Cafes to visit in Taipei

1) Melange Cafe
Stumbled upon this cafe when I was googling what kind of cafes they have around Zhongshan. Melange Cafe was on the top 5 of my google searches so I guess our decision was to head to this cafe right away :)

Before ushering us into cafe, the waitress told us that there will be a "最低消费飲料消費為100元(minimum spending of 1 drink worth NT100 per person)" and you can only spend no more than 1.5hrs in the cafe. I can understand because most cafes in Taipei are generally very crowded. Unlike SG, you don't need to have bloggers blogging about a "hidden" cafe and the cafe suddenly get famous overnight.



I don't need the menu! I was eyeing on their displayed cakes and everything just looks so tasty!!



They were well-known for their strawberry waffles but since I am not a fan of strawberries and we didn't want to waste our calories on waffles, I decided to order their chocolate mousse cake. I knew I had to order this the moment I saw this in their display fridge. I was proven right. The chocolate is so rich and "fresh" that I was asking for more after finishing this whole thing by myself. It is sea salt caramel flavored, chocolate and caramel- all my favourite in one !

Oh, and if your eyes are sharp enough, you will be able to spot a mini macaron! They have a few flavours but they were only left with pistachio and vanilla then and I ordered the pistachio one for NT50. YUMS~



We were quite hungry because it was near dinner time and we decided to order a light snack-sandwich, to go along with the sweet stuff. I am seriously not a sandwich person but this one definitely makes me want to try the other sandwiches as well. It is so frolicking GOOD! There's ham and cheese, vege and the sauce just perfected the whole sandwich.. Oh man, I can eat this for breakfast everyday, no kidding!



And that's not the end of the story. Even their drinks amazed me as well. I was spoilt for choice because there are a wide range of drinks to choose from and everything looks so good in the menu. (I think photos in the menu play a super big part to determine how good your food is :P) I ordered Iced Earl Grey Milk Tea after pondering for 10 mins LOL.

As you can see, you pour in how much of milk you need. I tasted without the milk and the earl grey tea is already so refreshing and good!! Tea lovers will definitely be head over heels with their tea here ;)

All in all, this cafe is a MUST MUST try in Taipei. There are a lot of cafes in Zhongshan but don't hesitate, this is definitely my first choice!

Address: (Alight at Zhongshan MRT)

Zhongshan North Road Section 2
Lane 16 No. 23
Mondays to Fridays: 7.30am till 10.00pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 9.30am till 10.00pm


2)Nola Cafe

It's Christmas Day and we were wondering along the streets at Taipei City Hall and we needed lunch. ATT4Fun mall was where we headed first because they have many many food choices! Jap, chinese, western, brunch, desserts, you name it they have it. We were spoiled for choice but we decided to enter Nola Cafe because it was the most crowded. Food must be good right?



Tried their Jambalaya (紐澳良海鮮飯)! It was superb! Ordered a yogurt drink and everything cost me only less than $18! Come on, a smoothie in SG easily cost up to $12 (w/o GST and service charge). I wana go backkkkk :(







A happy lunch calls for a selfie, #ootd and a photo with the xmas tree on xmas! Found a pity that I did not take an #ootd at the ion xmas tree so this will make up for it :P

Visit their website for more info : Nola Cafe

Address:No.16, Aly. 14, Ln. 150, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City
Alight at Taipei City hall, take their shuttle bus(7 mins~) to Taipei 101 (bus stop outside the mrt) and walk to Att4fun shopping mall :D

3) Toasteria Cafe

Another cafe that must be on top of your list in Taipei! I was so so lucky to stumble upon this cafe when I was trying to locate Honey Creme! I didn't want to queue in SG so must try in Taipei right ? :P We were also trying to find a place for lunch and I was thinking of settling any food nearby Honey Creme. I walked past this cafe and it was love at first sight. Both its exterior and interior were just wow! I can sit here whole day to do my marking and not complain HAHA.





It was very crowded. We went up to the second floor!



My brunch and coffee! Asked the waitress what were their popular dishes and she immediately recommended me their Panini. It was true because almost every table had a Panini after I took a quick glance.
There's cheese, roasted chicken, ham... (I only remembered this) It was really awesome!! I like it that the crust was crispy and their fries was really good! Coffee also a must try here :P



YUMS.



Had my soft serve craving satisfied at Honey Creme. It is just opposite Toasteria Cafe! See, kill 2 birds in 1 stone :P

Address: No. 2, Lane 248, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106



I LOVE YOU TAIWAN!!

Babydoll Denim Peplum Top~ The Wallflower Shop

Going to dedicate one whole post on The Wallflower Shop's Babydoll denim peplum top because I love it soooo much!!

And I miss Taiwan so much too :'( Wore this top when I was in Yilan~ Sigh, I totally miss hanging out with this bunch of friends. We see each other everyday when I was there and I never got sick of them!



I was really really tanned just 2 months ago... I was in the sun for at least 2 hours everyday in Kaohsiung, but don't get me wrong, I love being under the sun :D





The cut is so flattering and I just love the back zip details <333

Its made up of light denim material and the good thing is you don't feel hot wearing it !

Every girl should have this classic denim piece! Get yours here here ! :)

Quote "katechiclove" to get $2 discount, valid till 30th Oct !

xx

Taipei Beitou (Thermal Valley, library)

Back to Taipei again! We spent one of the days in Beitou and I didn't regret it because the place is so different from the city area! It's just like a different part of Taipei, the serenity there brings comfort to my soul.

Alight at the Xin Beitou MRT station!





It is very easy to navigate your way around Beitou because they have very useful signs like this! You would also be guided along the way as the signs are all over.





There are 2 places in Beitou that I REALLY REALLY think must go!!

1) Beitou Thermal Valley. It is also known as Hell Valley(sounds frightening~) which is the source that provides the natural hot spring water in Beitou area.

This place is really a gem!





Look at the clouds of steam!!



Steam is super good for the skin and I enjoyed my free "face steaming" session there, I felt so much refreshing after that :P



2)Beitou Library

You might be feeling apprehensive about it but you won't after scrolling through these pictures :P













The library is so awesome!! I fell in love with it at first sight! It's surrounded by lush greenery and you can spend an afternoon there comfortably.

If Singapore has a library like that, I'll probably ace all my exams ^_*

I did some research on it and found out that this is Taiwan's first green library and almost every structure of the building is built with eco-friendliness~ For instance, the library's rooftop acts like a drainage system where it collects rainwater and then, use it to water the library's plants and flush the toilets. How cool is that!!

Can Singapore build a library like this too ?

My #ootd for the day :D



Soaking my legs in the super hot water!





TGIF :D

XX

R9 Cafe Taipei

My last update was on Taipei part 5, okay I know there's a lot of parts to it but I am so lazy to have a long blog post and squeeze everything tgt!

Gona blog about R9 Cafe in Taipei and continue my part 6.... very soon! :P

I really would like to intro this cafe to friends that are looking for sweet treats in Taipei :D Previously I had a post on Dazzling Cafe in Taipei, if you have not read it....

http://katechiclove.blogspot.com/2013/07/taipei-part-1-dazzling-cafe.html

Anw, this 2 cafes are the popular ones in Taipei and there's always a long queue for it! They are both known for their honey toast ^^ And of cos, you can try their other desserts as well, I guess it would be thumbs up too :)

It was a lazy day for me, hence I wanted to just spend a few hours in a cafe and R9 came into my mind. I waited for half an hour because I did not make a reservation D:

Bored and taking #OOTD This off-shoulder top is fabulous!! The paddle-pop colors made me more cheerful for that day (although it doesn't seem so in this pic) haha

Love the color to bits!





I ordered a healthy drink, kiwi fruit juice!



Iced Caramel macchiato, I prefer this though



And our Tutty Fruitty honey toast *foodgasm*





Macarons! And oreo ice-cream~



This is making me hungry :O

Oh, and did I mention, I really love my blog layout now :D

Taipei Part 5

Was tired of shopping and wanted to do some sight-seeing. But on a hot day, the National Palace Museum is perfect :)

It is a world-known museum which exhibits Chinese significant treasures. They have professional guided tours and the exterior of the museum made me go.... wowwwww!

These are the only 2 photos I have...because I was so blur, I brought my camera and forgot about the memory card D: Not the first time...





After spending 2 hours in the museum, we went to Zhishan Garden which was just beside the museum~ Perfect place to take a stroll in the evening. Good scenery and 4 of us sat down at the pavilion and chatted for more than an hour before dinner.

The garden is built in a traditional chinese way, similar to the Song and Ming dynasties! Very poetic and literature feel~









Totally in love with this garden because I felt so relax and at peace there haha!

Happy long weekend all :D xx

Taipei Part 1: Dazzling Cafe

Day 1 was spent at Dazzling Cafe, a very popular cafe for the locals and tourists to have their afternoon tea. The best honey toast in Taiwan would be here!!

They have several outlets all over Taiwan which you can find in their facebook page. Each outlet has their own theme. I went to the outlet at Zhongxiao. It's a pity I didn't take enough photos of the interior of the very classy cafe because I was too hungry, lunch-ing at 3pm :O We have made a reservation 3 days in advance and were considered lucky to have seats. My taiwanese friends told me that the cafe is so popular, that sometimes you have to make a reservation weeks in advance. o.m.g

I ordered a honey toast and it really didn't disappoint me ^^ It was 3pm by then so I didn't order their mains, leaving my stomach for dinner :P

It actually looks smaller here. It is quite filling and perfect for 3 peeople to share! This is SOOOOO goooood.



They have a minimum spending of 1 drink per person regardless of what you order.

My ice matcha au latte. Love the creamy matcha taste :D



My friend's mango drink. It was only available during the summer season when it is the harvesting time for mangos.

Check out their fb page(Dazzling Cafe) and I am sure you will see more mouth-watering honey toasts! Will definitely go again on my next trip :P

We took the railway from Taipei Main Station to Keelung night market after this and I will update more on the night market in my next few posts!

TATA~ xx