Chiji Temple (左營城邑慈濟宮) @ Kaohsiung City in Taiwan

Compared to other religious abodes, I am most captivated by the design and 'content' of Taoist temples! I thought I would have seen enough but the Chiji Temple at Kaohsiung City stood out for its pretty high "forehead".

Intricate design from this stone dragon plaque in between the stairs; when I was young and the mind can wander wild, I always imagine I would be bestowed with the magical power to activate the inanimate objects and make them do my bidding. 

Stepping was a big donation box! Isn't that usually on the side of the altar?! An eyesore to put it in the middle of the temple but I guess donations are necessary to keep this temple running. While its origins can be traced to over 300 years ago, the current site was used only from 1950s.

Patron deity is Poh Seng Tai Tay (保生大帝), also known as a the God of Medicine. Worshipped mostly by the hokkien, it's Taoist deity I have heard of but it's not as popular in Singapore where Tua Pek Kong, City God are more well known. 

A human sized statue of the patron deity! 

As if he was in person to govern the temple!

Don't miss the beautifully designed concave ceiling which I honestly cannot make out the small little details, despite taking the photograph and zooming all the way in! 

Fan; the modern convenience! Necessary in the face of climate change although the pampered Singaporean would very much prefer air-conditioning. 

First time seeing the majestic door gods being encased.... But I can understand as itchy fingers like me couldn't help and would definitely run my fingers across! 

Famous Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are actually part of Chiji Temple even though they were across the road. More on both pagodas on a separate post.

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Address

No. 9, Liantan Rd, Zuoying District,

Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Map

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)

The Spring (河樂廣場) @ Tainan City [Taiwan]

It's a structure bound to catch your eye; pillars and columns that were seemingly half demolished and left to rot under the elements of nature; some, like the above, even had weathered signboards that spoke of the commercial bustle in the past.

Even more captivating was an exposed underground level with pools of stagnant looking water! It looked like an artistically designed arena yet so raw, so abandoned. Little wonder why this public space has already "received a number of awards and honors".

Can you imagine that before year 2020 (also known as the COVID19 year), the area that is now known as The Spring was a shopping centre?! And its location was centralized, next to the Tainan Canal, and that makes a Singaporean like me wonder; why wasn't the real estate better utilized?! 

Guess that's where our differences lie; Singapore is so small and at the same time, while it's no longer earning rental money, the space benefits from being a therapeutic, relaxed arena in the midst of modern concrete jungle for families, and on the weekday we were there, couples too. 

Impressed by it? 

Check out the details here! 

Rules and regulations for reference as above. Do note that it closed on Tuesdays. Unfortunately, I didn't go "down" to get closer to actions; insufficient time as I only stayed one night in Tainan! 

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Address

No. 343-20, Jhongjheng Rd, 

West Central District, 

Tainan City, Taiwan 

Map

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)

Sweet Potato Balls from 金華特許加盟店 @ Tainan in Taiwan

After my virgin take of sweet potato balls at Ruifeng Night Market in Kaohsiung City, I told myself I must check out a few more to have a more balanced view of this deep fried delicacy! 

And the above store absolutely caught my attention when I was at Tainan City a few days later! It was said to be the number 1 brand, and this particular branch was said to be a special franchisee; not sure if it was just a marketing gimmick.

Whatever the case, I always take the challenge of trying to find out if one's food is indeed worth as good as it claims. So a small order of just 9-10 balls at just NT$40 shall do. There were seven flavored "sprinklers"; peanuts, sour plum, wasabi, seaweed, cheese, coconut and chocolate! I went with 

I can't remember what I chose but the eventual verdict was; not bad tasting but not as crispy. The latter sentence was a dampener for me since I am a typical sweet potato lover and what makes me fell in love with sweet potato balls were their crispy shell! Maybe they were left out for too long.... :(

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Address

No 82-71, Jinhua Road,

Section 4, West Central District,

Tainan City, Taiwan

Map

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)

Combo Meletop from Nasi Lemak Berlauk Melaka @ Lucky Plaza in Singapore

Given that Orchard Road is the shopping belt of Singapore, expenditure on food is expected to be high. However, Lucky Plaza is one of the few places where a meal is not likely to burn a hole in your pocket! 

I know there were quite a few good haunts but given that there were four of us, we figured a food court would be the most favourable; hence, we opted for Kimly Coffeeshop, on level six of the shopping mall which had been around for more than 40 years.

Decided to go with Nasi Lemak Berlauk Melaka as it's the only stall with a line! There's even a Tian Tian Chicken Rice that didn't draw a queue its original branch at Maxwell Hawker Center.

Nasi padang concept appealed to me too since I could have more variety! Problem was I find it extremely hard to make a decision, especially when everything looks delicious! 

Major determinant of my choice to go with Nasi Lemak Berlauk Melaka; apparently, all their products in the stall were made from scratch! Now, that's commitment that deserves a round of applause. What's more important, however, is that food must still taste good. 

As there were four of us, I decided to splurge with the Combo Meletop as I couldn't decide if I should have chicken, beef, or seafood! Compared to just one plate on the menu, I was given two plates as there were just too much to fill up for one plate.

This combo consisted of ayam masak merah melaka, beef rendang, sambal sotong kering, sambal ikan bilis petai and sambal telur burung, plus basmati rice, fried egg and more sambal chilli! 

Starting with the plate of yellowish, redish and orangey ingredients; petai was a bit raw, beef rendang was hard, chewy and didn't soak in much flavour, egg was normal, ayam masak merah melaka was average (I would even say bland) and not as juicy. The best among the lot was the sotong which had the right texture and tasted good; albeit not warmer hot. 

Basmati rice was clumpy but fragrant, with a nice aroma typical of nasi lemak. The dollop of sambal chilli was made the way I like; spicy yet pulled some punches to my taste buds. I think I enjoy this plain rice and sambal chilli better! 

What did I order wrongly?

Or was the chef sick that day? 

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Address

304 Orchard Rd, #06-48A, 

Lucky Plaza (Within Kimly Coffeeshop),

Singapore 238863

Map

As above. 

Pricing

Combo Meletop - S$18.00

Day Five of the 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip 2025

<<< Day Four

Detailed Postings for the Day

• Experience My First Earthquake 
• Good Morning 早安美芝城 
• Smille by Sunny Hills
• Sunny Hills Kaohsiung Store 
• Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區)
• Great Harbor Bridge (大港橋)
• Kaohsiung Light Rail
• Hamasen Railway Cultural Park (哈瑪星鐵道園區) 
• Rice Cakes City (米糕城) 
• Weiwuying Metropolitan Park 
• Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市)
• Sweet Potato Balls from 大摳呆地瓜球
• Dodomi Scholar / Champion Cake (多多米狀元糕)

My usual start of the day when overseas began from 6.00 am but on day five of our 11-day Taiwan trip, I found myself being jolted awake 30 minutes past midnight! My virgin experience of an earthquake, that scared the shit out of Alex! Click here to read more.

Well late night sleep resulted in late morning wake-up! In search of an egg pancake breakfast at a famous stall, which turned out to be too crowded; a scenario I didn't want to endure as I was still suffering from a lack of sleep.

Eventually, we just decided on some classic bread and toast at Good Morning 早安美芝城. I didn't realize it's actually a large chain in Taiwan, and food was decent! 

Proceeding to our next destination.

Completed in 1996, the condominium blocks, standing at about 142 meters talls, with two plasma cannon lookalikes antennas stood out from the rest. 

Formosan black bear - the mascot and "unofficial national animal of Taiwan"! You know what's the national flower of Taiwan? It's the plum blossom! 

One attraction that I didn't dedicate time to, even though I stayed so near, was the Love River! With such a name, I presume it would be darn romantic and pretty, with plenty of photo spots. 

Uniquely designed Kaohsiung Music Center; making almost the start of the interesting Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區) although most people would take the Kaohsiung Light Rail and stop at Dayi Pier-2 station.

Slope reminded me of the wacky duck tour in Singapore but I am guessing this was more for the maintenance of small boats that travel along the Love River.

Bollards along the perimeter of Kaohsiung Music Center.

Interior of Kaohsiung Music Center. Well, those who knew me would be aware I am not so much into arts and music, preferring food. Hence, nothing much quite interest me and my main purpose was to use their washroom. 

Finally had my first pineapple cake in Taiwan for the trip, at Sunny Hills Kaohsiung Store! It's a brand I am acquainted with as there is a branch in Singapore too! And do you know you can get a set of one pineapple cake and coffee / tea for free?!

Before having the free pineapple cake and coffee / tea set, we had mille-feuilles from Smille by Sunny Hills; Sunny Hills sister brand which had already stopped operations by the time my post came out. 

Now on the highlight for the day; Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區), where we walked on the Great Harbor Bridge (大港橋), saw the Kaohsiung Light Rail and soaked in the massive Hamasen Railway Cultural Park (哈瑪星鐵道園區)! Click on the links to find out more! I am so going back to Pier-2 Art Center in the near future! 

A short video for reference! 

Late lunch at Rice Cakes City (米糕城); the rice cake I assumed to be a cake turned out to be rice and similar to luroufan! While what we had were not bad, the unforgettable dish was the delicious and fatty braised fish belly! 

Weiwuying Metropolitan Park - I would normally avoid park but this was necessary as I wanted to check out the impressive National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts from a distance away! Hm.... the video on YouTube looks better.

Driving back and my eyes were drawn to the above building that housed the Talee Department Store. Pity we were rushing to return back to the carpark before sunset as Alex wasn't comfortable driving at night. 

In addition, we wanted to indulge in one of the most famous night markets at Kaohsiung City; Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市)! Instead of driving, we took the MRT to Kaohsiung Arena station, where the night market was just a short 300 meters away! 

My tummy was so stuffed; we had quite a few things, including the Sweet Potato Balls from 大摳呆地瓜球 (first time trying and didn't know they were so addictive) and Dodomi Scholar / Champion Cake (多多米狀元糕). Alex even had a head massage! 

Ending the night.

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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)