On day 6, Sunday, the main attractions we planned to check out are Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple, and Ximending shopping district. It will be another long day of walking. Let’s do this!

Ding Yuan Soy Milk (鼎元豆漿 Dǐng yuán dòujiāng)

First, I was really excited to find an authentic hole-in-the-wall traditional Chinese breakfast place. This place I found on Google had really high reviews from locals and tourists alike. The place is called Ding Yuan Soy Milk (鼎元豆漿 Dǐng yuán dòujiāng).  I was especially excited to try out the dan bing or egg crepe with the fried Chinese cruller and the salty soy bean milk. The place had other traditional Chinese food such as meat baos (buns), scallion egg crepes, sweet soy bean milk, and dumplings. The service is fast and we had no problem finding seating the two time we went in the morning. They open at 4 am in the morning till 11:30 am every day! If you can’t find seating, take your order to go and head to the garden that is near Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. There are plenty of outside seating that are shaded. Below are a few items that are our favorites. I suggest writing down the order in Chinese ahead of time and handing them to the waitress as the line goes pretty fast! My favorite is the egg crepe with fried cruller and the hot sweet soy milk. How can something so simple be so good!! Maybe it’s nostalgic. This is definitely on my list of things I miss the most from my Taiwan trip.

1. Sweet soy milk (甜豆漿 Tián dòujiāng) – options: hot 熱  Rè or ice 冰 Bīng) 20NT
2. Salty soy milk with egg (鹹豆漿加蛋 Xián dòujiāng jiā dàn) 25NT
3. Egg crepe with fried crullers (蛋餅夾油條 Dàn bǐng jiā yóutiáo) 45NT
4. Chopped green onions biscuit with egg (蔥花餅夾蛋 Cōnghuā bǐng jiā dàn) 35NT
5. Sesame biscuit with egg (燒餅夾蛋 Shāobǐng jiā dàn) 30NT
6. Soup dumpling bao (小籠湯包 Xiǎo lóng tāng bāo) 100NT
7. Fried dumplings (鍋貼 Guōtiē) 5 for 40NT

 

 

This place is a hidden gem, so here is the Google map to help navigate to the place:

Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice (金峰魯肉飯 Jīnfēng lǔròu fàn)

We also stopped by 金峰魯肉飯 (Jīnfēng lǔròu fàn)  to check out their braised pork rice (魯肉飯 lǔròu fàn). It was highly recommended by several folks and apparently the most popular for braised pork rice. There are small (小 Xiǎo 30NT), medium (中 Zhōng 40NT), and large (大 Dà 50NT) portions to choose from. The meat sauce was okay. There wasn’t much flavor or spice. The sauce was also such a small portion compared to the rice. Don’t let the picture below fool you; it was a thin layer of meat sauce on top of a rice mound. The cooks that were at the station were smoking and spitting into a trash can near the stove; not very appetizing. There are other places that served braised meat rice that I thought were so much more authentic and of better quality. Maybe it was just my luck that day?

 

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂 Zhōngzhèng jìniàn táng)

We took our braised meat rice and headed to the garden in the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The garden was beautiful. We sat on the stone benches that were near the gates surrounding the garden and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The gates are traditional Chinese stone masonry with a slight roof that provided us some shelter from the drizzling rain. There is a big Koi fish pond in front of where we sat that looks like a Chinese scroll painting. It was really relaxing and soothing to hear the rain drops hit the surface of the pond.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂 Zhōngzhèng jìniàn táng)

After we filled our bellies, we headed to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The national monument was built to honor Chiang Kai Shek, the former President of Taiwan. The blue roof is octagonal in shape; the number 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. There are two flights of stairs that are separated by an ornate white marble . Each flight of stairs leading to the main entrance has 89 steps which represents President Chiang’s age at the time of his death. The memorial hall is a must see in Taipei; not only for its architectural beauty but also for its symbolic representation for what it stands for.

To our luck, we were just in time for the change of guards event at the hall. I was able to stand a row away which is a good thing since I’m short. The change of guard is a sight to see. The event happens every hour from 10 am to 4 pm every day, except for Wednesdays from 10 am to 6 pm.

 

While I was walking toward the memorial hall I spotted this really cool mural!

Have any suggestions, questions, or comments? Leave them below the blog!