Taiwan Trip 2015 (台灣30天環島記) - Day 29: Taipei 台北 （匠麵殿, Coffee Alley @ ATT 4 Fun 咖啡弄, Lava Club)
Today was the penultimate day of my trip here in Taiwan. Time really does fly as it has been 2 years since I was there and I am yet to complete this series. 
But it is finally coming to an end.
But it is finally coming to an end.
There isn't anything planned for today as I will be meeting two Taiwanese friends whom I've known from a past pharmacy symposium. It was really touching for me as one had to travel all the way from Taichung and another from Hsinchu just to come and meet me. Since I will be meeting them in the afternoon, I decided to have something light to eat.
Upon wandering outside my hostel, I bumped into this ramen shop 
known as 匠麵殿. The ramen here was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend this gem. 
Based on their menu, their ramen recipe originated from Hokkaido, Japan. Apart from ramen, they do offer other food such as Don and Tonkatsu, but if you are at ramen shop, just stick to eating ramen and you won't go wrong.
known as 匠麵殿. The ramen here was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend this gem. Based on their menu, their ramen recipe originated from Hokkaido, Japan. Apart from ramen, they do offer other food such as Don and Tonkatsu, but if you are at ramen shop, just stick to eating ramen and you won't go wrong.
For NTD 200, I ordered one of their standard ramen and it came with 4 huge slices of Char Siew and a huge bowl of soup. It is no wonder the ramen is known as 濃湯拉麵 because the broth is really thick and full of flavour. The noodles are equally crunchy. Back in KL, a simple ramen like this would easily cost more than RM30. The best part of the shop is that they even offer free soup refills! I certainly did not hold back and refilled twice because the miso soup base was tantalising as well. Another shop to revisit to if I ever go back to Taipei.
How to get there: Take MRT to Dong Men station Exit 2. Refer to map.
I arrived at ATT 4 Fun, one of the popular shopping malls in Xin Yi at around 1pm. Since my friends had not arrived I then explored the area for a bit.
Really quite impressed with some of the interiors in the mall:
Taiwanese styled buffet restaurant:
At 2pm, I then met up with my friends at a cafe called Coffee Alley (咖啡弄). This cafe seemed like one of the more popular ones at the time. Not sure if it's still relevant now in 2017. Seats are very limited and people have to queue to get in the cafe. And there was also a minimum spending or drinks requirement if you intend to dine in. If they dared to set such rules I believe the standards of the cafe should be quite high, especially in a place like Taipei city.
Seats are very limited and people have to queue to get in the cafe. And there was also a minimum spending or drinks requirement if you intend to dine in. If they dared to set such rules I believe the standards of the cafe should be quite high, especially in a place like Taipei city.
Since I've had lunch I decided to try their dessert. I ordered their Strawberry waffle and a cup of White Chocolate Latte. True enough, the waffle was quite delicious. Very fluffy and crispy. The strawberries were amazing too as they were quite naturally sweet and huge too. This is one of the advantage of eating strawberry based desserts in a country where they also produce sweet strawberries. Of course, people may argue that the strawberry was soaked in sugar water but I beg to differ.
I couldn't remember the price of the food because both of my friends treated me for this meal. 
In general I wouldn't purposely return to this place as I believe there are equally good cafes out there on the streets of Taipei.
In general I wouldn't purposely return to this place as I believe there are equally good cafes out there on the streets of Taipei. |
| Chinese New Year mood in the air. |
Since it's my last night here in Taipei, I decided to head over to one of the clubs just for the sake of it, even though I have a morning flight the next day. 
After reading some reviews I then decided to head over to Lava Club this time round (tried Babe 18 a few years back).
After reading some reviews I then decided to head over to Lava Club this time round (tried Babe 18 a few years back).
I arrived around 11pm which I think was a bit too early. And since it was a Sunday night, the crowd was poor as well. But at least the drinks were free flow. That's the bonus on Sunday night clubbing haha.
 |
| Not even half full. |
Overall the clubbing scene in Taipei is still pretty crazy, although naturally there are still more guys compared to girls lol. Left the place at around 3 am and took my first personal cab ride back to the hostel to pack my luggage for my flight back to Malaysia!
-Day 29 end-
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