Short getaway at Johor Bahru itinerary

Travel from 11 Aug to 13 Aug 2023

 Day 1: 

• DO: Drive from Singapore to Malaysia (cleared Singapore and Malaysia customs in 2 hours 👍), casual walk around Danga Bay
• EAT: Breakfast at The Founders💓, Lunch at Pandan Mutton Soup, Dinner at Ah Tong Durian💖.
• STAY: Danga Bay Airbnb - Cowidea

Day 2: 

• DO:🌞 Drive from Johor Bahru to Temple Village Taman Bayu Damai 

  六湾“神庙村” ,Desaru Mini Zoo 迪沙鲁迷你动物园

• EAT: Breakfast at Ding Sheng Nanyang Coffee 鼎昇南洋咖啡
  , Lunch at Kiang Kee Bak Kut Teh Restaurant 强记
  , Tea at Yard and Co , Dinner at Jade Garden Seafood Centre.

Day 3: 

• DO: Drive from Singapore to Malaysia (cleared Singapore and Malaysia customs in 2 hours 👍)
• EAT: Breakfast at Roast&Coffee-Retro Garden💕

Taiwan - 7 Days Itinerary between Yi lan and Taipei

 Planned itinerary for Taiwan in 11 Dec 2022 to 18 Dec 2022. 

Here's a day by day for reference. Click on link for more details on the place of interest or the food. 

Day 1: 

• DO: Flight from Singapore to Taiwan. Arrival at 6 pm
• EAT: Dinner at Ba wei Ginger Duck 霸味姜母鸭 
• STAY: Taipei: Ambience Hotel

Day 2: 

• DO: Drive from Taipei To Yilan and Lanyang museum
• EAT: Breakfast at Simple Kaffa, Lunch at wood fired oven chicken 甕窯雞
  , Tea at Maison De Ocean 滿山望海 , Dinner at Jiaoxi stall selling Dong fen.
• STAY: Yilan: Just sleep

Day 3: 

• DO: Drive Taipingshan (Cuifeng lake and Jian ching historic trail)
• EAT: Breakfast at Just sleep hotel, Snack onion pancakes from 柯氏葱油饼, Dinner at Chilan Hotel.
• STAY: Yilan: Chilan Hotel

Day 4: 

• DO: Drive Tai ping shan (Bong Bong Train) and Yilan Jimmy Park
• EAT: Breakfast at Chilan hotel, Lunch at Tai ping shan eating cup noodles, Dinner at Oni Noodles, Snacks from 宜兰老吴胡椒饼， Supper at Air strip farm 空ㄟ農場
• STAY: Yilan: Pi Hotel

Day 5: 

• DO: Northeastern coastal drive 
• EAT: Breakfast at onion pancakes from 柯氏葱油饼, Lunch at 吃饭看海, Tea at B1 cafe, Dinner at Addiction Aquatic Development 上引水產
  
• STAY: Taipei: Caesar Metro Hotel

Day 6: 

• DO: Cheongsam experience 天天旗袍體驗館 (Walk along Bopiliao historical block, Taiwan country education centre and Lung Shan Temple)
• EAT: Breakfast at random roadside stall, Lunch at Wong's Broth 小王煮瓜
  , Brunch at Yuan Fang Gua Bao 源芳刮包, Dinner at Maokong - Maolan
  
• STAY: Taipei: Caesar Metro Hotel

Day 7: 

• DO: Gloria Premium outlet
• SHOP: Taipei: D+af shoe shop. The shoes here are mainly made in china but highly comfortable. Each pair is $30. I have been wearing it for past 5 months the shoes still hold up quite well. 
• EAT: Breakfast at Taiwan breakfast Zhen Fang 真芳, Lunch at Gloria outlet food court, Dinner at Ding Tai Feng 鼎泰丰
  
• STAY: Taipei: Caesar Metro Hotel

After completing the itinerary, we seem to have focused more on food rather than sightseeing. Hopefully this will change for the next trip. 

Eat and drink with a view 吃饭看海

 228, Taiwan, New Taipei City, Gongliao District, 香蘭街3-2號台塑加油站對面斜坡下方

This place is located along the coastline. We sat next to the window so we can enjoy the seafood and the view while eating.

So if you are travelling along from Yilan through the northeastern coast. This is a perfect place to stop. 

This is a seaweed vegetable. First time i tried. Its a little jelly like and very nice. 

Fresh and live abalone grilled to perfection. Succulent and tasty.

The squid is lightly steam and very tasty too. Although i did not like the fact that we have to remove the soft cartilage while eating. 

Local taiwan fish recommended but we did not like it. Probably because the fish is frozen it was not very flavourful.

This is the highlight of the meal. The fresh and yummy lobster is cook with what taiwanese called 面条 noodle. The sauce of the lobster worked so well with the noodle. There is another option offered was to cook it with toufu. I believe that should taste good as well. 

All the seafood here is fresh and delicious. The prices are also highly reasonable in my opinion. I was hoping to get some sea urchin but no such luck today. 

Yilan - Oni noodles 二鬼面舗

 No. 7號, Xinmin Rd, Yilan City, Yilan County, Taiwan 260

A very clean and neat restaurant. Its a warm place to hide on a cold and rainy day.

This is a hand made inhouse kimchi. Its called the golden kimchi. Don't let the light yellow colour deceive you. This little plate of kimchi is very very good! Crunchy and tasty. I finished this whole bowl by myself. 

A super big bowl of marbled beef noodles. Not bad but i personally prefer ramen broth and noodles. But could be because we ordered the lighter version of beef broth soup instead of the mala spicier version.

This is the poached chicken in chilli sauce. This is quite good but not fantastic. 

Romantic cityview at 空ㄟ農場 Air strip farm

 No. 31號, Lane 157, Baishijiao Rd, Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 262

Do not attempt to drive up yourself. Its a private road very steep two way road but only space for one car to pass. 

We parked our car at the foot of the hill and wait at the car pick up point. The drive up is free. The night view of the city is superb. It was super chilly that night but i still wanted to have a cold beer. 

After having the beer, it felt like minus 10 degrees on the hillside. Even the hot food after couldn't drive away the chill.

The places serves very good pizza. The fried chicken wings are nice too. 

The place is very alfresco dining and the owner had 2 dogs that roam around the premises. 

The dogs are very docile and calm. 

The restroom is also very unique made from giant iron tubes. 

The fairy lights strung along the trees the place made it feel so romantic. Its also the best photo spot. 

 

Yilan: Teatime at Maison De Ocean 滿山望海

No. 211號, Dakeng Rd, Toucheng Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 261 

A place with the expansive view of the ocean. Its a popular place for surfing as well.

There is a minimum spend per table for the seaview cafe. Generally, you need to get a drink each and some sides to hit the minimum spend. On top of that, there is a time limit allocated for the table. 

The area is very spacious and comfortable, no worries of having to squeeze with people elbow to elbow. 

We are just in time to watch the sunset as well. Unfortunately, its a gloomy cloudy day.

Yilan, Jiaoxi - Famous chicken baked in wood fired oven restaurant 甕窯雞 礁溪總店

262, Taiwan, Yilan County, Jiaoxi Township, Section 7, Jiaoxi Rd, 7號之7

The must try is food here is definitely the oven baked wood fired chicken. 

After grilling, juices of the chicken is locked within, making the chicken meat tender and moist.

 

They will serve the chicken whole and you are given gloves to rip the chicken apart. 

The skin is grilled to the point where its a little smokey and charred. 

The chicken can be eaten on its own as it is already quite flavourful. You can also dip it in the sauce given. 

Actually, i dont remember this sausage. Only have a good impression of the chicken. The vegetables are locally grown which i have not seen so i ordered it to try. Not too bad but not as tasty as lettuce and other leafy vegetables we are accustomed to like shanghai green. 

Addiction Aquatic Development 上引水產 - Seafood

 No. 18號, Alley 2, Lane 410, Minzu E Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491

A place with restaurants and supermarket and live seafood. We are here for the sushi bar. 

Giant snow crabs! There are various tanks of them in varying sizes. 

We order the sushi platter and also the sashimi platter set. Yummy and delicious. 

Its worth a visit to take a look at the place. 

Look at how fresh and succulent the sashimi is. As good as japan. 

Having Ding Tai Feng in Taiwan 鼎泰丰

104, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongshan District, Nanjing W Rd, 12號B2

Multiple outlets for Ding Tai Feng. We ended up at this place because we were stuck in a queue of influencers shoe shop D+af. By the time we manage to purchase it was already 8 plus and most places are closed.  

But Din Tai Feng is hugely popular even at 8 pluse, we had to queue like an hour before we manage to get a seat. Our dinner starts at 9.30 pm. 

Some dishes are different from the ones we have here in Singapore. We wanted to order the sweet and sour pork ribs but it was sold out. 

So we order stir fried cabbage. 

Shrimp and pork siew mai

Of course, we must also order the signature xiao long bao. 

The crowd pleaser will be the pork chop fried rice. There is a healthier option offered here - brown rice. Everything taste great just like Singapore. 

Michelin Gua Bao in Taipei - Yuan Fang Gua Bao 源芳刮包

No. 17-2, Huaxi St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

We are quite familiar with this dish. In Singapore, we call it kong bak bao. The difference is that our 3 layer pork is braised till tender and mixed with spring onions and coriander. 

In Taiwan, its the 3 layer pork, coriander, peanut powder and pickles. It works surprisingly well for this dish. It makes it all the more flavourful and delicious. It within walking distance from Wong's broth another michelin star lu rou fan.