too much, and it's too troublesome. Hence, I would buy, especially when the craving hits! 

The pans filled with sesame seeds with sugar, and peanut bits with sugar definitely attracted my attention as I was strolling past stalls and stalls of street food at Tainan Garden Night Market.

Knowing for sure that Alex shares the same deep love for muah chee, I requested for a serving! Aside from freshly boiled muah chee, there's also another option for shaved ice with muah chee, condensed milk and brown sugar! 

I am a traditional at heart, and eating ice in such cool weather wouldn't be a choice I would willingly take. Something hot would have been very much preferred to warm the throat, amnd tummy! 

Our serving of two pieces of handmade muah chee, each sprinkled with peanut bits and sugar, and sesame seeds and sugar at NT$55. Contrary to Singapore's version, each piece was cut into long pieces, AFTER the sprinkling.

Stretchy and didn't stick to the teeth; I love the texture but found that they were less sweet than their Singapore's counterpart, given the reduction in surface coverage for the peanut bits / sesame seeds with sugar mix. Personally, Singapore's version is better! 

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Address

Within Tainan Garden Night Market,

No. 533, Section 3, Hai'an Rd, North District, 

Tainan City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Additional Information

The stall operates at a few night markets. You can find them at Tainan Garden Night Market on Thursdays and Sundays. 

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)

Phở Liến Nga near Nguyen Hoang Night Market @ Hoi An [Vietnam]

Travelling with my mom is not hard but when it comes to food; she prefers soupy stuff whereas I am less inclined, especially during the hot summer season! Who would drink hot soup on a hot day!? Not me. 

Nevertheless, I would usually compromise and decided to check out this pho restaurant at Hoi An, Phở Liến Nga, which was right next to the touristy Nguyen Hoang Night Market! 

A family business where the younger generation, who spoke English, doubled up as waitress and cashier; I felt that I am stepping into a family home! p.s. Phở Liến Nga has been in business for over 70 long years! 

Reason for the slim sizes of most Vietnamese; the provision and abundance of complimentary vegetables and in this specific eatery, they were the bean sprouts, basil leaves, limes and pickled guava! I can just be a herbivore and get full without ingesting any pho. 

Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo) - let's start with mine which my mom couldn't take as she doesn't take beef. For me, the original pho must be beef based, and I have had my fair share of lousy chicken pho that simply smelt and tasted strange. 

Simple yet nice broth that had a sprinkler of peanut buts and a pinch of refreshing sourness from the squeezed lime! Heart warming for the tummy for sure! By the way, I am not huge on the noodle, which I would describe as narrower form of kuay teow, and Phở Liến Nga used dry pho, instead of fresh pho. 

Honestly, I can't taste the difference since it's never my objective in the first place. Personally, I would have gone for just soup, sans the noodles anytime. Adding in the vegetables for extra fodder. On the beef; they were sliced thin, not super tender but at least not tasteless as in the case of some places. 

I did my best for someone who resists taking carbohydrates at night. 

Chicken Noodle Soup (Pho Ga) - my mom's order and it's a bit like sweetened chicken soup, and you definitely need to squeeze in the lime to make a huge difference to the flavour. Which was better between beef and chicken? Former for sure, in my humble opinion! 

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Address

02b La Hối, Phường Minh An, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam 560000, Vietnam

(Super near Nguyen Hoang Night Market)

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Chicken Noodle Soup

Beef Noodle Soup

Thảo Laundry - Normal Cleaning Service at Just 20,000 Dong a Kilogram (Minimum 3 Kilograms) @ Da Nang City in Vietnam

Laundry services are so exorbitantly priced that I always haul my dirty clothes back to Singapore whenever I travel; that's until I chanced upon laundry services in Vietnam, specifically at La Charm Hoi An Hotel & Spa!

So, in my most recent trip to Central Vietnam, with my mom, I decided to seek laundry services when we were on our last leg of the 9-day tour; Da Nang City! Found one near our hotel; Thảo Laundry, with a Google review rating score of 4.6 from over 200 reviewers. 

It's in one of those small alleys and co-located with Dam Phuc Hotel (man, the name makes me giggle); super close to the famous Golden Lotus Oriental Organic Spa.

Clear infographics with just two prices to choose from. I am not hardup for the sun-soaked aroma, and the normal cleaning service would be sufficient at just 20,000 dong a kilogram! That's like only S$1 a kilogram; note, a kilogram and not a piece! 

Our dirty clothes; my issue wasn't with my usual tees, my underwear, or even my socks. As I make an effort to jog in the gym, the stench my sweat soaked sleeveless tees was really no joke. 

Using a conventional weighing scale to confirm the weight; please be assured that 500 grams were deducted from the overall, given the red plastic laundry basket. 

Receipt - total weight of dirty clothes was 4.5 kilograms, a delivery fee of 10,000 dong (that's like 50 cents) to our hotel; costing us just 100,000 dong (S$5)! 

In less than 24 hours, the clothes were delivered to our hotel reception; packed tightly and smelt so clean and good! Even my mom was impressed; bet she harbored thoughts to stay in Vietnam for good since she is always doing her laundry in Singapore!

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Address

30/1 Hà Bổng, Phước Mỹ, 

Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000, 

Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Fucian Stinky Tofu (府前臭豆腐) @ Tainan City in Taiwan

I was wondering why I can't find this particular stinky tofu eatery at Tainan; has it closed down?! Turned out there was a change of name to 初味麵館, a noodle house even though noodles and rice options wer initially already available back when I was there early this year.

Whatever the case, I can eat stinky tofu every night when I was in Taiwan! On its own, tofu is a high protein food although my insane love for it was reserved only for its sinful, deep fried version

Without much customers on a Thursday evening, my serving of crispy stinky tofu in whole pieces didn't take too long to be served on my table; I timed about 6-7 minutes. 

As seen from the above, the insides of each piece of stinky tofu was "meaty" with the beehive pattern that resulted in a juicy, squidgy texture that should have complemented with the crispness from the deep-fried shell. Sadly, the excessive serving of sauce soften the texture, reducing the satisfaction as I bit through.

Saving grace was the pickled vegetables; one of the best thus far for the trip with the crunchy vinegar sour-sweetness that made it so endearing! Having eaten enough stinky tofu, I had to say that the pickled vegetables played an essential role for your virgin stinky tofu experience! 

See how much sauce there were! 

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Address

No. 112, Section 2, Fuqian Rd, 

West Central District, Tainan City, 

Taiwan

Map

As above. Now known as 初味麵館.

Order List

As above. 

Pricing

Crispy Stinky Tofu (Whole Piece) - NT$65

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)

Ferry to Cijin Island and Back, from KW2, and to Gushan Ferry Pier Stations @ Kaohsiung City in Taiwan

While it is possible to drive into Cijin Island via an underwater tunnel, we decided to take the more conventional mode, the ferry, and via Kaohsiung Port Warehouse No. 2, also known as KW2.

I didn't research too much and opted for this Detective Conan themed seabus (as it was known); at my age, it's more conveniences than price that mattered, so long it wasn't excessively overpriced. 

Price per person; NT$80 for a 10-minute ride.

You can easily pay via ubiquitous Easy Card.

Ground level of the seabus, which didn't have many seats. Are you a fan of Detective Conan? I am actually quite an anime fan in my youth but I have never read a single book of this manga.

Second level, which had a lot more seats. I was just happy it was non-air-conditioned since I am prone to seasickness and natural sea breeze is usually preferred. On second thought, a 10-minute ferry ride doesn't quite cause any harm anyway.

Hm.... what's so AI about this?

Seemed like photos comparing past and present.

The narrow channel separating mainland Taiwan with Cijin Island. On the left, on top of the island, was the Kaohsiung Lighthouse "built in 1883 and reconstructed in 1918". 

A warship?

Flag was Netherlands?

Leaving for the ferry terminal at Cijin Island. Kaohsiung Port Warehouse No. 2, or KW2 is worth spending some time exploring as there were eateries and souvenir shops located within. Just be mindful of the departure timing of the seabus.

I wouldn't be surprised if this would gradually become an instagrammable spot, with owners deciding to paint the facade of the buildings so that it became an eye-catching stretch of panorama.

Moving towards the ferry pier of Cijin Island. 

The building looked beautiful with its orange red tiles, cyan translucent windows and a tower in the middle! Anyone is aware of its history? I can't seem to find anything online via English search. 

It was noticed that we had overpaid our ferry tickets and I did realize later that it had to do with where we were taking the ferry from and in our case, the Detective Conan themed seabus could have been higher priced too.

Two hours later, we were back at the pier as we didn't want to wait till sunset to drive the rental car. The agreement I had with Alex was that we will not be doing any self driving at night. 

Overlooking the mainland. 

Only at this moment did I realize that the ground level of the seabus didn't have that many seats for a reason; because the open space was required for the motorbikes! I didn't notice in my earlier ride at all and it was only more obvious on my return ride as many people were on the way back to the mainland! 

Detective Conan themed seabus had already retired for the day.

I was wondering what these tanks were! Turned out to be fuel tanks, like for the ferries, boats. Kids would likely thought they were aquariums for fishes. Nonetheless, they added a splash of vibrant colors to the environment.

Leaving Cijin Island! 

I will be back again! 

Skyline of Kaohsiung City. What were the buildings you can identify from the Kaohsiung Harbour (where our seabus was travelling on)? I can identify 85 Sky Tower and Kaohsiung Music Center! 

The flaps that were in fact the doors for our seabus. 

Hm.... has anyone fallen out before? 

Frankly, I had assumed we would be going back to KW2, where we parked out rental car but this area wasn't familiar! Gosh, I prepared myself mentally; maybe have to take Uber later. 

Arrival at Hamasen area! Wait, I know this name! 

Was at Hamasen Railway Cultural Park the day before! 

Name of specific pier and station is Gushan Ferry Pier Station; commonly used by locals, ticket price per adult was only NT$30 and frequency is on average 10 minutes from 6.20am until midnight, with lower frequency from 12-2am and from 5-6am. 

Video for fun! 

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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)