Day 7: Sleep in > Indoor playground adventure at the hotel > Ximending > King Food Spicy Hotpot 皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 > Carrefour > Back to hotel to soak bathtub, nua and watch tv!

So they spent the morning at the indoor playground and the hub and I ordered breakfast from the food truck and chilled while waiting for them. And before we knew it, it was already 1pm! Luckily I planned for tomorrow to be a relaxed day before going to Danshui so I just switched the itinerary around. Amusement park tomorrow!

Chillin’ with free snacks:

We went shopping at Ximending until our 4pm slot at 皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 King Food Spicy Hot Pot. See my review post for all the details! Ohhh if you’re planning to go, please bring cash. They don’t accept card and I eat halfway have to look for ATM to withdraw cash! The ATM at hi-life charged a 4% mark up fee (it’s charged by the local bank, not Trust bank), but the ATM will confirm with you if you’re ok with the fee before proceeding. So instead of the ~22.65 exchange rate, the rate for that withdrawal was around 21.5。 差不了多少又不是按幾百萬对吗，anyway I had no choice if not my hub got to wash dishes. Hahaha.

In case you’re new to Taiwan and are wondering, Xi Men Ding is not a night market so many shops are also open during the day, although it’s definitely bustling at night!

Got some cute trinkets for the kids. Cdd was busy dressing up at the photo store. You’ll find a few of these in ximending – you choose your get up and take photos in one of the photo booths.

Then we went for our 4pm buffet hotpot! You need a reservation at this restaurant, which is also really popular with locals. See this post to know more.

We ended the night shopping at Carrefour and got some of our favourite Taiwanese products and a box of ripe, juicy mangoes. You really need to get Taiwanese fruits. The large golden kiwi is less than SG$1 each (like $0.9x) and so sooooo sweet! In SG 我是有點買不下的 wahaha,

Some of our favourite Taiwanese items. The sesame sauce and taro chips are must-buys!

Couldn’t resist stopping at 王記府城肉粽 Wang Ji Fu Cheng to dabao for their tasty meat dumplings.

We were stuffed from the hot pot, so this table of food is a pic from a previous trip. Wa kueh, meat dumpling, meat ball and radish soup!

Went back to the main ximending area for uh, Ji Kuang Fried Chicken.

Then it was back to our hotel to play bath bomb, watch youtube and relax (for me and the kids) while the husband did the laundry. He was so amazed at the app that lets him monitor how long it takes for the laundry to be done – in real-time!  Read my review on Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei: a playground for the kids!

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Don’t miss my other posts on our Taiwan 2023 vacation:

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 3 & 4 – Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Danshui, Kura Sushi | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 1 – Greenworld Ecological Farm, Roader’s Plus Hotel, Shilin Night Market | Read the post

皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 Taipei King Food Spicy Hot Pot review | Read the post

What we did in Taichung and Miaoli with kids: 3D2N itinerary | Read the post

What we did in Yilan with kids: 4D3N itinerary | Read the post

Red Lantern Yilan 紅樓: Sensational Roasted Duck Nigiri! | Read the post

Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei review: a playground for the kids! | Read the post

How to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees | Read the post Download the Trust bank app and use my referral code D1ZTJ2N1 when prompted and get an in-app scratch card with guaranteed cashback of S$5 up to S$1K!

The post What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 2 | Indoor Playground, Ximending, King Food Hotpot, Carrefour appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

It’s quite pricey by Taiwanese standards (NT$950 – SG$42 for adult / NT$450 for kids 110-140cm and NT100 for 90-110cm) but the selection was really grand when we were there (lots of seafood choices!) and the staff was really alert and quick, so you never have to sit around waiting for food to be replenished. Here’s the pricing and the 12 different types of soup base you can choose from:

We chose the signature mala and scallop + seafood broth for the twin pot. Oh and I saw the next table being served lobsters because it’s someone’s birthday, no harm asking if you’re celebrating a birthday that day!

芝麻醬 + coriander is life!!!!!! Love the condiments station.

And the kids went cray-cray with the fridge FULL OF DRINKS and milk tea, and ice-cream and cake and a nice assortment of fruits. Yes, there’s beer too:

The restaurant was REALLY crowded for a 4pm seating (that was the only timing we could get today even though we made reservations 2 weeks ago). The kids had instant noodles (but of course) with fish and meat, plus chocolate milk tea, ice cream cones and rainbow cake. I had a couple of yummy craquelin cream puffs that were really good! That said, we probably would stick to 新馬辣 next time for a cheaper price and very similar satisfaction index. Still good to try at least once!

This restaurant is CASH ONLY as of June 2023. If you’re from Singapore like us, read this post to find out how to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees. Use my referral code D1ZTJ2N1 to get $10 Fairprice vouchers.

Check out my other Taiwan travel posts and follow my Facebook and Instagram for my travel tales!

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 3 & 4 – Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Danshui, Kura Sushi | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 2 – Indoor Playground, Ximending, King Food Hotpot, Carrefour | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 1 – Greenworld Ecological Farm, Roader’s Plus Hotel, Shilin Night Market | Read the post

What we did in Yilan with kids: 4D3N itinerary | Read the post

What we did in Taichung and Miaoli with kids: 3D2N itinerary | Read the post

Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei reivew – a playground for the kids | Read the post

Red Lantern Yilan 紅樓: Sensational Roasted Duck Nigiri! | Read the post

How to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees | Read the post

The post 皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 Taipei King Food Spicy Hot Pot review appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Day 4: Depart Yilan > Miaoli 勝興車站自行車 Old Mountain Line Rail Bike > Taichung 來來豆漿 > 高美濕地 Gaomei Wetlands > Check in Innk Hotel

After our breakfast at 正常鮮肉小籠包, we set off for Miaoli’s Old Mountain Line Rail Bike which I think is pretty cool! It’s not really biking, so don’t worry if you and your kids can’t bike. You could pedal for fun but it’s not needed as someone just needs to control the brake and etc. at the driver’s seat of the train carriage.

The Old Mountain Line Railbike in Miaoli is Taiwan’s first rail biking system and the railway track is more than 100 years old! Along the route, we got a panoramic view of Miaoli, including of Longteng Bridge, otherwise known as the Yutengping Broken Bridge. It’s a historic site that pays homage to the two earthquakes (1935 and 1999) that destroyed it. We got to see the bridge up close during a short stopover, where we were happily ambushed by vendors giving out samples of home grown peanuts, crispy garlic, dried fruits and more! Cdd eat until very nervous cos he couldn’t catch up with whatever they were shoving in his hands. “We NEED to stand one side and eat first!!” Haha! It was fun, go experience it!

Then we continued to Taichung (around 2 hours) and our first stop was 來來豆漿, our must-go in Taichung. The kids loved the super crispy and airy you tiao and the beef noodles were delicious. The soy bean milk tasted unlike any in Singapore, the charcoal 焦味 was super nice!

It was already 6pm and the plan was for us to check in to Innk Hotel and explore Fengjia Night Market on our own. But our driver Hawk impromptu-ly jio-ed us to go Gaomei Wetlands cos it was just in time for sunset!

I love Gaomei Wetlands, so I said yes without hesitation even though Cbb was quite cranky at this time. But Cdd has never been there before and catching the sunset would be so awesome, so we went ahead with a sulky child – I mean sometimes you got to push them a bit cos they won’t know what they’re missing. And it turned to be an unforgettable experience. Cdd was fascinated with the little crabs and couldn’t stop watching them:

And the SUPER strong winds had Cdd hanging on to his dad for dear life!! “Bao bao me PROPERLY, bao bao me PROPERLY!!!” Hilarious. Cbb was amazed at how strong the winds could get (literally blew me away – for a few steps!) and we had some great bonding time making sure each other stayed alive!!! Our driver’s phone got blown into the mud (sorry little crabs!) Thank you to our driver for taking us there!

And just look at the view! Our cranky girl ended up a VERY appreciative and happy kid.

Then it was check in time at Innk Hotel, just 3 mins walk to Fengjia Night Market. We stayed here during our first Taichung trip and absolutely loved it. We paid around SG$351 for two nights loft room. But if you have kids under 3, hmm maybe don’t book the rooms with stairs cos believe me you will spend all your time making sure they don’t fall!!

There’s a spacious lounge area between level 1 and 2 where you can hang out and grab a coffee (yes there’s a coffee machine), water and simple snacks, and play board games! The kids had a game of jenga or two and Cbb took the opportunity to practise gymnastics while the hub went to put our clothes in the washer. It’s free to use but there’s only one washer and dryer so we had to wait our turn. By then it was already 9.30pm and the kids were tired (laundry room closes at 10pm), so we shelved our plans to go to Fengjia Night Market. The husband went downstairs to pack random yummy food and that’s how we ended our first night in Taichung.

Day 5: 921 Earthquake Museum > Lihpao Land Theme Park > Fengjia Night Market

Our main day in Taichung and I loved all the activities we planned today! Taichung is actually really easy to get around on public transport. It’s a large city, so you can cab or uber anywhere easily. On our previous trip when we depended on public transport, we used Taichung as a base to visit Cingjing and Sun Moon Lake etc. This time with two kids, we are thankful we decided to go for a driver instead!

First stop was 921 Earthquake Museum.

The great Taiwan earthquake of 21 September 1999 struck at 1:47 am local time. Measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake killed 2,415 people, injured 11,305 and resulted in NT$300 billion worth of damage. The epicentre was Nantou County, and it is the second-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan’s recorded history, after the 1935 Shinchiku-Taichu earthquake. The site of the museum was a collapsed school, and there were many experimental stations for the kids – we spent so much time there. There was also an earthquake simulation room for us to experience earthquakes of varying scales. It was an enriching experience for us. Our visit was about 2+ hours and I felt like it wasn’t quite enough. I’m so glad we took the kids there! They enjoyed the visit tremendously.

Next we set off for Lihpao Land theme park. Cbb named it the best thing of this vacation and said it’s better than SG’s Universal Studios. I’m sure it’s partly because no need to queue on a weekday! It’s a full fledged theme park, not super glam but there were so many good quality rides. And we didn’t have to queue for any of them. Cbb had her first pirate ship experience and went on the smaller rollercoaster multiple times. Cdd had fewer rides to go on as he’s under 110cm but I counted like 7-8 that he could still enjoy! We love Lihpao Land theme park but it’s one of the places with the absolute worst mosquitoes everrrrr but at least those were not the pesky sandflies!! Wear long pants and top if you can and slap on the repellent!

For dinner we went to Fengjia Night Market. We initially planned to go for hotpot at 湯棧 to try their sesame and wine broth but as we missed Fengjia the night before (kids too tired to go out!), we changed our plan and stayed in.

But this time round I didn’t enjoy the night markets THAT much because the kids don’t really like them! The only thing that got them excited was the claw machines which we try to avoid as much as possible haha. Quite disappointed because our favourite Porky Box (juicy fried pork cutlet topped with a variety of savoury ingredients and yummy sauces) was closed that night, but we did spot some China-influenced food like grilled guo ba (crispy rice foldover) and mala xiao long xia (crawfish) noodles. We tried the guo ba and thought it tasted all right, probably wouldn’t buy again but it was quite fun to eat.

And that’s how we spent 3D2N in Taichung with the kids. The next morning, we had breakfast/brunch at Taichung Second Market.

There were so much traditional food choices and in the end we settled for Arashi braised pork rice, scallion noodles and meatball & wanton soup. The kids ate everything!

We crossed the street to get fried mini red bean donuts from Tian Tian Man Tou. Yes, only one type of filling. The donuts at this popular stall were all right, not a must-eat for us, but the kind ladies at the stall were very happy to see Cdd and his eyelashes. LOL.

We visited Hsinchu Green World Ecological Park enroute to Taipei, and I will cover them all in my next blog post. Follow my Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates!

By the way, I got a few questions asking me what shoes Cbb wore during our trip! And if it’s comfortable. Cbb is super picky about her shoes and she says this Skechers is the most comfortable pair of shoes ever. We only brought this one pair and she wore them to climb mountain, to amusement parks, to night markets – everywhere! Here’s a similar model of her shoes. You all can go to the online store for other designs. Click on the image to browse:

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Don’t miss my blog posts about our Taiwan trip 2023:

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 3 & 4 – Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Danshui, Kura Sushi | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 2 – Indoor Playground, Ximending, King Food Hotpot, Carrefour | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 1 – Greenworld Ecological Farm, Roader’s Plus Hotel, Shilin Night Market | Read the post

皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 Taipei King Food Spicy Hot Pot review | Read the post

What we did in Yilan with kids: 4D3N itinerary | Read the post

Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei review: a playground for the kids! | Read the post

How to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees | Read the post

Red Lantern Yilan 紅樓: Sensational Roasted Duck Nigiri! | Read the post

The post What we did in Miaoli and Taichung with kids: 3D2N itinerary appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

Day 1 > Check in Scoot Flight > Full Go Roast Chicken of Stone Kiln > Check in Candy Homestay > Luodong Night Market

Flight

For our SIN-TPE trip, I booked Scoot as the arrival time is 11.45am, giving us plenty of time to travel to Yilan and still enjoy the day. Most of the flights on EVA Air and Singapore Airlines arrive in the late afternoon, so this was the best timing for us (early morning = easier to KO on the flight = no fussiness!) Our TPE-SIN flight was SQ879 departing at 5.55pm. And as there was no inflight entertainment on Scoot, I prepped a few activity books such as these to entertain them and it worked!

Money matters

For this trip, we didn’t exchange lots of cash and we used our Trust Bank atm card for cash withdrawal. There’s a Mega Bank atm (pic below) right at the airport arrivals, before we cleared customs. So once we got off the plane, we withdrew cash at the atm, cleared customs, picked up our baggage, and our driver was ready to drive us to Candy Homestay!

Read this post to find out how to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees. Download the Trust bank app and use my referral code D1ZTJ2N1 when prompted and get an in-app scratch card with guaranteed cashback of S$5 up to S$1K!

I love my pretty pastel yellow luggage, from here!

Accommodation

The journey by car from Taoyuan Airport to Candy Homestay at Yilan is around 1.5-2 hours. To communicate with the owners, I downloaded Line app. You can also use Facebook messenger. We got the Strawberry room for NT$5300 per night, which works out to be around SG$235. It’s higher than regular Taiwan hotels, but the experience and happiness for the kids can’t be beat. I paid an NT$1000 deposit via paypal and paid the rest by cash on the day of check in.

But I have to relate three episodes that didn’t make feel great. Maybe I’m just being judgey like I usually am but I still have to say ok. The first was my bestie’s experience – she initially enquired about a smaller room for 3 nights as she was 2A1C and later asked if she could bring the date forward one day. She was told that only a big room was available on that new day and was quoted NT$6400 (SG$283). When she informed that in that case she would just book 2 nights instead of 3 for the small room, suddenly within seconds “someone” cancelled and now the small room was available on her preferred date too.

Second episode was during check in when I felt pressured to leave a google review and check in on Facebook in return for toys or fancy kids toothbrushes right there and then. Maybe I’m also easily pressured! Haha. But I think it’s better to ask for reviews or etc. at the end of the stay.

Third episode was when there was no food and drinks available on the 3rd day. I casually mentioned that our driver was taking us out for breakfast and the male owner said it’s ok, we will just prepare a smaller portion. The lady owner then said oh then no need for food as you will be too full then! End up next day morning there was nobody around, no food never mind but there wasn’t even drinks or coffee, which I didn’t expect. No aircon no lights nobody was there. We then realised that we were the only guests staying the previous night so if no need to prep breakfast for us can save them all the trouble. Probably a miscommunication, but I have to relate this if not I don’t feel like I’m honest about my experience. I’m also at fault – I shouldn’t have assumed there will be other families they were preparing breakfast for and we would still be able to still have coffee at least or small bites for the kids!

But all these said, the kids LOVED Candy Homestay and will remember it for years to come. And at the end of the day, it’s all that matters right? The Homestay was spacious and clean and super fun, there’s a swing, slide and ball pit in our room, complete with a truckload of toys. There’s a large ball pit in the lobby, with scooters and bikes for kids of all ages, and even a lego building corner for older kids. It’s really kids paradise and it’s a great contingency plan in case it rains!

The toilet was spacious with anti-slip flooring and bath toys! Standing shower with shampoo, shower gel and toothbrushes & toothpaste provided.

Breakfast was quite tasty – we loved the corn soup. And the kids were happy with the mini pancakes, fruits and pudding too.

Before checking in to Candy Homestay we went for lunch at 福哥石窯雞 Full Go Roast Chicken of Stone Kiln, famous stone kiln chicken but it was not really memorable for us so I shall not blog about it. The taste was like roast chicken but the vegetables were tasty. Dinner was at Luodong Night Market with the usual night market offerings.

Day 2: Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area > Bong Bong Train – Maosing Remiscent Old Trail > Elf Village > Pony riding > Red Lantern Restaurant

We set off for Taipingshan today! There are many “kids-friendly” activities in Yilan, but we don’t really want to go to places like crayon factory / museum cos Yilan has soooo many beautiful views that you can’t experience in SG. Depends on what you all like to do, that’s why I almost never send my itinerary wholesale to people and instead share my experiences at each location. Then you all can research and decide whether it’s your thing or not. No meaning if I send you an itinerary for you to follow when we have different interests, right?

The drive to Taipingshan took around 2 hours. Park entrance tickets were NT$180 for adults and NT$120 for kids. With this ticket, you can visit many attractions on Taipingshan. We went straight for the Bong Bong Train 太平山蹦蹦車 (train tickets still have to pay) which included a stopover at the Maosing Station, where we did a small hike around the surrounding Maosing Reminisent Trail 茂興懷舊步道 . So basically buy tickets at the Visitor Centre, get on the Bong Bong Train, stopover at Maosing Station for about an hour, then hop back on the train at the same station at the stipulated time on your ticket.

We wanted to go to 翠峰湖 and 天送埤車站 but the kids were getting too whiny from the hiking so we diverted to Chung Pi Lake Spirit Village 長埤湖精靈村 to feed animals. And instantly their mood changed 180 degrees!! Talk about 善變!!!!!!!  We reached around 4+ and there were not much people and the cafe was starting to close. We did manage to get some coffee and ice cream though. You can check out their website for other possible things to do here. This was the kids’ first farm experience in Taiwan (Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm was the next day) and they did have fun, although they arrowed their dad to do the feeding as the animals kept on following whoever had the carrot sticks!

Next we went for an impromptu pony feeding and riding experience as it was still early before our 7.30pm dinner seating at Red Lantern. Sorry I don’t know where this is! Haha.

We ended the day snack-shopping at Carrefour next to Silks Palace Yilan, a 5-star hotel where we had our dinner at Red Lantern Restaurant. I’ve heard so much about the Cherry Valley roasted duck – one duck served five ways in various courses. THE DUCK NIGIRI WAS SENSATIONAL. Read about our dinner at Red Lantern 紅樓 here.

Day 3: Fuxing Road Noodles 復興路炸醬麵 > Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm 張美阿嬤農場 > Sinbow Sansing Spring Onion Leisure Farm星寶蔥體驗農場 > Produck 甲鳥園

We went for the most amazing breakfast at 復興路炸醬麵. Address: 260宜蘭縣宜蘭市復興路二段65號 / No. 65, Section 2, Fuxing Rd, Yilan City, Yilan County, Taiwan 260. We ordered 炸醬麵 (jajang – black bean? noodles), 麻醬麵 (sesame paste noodles) and 排骨面 (pork rib noodles), plus a bowl of mixed wanton and meatball soup and it was the best meal ever for less than SG$10. The sesame paste noodles were simply unforgettable. I don’t think I can find another 麻醬麵 as good as theirs. Go try it!

Then we set off for Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm! This is hands down the best farm we have ever experienced, if you only have time for one farm, go for this! The farm is clean and not overly crowded (heard they implement crowd control by limiting ticket sales, but we didn’t have a problem getting tickets on the spot), and the deers and alpacas were certainly the highlights of our day! It was like walking among a bunch of cuddly soft toys. Cdd was a bit scared initially, but he warmed up soon enough!

Next stop was Sinbow Sansing Spring Onion Leisure Farm 星寶蔥體驗農場 just a short drive away. Surprisingly Cbb voted this as her favourite farm throughout our Taiwan trip! We harvested spring onions and made our own diy spring onion pies which were then fried on the spot. Each diy piece is marked with a number so you can be sure you’ll be eating your very own creation. They were so delicious! We got to wear boots and go down to the spring onion fields and it was super fun, muddy and wet but we were well protected. Warning: do not wear long dresses or you WILL get mud all over!

Next we went to a duck farm Produck 甲鳥園! The kids got to see ducklings and Peking ducks and we did spend a NT$180 each on two “sure-win” claw machine loots for the kids so they used up their claw machine quota for the day haha. NT$180 sure win is cheaper than attempts at night markets for sure!

We ended our night at Dongmen night market. For us I think this night market can go can don’t go. It’s quite small and were not really their thing and they were getting quite bored of Chinese food at every meal. Our solution was 7-11 mac & cheese + crème brûlée + milk tea … and it made their day!

Day 4: We left Yilan for Miaoli and Taichung …

… but not before having some yummy soup dumplings xiaolongbao at 正常鮮肉小籠包店 (Address: 宜蘭縣羅東鎮南門路7號 / No. 7, Nanmen Rd, Luodong Township). We wanted to go to 正好鮮肉小籠包 but our driver brought us to this place instead (I dunno he read wrongly or what haha), also another popular local joint. The xiaolongbao were tasty but not the best I have eaten, but I’m a fan of the soya milk with a unique charcoal taste. We ordered 20 xiaolongbaos and a bowl of hot and sour soup. The kids finished everything and started goofing around. Closed on Mondays, opened until 1pm.

So that’s it for our adventures in Yilan! We were blessed with good weather and this was the leg I enjoyed the most. Look out for my next post on Miaoli and Taichung.. soon! Follow my Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

Oh and some of you ask me what’s the wristband that my kids are wearing. Cbb has motion sickness and often throws up in vehicles so I let her wear a sea band every time we go on long car rides. Here’s the one they’re wearing. Novomin helps her too, plus I always prep a change of clothes and towel and make her carry a plastic bag-lined vomit box on her lap in the car!

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Don’t miss my blog posts about our Taiwan trip 2023:

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 3 & 4 – Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Danshui, Kura Sushi | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 2 – Indoor Playground, Ximending, King Food Hotpot, Carrefour | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 1 – Greenworld Ecological Farm, Roader’s Plus Hotel, Shilin Night Market | Read the post

皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 Taipei King Food Spicy Hot Pot review | Read the post

What we did in Taichung and Miaoli with kids: 3D2N itinerary | Read the post

How to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees | Read the post

Red Lantern Yilan 紅樓: Sensational Roasted Duck Nigiri! | Read the post

Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei review: a playground for the kids! | Read the post

The post What we did in Yilan with kids: 4D3N itinerary appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I have to start this post by saying that I’m not usually a fan of duck, but this experience was at Red Lantern Silks Palace was so good, it deserves its own blog post! I’m glad we decided to splurge a bit on this meal because it’s worth every cent of the NT$3288 (about SG$150 before service charge and tea) that we paid. The star dish of the night has got to be the Roasted Duck Nigiri!

You need to make advance reservations, so get your driver to help you call the restaurant, or make an online booking if you can read traditional Chinese (link below). The menu we went for was 櫻桃霸王鴨五吃 Cherry Valley Roasted Duck Cuisine in Five Ways:

The portion was just right for three adults and two kids. I didn’t get a pic of the first dish, the tongue, wings and flippers. The second dish, the roasted duck nigiri, was SENSATIONAL. This, ladies and gentlemen, is THE reason you visit this restaurant! Perfectly crispy skin bursting with juicy fat wrapped around grilled-cheese-topped tasty sushi rice, this was an outstanding dish which we’ll remember for a long time.

Next course was duck meat wrapped in light scallion crepe, using the fragrant san-sing spring onion from Yilan. The staff was very thoughtful to remove the spring onions (which can be spicy) for the kids.

We had a choice of either Three Cup Duck or Lettuce Wrap with Shredded Duck and Vegetable for the next course. We chose the lighter tasting lettuce wrap and no regrets! I loved the crunchy bean sprouts and I felt it balanced the oilness from the duck perfectly.

Cdd wasn’t feeling too well that day and was looking forward to the double boiled duck bone soup, which he enjoyed tremendously. The boys (our driver Hawk and my hub!) completely devoured this dish, including alll the duck meat, cabbage and every drop of the soup. It was that good! I wasn’t paying attention by this course because I was worried that Cdd would fall sick and all I wanted to do was go back to our minsu. I did have a small bowl and it was rich and light at the same time – I have limited vocabulary and don’t know how else to describe this. I think if I had to describe this soup, I would say it has soul!! Haha.

Now if only the roasted duck nigiri could be ordered ala carte……. a girl can dream, right?

Lunch:11:00-15:00
Dinner:17:00-21:00

Website: https://www.silksplace-yilan.com.tw/en/food_red.html
Booking: https://booking.silksplace-yilan.com.tw/redlantern/redlantern_c.aspx

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Check out my other Yilan travel posts and follow my Facebook and Instagram for my travel tales! Don’t miss my blog posts about our Taiwan trip 2023:

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 3 & 4 – Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Danshui, Kura Sushi | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 2 – Indoor Playground, Ximending, King Food Hotpot, Carrefour | Read the post

What we did in Taipei with kids: Day 1 – Greenworld Ecological Farm, Roader’s Plus Hotel, Shilin Night Market | Read the post

皇家帝國麻辣火鍋吃到飽 Taipei King Food Spicy Hot Pot review | Read the post

What we did in Taichung and Miaoli with kids: 3D2N itinerary | Read the post

What we did in Yilan with kids: 4D3N itinerary | Read the post

How to withdraw money from Taiwan ATMs at no foreign transaction fees | Read the post

Roaders Plus Hotel Taipei review: a playground for the kids! | Read the post

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