Trip To Taiwan – Day 2

12th October 2016

Coke Liao had to depart for Singapore to attend a friend’s wedding so he asked his friend Ching Man Zhu to replace him as our tour driver for the remaining duration of our Taiwan trip. We gave him the nickname Ah Mang Ker.

Ching Man Zhu's Volkswagon 7-seater MPV

Ching Man Zhu’s Volkswagon 7-seater MPV

Ah Mang Ker came to our hotel at about 8am and brought us in his Volkswagon 7-seater MPV to CCC Café for breakfast. This café serves Western breakfast with good coffee.  We went to the first floor of the café after placing our order as it was cosier there with nice deco, soft toys and a small aquarium.

CCC Cafe

CCC Cafe

My sisiter-in-law Shirley pos

My sister-in-law Shirley posing with Pokemon

Our breakfast

Our breakfast

Our breakfast

Our breakfast

Our drinks

Our drinks

After breakfast, we proceeded to the Taiwan Times Village(寶島時代村)  in Nantou County’s Caotun, a 30-minute drive from downtown Taichung.  This completely-enclosed attraction covers an enormous 50,000 sq. meters of space and has plenty to occupy young and old alike. It is all part of local businessman Jiang Ching Liang’s significant efforts to to preserve Taiwan’s heritage, with the help of an enthusiastic staff and his TV star wife Xiao Pan Pan.

Ching Man Zhu posing with my 3 sistersin-laws

Ching Man Zhu (Ah Mang Ker) posing with my 3 sister-in-laws

Once we entered the Presidential Palace-inspired building façade, we were seemingly transported back to the “old Taiwan”. We were taken into a maze of recreated old Taiwanese streets, alleys and neighbourhoods, complete with ‘mom-and-pop’ neighbourhood stores, little eateries, pedicabs, police station, photo studio, barbershop, classroom, streets stands, old military village, early music, signage and slogans from the Japanese and ROC eras and even a wooden train station with steam engine–all designed to highlight Taiwan’s 4 ethnic groups.

The 4 ethnic groups

The 4 ethnic groups

Me inside a classroom

Me inside a classroom

Shirley on the railway tracks

Shirley on the railway tracks

Angela in front of the train

Angela in front of the train

Leslie hoping for a strong bull run on KLSE

Leslie hoping for a strong bull run on KLSE

My wife with a pedicab

My wife with a pedicab

Margaret posing near a traditional Chinese bridal shoulder carriage

Margaret posing near a traditional Chinese bridal shoulder carriage

Angela posing near beautiful paper lanterns

Angela posing near beautiful paper lanterns

Me posing as a doctor

Me posing as a doctor

My son Leslie

My son Leslie

Angela posing with an Old Master sidekick Mr Chin

Angela posing with an Old Master sidekick Mr Chin

Margaret posing as a peasant

Margaret posing as a peasant

Me and Shirley and Angela carrying gold ingots

Me and Shirley and Angela carrying gold ingots

Shirley posing with

Shirley posing with

My mother-in-law posing with Old Master Q (老夫子) and Big Potato (大蕃薯)

My mother-in-law posing with Old Master Q (老夫子) and Big Potato (大蕃薯)

Angela posing with Old Master Q (老夫子) and Big Potato (大蕃薯)

Angela posing with Old Master Q (老夫子) and Big Potato (大蕃薯)

Angela, Margaret and Shirley taking a rest

Angela, Margaret and Shirley playing a game of chess

An exhibit

One of the many unique stores

An antique car

An antique car

Shirley posing near the antique car

Shirley posing near the antique car

My wife

My wife

Leslie

Leslie

My wife

My wife

A street in the village

A street in the village

An eatery

An eatery

An old ad for Darkie

An old ad for Darkie

An old ad for a milk powder

An old ad for a milk powder

Taiwan Times Village is a live museum whose friendly staff members play their roles in creating this journey back in time. The staff include KMT soldier, policemen, student, old granny , pedicab driver, doctor, shop owners, street vendors and artisans, all interacting with guests. The museum’s special facilities include a full-size banquet restaurant, food court, and a large stage where special entertainment and performances sometimes take place.

Me with a KMT soldier

Me with a KMT soldier

My 3 sister-in-laws and Ching Man Zhu posing with the KMT soldier

My 3 sister-in-laws and Ching Man Zhu posing with the KMT soldier

My sister-in-law Angela having a mock haircut by an "old granny"

My sister-in-law Angela having a mock haircut by an “old granny”

My sister-in-law Margaret posing as a student with a museum staff acting as another student

My sister-in-law Margaret posing as a student with a museum staff acting as another student

My sister-in-laws Angela and Shirley posing as students

My sister-in-laws Angela and Shirley posing as students

Me posing with a store staff

Me posing with a store staff

Angela and Shirley posing with a store staff

Angela and Shirley posing with a store staff

my mother-in-law, Angela and Shirley posing with a store staff

My mother-in-law, Angela and Shirley posing with a store staff

We enjoyed our trip to Taiwan Times Village. It has easily become one of the most memorable places we visited during this trip to Taiwan.

By the time we left the Taiwan Times Village, it was time for lunch. Ah Mang Ker recommended Hu Guo Xiong Traditional Noodles (胡國雄古早麵) and that was where we ended up for our lunch.  We ordered braised pork rice, braised eggs and some noodle dishes. I did not try the noodles but the braised pork rice was nothing to shout about.

Hu Guo Xiong Traditional Noodles 胡國雄古早麵

Hu Guo Xiong Traditional Noodles 胡國雄古早麵

Braised pork rice

Braised pork rice

Noodle

Noodle

Noodle

Noodle

Marinated eggs

Braised eggs

Busy taking photos of the dishes

Busy taking photos of the dishes

Our next stop was at Feeling 18 for ice cream. The ice cream was good and in a few minutes, we were then on our way to the Old England Manor about an hour’s drive from Feeling 18.

Feeling 18 Ice Cream

Feeling 18 Ice Cream

The yummy ice cream

The yummy ice cream

It is hard to miss Old England (老英格蘭) on your way up to CingJing. Standing tall on the highlands of Nantou, this traditional English mansion with its impressive Tudor-style exterior and a gigantic Gothic-style clock tower is a majestic sight to behold. It is a minshu (homestay) where East meets West – timeless English grandeur in the heart of Taiwan.

Old England Manor (老英格蘭)

Old England Manor (老英格蘭)

Opened to the public in 2010, this charming mansion is said to be owned by a retired teacher who invested hundreds of millions Taiwan Dollar on this Tudor-style mansion. With the cheapest suite going at about TWD20,000 (RM2,600), this can be said to be one of the most luxurious and expensive minshu in Taiwan.

To explore the interior, you will need to be a guest staying at the mansion. But there’s a way to work around this – simply spend TWD550 (RM72) for their standard afternoon tea set and you are in!

That is the reason why tea at The Old England is so popular.  It is the only way you can gain access into the mansion without having to pay for a night’s stay. There were seven of us and we decided that we did not wish to spend about RM500 just for a high tea. We just spent time outside the mansion taking in the lovely sights and clicking away on our cameras and smart phones.

Amazing view

Amazing view

Amazing view

Amazing view

My son Leslie

My son Leslie

That is me

That is me

That is Margaret

That is Margaret

That is Margaret

That is Margaret

Lovely buildings

Lovely buildings

After Old England, our next stop was the Small Swiss Garden, also known as Taiwan’s Little Switzerland because the garden emits a Northern European atmosphere. It is located just next to the Carton King restaurant.

Small Swiss Garden

Small Swiss Garden

From the Swiss Garden, the verdant peaks in the distance amidst the clouds are pure unadulterated beauty that literally takes one’s breath away.

Lovely view

Lovely view

The entrance fee of NT120 per person allows the visitor multiple entries into the garden within the same day so that the visitor can enjoy the different views in the day and at night time.

The colourful flowers, bald-cypresses, red maples, the orange pumpkins,  the spiraling spinwheels and LED artificial sunflowers of the garden give it a unique atmosphere.  There are also quite a lot of ducks, geese and pigeons in the park. I saw a lovely spider in the greenhouse in the garden.

Entrance to the Swiss Garden

Entrance to the Swiss Garden

Cat Building

Carton King Restaurant

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

Inside Swiss Garden

My wife

My wife

Margaret

Margaret

Angela

Angela

Shirley

Shirley

Me

Me

Shirley

Shirley

My wife

My wife

Angela

Angela

Margaret

Margaret

Shirley and my son Leslie

Shirley and my son Leslie

Shirley

Shirley

Margaret

Margaret

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flower

Lovely flower

Lovely flower

Lovely flower

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

Lovely flowers

The beautiful spider

The beautiful spider

One of the many ducks

One of the many ducks

One of the many pigeons

One of the many pigeons

I was the only one in our group who spent some time on the hill overlooking the lake. The views of the trees and winding paths on the hill are so idyllic. And I had a great view of the garden from the hill.

Winding paths amidst the trees

Winding paths amidst the trees

Winding paths amidst the trees

Winding paths amidst the trees

Looking down from the hill

Looking down from the hill

Looking down from the hill

Looking down from the hill

 

After leaving Swiss Garden, Ah Mang Ker drove us to Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts) where we checked in for one night’s stay. This is a lovely minshu with a great view from the upstairs balcony.

Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Inside Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Inside Ming Ren Du Jia Chun (Celebrity Resorts)

Lovely view from the balcony of the resort

Lovely view from the balcony of the resort

After an hour’s rest, it was time for dinner. Coke Liao had planned for us to have our dinner at Inako Scenic View Café Restaurant so Ah Mang Ker sent us there. We invited him to join us for dinner and he graciously accepted.

Inako Scenic View Cafe Restaurant  is well-known among Taiwanese for its food and scenery. It has been featured by their local magazines and visited by Taiwanese celebrities. Perched on the cliff side of the mountain, the alfresco dining restaurant boasts a lovely view of the surrounding greenery and mountain ranges. But sadly, it was already dark when we arrived so we could not see much around of the scenery.

Inako Scenic View Café Restaurant

Inako Scenic View Café Restaurant

Deciding what to order

Deciding what to order

We ordered one whole Urn Roasted Chicken of Earthen Jar Chicken (甕缸鸡), stir-fried Shanshu Fern, stir-fried betel nut flowers, braised bamboo shoot (鸡汤滷桂竹笋),stir-fried fresh mushrooms and prawn pancake.

The chickem...note the gloves

The chicken…note the gloves

Betel nut flowers

Betel nut flowers

Braised bamboo shoot

Braised bamboo shoot

Shanshu Fern

Shanshu Fern

Fresh mushrooms

Fresh mushrooms

Prawn pancakes

Prawn pancakes

8 hungry persons devoured everything

8 hungry persons devoured everything

The signature urn roasted chicken is very famous dish and this is a must try at the restaurant. The chickens are marinated and then cooked in huge earthen jar over high flames placed outside the restaurant. The chickens are hooked up-right and roasted. The essence and fats from the chicken is then collected at the bottom. Each earthen jar can cook four chickens at any point in time. Every now and then, a staff will take out each chicken from the jar and spray them with a layer of oil before putting back to roast, resulting in the crisp skin and tender meat.

The chickens are roasted in these urns

The chickens are roasted in these urns

The dish comes with 1 pair of cotton gloves and plastic gloves.  One person has to wear the cotton gloves before putting on the plastic ones. He then breaks the chicken into small pieces . The chicken skin is very tasty as it has been roasted until very thin and crispy. The chicken meat is tender and tasty even without the salt & pepper condiment or the special dipping sauce. We finished the chicken in no time and ordered a second one! By the way, the price of a roasted chicken cost NT $560 (RM73).

Stripping the chicken into small pieces

Stripping the chicken into small pieces

The other dishes were nice too with the exception of Shanshu fern. We found this dish to be a bit bland. Oh yes, the Shanshu fern is actually a fern that we can find growing on trees here in Sarawak. It is known locally as Bird’s Nest Fern (Paku Pandan ). Many Sarawakians keep these ferns as ornamental plants without realising that they are edible.

Shanshu Fern (The Bird’s Nest Fern (Paku Pandan ) in my house

Shanshu Fern (The Bird’s Nest Fern (Paku Pandan ) in my house

On the way back to our minus, we stopped at 7 Eleven to buy some drinks. By the time we were back in the minus, we were dead tired. After a quick shower, it was time for bed!