Taiwan Trip Day 15 - Taipei (台北) | Shin Yeh Japanese Restaurant (欣叶日本料理)

15 December 2018

Our final night in Taiwan after more than 2 weeks! I really enjoyed this trip and it is by far the most memorable one to date! To mark a sweet ending to our family trip, we decided to splurge a little and have a good family meal together.

Near the hotel that we are residing in is a popular Japanese restaurant - Shin Yeh Japanese Restaurant which has garnered many good reviews. We happened to chance upon it on our first night in Taipei. After enquiry, we were shocked to learn that reservation needs to be done in advance and the restaurant is usually fully booked! Thanks to lady luck on our side, we managed to secure a table on our final night in Taipei.

Located on the 6th floor, the atmosphere and ambiance of the restaurant is both elegant and cozy. We were led to our table and wasted no time to check out what's on the buffet line!

Freshly sliced sashimi served at the counter - Salmon, Tuna, Red Trevally, Neritic Squid...

This is one sushi counter that I fell in love with! So many variety and so colourful! There are at least 10 different types of sushi here. I love the way they arranged the sushi which looks so appetizing! Plus, the sushi taste awesome!

My plate is usually filled with my beloved salmon sashimi which are so juicy and fresh! 

There are also interesting appetizer that boost our taste bud! Onsen egg, pickled vegetables, eggplant, mushroom etc.

Yummy Onsen Egg!

Fried food section

Fresh seafood - Prawns, oysters and more!

Fried Mochi

Steam Egg

Salad

 

8 different types of handroll you can pick from! Just order from the menu and it will be rolled fresh on the spot

The children LOVE the drink bar! Apart from cold drinks, red and white wine are served here too! Even their drink menu looks tempting!

Cheers!

Desserts are equally an eye catcher with a variety of cake - coffee, melaleuca, cheese etc, I wish I had a bigger stomach to try all!

Ending our meal with fruits!

What I love about Shin Yeh is we get to taste all different types of Japanese food under one roof and there is always something interesting I can pick from the buffet line.

We paid about NT3200 for 4 pax (~SGD145) then. That is about SGD36 per pax. Definitely an affordable deal with the good spread of quality food!

Currently, the buffet price is NT820 (adults) / NT410 (children) and there is a dining time limit of 2 hours. Still, it is worth coming back!

Shin Yeh has 5 stores in Taipei and Taoyuan and we visited the outlet at Zhongzheng District which is near Taipei Main Station. Booking in advance is highly recommended as they are fully booked most of the time!

Shin Yeh Japanese Restaurant (欣叶日本料理)

館前店-台北市中正區

Address: 6th Floor, No. 12, Guanqian Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City

Website: https://www.shinyeh.com.tw/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShinyehJapaneseBuffet/

Taiwan Trip Day 14 - Taipei (台北) | Cycling in Tamsui (淡水)

14 December 2018

After spending our morning exploring Beitou, we took the train to Tamsui. Tamsui (淡水) is located at the northern part of Taiwan and a beautiful spot for viewing sunset. Easily accessible via MRT (Red Line) to reach the north coast from the city central. There are many things you can do here which makes it a popular spot for tourists.

3pm: We have been to Tamsui a couple of times and this time, and this time we decided to do something different - Biking. Found a Bicycle rental shop that is not too far away away from the train station and the rental rates are reasonable too. We spent NT500 for the rental of 4 bicycles.

3:15pm - Setting off from here to Tamsui Old Street!

The view along the riverfront is gorgeous!

The waterfront area is one of the best spot for viewing sunset over the Tamsui River.

If you have more time, you can take a ferry across to Bali (八里)

There are many cafe and shops along the boardwalk selling snacks, food, clothing, accessories etc. We often stop our ride when we spotted an interesting snack.

Music fills the air as performers sang by the riverbank and we had a treat of uplifting Christmas songs. 

Our cycling route from Tamsui Old Street back to Bicycle Rental Shop

4:10pm - We continued our ride to 紅樹林 station (About 3km). We could have rode further towards Golden Riverside Cycling Path (金色水岸自行車道) which was another 5km away.  But alas, the sun is setting and we have to make a U-turn back at Hongshulin to Tamsui Station.

Scenic views along our cycling route.

MRT whizzing pass us as we cycle along the track. 

Beautiful Maiden grass (芒草) patch at 淡水河紅樹林自然保留區, It seems to glow as the sun setting rays shines upon it. Would really love to walk in to have a look if we had more time.

The route from Tamsui to Hongshulin is relaxing with some steeper slopes. I have to get down from the bike and push my way through as I don't have the stamina compared to the children. Thankfully, they are always waiting for me to catch up.

As the sun is setting, we have to make our way back to return the bicycles. Would love to be back again and explore longer cycling routes on our next trip to Tamsui.

Tamsui Old Street

Address: Zhongzheng Road, Tamsui Dist., New Taipei City Taiwan, R.O.C

Check out our 2 Weeks Taiwan Itinerary Family Trip here

Taiwan Trip Day 14 - Taipei (台北) | Beitou (北投) | Beitou Thermal Valley (地热谷) | Quanyuan Park Foot Bath (泉源公园温泉泡脚池园区)

14 December 2018

We planned to start our day for a half day trip to Beitou (北投) in Taipei. Surrounded by mountain ranges and beautiful natural landscape, Beitou is famous for its hot springs and a paradise for joyous living with steaming hot baths.

There are 4 things you must do at Beitou - Scenic Viewing, Enjoy the Good Food, Visit Historic Sites and go on a Hot Spring.

Traveling to Beitou is an ease as it is connected via the city's metro line. Take the MRT Red (Tamsui-Xiangshan) line towards Tamsui and alight at Beitou MRT station (R22). From Beitou station, transfer the pink line to Xinbeitou Station (R22a) which is only one station away where the hot springs area lies.

Stay Home Cooking Ideas - Home Cooked Meals for Family #1

I only started picking up cooking randomly about a year ago and only know how to make a few simple basic dishes - like fry an egg or heat up a can of sardines etc. Hence when Covid-19 strikes, and we are staying home, I realised I have to cook almost every day for my family.

To make things more challenging, I need to plan what to get from the supermarket for the week to reduce our trips. I started taking photos of the ingredients I needed to prepare a meal and also keep track of cost.

I try to keep to very basic ingredients - so for the first week, it is mainly cabbage, potatoes, chicken, carrots, canned food and eggs. Managed to come up with some different variations and keep our tummies full.

#1 - Stir fry Cabbage, Chicken Stew

Sushi Delivery Singapore - Delivering Sushi right to your Doorstep

We are a big fan of Japanese cuisine particularly sushi, sashimi and salmon! At times we have the craving but were too lazy to head out to the restaurant. With the recent coronavirus outbreak in the community, we prefer to have meals at home instead of dining out.

Hence, we really appreciate to have our comfort food delivered fresh right to our doorstep. 

Sushi Delivery Singapore is newly launched in early 2020 and it offers Sashimi & Sushi, Bento & Bowls, Appetizers & Sides as well as Party Sets.