Eat, Fly, Places we ate at before we turned Vegan, Taiwan
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Taiwan: Taipei – Xi Men Ding 西門町 (Taiwan Travel Review Series)

Xi Men Ding (西門町) is hailed as Taiwan’s version of Harajuku/Shibuya and it does not disappoint in delivering the same city energy, glitzy lights and ads, and crowds in the shops and restaurants. I believe the shopping will be great in summer, but most of the shops were selling winter wear, which I will hardly wear in Singapore. Even the name Xi Men Ding (西門町) has Japanese roots – the character 町 means cho in Japanese, which means a part of a municipal ward, a term commonly used in Japanese addresses.

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Xi Men Ding (西門町), often likened to Japan’s Harajuku/Shibuya

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Christmas dressup at Xi Men Ding (西門町)

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Roads along Xi Men Ding (西門町)

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Shops at Xi Men Ding (西門町)

We tried a random stop for breakfast, Tian Tian Li, which turned out really good!

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Random breakfast at Tian Tian Li

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Inside Tian Tian Li

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Lu Rou Rice and Egg Rice

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Nice Lu Rou Fan – recommended!

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Carrot Cake – which tastes a lot like the Singapore Version!

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Winter Melon Tea with Sencha pouch – very nice combo!

We tried a few famous food places in Xi Men Ding. First up, famous Ya Rou Bian (鸭肉扁) coffee shop, which has been opened for 63 years now. The shop name is called duck, but they actually sell goose meat!

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Ya Rou Bian (鸭肉扁)

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Inside Ya Rou Bian (鸭肉扁) stall

We shared a quarter of a goose and liver. Goose are usually tough but this meat was soft and tender. N enjoyed the flavourful liver very much and managed to finish it despite it being a big serving. The soup of the noodles is brewed from a pot of 10 geese, hence the soup is very sweet! No wonder this stall has managed to stay open for so long!

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Goose famous for decades now…

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Liver – close up

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Small Chicken Bee Hoon (Vermicelli) to share

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Very yumz chili! Highly recommend to pair with the meat

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Platter to share

鴨肉扁

所在位置: 臺北市 萬華區 武昌街2段2號
營業時間: 每日09:30~22:30
電話/傳真: 02-2371-3918
交通資訊: 大眾運輸: 捷運站名:西門站6號出口,步行約6分鐘
1.公車:12、202、202(區間)、205、212、212(直行車)、218、218(夜)、218(直達)至中華路北站 2.車位:峨眉立體停車場

Information courtesy of TaipeiTravel.net

I think one’s trip to Xi Men Ding is incomplete without trying Ah Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗麵線, Mee Sua). One of the most famous original Mian Xians in Taiwan, it lives up to its name and queue with its savoury rich oyster soup and soft silky Mian Xian. We shared a small portion (NTD30, ~SGD$1.30) and it was already pretty filling from the starch. Highly recommend to try with the vinegar and chili as the condiments enhance the seafood zinc-y taste of the soup.

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Famous 阿宗麵線

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Long queue for 阿宗麵線

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Good thing the service is quick!

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Yumz sauces for the 阿宗麵線

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Small 阿宗麵線 serving for 2 share

We chanced upon the Modern Toilet Restaurant, which we have seen on various theme restaurant sites, so we decided to give it a try. It is truly a unique experience of “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Toilet to Toilet” as the Hotpot food is served from a “toilet bowl” and the drinks are served from a “urinal”.  The seating area is modeled like a huge bathroom, with showers dangling from the walls. The seats are in the form of actual life size toilet bowls, but we are seating on a closed lid one, of course :P. Even the dessert is served in the shape of “crap”. The food is decent but not great, but quite a unique fun experience we will not find in Singapore.

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Modern Toilet Restaurant – Exterior at Ximending

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Modern Toilet Restaurant – Entrance

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The real toilet at Modern Toilet Restaurant

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Seating area, Modern Toilet Restaurant

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Toilet Bowl as seats

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Urinal as decor

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3rd level seating

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“The holy shit is here!” lol

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Modern Toilet Restaurant – Menu

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Modern Toilet Restaurant – Menu

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Modern Toilet Restaurant – Menu

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“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, toilet to toilet”

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Hotpot! Kind of cute once you get over the initial irkyness

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Possible fresh meats

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Ice cream that looks like poop

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Ice cream that looks like poop

Overall, highly recommend tourists to spend at least half a day in Xi Men Ding after 12pm (shops don’t open too early) into the early evening to experience the shopping, food and also all the glitzy neon lights and signboards that will only come on at night!

Full sets of posts that might be useful for your Taipei planning:

For locations outside of Taipei:

For more information on your trip to Taiwan, please visit Go!Taiwan

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