🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 4: Jiu Fen, Shi Fen & Cat Village 🥰😻

Hello Lemon8🍋 babes!

Welcome back to our Taiwan adventures! Today we're diving into Day 4 - a whirlwind of kitty cuddles, lantern wishes, and night market feasts! Get ready for some serious wanderlust and maybe a few travel fails along the way. Let's jump in!

🔥 Fueling Up for Adventures:

We kicked off Day 4 with a delicious breakfast of crystal dumplings and salted egg buns (NTD135, S$5.72) from a stall downstairs at our hotel. Yum! Today's itinerary was jam-packed, so a good breakfast was essential.

🚌 Bus Woes & Missing Easycard:

One small hiccup – I realized I forgot my Easycard at the hotel (lesson learned: always double-check your pockets!). This meant paying a cash fare for the bus ride (NTD90, S$3.81) – ouch! Compared to the Easycard price, it felt a little steep.

🎐 Shi Fen: Kitty Paradise & Sweet Treats:

We spotted a pet store near Ruifang Station and couldn't resist grabbing some treats for the adorable cats we knew awaited us at Houtong Cat Village (and some snacks for our furbabies Koko & Honey back home, NTD410, S$17.37).

⚠️ Fun fact for all you train travelers:

Unlike the MRT which only has toilets at stations, both TRA and HSR trains have clean and convenient toilets on board – a lifesaver on long journeys!

After spoiling the Shi Fen kitties with treats, we explored Shi Fen. We met some seriously cute cats (swipe to see!), snapped some amazing pictures for the 'gram, and indulged in heavenly cream custard pancakes (NTD70, S$2.97) from a friendly vendor.

The owner was a sweetheart! We chatted about how Taiwanese desserts seem less sweet these days (apparently, taiwanese are getting more health conscious!), and she even offered us a seat when she saw our tired legs. We also enjoyed some refreshing papaya milk (NTD70, S$2.97) and a classic Taiwanese street food – a tomato corndog (NTD40, S$1.69).

🎉 Shi Fen Lanterns: A Romantic Choice:

Next up, we couldn't miss the famous lantern experience! We opted for a classic single coloured pink lantern symbolizing love (NTD200, S$8.47). This is the single-colored option, and the price goes up for lanterns with more colors.

🎈 Here's a breakdown of the lantern prices:

👆🏻Single Color (our pink lantern): NTD200 (S$8.47)

👆🏻Four Colors: NTD250 (S$10.60)

👆🏻Eight Colors: NTD300 (S$12.71)

The more colors your lantern has, the more expensive it is. But no matter which one you choose, they'll take pictures and videos of you with your lantern to capture the memory. To finish off our Shi Fen adventure, we treated ourselves to a cool peanut ice cream roll (NTD50, S$2.12) – the perfect way to beat the afternoon heat!

Shifen Old Street

🐈‍⬛ Houtong Cat Village: Cuteness Overload!:

We took the TRA from Shi Fen to Houtong, which is known as the Cat Village. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Cats were everywhere, lounging in the sun, napping in shop doorways – it was a cat lover's paradise!

Houtong Cat Village

We strolled through the village, soaking up the atmosphere and taking pictures of these furry residents. Eventually, we found a charming cafe with five feline companions. We couldn't resist ordering their mini pancakes – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and absolutely delicious. We paid NTD250 (S$10.59) for both food and drinks, which included unlimited cuteness from the resident cats.

Empress Gallery (Catwalk 219)

⚠️ Tip for fellow cat cafe visitors: The owner opens the door for customers to prevent the cats from escaping. Just knock when you arrive!

🏮 Jiu Fen: Stunning Sunset But Big Crowds:

Finally, we made it to Jiu Fen! However, it was much more crowded than we expected. We grabbed a strawberry Tanghulu (honestly, not the best one we had on this trip), but the views, especially at sunset, were breathtaking!

Jioufen

Back at the hotel, another small disaster – I realized I'd lost my Easycard, and it even had a remaining balance of NTD200! But hey, the universe works in mysterious ways. We ended up finding even cuter matching Easycards in a convenience store (win-win!). They were (NTD380, S$16.10 for 2 cards), and we topped one up with NTD200 (S$8.47).

🥟 TongHua Night Market: Foodie Paradise!

Calling all night owls and foodies! We ended our day at the famous TongHua Night Market (also known as Linjiang Street Night Market) and let me tell you, it was an experience!

Tonghua St. Night Market

First things first, we were starving! Luckily, we stumbled upon a stall with comfy seating, perfect for devouring some Taiwanese classics. We ordered the tomato beef noodle soup – OMG, the ich broth, tender noodles, and melt-in-your-mouth beef – pure satisfaction. We also shared some red vinegar dumplings and lu rou fan – both hits! Everything came up to NTD240 (S$10.17), which is a steal for the quality and portion size.

Du Kee Noodle House

👾 Night Market Games: Skill or Luck?

After fueling up, we decided to try some games! We went for the classic gun shooting balloons and darts with water balloons. It's a points system, so the more you hit, the better the prize. Here's the catch (pun intended): even if you're a pro and pop all the balloons, the prize might not be amazing. But hey, the games were super cheap compared to other markets (3 rounds of gun shooting balloons for NTD100, S$4.24 & 2 rounds of darts for NTD100, S$4.24). We were more focused on the fun than the prize.

🇸🇬 Singaporean Food FOMO Strikes!

Wandering deeper into the market, the Singaporean in me couldn't resist shark fin soup and fish cake. Big mistake! It wasn't what I expected, but hey, that's the beauty of trying new things (even if they don't always hit the spot). (NTD75, S$3.18)

🙀 Anime Fail: Catching Fish with a Paper Scooper

Remember those scenes in anime where characters effortlessly scoop up fish with paper nets? Yeah, that didn't happen for me. I tried the "catching fish with paper scooper" game (NTD200, S$8.47) but let's just say I wasn't the chosen one. Not a single fish! Maybe next time...

🍾 Soju Steals & Supper Scores!

One thing's for sure, TongHua Night Market is a Soju haven! They sell bottles for dirt cheap (NTD100, S$4.24) and even throw in a free soju cup. We grabbed a bunch to enjoy back at the hotel with some late-night snacks:

Guan Dong Zhu – NTD205 (S$8.69)

Xiao Long Bao – NTD110 (S$4.66)

Mango Milk Shake – NTD60 (S$2.54)

The perfect way to end a fun-filled day! Do stay tuned for 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 5 !!

📝 Expense Tracking:

All Expenses tracked with Accompanied (Expense Tracking App)

💌 Related-Posts 💌

👆🏻 Day 1 Itinerary: 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 1: Taichung Adventure (A bit chaotic)🤯

👆🏻 Day 2 Itinerary: 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 2: Sun Moon Lake Adventure (+mishaps)

👆🏻 Day 3 Itinerary: 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 3: Cat Cafes & Ximending Feasts 🥪🧋🐱

👆🏻 Day 5 Itinerary: 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 5: Wufenpu Shopping Hacks 🛍️💸

👆🏻 Day 6 Itinerary: 🇹🇼Taiwan Day 6: How I Spent My Birthday In Taiwan 🎂

👆🏻 Day 7 Itinerary: 🇹🇼 Taiwan Day 7: Where to Buy Affordable Souvenirs💰

👆🏻 Day 8 Itinerary: 🇹🇼Taiwan Day 8: Cosy Cat Cafe & Ningxia Night Market

Tell me in the comments, what's your favorite night market experience?

#Taipei #NightMarket #Foodie #Games #Soju #Travel #Lemon8 #Lemon8SG #JiufenOldStreet #shifen