Visiting Danshui in Taipei, Taiwan
Here's a story about a quiet city at the northern tip of Taipei. We first heard about this place from our friends Richard and Irene who have nothing but raves about their market. Researching about Danshui more, I found out that it's also a must to visit the Lover's Bridge and the Fisherman's Wharf which are both located a good fifteen minutes bus ride away from the main station.
This was our next stop after our cultural morning at the Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall. It was very easy to get here, just hop on the MRT and ride up until the end of the Red Line, that's Danshui Station.
Coming from the station, we walked towards the riverside and followed the steady stream of people heading towards the Danshui Food Market. You won't miss it! From the station, look for Mister Donut and turn right, you'll go through a park and keep your eyes to your right. The first thing that you'll see the Ji Guang Delicious Fried Chicken kiosk. This one seems to be a popular food stall as I saw this also in other night markets.
Immediately, we decided to order a small bag of fried chicken (NT 55) and some drinks to quench our thirst. Oh I love the smell of the 5 Spice Powder that is very popular with Taiwanese street snacks. The chicken cubes had small bones which wasn't really a hassle to eat.
Walking further in, we enjoyed the various sights of food stalls from both sides of the street. Let me share them with you:
Candied Fruits for only 10NT.Paul was really tempted to get a stick of candied strawberries which he later forgot too because of our heavy lunch.
Sticks of Curly Potato Chips.
Almond Milk I love the sweet aroma of the almond powder as we get closer this stall.
Spongebob Squarepants Cake Kids will definitely go crazy over this!
The longest Ice Cream cone that I've ever seen!
For lunch, we took Irene's suggestion and searched for the store that sells Fishball Soup. Luckily, it wasn't so hard to find and we happily settled in one of the empty tables and got a bowl of Fishball Soup and Minced Pork Soup to share. We had our Fried Chicken together with this too!
I love the fishball soup as it was very refreshing and obviously not loaded with MSG. Take a careful bite at the fishball and you're in for a surprise! Inside, you'll see that its filled with mushroom and pork. Yum!
After enjoying our soup and fried chicken, we chanced upon this stall selling Potato Croquettes loaded with toppings and cheese. I love cheese and I couldn't stand not trying this. We got the Bo-Peep Cheese (NT 60) and shared it amongst ourselves. I love the crunchy croquettes which doesn't seem to get soggy right away and the cheese which was not too rich and filling. You'll get a generous serving of toppings such as corn kernel, sweet ham, broccoli, boiled egg, spring onions and a lot more. This was the highlight of my Danshui Market visit that I was simply craving for more that evening and even made a bet with Paul wherein this Potato with Cheese would be the prize.
Romance at the Lover's Bridge
From the Danshui MRT Station, head to the bus terminal and look for the Red Bus 26. This bus will take you directly to the Fisherman's Wraft and Lover's Bridge. Bus fare is approximately NT 15 and for extra measures, be sure to tell the driver where you want to go. This is the last stop anyway but just in case you happen to doze off during the trip (like what happened to us), the driver will know that you're getting off at the Fisherman's Wharf.
From where you'll be alighting, you'll immediately see the Lover's Bridge which is just a few steps away. We did quite a number of climbing that day but not even my sore calves can stop me from walking the entire stretch of the bridge. The scenery is simply breath-taking and even Paul was so engrossed snapping more and more photos away. I love how windy the weather was by the time we got to the bridge making it easily for us to go around.
We went during the afternoon and immediately fell in love with the beautiful things that we saw. However, our aunts and uncle later told us that the bridge is even prettier at night. Maybe we'll do another visit on our next return and take their advice.
As we reached the other end of the bridge, my sister and I saw a couple of kiosks selling snacks and drinks by the wharf. Nothing amazing here though, I somehow also question their hygiene too. I recommend that you reserve your eating and drinking at the Danshui Food Market instead.
This is definitely one place I highly recommend to friends and readers who are planning a trip to Taipei.
Visiting Danshui is EASY! Simply take the MRT and head directly to the Danshui Station located along the Red Line. Estimate cost is NT50 (Taipei Main Station to Danshui).
*photos taken using a Canon S95
This was our next stop after our cultural morning at the Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall. It was very easy to get here, just hop on the MRT and ride up until the end of the Red Line, that's Danshui Station.
Coming from the station, we walked towards the riverside and followed the steady stream of people heading towards the Danshui Food Market. You won't miss it! From the station, look for Mister Donut and turn right, you'll go through a park and keep your eyes to your right. The first thing that you'll see the Ji Guang Delicious Fried Chicken kiosk. This one seems to be a popular food stall as I saw this also in other night markets.
Immediately, we decided to order a small bag of fried chicken (NT 55) and some drinks to quench our thirst. Oh I love the smell of the 5 Spice Powder that is very popular with Taiwanese street snacks. The chicken cubes had small bones which wasn't really a hassle to eat.
Walking further in, we enjoyed the various sights of food stalls from both sides of the street. Let me share them with you:
Candied Fruits for only 10NT.
Sticks of Curly Potato Chips.
Almond Milk
Spongebob Squarepants Cake
The longest Ice Cream cone that I've ever seen!
For lunch, we took Irene's suggestion and searched for the store that sells Fishball Soup. Luckily, it wasn't so hard to find and we happily settled in one of the empty tables and got a bowl of Fishball Soup and Minced Pork Soup to share. We had our Fried Chicken together with this too!
I love the fishball soup as it was very refreshing and obviously not loaded with MSG. Take a careful bite at the fishball and you're in for a surprise! Inside, you'll see that its filled with mushroom and pork. Yum!
After enjoying our soup and fried chicken, we chanced upon this stall selling Potato Croquettes loaded with toppings and cheese. I love cheese and I couldn't stand not trying this. We got the Bo-Peep Cheese (NT 60) and shared it amongst ourselves. I love the crunchy croquettes which doesn't seem to get soggy right away and the cheese which was not too rich and filling. You'll get a generous serving of toppings such as corn kernel, sweet ham, broccoli, boiled egg, spring onions and a lot more. This was the highlight of my Danshui Market visit that I was simply craving for more that evening and even made a bet with Paul wherein this Potato with Cheese would be the prize.
Romance at the Lover's Bridge
From the Danshui MRT Station, head to the bus terminal and look for the Red Bus 26. This bus will take you directly to the Fisherman's Wraft and Lover's Bridge. Bus fare is approximately NT 15 and for extra measures, be sure to tell the driver where you want to go. This is the last stop anyway but just in case you happen to doze off during the trip (like what happened to us), the driver will know that you're getting off at the Fisherman's Wharf.
From where you'll be alighting, you'll immediately see the Lover's Bridge which is just a few steps away. We did quite a number of climbing that day but not even my sore calves can stop me from walking the entire stretch of the bridge. The scenery is simply breath-taking and even Paul was so engrossed snapping more and more photos away. I love how windy the weather was by the time we got to the bridge making it easily for us to go around.
We went during the afternoon and immediately fell in love with the beautiful things that we saw. However, our aunts and uncle later told us that the bridge is even prettier at night. Maybe we'll do another visit on our next return and take their advice.
As we reached the other end of the bridge, my sister and I saw a couple of kiosks selling snacks and drinks by the wharf. Nothing amazing here though, I somehow also question their hygiene too. I recommend that you reserve your eating and drinking at the Danshui Food Market instead.
This is definitely one place I highly recommend to friends and readers who are planning a trip to Taipei.
Visiting Danshui is EASY! Simply take the MRT and head directly to the Danshui Station located along the Red Line. Estimate cost is NT50 (Taipei Main Station to Danshui).
*photos taken using a Canon S95
