There were a few things I missed having ever since my last trip to Batam, which was before COVID-19 hit the world. One of them would be the curry puffs from Swees Kopi Tiam!
Thankfully, they survived the pandemic which wasn't that surprising as their customer base appeared to be largely locals, and we didn't encounter many as food deliveries seemed to be a popular option.
Whatever the case, I was happy to indulge in freshly deep fried curry puffs! Pity I am a lot more disciplined with my diet after COVID-19 and unlike in the past; I hesitated purchasing a few boxes to bring home so that I can have one or two for breakfast for the next few weeks.
No choice but to order just three puffs, one for each flavor (curry chicken, sardines, yam), to be shared, among our company of four persons. I was hoping that the taste had deteriorated so that I would feel less sad about not buying more.
Turned out they were as delicious as I recalled! The pastry skin was as crispy as remember with the signature sweetness that I found to be so endearing to the taste buds. It did appear thicker than I remember but not a huge problem since the taste by itself was so good.
Fillings were still generous and tasty, and I can feel my stomach growling while looking at the photographs! I am not going to go into the details as you can read more in details from this post here. Another notable change; it's no longer 30,000 rupiah apiece. Prices have shot up to 50,000 rupiah (about 42 Singapore cents).
Have you been to the top floor of Taipei 101, the bamboo-shaped skyscraper renowned as one of the most beautiful in the world? I did in my most recent trip with my dad, and since it was his first visit; I thought it would be better for me to top up the basic ticket just so we can check out the highest level!
Special access with a security personnel checking your tickets before allowing you access to this themed room that could have been one of the settings for Alice in Wonderland.
My accommodative dad being the model for my photographs; it helped that the place was spruced up with so many flowers, one of the things he really likes in real life; regardless of whether they are real or fake.
Taking the lift up to level 101.
Current level: level 89.
Another photo spot after exiting the lift; level 89 had plenty of photo spots too but given that it's the basic ticket, you would find a lot more tourists waiting for their turn.
There's a roof level where you can take the picture as shown on the television screen. The pricing for it was expensive; 3,000 Taiwan dollars! A typical basic ticket only cost 600 Taiwan dollars! No, I wouldn't pay for it; free I take.
Dad getting all excited to be "top of the world"! The ticket price for this level 101 access, which would include the basic access, cost 380 Taiwan dollars more, about S$16 extra. Not that cheap but given its exclusivity, with lesser visitors; I thought it's worth the money.
The sign near the ceiling indicated the direction.
This one looked out to the north!
Level 101 wasn't big; only about 2,200 square meters in size but limited only to the outer corridors that surrounded a center consisting of washrooms, exit staircases and the lift.
A supposedly bare space with just the surrounding views being the main attraction; it's fascinating how the beautifully it was decorated! And from what I see, clientele included many couples although it's mainly the boyfriends taking photos for the girlfriends.
I am happy shooting for my dad though.
p.s. I look uglier in his photographs.
Given the extras I paid for this access, I am so going to make full use of my money to record time-lapse videos! To be fair, I shall only do four videos; one for each direction.
This also grant me opportunity to appreciate the view on top, pointing out noticeable landmarks to my father, like the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in the above photograph.
That tallest mountain at the back was part of the Yangmingshan National Park. Strangely, I have never quite had the urge to pay it a visit.
Taipei Songshan Airport, which served both domestic and international destinations; not to Singapore though. Notice that yellow-golden roofed building? That's the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine, "dedicated to the war dead of the Republic of China".
See if you could spot the plane that just took off from Taipei Songshan Airport.
圓山大飯店 - Grand Hotel Taipei; the impressive hotel that's I would love to tick off from my bucket list! Hm.... Should I go Taipei for my upcoming trip? Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall which I have yet to check out too! Right behind would be the Taipei Dome, second largest stadium in Taiwan. I was surprised to find out that the largest stadium was Kaohsiung National Stadium!
Isn't this building with a helipad super unique?! Called Agora Garden, it's a residential block skewed for the rich as one unit was said to cost 1.8 billion Taiwan dollars, about 73 million Singapore dollars! I read from an article dated August 2023 that even though it was completed in 2018, only one unit had been sold.
It should have been easy since swathes of greenery were not that common near city areas and I finally found the area where my dad and I were at earlier that morning; Elephant Hill.
Check out the red arrow for the above two photographs! They were the Quanzhen Donghua Taoist Temple and Photographer's Lookout; the few destinations as part of our hike up elephant hill! Strangely, I can't find Fireworks Lookout.
Did you know that there were tunnels running underneath Elephant Hill?
What's the population of Taipei, capital of Taiwan? The whole place felt so densely populated, I thought it would exceed Singapore! Surprise, its population was only about 2.5 million!
Wide-angle shots for the four directions!
Here's the stitched up time-lapse video of the four directions for your viewing pleasure! It's not very long; only about 40 seconds, and so therapeutic for the soul!
Roaming around Taoyuan International Airport while waiting for the arrival of our plane back to Singapore, the above notice caught my attention. World Champion Craft Beer; I do love a glass of craft beer and more so if it was a champion!
Three types of lager to choose from at Sunmai Bar, and I was pleased to see that the 2022 champion was the honey lager! With an ABV (alcohol by volume) of a comfortable 5%, I had to fork out the 200 Taiwan dollars to give this a try.
Finding a comfortable seat at the bar to enjoy my beer! From what I read on the web, this sunmai beer was from this company called Le Ble D’or.
Would this be the perfect foam to beer ratio? The scrooge in me would prefer lesser foam so that I would have more beer content to enjoy but there are reasons for the foam, affecting aroma, texture and flavor.
Enjoying my 400ml beer. Despite the popularity of beer drinking in Taiwan, I actually didn't drink much in my eight days in Taiwan. That's actually quite a pity as a sip at bedtime can result in an extremely nice sleep.
Loving what I had; the beer was smooth with a honey sweetness (from longan apparently) that kind of of complemented the bitterness. What I would really need would be some beer bites to perfect the experience.
Burp! Almost got a second glass but was stopped by my dad, who doesn't drink. :(
The awards; I am no beer connoisseur although they don't matter to me as everyone is entitled to their own preference. For me, as an example, I have a stronger liking in general for Japanese beer.
