Back to Ximending
Once I got off the bus at the stop at the Ximending area, I started weighing my dinner options. At best I can get a decent meal, at worst I can do some YouTuber shit and go “let’s get 7-11 for dinner!”
See, when I first got to my hotel when I flew in, I noticed restaurants nearby that could be my “fallback dinner” places in case shit doesn’t go to plan. There was a Sushiro branch, a Mos Burger store, a yakiniku place, a pizza parlor… at least some options. Mentally, I put Mos Burger last, as I wanted a decent meal first. Unfortunately for me, all of them had long lines/queues. I have little patience for queueing when it comes to lunch/dinner, especially if I was tired and just want to get a good fix. I’d rather eat at a 3-star if I could eat within 30 minutes instead of eating at a 5-star that will ask an hour of my time. So… well, I tried Mos Burger.
I ordered a “sharing” set meal that was designed for two people. It had a rice burger and one chicken burger, some sides (a croquette and nugs) and two grape softdrinks, and came in one nice reusable eco bag. As I only waited less than 30 for the whole shebang, I was OK with it. I headed back to the hotel to eat the whole package. Fortunately the day allowed me to burn a lot of calories that I can spend on two burgers. The drinks though… I skipped drinking one of them after tasting. Too sweet for me. I ended up only drinking half.
The shogayaki rice burger was OK. The nice thing about it was it was rigid but with only little resistance when bitten into. I’ve had rice burgers before that broke apart after a couple of bites. Not happened with that one. The meat inside was juicy as well, but as expected, not too wet or it might seep into the rice burger, ruining the binding. The other chicken burger was nice, tastefully sweet and tangy, not too overpowering. And both were Asian-sized burgers, making for less bloat. I ate the vegetable croquette, it was decent filler. Didn’t care much for the dry nuggets.
Once that was done, I took a warm shower and spent the time watching TV until I got very sleepy around 12AM. No rush this time either, as tomorrow was also a chill day. No far travelling expected. Just anime.
Was it alright doing a DIY tour? Depends on goals.
I spent a lot of time during May just looking at my options in Taipei. Many of the guided tours I’ve seen in there touched on two itineraries: the CKS Memorial Hall and Taipei 101. I ultimately cut my guided tour considerations for Taipei as the first two days were both guided tours of the busy kind, and I thought of de-stressing by only doing two itineraries. Once I confirmed my possible transportation options, I pegged it in. And I was right – the effects of the two guided tours kind of wore on me during this day’s leisure touring but I wasn’t run tired nor weary. I had called my shot correctly. My goal was to have a brief tour and I think I got it.
But I’d still recommend a guided tour for people with the whole-day energy to spare.
So… recommendations:
- Be very choosy on which deals to get for the Taipei 101 on Klook. There’s lots of listings. Just get the best price with a combination of at least a thousand booking numbers. Normal 89F is fine.
- I went for convenience over taste when it came to lunch and dinner, but I still kind of want to someday eat at those fancy restaurants I saw. Based on the lines out their doors, I assume more likely than not that their food is worth the queue time. Again, matter of choice.
- For the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, if you will take outside pics, bring sunscreen if you will visit by 8AM onwards, especially if nearer to noon.
- Bus transport in Taipei was a breeze. If you got used to Singapore’s, then Taipei’s is similar. Tap on and tap off, be mindful to buzz before your stop, and have proper bus etiquette.
Next post: my shopping day at Ximending on June 16. I basically never left the area at all. I did plan to visit other anime shops around Taipei, but when I spent too much time in one of the shops, I bailed on it. Fun day (and expensive day) though.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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