Dear Steemit Friends:
In today's edition of Miss. Delicious, I'll be taking us on a tour of one of the most famous night market's in all of Taiwan called Shilin night market. Most visitors to Taipei would have visited at-least once, and most likely yearned for a re-visit after discovering the various night market snacks and how absolutely delicious they are. Actually, I'm one of those return visitors too, each time I visit Taipei, I'm always anxious to pay Shilin a visit and see what new food creations are on offer.
From my earlier visits to Shilin as well as other night markets, I realised that the bustling atmosphere of "people mountain, people sea" reaches climax in the late evening, visit before dusk and you'll likely be wondering where everybody is. Indeed, a night market is most fun when it is bustling and overflowing with people. It can get a little uncomfortable battling people for room to walk, but the atmosphere more than makes up for it!
To fill up the day, I decided to visit Yangmingshan National Park. Located to the north of Taipei city, the park occupies over 100 square kilometers of area and is home to numerous parks, hiking trails, plants, wildlife as well as hot springs. People usually spend several days exploring Yangmingshan, even choosing to stay in the national park where hot spring hotels are a many. With just a few hours to explore, my visit would be very swift in comparison.
Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park is on the outskirts of the city and requires a short bus journey. The simplest route is to take the MRT to Jiantan station, and then get the R5 bus which takes you directly to the Yangmingshan bus terminal.
Once at the Yangmingshan bus terminal, there is another bus service labelled "108" which circles around the entire park and runs until 6pm in the evening. The bus comes every half an hour or so, and you only have to purchase a ticket once then you can hop on and off the bus all day as you please.
Mountains in the area can be as tall as 1200 metres thus travelling through the park will involve traversing through the valleys as well as winding round some of the mountains at various heights. Should time permit, I recommend getting off the bus and taking your time to appreciate the natural surroundings. The contrast in elevation of the mountains is something to marvel at, but also as a result of this, the climates can differ quite a bit. You will find yourself in sub tropical climates and then suddenly warm temperate climates depending on where you are in the park.
I was also surprised to learn that there are a significant number of people who live in the Yangmingshan area. In-fact, there are whole villages dedicated to cultivating tea plantations and other agricultural products.
Zhuzihu is an example of one of these farming villages. Tucked within the mountains, the area used to be a lake surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It's unique geology made it suitable to farming rice paddies and then later on lily's. The reason why it's called "Zhuzihu" is that the surrounding forests are mostly bamboo forests and the characters "Zhuzi" mean bamboo in Chinese.
When the bus sets you down at the Zhuzihu bus stop, it's not at all obvious where the village is. In-fact, it's quite a distance away and requires quite a bit of further walking to get there. Do make sure to cross the road and get some pictures at the viewing platform. The valley below is simply beautiful!
To get to Zhuzihu, you'll have to look for the sign posts pointing you in the right direction, then follow the road down for several kilometers. Along the way, you have the opportunity to join some other hiking trails to other parts of Yangmingshan.
Every where you look, you'll find hints and artefacts left by the people who live/lived here. The roads are maintained very well and most of the houses erected on this mountain path seem to be from the late period of Japanese occupation. (c. 1945)
Actually, the Japanese influence in Yangmingshan can be felt not only in the architecture, but also in the wildlife. They planted black pines, acacia trees and sweet gum in the mountains, and to this day, they are largely untouched.
This is the unfinished tourist centre for Zhuzihu. There is no tourist information here, just a car park and a welcome sign. At this point, I was getting some what concerned about the whereabouts of Zhuzihu, I looked around in all directions looking for a Bamboo lake, and all I could see was mountainous terrain. Putting trust into the sign posts, I carried on walking.
It's quite amazing trekking through the mountains, because without relative point of view, I wasn't aware that i was already several hundred meters above sea level. In the distance, I could see the clouds hovering barely over the mountains, some were taller than the others but all were very pretty.
Some happy campers even brought their dogs a long to enjoy the view!
Some people happily hike around Yangmingshan all day, for all that, all it takes is a set of energetic feet, and about 4-5 hours of your time. Most people take the trail from the headquarters to Mt. Cising. From there, you can walk to Lengshuikeng where you'll find some hot springs (contrary to what the name suggests). A walk back to the headquarters through the Cising park completes the hike!
Dotted throughout the park are these little hot spring stations. Some are significantly larger than others, even serving as lodging with fancy private rooms, each with their own little spa. This one seems to be the smaller kind with just the hot spring baths.
Finally, I arrived at Zhizihu village. At first, I was looking around for a lake but then I realised that the lake had become arable land. The lake of old no longer exists, in it's place, large stretches of rice paddies and Calla Lilly's are grown and farmed.
There are village houses in the valley basin, and these are the remnants of the Han Chinese who moved to the area to cultivate tea plantations as well as other agricultural products.
In the basin of the Zhuzihu village, there are some foot paths built for people to move around the plantations. The outer rim is where the village houses and other buildings are situated. The main part of the land is used to cultivate Calla Lily flowers.
The distant scenic mountains which surround the village are truly an amazing sight. The one in this picture seems to be more like a hump.
During March to May, Calla Lily flowers fill up the whole basin. They become the main attraction at Zhuzihu and will draw many visitors from the city to come buy the Calla Lily.
The foot paths here are a really good trail to follow as they take you around and through the Zhuzihu agriculture. Sadly, I came at a time where the Lily's already blossomed and so, it will be something to come back for to see the next time I visit.
Knowing that the bus back to headquarters stops running at 6pm. I left quite promptly and began my descent back down the path I came to the bus stop. If you miss the last bus, then it's several hours of walking in almost pitch black along mountainous roads. That certainly is not a fate I want to subscribe myself to.
Although I didn't get to see the Calla Lily's of Zhuzihu, I did get to see the vibrant farming community and the bamboo forests surrounding the village. I've spent a lot of time exploring the city of Taipei and very little time in the country side so it was a really nice change of pace from the city. There's definitely a stronger connection with nature when you take it in your own stride to explore it. After spending 4 or 5 hours doing my own little expedition around Yangmingshan, I was satisfied that I got a taste of what Yangmingshan has to offer and I'm looking forward to visiting again for the Hot Springs and other Hiking Trails!
Shilin Night Market
The Shilin Night Market is located just a few kilometers from the Yangmingshan main bus station. To get to Shilin from Yangmingshan, take the same R5 bus back to Jiantan station. Despite what the name might suggest, Shilin MRT station is not where you'll find the Shilin night market, it's actually closer to Jiantan station. Once I got off the bus from Yangmingshan, Shilin was just across the road.
The large spherical object is where the old Shilin food market used to be. Because of safety concerns, the area was demolished and the food stalls were moved to the main part of the night market along with the other non-food vendors.
Despite the reshuffling and modern renovations, Shilin is still the largest and one of the most famous if not THE most famous night market in Taiwan. The sheer breadth of the market can only be uncovered by wandering through the many alleyways of the market. Unlike some other market's, Shilin night market operates on top of existing high street vendors so it is more like a network of street vendors and high street vendors plus a lot of food stalls all mixed together in a night time shopping and glutton frenzy.
At night time, the street signs light up and the whole place is illuminated in a whole palette of colours. It doesn't matter whether you're a student, an office worker, or a retiree, the market has a power of attraction that seemingly nobody can resist. Is it the flurry of people looking for bargain merchandise? Or is it the curious mixture of smells emanating from all the little food snack stalls?
It isn't gourmands having a field day, bargain hunters, tourists looking for souvenirs will be spoiled for choice. Unlike the kind of markets' you'll find in other countries, most of the goods are locally made. You can choose from a wide array of goods such as clothes, shoes, electronics, bags, purses and even jewellery.
Although you'll find similar items elsewhere, picking it out for yourself and then bartering for it is part of the fun.
This is one of the "official" entrances to the night market. On the ground level, you'll mostly find souvenirs, local goods and carnival like games. The basement level is where you'll find the main food court, but that's not to say you won't find food stalls laid out across the rest of the market.
After a day of walking around Yangmingshan, I was truly ready to eat, let's see what's on offer!
Ice Cream and Peanut Wrap.
The preparation of this curious snack is quite simple. The flour crepe is laid flat and then peanut shavings are placed on top from a wooden tool used to shave the peanut block. Then, you choose which flavour scoops of ice cream you want which are then placed on top. After that, another layer of peanut shavings over the ice cream and finally, the coriander. The edges are wrapped over and then placed in a clear plastic bag for you to walk and eat.
There's a similar dish called a 'Run Bing' which has Pork Belly meat instead of the ice cream, but with such a hot tropical climate, I definitely prefer this sweet cooling snack.
Mango Snowflake Ice
Another dessert style dish which is sweet and great for cooling off, the Mango Snowflake ice is basically chopped fresh mango's on a bed of milky shaved ice. A lot of dessert cafes in China town's across the world like to imitate this dish, often using shaved ice as the base, supplementing with the condensed milk. It's a far cry from the way they're made here where the actual ice is milk flavoured.
To help pace everybody, the night market has spread out it's food stalls making you pass through these game stalls before continuing to eat. I thought i 'd give shooting a BB Gun a try, it turns out hitting all the balloons was easier than I thought. There's a saying in Chinese 百发百中 which means 100 shots 100 hits. I guess I'm good with guns!
Some snack stalls have garnered quite a reputation. The more popular ones will stick up pictures of all the famous people who have come to approve their food. Some vendors have been in the business for more than 30 years, such as this lady who serves a Taiwanese version of the famous Okonomiyaki from Japan, no doubt a dish brought over during the Japanese occupation.
One of the busiest alleyways is also the home of quite a beautiful temple. Actually, many night market's begin because of a temple. Vendors would set their stalls up near the entrances to temples to sell their snacks to hungry worshippers. Today, the temple also serves as a resting place for people wanting to eat their snacks before searching out the next.
If you want to try every snack you fancy at the night market, then I recommend taking a single bite from each because the variety of what's available is astonishing. In Chinese, these snacks are called "Xiaochi" which literally translates to "little eats". They are meant to be bite size but with hundreds to try, you'll still struggle to taste them all in one visit.
Notice the Prawns in the water tank, they are actually live and barbecued to order. In other places, you'll find little carnival games where the goal is to catch a prawn with a tiny hook. Of course, if you catch one, you get to eat it.
Giant Sausages feature frequently in Taiwanese night market stalls, as do fried octopus. I think the Japanese are definitely responsible for the octopus but the huge sausages I dare say are a local obsession. There's actually an interesting way to eat these sausages which we'll discover later on.
Like in most places in Taiwan, you are never too far away from a bubble tea stall or fresh fruit stall. Many of the fresh fruit stalls will squeeze your favourite fruit juices for you and serve them with various kinds of jelly's.
In China, night markets are not as prevalent and that's because there is yet to be a government sanctioned license for operating a street stand. In Taiwan, vendors are licensed and pay a licensing fee as well as rent for the space they occupy. This however, doesn't stop unlicensed vendors from trying to operate when the police are not around.
In general, the police will not arrest or even stop vendors from doing business, they understand that this kind of market is inherent to the culture of Taiwan, moreover, the stands make the whole place a lot more lively. Most of the time when police come, there is a mad rush in the middle of the street (where the illegal stands are) where the vendors will pack their stalls up in a split second and run away to the side to hide. Once the police are gone, it's back to business!
A long time ago, I showed you guys how good I was with UFO Grabber games, but this human UFO grabber is something completely new. I didn't get an opportunity to try as the bus just drove right by, but it looked like so much fun!
Before China took over manufacturing for pretty much the entire world, Taiwan had a booming toy manufacturing industry. It was even called the Toy Kingdom because foreign toy manufacturers all flocked to Taiwan to take advantage of their low wage work force. Today, the industry is greatly muted by the manufacturing giant that is China but remnants of the old Toy Kingdom are still evident.
Big Sausage wrap small sausage.
As promised, I would show you an interesting way to eat those gigantic sausages, sadly, it doesn't involve making them any smaller, quite the opposite. Here the big sausage is used as a "bun" to wrap a smaller sausage in the middle.
And that wraps up the Shilin night market tour. It is said that during the KMT retreat to Taiwan, Chang Kai Shek brought over 2 million people from the mainland which included some of it's best chefs. This was part of the reason why Taiwan has become a mecca of food with it's history greatly influenced by the natives, the Japanese, and also the mainland Chinese. One thing is for sure, Shilin night market has more snacks to try than even the most confident of gourmands, and few are known to have left disappointed. It is no wonder that the night market has been around for over 100 years, growing from strength to strength, attracting more and more people, including tourists like myself.
The Shilin night market is a fantastic place to eat lots of innovative inexpensive local Taiwanese snacks but it's also an opportunity to experience some of the most vibrant night market culture in all of Asia. I've been to Taipei several times now and I've never missed an opportunity to visit Shilin.
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翻开台北的美食纪念册，有着太多的美味小吃在心里长草，而士林夜市给了我最好的机会来拔草一波台湾小吃，前方高能预警，一大波台湾美食正在呼呼向你靠近。台北士林夜市的美食内存量实在太大了，要想把它们一网打尽，当然是要自带一个好胃口来。为了更好的腾空我的胃，在开启士林夜市味蕾之旅之前，我们先把时间倒带回那天早上。要有足够的运动量，才能有个好胃口，于是我决定先去逛一逛距离台北市区最近的国家公园阳明山。
阳明山是全台最大、景色最美的郊野公园，也是登山踏青的最好去处。坐上公交车，司机非常细心的递给我通往阳明山的转车路线，因为公园面积非常大，并且景点比较分散，所以从阳明山站搭乘108游园公车，是最方便的方式。当公车穿行在蜿蜒曲折的公路上，我的心仿佛也荡漾在那山浪峰涛，层层叠叠之间。不过因为车的班次不够多，所以需要算计好时间啦。进园不需要门票，只要买好车票就行。接下来就跟我一起漫步台湾的后花园——阳明山国家公园吧。当我走进绿油油连绵不绝的山峦之中，感觉心一秒被收服，山顶云雾缭绕，仙气十足，仿佛是走入了神仙的居所。闻着大自然的气息，漫无目的地畅游在如画山脉之中，沿路有葱翠植被作伴，真的是非常享受又健康的体验。
阳明山原名叫草山，泛指大屯山、七星山、纱帽山、小观音山一带的山区。后来为了纪念明代学者王阳明，才改名为阳明山。阳明山拥有着无与伦比的奇特壮丽景色，是因为有火山活动的影响，形成了地下硫气喷发孔和沸腾滚滚的磺泉，以天然的溪谷，温泉、瀑布和森林公园著称。这里一年四季，景色各异，在春季里，这里还原了昔日鲜花开遍山野，团团似锦的草山之春。而夏季里，阳明山也是本地人和游客们最佳的避暑胜地。走在盘山道上，我明显的感受到了来自大自然清凉的空气，没有市区里的繁忙和燥热，有的是满眼郁郁葱葱的原生态天堂。
阳明山也是台湾最具文化内涵的一座山，它曾是林语堂、李敖等文人的最爱，阳明山竹子湖的海芋还常常出现在流行歌里，让我想起了台湾歌手萧敬腾轻快悦耳的《海芋恋》，还有戴佩妮歌声里的“我要一个人去阳明山上看海芋”。每年的3、4月份，是竹子湖海芋季，也是阳明山国家公园一年一度的盛事之一，遗憾这次去没有赶上海芋的花季，所以把这未完成的目的地默默的记录在下一次台湾之行的清单上。阳明山的浪漫、恬淡、闲情逸趣，在夕阳洒下的金色光辉里显得更加迷人。徜徉在仿佛是大自然天然氧吧的阳明山里，一整天也不会累，当天色近黄昏，一股莫名的使命感涌上心头，啊，没错，接下来我们就朝着台北美食盛宴——士林夜市出发吧。
最早接触到台湾美食，应该是看台湾综艺《康熙来了》里的美食讲座，那时候听到小S嘴里一个个台湾本土小吃的名字，我已经两眼放金光了。台湾美食包罗万象，融合了闽南、潮州、客家、日本等饮食文化，已然成为台湾的名片之一。人们常说，只有品尝过了台湾美食，才算是真正到过了台湾。这次终于有机会体验一下台湾最著名、最平民化的小吃集中地。来到士林夜市，解锁了台湾最全美食清单，也体会到宁愿胖十斤也不愿意错过的舌尖上的诱惑。因为美食的品种繁多，一个胃是不够用的，所以但凡没能亲自尝到并且留在记忆里的美食，我统统都拿相机记录下来了，没想到士林夜市作为人气最旺的打卡圣地，一度吃掉了我相机的内存呀。下面我们就一路逛一路吃遍士林夜市吧。
士林夜市曾多次获选为台湾的代表夜市，扬名国际。事实上，在台北有18条夜市不论白天或是晚上，都吃得到便宜又好吃的小吃。有趣的是，在摊贩并未完全合法化的台北市，士林夜市和其他大型固定夜市就像珍稀动物一样，共同维系着这一特殊的文化现象。我觉得人们真的应该好好珍惜并保留夜市文化，因为如今的台湾夜市文化已经成为人们休闲生活的一部分，能够深深体会台湾风土民情和浓浓的人情味，也是台湾庶民本土文化的标签和独一无二的象征。
士林夜市就像一块巨大的磁铁，把闻香而来的吃货们牢牢的吸引过来。从地铁站下来就能看到灯火辉煌的夜市几乎照亮了半边天空，士林夜市主要分两大部分，一部分主要以阳明戏院及慈城宫为中心的商业街，密密麻麻遍布着一些精品店、服饰店和鞋店；另一部分就是夜市美食街，汇集了大江南北各种美食小吃。晚上7、8点正是最热闹的时候，越夜越精彩，逛夜市的人们磨肩擦肘，人声鼎沸，加上从四方传来热情的叫卖声，动感的音乐，自然而然让我情绪高涨，精神变得很亢奋，食欲大增。街道两旁的小摊一个挨着一个，非常紧凑，色泽鲜美的海鲜，各类台湾当地特色琳琅满目，看得我眼花缭乱，完全迷失在美食天堂，每一家都想尝尝。各个摊位风味各不同，老板无论男女老少，都是笑脸相迎，热情又亲切。
正宗的花生卷冰淇淋率先捕获了我的芳心，在气氛火热温度也火热的夜市，本土冰品绝对会让逛夜市的人们为之疯狂。在排队等候的过程中，我拍下了制作过程，一份花生卷冰淇淋可以自选两球冰淇淋，口味有巧克力、牛奶冰、草莓冰、芋头冰、甚至还有夏季限定的凤梨冰，旁边一个巨型方块就是花生糖本尊了，采用手工现磨，加上花生粉调和，感慨老板动作非常熟练利落，很快润饼皮包着的双球冰淇淋到手，充满了花生香，撒了香菜，一口咬下，那浓浓的香味让人心花怒放，口感沁凉舒爽，一个不过瘾，最后连吃两个。再来就是台湾特色的香甜的芒果冰，分量十足的雪花大碗冰，完全是消暑解渴利器，一下子让我吃到(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ嗨。
美食下肚，兴致欣然，又决定去娱乐区玩玩小游戏，没想到玩气枪打气球，状态完全像开挂一样，2波全中，还赢了一个大娃娃作为奖励。游戏过后再次打开吃货模式，在日式大阪烧和亲切的摊主奶奶聊天合影，特别开心，忘乎所以的状态，逛到忘记回家。再一次体会到台湾夜市的巨大魅力，用本土特色的美食小吃艺术愉悦生活，真的再美好不过了。今天的游玩美食之旅就要告于段落了，超级美食重磅来袭，请大家注意消化哈^^
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