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! 

=====

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! 

=====

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)

Ah Jie Hokkien Mee (阿杰福建炒虾面) @ Ang Mo Kio Food Loft Coffeeshop[Singapore]

Craving for hokkien mee one Sunday morning after hair treatment at Ang Mo Kio, I ran a nearby search on Google Maps and chanced upon Ah Jie Hokkien Mee, located just about 200 meters away! 

Commanding a review score of 4.4 from close to 400 reviewers, this was one of the few rare instances where the hawker stalls were helmed by Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012. 

Of course, the older generations, like mine, should support the continuation of the hawker culture by the younger generation! The stall had also been featured on quite a few media, including Sunday Times, and even my favorite food blogger; ieatishootipost! 

Unlike most hokkien mee stalls, request for extra pork lard actually required an additional payment of S$1.00! I love pork lard, but not to the extent of paying more when it is typically free. Furthermore, I am not sure if they were even good in the first place. 

Wait for this was almost twenty minutes! 

Swimming in a pool of seemingly rich broth, the one thing that caught my attention was the excessive serving of sliced pork belly! Aside from three prawns, the S$6 plate of hokkien mee also contained pieces of sotong.

Chilli was sourish and spicy, augmenting well with the intensely savory fried noodles and flavourful broth that had subtle hints of almost being charred. p.s. not as sweet as some hokkien mee stalls. Prawns were fried, pork belly didn't taste pork and sotong was decent. 

Now the pork lard. Were they worth to pay S$1 more for extra serving? My recommendation for pork lard lovers; go for it! While not as crispy as I thought they should be, I was taken aback by how fresh and yummy they were, and regretted not paying the S$1! 

=====

Shall be back when I next had my hair treatment at Ang Mo Kio! 

Address

Blk 721 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, #01-2811, 

Food Loft Coffeeshop, Singapore 560721

Map

As above.

Pricing

Hokkien Mee - Minimum S$6.00