Dodomi Scholar / Champion Cake (多多米狀元糕) - Traditional Peanuts @ Ruifeng Night Market in Kaohsiung City [Taiwan]

In the almost ten years that I didn't revist Taiwan, I would reminisce a few things about the trip made in 2014. One especially memorable one was my first experience of scholar cakes at Taipei's Guangzhou Street Night Market.

Fast forward to 2025, I encountered the same scholar cakes for sale but this time, it was located at Kaohsiung Ruifeng Night Market, and under the name dodomi (多多米). The Chinese name actually means more more rice, signifying the higher rice content in their rice cakes.

I was expecting a simple menu, and the variety that hit us made me anxious as I was pulled into a huge dilemma with so many choices; traditional, sweet, savory, special, mochi and within the five categories, it further dived into the filling selection. 

And the scholar cakes came in serving sizes of four, five and six! Both Alex and I didn't want the scholar cakes to fill up the remaining space in our stomachs and we negotiated with the friendly operator for a serving size of two pieces for NT$45! 

Selection of fillings.

Want to guess what I choose?

Of course traditional peanuts, being an old fashioned traditionalist myself! Anyway, the operator, also the boss, claimed that his scholar cakes are better than the northern ones (Taipei etc) and I can't wait for it to be cooked in the bamboo holder! 

Unmoulding from the holder! According to the banner, I also understand that dodomi used only 100% pure rice from Penglai, and they were freshly ground with no preservatives. Sounded so healthy although for a person who is restricting his rice intake; rice is carbohydrates, rice is starch! 

Our two pieces ready for indulgence. 

Mmmmmm indeed better than what I remember. Stickier texture yet not mushy, satisfying and not heavy, the peanut-sugar filling was on point, and every bite was so good! Similar to our local tutu kueh but a lot bigger! Maybe I should quit my job and bring this delicious dessert to Singapore! 

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Location

Within Ruifeng Night Market,

Yucheng Road, Zuoying District,

Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Traditional Peanut Scholar Cake - NT$45 for Two

Smille by Sunny Hills - Pineapple Custard and Banana Guava Mille-Feuilles @ Kaohsiung [Taiwan]

Recently, I blogged about my experience having a tea and pineapple cake set at Sunny Hills Kaohsiung Store, including the shock I got when I saw the long queue upon arrival. 

I didn't want to wait in line and decided to jump into an empty store next door, only to find out that it's a sister brand by the name of Smille by Sunny Hills! Now, it's a big contrast with one filled with people, and the other devoid of them.

Even though the intention was to get some drinks and wait out the queue, it's hard not to notice that it's no drink on the menu! I noted that there's a me cup but it seemed to be a recyclable cup costing NT$120 and came with a free drink.

Main offerings were the mille-feuilles; a French pastry dessert for which I don't really have much affection for. It's not a bad dessert; just that I have never ever craved for it, unlike other desserts like creme brulee, financier.

Interestingly, our order of mille-feuilles came with a free cup of not bad sparkling pineapple juice,. and richly infused tea! Funny that this wasn't even indicated on the menu as it could have been a draw for customers! 

Our mille-feuilles! I opted for their half and half, which allowed us to choose two flavours! The above was Pineapple Custard and had that nice, crunchy, cold pineapple cubes that didn't taste artificial and complemented with the yummy custard in the middle!

The Banana Guava felt more like banana with nuts, and for me; just not as good as pineapple custard, although Alex pointed out that its reduced sweetness might appeal to the older generation. Can't fault that.

One reason why I didn't like mille-feuilles was their pastry, which was usually too thick for my liking, and sometimes featured a stale aftertaste! The ones here tasted fresh and I think it's ingenious to pipe the fillings instead of layering them, as you get a lower filling to pastry ratio! 

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Address

Next to Sunny Hills Kaohsiung Store

Menu

As above.

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)

ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa - Deluxe Balcony Room @ Vietnam

Whenever we travel with our younger sister, she decides on the hotel as her needs are more precise whereas my criteria are just an air-conditioned room with an ensuite toilet. 

So, for our Sapa trip, she made the decision to book ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa; a four-star hotel that opened in 2017 with 41 rooms in total. Granted it was about 600 meters to the Sapa Station for Muong Hoa Funicular, but the mountain view was said to be spectacular! 

Sadly, the above was the view that greeted us throughout the three days we were at Sapa! That's a major letdown although we can't really fault nature for its whims and fancies. 

Stepping into the large lobby of the hotel, where the Christmas decorations put on a festive atmosphere even though it was still freezing without any heater in the lobby! 

To the left would be the in-house restaurant, and the place where we would have our daily breakfast buffet, which I shall share more shortly.  

On the right would be the hotel reception. As we arrived way before the official check in at 1.00pm, only one out of three rooms was available. We were grateful though as we just need a place to throw our luggage and then proceed to Cat Cat Village. 

Welcome drink! 

Basic hotel information for reference. Note that guests should not be using towels to wipe off dust and dirt; guess it's common enough to specially highlight the sentence.

Mesmerized by this spiral staircase and the lights hung from the ceiling. But there's something I should warn you before you decide to book ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa.

It can feel quite creepy with all the large, framed photographs of the ethnic minority groups, even within the hotel room. It didn't help that soft, soothing lights were used for illumination and there weren't that many guests during our visit. 

To be fair, nothing happened to us in the two-night stay at the hotel and my primary grouch with this hotel was more the distance to the happening and more crowded part of Sapa Town. 

Deluxe Balcony Room

Three rooms we booked and it's unfortunate that the room for both my younger sister and I were separated with the others, and located on a different floor too. If memory serves me well, the room assigned to us was 404. 

A twin-bed room; I couldn't get used to the mattress which gave me a backache until we returned back to Hanoi Tirant Hotel a few days later. The rest of our family seemed alright with their beds so it's likely just my problem.

More photographs of the 37-square-meter room, which included an in-room safe and a stocked up mini-fridge, plus bathrobes that I didn't use since I was with my sister! 

We also had a balcony that overlooked the back of a back of a mountain! Disappointing although it didn't really matter since it was misty throughout our stay. At least I can still claim to see the mountain where the other two rooms facing the valley can't see shit. 

Shocked to see a piece of clothing that was left by the previous guest. It would have been acceptable if I had insisted to check in earlier but there were plenty of time given for housekeeping to do a thorough job.

The nice washroom with its copper colored bathroom fittings, and the toiletries provided. While it was a wet-dry segregation, the water from showering would still seep into the dry area, often wetting the bathroom mat. 

Gymnasium

The fitness center on level one was small yet compact. Alex, my younger sister and I were daily users and I would say it was sufficient for the exercises I have in mind. I am not that fixated on gym as I could always jog outside the hotel if required. p.s. equipment was a bit old.

Swimming Pool

I always wonder about the need for an outdoor swimming pool in the highlands; who would actually use it given the cold weather, especially in winter, and in this case, unheated?! Speaking from someone who came from a hot country. Maybe those who hailed from cold countries love swimming in cold water. 

Anyway, it was a small pool for aesthetic purpose.

And to push up a star for the hotel. 

Breakfast

The one thing I was most satisfied with was the breakfast at ALIANA Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa. In addition, there was this lady who spoke great English and provided excellent customer service; to the extent that should I ever want to invest in a hotel at Vietnam, she would be the person I would put in charge! 

Another thing I like; the Coal Burner at the entrance that gave us much warmth in the cold! It's fascinating that even though we came from the tropics, we naturally navigated towards the burning coals when we stepped into the hotel. 

Photographs of the available food for the breakfast buffet for your reference, including mains like stewed pork, baked potatoes, fried noodle, bamboo sticky rice etc.

There was also an ala-carte menu that you can also order numerous times, except for beverages like latte, cappuccino, chocolate and espresso. That included eggs, french toast, pancake and noodle soup.

Frankly, the variety for breakfast was simple, and not as wide, but the taste was better than expected! I love the sausages, the fruits, the bacon with mushrooms and swiss rolls, and even the thin pancakes. The French toast was a bit too soggy for my liking though. My younger sister complained not enough vegetables! 

Spa

There's also a spa within the hotel. As it was likely the low tourist peak, given the occupancy, there was just one masseur on duty! Therefore, we didn't manage to try it out as we didn't want to lock down a timing. 

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Address

No.30 Hoàng Liên Street, 

Sa Pa, Lào Cai, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Website

https://alianaboutiquesapa.com/

Pricing

Deluxe Balcony Room - S$87.30 a night

Click here for my summarized itinerary of my 3 days trip to Sapa