Dihua street 迪化街: A glimpse of old Traditional Taipei

Day 5: Monday 18 Nov 2013

We moved out of Dong Wu Hotel in Yanping Street and moved to 旅行, 時光Vintage Travel & Hostel, Taipei. It was like traveling back to retro Taipei. There was no flashing skyscrapers and neon window displays. just rows of old shops selling dried goods. From every conceivable kind of nut, grain and tea to the most refined seafood. Fruits, medicinal herbs, mushrooms and different types of edible flowers are also available. The sight of wide array of colourful, fragrant and some stinky delicacies. It certainly was a feast for the eyes.

After dropping our bags at the apartment, we headed towards the river to take a stroll and see the beautifully renovated Dadaocheng Wharf 大稻埕碼頭. We sat on one of the benches under a tree and enjoyed the view while snacking on our chocolate. We took lots of photographs. The wharf is located a few blocks from Dihua Street. We followed the signs to reach the place. After that, we walked back to Dihua Street.

As we walked along Dihua street, we noticed that the architecture in this neighbourhood was quite different from what we found in the other areas of Taipei. The buildings here belong to other, older times; from Qing's Dynasty and Japanese Era. The construction styles on show in Dihua Street are not likely to be found anywhere else, since the street is one of the oldest ones in Taipei. Some of the buildings have been designated as historic sites, with plans in motion for their preservation and restoration.

The Xiahai City God Temple (台北霞海城隍廟) is located not far from Yong Le Market, along Dihua Street. We were told that many actresses and models in Taiwan who are single and on the lookout for their other half go to this temple to pray to the Old Man under the Moon (月下老人) for assistance in getting the man of their dreams.

Being a home sewist and DIY kind of person, I could not resist the temptation of visiting Taipei Fabric Market 永樂市場. One can easily spend a whole afternoon wandering around the fabric and tailor shops. There are just so many choices of fabric that is hard to find back home.

Fish ball noodle soup, the fish ball tasted more like xiao long bao. VERY DELICIOUS!

Wantan Noodle soup.

Kay enjoying her wantan noodle soup.

It was a surprise to find that Joe loves the fish ball noodle soup.

This shop has been featured in a Japanese blog. We found this shop by accident.

The front part of the shop.

It's amazing, we just had our lunch, here we are having another one!

Ginseng chicken soup with rice. Yummylicious.

One of the Art Yards, young designers are flocking back to Dihua Street to revive the old establishment.

Joe loved the mail box!

So many cute little things.

Xiahai City God Temple

I bought most of my loots from this outlet. So many choices, I could spend an entire day here!

Retro furnishings.

Alex, the owner of Vintage Travel Hostel.

Kay was captivated by this typewriter.

On their bunk beds. Two nights of experience living in an apartment above the shops in Guisui Street, Taipei city.

Our delicious dinner. Roasted chicken drumstick with rice.

Pork chops with rice, there are vegetables too. It was just plain yummy.

Braised pork on rice (Lu Rou Fan) 滷肉飯

I don't remember the name of this dish, we loved it so much that we ordered a take away pack. Their homemade mustard sauce was so delicious.

The cost of our dinner was NT$230. Omigosh, that was cheap.

We had our dinner at a tiny shop located beside Yong Le Market. After our dinner, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the apartment at Guisui Street. The next day, our hired driver will come to pick us up at 8.30 a.m. for our journey to Yehliu, Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung. My next post will be about this places outside of Taipei City.