The Journaling of Olsen 368

Eggs are rolling into Western-style breakfasts all day long on Tainan’s East Side. Bacon and eggs, omelets, scrambles, Eggs Benedict, pancakes, waffles, and steak breakfasts can be ordered off the menu from open to close. If breakfast food isn’t on your mind, their whole menu is available at any time .
On the weekend, the restaurant will be full of customers. Madina is a small and unassuming restaurant that serves up some 台東花生蛋捲 of the basics of Indian cuisine. The food is quite good and the location in the heart of downtown is convenient.

Only 600 people are allowed to visit Mukumugi each day to avoid overcrowding. Taiwan is a food paradise throughout the day – and the day begins with breakfast. The sauce that comes with the cold noodles is made from a secret ratio of soy sauce, sugar, sesame paste, and vinegar handed down from Chen’s ancestors.
What I expected, not what I would prefer, but what I expected. The rates for the around the island bikes are cheap which makes them a rather attractive option. As of January 2015 it is $1200 NTD (a little less than $40 US) for the first three days then $200 NTD (about $6 US) for each day after that. FYI you will also need to leave some sort of ID behind , I left my US drivers license.

Based on the recommendation of a Taiwanese friend, we had this fantastic hot pot at Orange Shabu Shabu House in Taipei. It was phenomenal and the best Taiwanese hot pot we’ve ever tasted anywhere. If you dine at Mr Goose, then be sure to try the deep-fried fish eggs with mayonnaise as well. Pictured below at the back, it goes very well with the goose. I don’t think I’ve ever met a duck I didn’t like. It’s always juicy and way more flavorful than chicken.
Try experiencing this, then head to Hong Kong’s annual book fair. For lunch, walk a short distance across the road to “Urn, Lily, Spring”. Make sure you call up ahead since you will easily dismiss the entrance, mistaking this place for a derelict factory of some sort. Nothing here suggests that this is a restaurant, let alone a fantastic one, but let not the plastic chairs and the Ami chef’s muscular physique fool you.
The Taiwanese Agritourism industry has received significant state support. In 2018 TreeHugger ranked Taiwan the #1 agritourism destination in the world. The agriculture sector employs around 540,000 people in Taiwan, about 5% of the total population. In 1997, there were around 780,000 farm households, in which 80% of them were part-time farm households. There are 1.1 hectares of cultivatable land per farm family. Taiwan is one of the largest fishing nations on earth and the associated fish processing industry is also significant.

There are a few other trails around Elephant mountain, called the Four Beasts Mountains. We didn’t do any of them, we just walked around a few other trails and saw a lot of seniors working out. This guy in his 70-80s was consecutively doing curl ups while chatting up the ladies close by. Another interesting thing to note is that there were a lot of old men who would perch on viewing points and yell.
The place seems spacious on the weekdays, but expect crowds and possibly waits for brunch on the weekends. The service is good and some of the staff can accommodate English speakers. The Eggs Benedict and the Pancake Breakfast are both served with juice and coffee. The Rolling Egg serves breakfast all day on the East Side. Your egg peeling instructions were a definite bonus. Fastest and easiest boiled and peeled eggs ever.

Departing the old railway station, I went in search of an abandoned entertainment complex similar to the Qiaoyou Building in Changhua City 彰化市. On the west side of the downtown core you’ll find Lǐyúshān 鯉魚山 , a modest hill with a peak elevation only 75 meters above sea level. This might not sound like much but owing to the flatness of the surrounding plains it affords a fantastic view of the city and its environs. As the only mountain of any size near the heart of the city it has been a center of human activity of one kind or another for millennia, with one site producing artifacts around 3,000 years old.
Nantian Village is the southernmost village in Taitung County, and runs along a single road between the mountains and the sea. Most people coming to Taitung from the west coast do so over the mountain road from Pingtung, this is the first area they reach on the east coast. For cyclists on the round-Taiwan circuit, it’s a welcome relief to get over the mountains and down to the coast. But the only people passing through Nantian itself are on their way to the northern entrance of the Alangyi Historic Trail. Within a few minutes of starting the trail, there’s a river, and that is the border between Taitung and Pingtung – and it is just over that river that the police have a checkpoint to check permits. Oyster omelette is a specialty in many Asian countries, including Taiwan.
During the month of August, Dulan, along with a handful of other aboriginal tribes along the coast, is busy celebrating the Harvest Festival. Do not be fooled, but here in Taitung they celebrate not the harvest of crops, but the harvest of adulthood. If you come during this time, be sure to book early as guesthouses fill up quickly with spectators from the cities. Thus naturally, Taitung is a place where you can easily spend days, even weeks, just stargazing and wave-watching.

Don’t stint–fill your pot about 1/4 to 1/3 full with dry leaves. If the tea is organic, steep for about 45 seconds and pour into the second teapot for serving. You can drink the tea after the first steeping although it won’t be its best.
My cameraman thinks he likes this candid photo though. Neither Taiwanese nor foreigners tend to recognizeTaitungamong the best cities in Taiwan, but I still think it’s worth visiting. Natural treasures abound outside the city, whether you drive (you’re going to need a car!) northward to scenicLisong Hot Spring, or south to gorgeousTaimaliandKenting National Park. A Canadian, Rick has been resident in Taiwan almost continually since 1988. His book, article, and other writings, on Asian and North American destinations and subjects—encompassing travel, culture, history, business/economics—have been published widely overseas and in Taiwan. He has worked with National Geographic, Michelin, APA Insight Guides, and other Western groups internationally, and with many local publishers and central/city/county government bodies in Taiwan.