I am now 24! (+National Palace Museum & restaurant review)

Taking pictures of the yummies
before tucking in!

It seems like only yesterday when I celebrated my first birthday away from home, but my 24th birthday has already come and gone!  I'm lucky this year because I got to spend it with my dad; it was great to enjoy the day with a familiar face.  Lately, I've been subconsciously comparing my life with others which has blinded me to the fact that I'm doing quite well.  My goal is to keep that in mind, and keep working diligently in the years to come!

Anyway, I had a chill day checking out the National Palace Museum and then eating some awesome dim sum at Brother Hotel.

Shilin Night Market

Shilin Night Market is probably the most famous night market in Taipei - if not Taiwan - and is frequented by many tourists.  However, it is not a tourist trap.  Well, at least the outdoor portion of it (which has the better food) isn't.  There's a huge variety of snacks to try at Shilin Night Market, and the kinds of food there seems to expand every time I go.

The view from Jiantian Station on a sunny day.

Shilin Night Market is also awesome because it's quite easy to access. Simply go to Jiantian Station on the red line and take exit 2.  Then, walk straight and cross left at the first intersection you hit. Then bam! - you're there.  It's a large market, so I suggest wandering without any sort of agenda.

Face-off: Xin Fa Ting (辛發亭冰品店) vs. Tai Yi Milk King (臺一牛奶大王) !

In Taipei, two of the biggest names in the iced dessert business are Xin Fa Ting in Shilin and Tai Yi Milk King in Da'an.  Unless you go to either one of these shops during a generally low-traffic time (like late-morning on a Sunday) you're going to meet huge crowds, especially on Saturday night when all the young people are out and about.  Although that may sound daunting, the staff at both shops seem to well accustomed to dealing with the high volumes of customers, and although there often are long lines in both places, the wait never seems to exceed 5-8 minutes.

Xin Fa Ting's peanut shaved ice

Tai Yi Milk King's pudding and chocolate ice

Both shops have their own style of preparing their cold desserts, so let's get down to business and compare the two!

(And just so you know - both shops sell more than iced desserts, but I'll be focusing on that since it is their specialty).