Bingo （冰哥花生捲冰淇淋） - The Ice Cream Peanut Popiah @ Shifen Old Street in Taiwan

Although my last visit to Taiwan was around 10 years ago, there were a few things that I had been craving for before I returned to Ilha Formosa late last year; one of which was stinky tofu. 

Another one would be the peanut ice cream roll that I had once at Jiufen! It was such an interesting "popiah" that when I heard of this Bingo (冰哥花生捲冰淇淋) from KK, our tour guide, when we were in Shifen; I knew I had to share this goodie with my dad!

The use of ingredients to make the roll wasn't that unique to Singaporeans as it's quite similar to popiah although the mixture could only be described as unique, or in the case of some people, ugh.

Popiah skin can be commonly found in Singapore and the same goes for freshly grated peanuts. The things that went on top of the peanuts were, however, scoops of ice cream, and coriander! 

This cost me NT$50, about S$2.00 and it appeared smaller than the one I had at Jiufen. Oh well, small portions work best for me so that I would have more stomach space for other Taiwanese street snacks.

Definitely brought back good memories and I can see my dad, a ice-cream lover, totally enjoying it! What I didn't quite like was the thickness of the popiah skin and while the two scoops of ice cream wer of different colors (which I shall assume to be of two different flavors); I can't discern as the grated peanuts overpowered my taste buds! 

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Address

No. 71號, Shifen St, Pingxi District, 

New Taipei City, Taiwan 

Map

As above. 

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

Pixiu Lucky Charm Centre also known as Chung-hwa Pui-shiou Museum (中華貔貅館) - Mandatory Shopping Stop @ Taipei in Taiwan

I don't make it a point to visit museums when I am overseas unless it's interesting ones like the Ghost Museum in Penang or it was part of a tour package.

Despite having the word museum in its name, I knew that the real intent of Chung-hwa Pui-shiou Museum is the sale of charms in the image of Pixiu, a "Chinese mythical hybrid creature". 

Nevertheless, visitation is a must since it's part of the mandatory shopping stop for our Taiwan tour package. Going down to the basement where skylight continued to illuminate the passage with natural lighting.

To reflect its so called legitimacy, you would find pictures of celebrities put up on the wall. Guess Singapore is a big market as I counted five Singapore celebrities. Well, as a graduate of marketing in poly, this is just a gimmick.

Instead of stone lions, let's have pixiu instead. I am not going to wax lyrical about the mythical creature and you can get a rough information on Wikipedia here. 

I am no stranger to pixiu as I got acquainted to the creature a few times when I was in China, as part of tour packages. Said to ward off evil with the ability to attract wealth, I was persuaded to part away more than S$100 for a small charm. 

You may also read the summary as above.

p.s. do note that pixiu is not qilin.

In Chinese mythology and feng shui, there are numerous auspicious and in this museum, you would gain some insights for lion, qilin, toad, dragon tortoise etc, although they were mainly about wealth, given how obsessed Chinese are with money! 

After all the "information", we were brought into a room where the marketing pitch began! I was totally switched off and when it came to the "fortune telling" segment, no one in our group was keen to move to the tables. I think the person got irritated and rudely told us we can leave if we weren't interested. I treat that as a hint and immediately stood up, pulled my dad, and got out of the room! The rest followed suit. 

Interested to learn more about pixiu and have your fortune taken so that you would know which charms to pick? You can definitely refer to the website as stated above, and make an appointment when you are in Taipei. 

 

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Address

83號B1F, Chengde Rd, Section 3,

Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

AETAS Lumpini Hotel - Less than 100 Meters from Lumpini MRT Station @ Bangkok in Thailand

Staying at the same hotel (Hotel Royal in Bangkok) twice within a year is a feat for me and I was adamant to book a new hotel for my recent visit to the capital of Thailand; hereby introducing AETAS Lumpini; a five-star establishment! 

What caught my attention was its proximity to the MRT station! Lumpini MRT station (exit 1) is less than a hundred meters away and the hotel was only about 500 meters away from Lumpini Park and Benchakitti Park. 

Don't you find it interesting?! The door handles were in the shape of hotel's logo, which looks like an A in my opinion. I thought it was nice to incorporate the logo into something so functional, and memorable for guests.

Modern and comfortable hotel lobby! 

Chandelier that lighted up the pathway going to the basement where "The Hourglass Restaurant" was. Serving buffet breakfast, I didn't bother checking it out since I didn't opt for breakfast. 

One area that I frequently numerous times on a daily basis would be complimentary refreshment, where beverages switched from plain water, pandan water, chrysanthemum and roselle! I would have a cup or two when I left the hotel and another cup or two when I returned. 

Continuing the check-in process, where we were allocated room 1415. That's quite a disappointment as I did request for high floor and AETAS Lumpini is 28-floor high. Nevertheless, request doesn't mean a guarantee. 

Room - 1415

Stepping into our Deluxe King Room, after giving a few knocks on the door. First up would be the corridor with the luggage rack and wardrobe on our right, and entrance to the bathroom on the left.

At 42 square meters, it was spacious for a hotel that's considered to be at the city center, and you wouldn't believe that it cost us less than S$100 a night. p.s. the king size bed appeared queen in the above photo. 

Do you like this all-in-one console (except for the TV controls)? I found it to be a remnant of the olden times although I had to admit that everything worked well; the air-conditioning was god damn cold, to the extent I had to switch it off in the morning before I took my morning shower.

Television was small compared to the 86-inch TV in my house. But I think I have mentioned before; I seldom switch on the television when I am in hotels as I prefer watching from the convenience of my mobile phone.

Desk with lamp; would have been useful for me to catch up with work but for this particular trip, I was on mandatory block leave (MBL) and had to stay away from replying any emails / messages! Frankly, I need more of such MBLs as it was an incredibly relaxing trip for me. p.s. numerous three-pin plugs in the room! 

Mini-fridge, electric kettle, tea and coffee sachets were at this corner nearing the window! That's so far from the taps in the bathroom and for the sake of being eco-friendly, glass bottles of water were provided. 

Chargeable drinks in the mini-fridge.

p.s. the plastic bottles of water were free, I guess?

Window view from our room. One feedback, they would need to improve the sound proofing as there were two hospitals near AETAS Lumpini and I can hear the ambulance sirens so clearly; they actually affected my sleep! 

Inside the wardrobe; including ironing board, iron, bathrobes, slippers, in-room safe, and an umbrella! The things I would make use of would be the safe and the plastic laundry bags; latter assisted in keeping the foul smell of my dirty laundry!

Time to check out the bathroom! 

From right to left; toilet bowl, separate shower area, vanity space, and then bathtub. Nowadays, I actually use the bathtub as I am obsessed with the toys hidden in the bath bombs from Don Don Donki! 

The amenities; a hair dryer was also provided in one of the drawers but it was unsatisfyingly weak! I am better off drying my hair using the bath towel. 

I recalled reading somewhere that the rooms were newly renovated; hence, another stint of disappointment with the shower. Shouldn't they upgrade to a rainfall shower instead? Saving grace was the tray of aromatic Cocomilk products which made me look forward to showering every time! 

Eco-friendly measures that are quite standard nowadays.

Kids Club

A small playroom for the young kids; a facility that has no appeal for me since I have no kids and both my niece and nephews are already in their rebellious teenage age. 

Swimming Pool

Located right next to Kids Club on the 9th floor would be the swimming pool, said to be heated! On booking websites like Trip.com, you get the impression there were two pools; one indoor, one outdoor.

Turned out to be one singular pool with about half that's sheltered. I brought along my swimming trunks but didn't have time to take a dip as my time in Bangkok is usually spent exploring the rest of the city! The hotel room, in essence, was just a place to sleep and shower.

While it's not a big draw yet, you would be assured that the rates for AETAS Lumpini would shoot up once this huge development right across the road is completed; One Bangkok! 

A jacuzzi at the side! 

More photographs of the swimming pool for your reference; god knows why I took so many when I didn't even bother swimming in it! 

Those loving some alcohol while suntanning or after swim can page for a service staff from GMT Lounge on the same floor. I am stingy and preferred to walk about a 100 meters to 7-11 convenience store for a few bottles of Thai beer.

Sauna Rooms

One activity that I have yet to get around to enjoying it. Maybe I would like it eventually, as I did with onsen, after my inaugural trip to Japan, to Hokkaido! 

Fitness Centre

A sign at the lift lobby pointing to the direction of the gym wouldn't be too much of a surprise but the point was; I actually got stuck in the beginning. 

I actually had to get past the above door. 

Which led me to more doors; how could a five-star hotel fail in such a simply wayfinding of a facility so proudly displayed on their website? 

Finally found the entrance to the gym. If not for the glass door showing its equipment, I can confidently say I would have just walked past on my first try.

Guess what's the one thing that caught my attention? Not the towels; it would have to be the line of plastic water bottles which would have been handier than the glass bottles in the our deluxe king room! 

So loving the equipment in the gymnasium and it helped that there were not too many people using it when I visited. Frankly, I don't need too many varied equipment and happy with just simple weights, treadmills etc.

But this Cybex multiple-station training set totally blew me away; to the extent I would have loved to set aside one room just to accommodate it. My favorite has to be the modular assisted chin-up! Maybe I will return to AETAS Lumpini for the gym. On second thought, maybe not with the incessant ambulance sirens throughout the night.  

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Address

1030 4 Rama IV Rd, Thung Maha Mek, 

Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand

Map

As above.

Website

https://lumpini.aetashotels.com/

Pricing

Deluxe King Room - S$95.81

(Booked via Trip.com)