Cliff(y) Goes Dining

Such nice cuttlefish and pteridophyte dishes! There aren't many eateries around the area outside Taroko National Park. During our 3D2N stay, my BFF and I had our dinner at the same restaurant, which isn't far from Li-Wu Hotel. We ordered two dishes each evening as the servers told us that they'd be more than enough for two people.

Why eat snacks when you can have a 'bento' onboard the train? Eating  bento , or boxed meal, is something that I always look forward to whenever I'm in Taiwan and Japan. For our journey from Taipei Main Station to Xincheng Station that's the gateway to Taroko Gorge, my BFF and I bought our packed lunch to eat along the way.

Such a colourful and yummy Western platter! Having heard good reviews on Hotel Relax group, my BFF and I decided to stay for a night at its No. 2 (3*). It's situated pretty close to Taipei Main Station for us to catch a train to Taroko the next morning. On top of a few free-flow items, each guest gets one plate of Western breakfast.

Have you tried a mooncake with red date paste and roselle? Happy birthday, Pikachu! In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, Pikachu received flower-shaped mooncakes from Man Fu Yuan, a contemporary Chinese restaurant housed inside InterContinental Singapore at Bugis.

Torched wagyu beef cubes with rose salt, anyone? Ningxia Night Market stretches over 150 m along the road that gives its name. Despite the fact that it's of a smaller scale to the more prominent ones like Shilin Night Market , it's packed with mouth-watering stalls. I've learnt from my mistakes of not taking down the prices for the previous Taiwanese night market reviews, so I'm going to include the prices this time round.

My favourite item from the original branch is ... (hint: not 'xiao long bao') It's time for Taiwan! Internationally known for its xiao long bao  (Chinese steamed dumpling traditionally steamed in a small bamboo basket, giving birth to its name), Din Tai Fung was founded in 1958 as a cooking oil retailer. It was only in 1972 that the original place of business at Xinyi Road, Taipei became a full-fledged restaurant.

Delectable, homely local items for breakfast~ The Mabuhay Manor stands at the heart of Baclaran, which is said to be "a local shopping haven comparable to Bangkok’s Chatuchak and Hong Kong’s Mong Kok". My BFF and I decided to stay there for a night due to the free shuttle to SM Mall of Asia and the one-way airport transfer that's included in the room rate.

A combination of yam and salted egg in a rice flour cake~ By nightfall, my BFF and I were still feeling somewhat full due to the heavy lunch at Bistro Remedios . Nevertheless, not wanting to miss the opportunity to savour more Filipino cuisine on our second and last night in the capital city, we decided to give Manam at SM Mall of Asia a try.

Getting knocked out by the 'Knockout Knuckle'? I chanced upon Bistro Remedios while doing some research on the food scene in the capital city of the Philippines. It's located at Remedios Circle, a roundabout that gives the restaurant its name, which is said to be the centre of nightlife in the city. Note: I only went to the area in the afternoon for lunch. :P

Free-flow 'ensaladang', 'longanisa' and 'dalandan' drink, anyone? Guests of Hotel H2O at Manila Ocean Park are treated to a buffet breakfast at Makan Makan Asian Food Village, which is described as a "veritable pan-Asian village where the culinary delights of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan and the Philippines [are] abound."