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.