Scrumptious Food at Ningxia Night Market

Our initial plan was to visit the Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) as it was featured all over the lifestyle TV programmes from Taiwan. When we told the taxi driver to take us there, he sequenced and told us all the cons of visiting that place. As the locals know it best, we asked for his recommendation. That's why we ended up at the Ningxia Night Market (寧夏觀光夜市). This night market is quite small but full of people. Surprisingly the crowd didn't make the place feel congested as everybody was very polite and willing to give way.

We walked one round and the first thing that caught my eyes was these spring onion rolls. The filling can be of stir-fried beef slices or kimchi. They were all very nice but we liked the kimchi version best.

This stall has won many prizes over the years, all these certificate and plagues are seals of quality food.

The next thing that we tried was the 'small sausage wrapped in a big sausage.' The 'small sausage' was made of mince pork and the 'big sausage' was made of glutinous rice. The combination was good.

We also tried the 'big sausage' alone but it was not as good as the combination of 'big' and 'small' sausages.

The pork liver in sesame oil that my father bought from another stall was also very good. The pork liver slices were very tender and became powdery when chewed.

The plate of mixed vegetables with the chicken internal organs and feet was my father's choice. I am never a person for the internal organs, with pork liver an exception.

To cap it off, we bought some mochi in crushed peanut and sugar, which turned out to be a very nice dessert.

The Palace That is Not a Palace

The National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) houses the antiques hauled from the Forbidden City when Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan with Kuomintang during the Chinese Civil War. This museum is said to house the most valuable items from the Forbidden City, leaving very few valuable items back in mainland China.

One of the highlights of the exhibits is the Jade Cabbage (翠玉白菜). Since camera is not allowed in the exhibition halls, I need to borrow the photo from the official website of the museum. This masterpiece was carved from an unworked jade with was considered imperfect due to the distinct dual tone of colours. The craftsman exemplary turned imperfection into a perfect piece of art.

Photo courtesy of the National Palace Museum

There are many other interesting things to see in the museum and I leave it to you to explore by yourself when you visit Taiwan. This is one of the places marked as 'must visit.' If you have not been there, you have not been to Taiwan.