Girlies Bring é Boy Out x International: May 2015

[Taipei] Best Pineapple Cakes! 最好吃的凤梨酥!

21:44

We all know that Taiwan's famous for their 太阳饼 Tai Yang Bing and 凤梨酥 Feng Li Su.

It's in the Must-Buy List of almost every traveller but for me, I prefer our own pineapple tarts at home.

But today, I have found the new love of my life.

I have tried other stores selling these goodies but was not impressed.

So while we were out today, my friend, Cindy (local) recommended this place to me.

Initially when she mentioned it, I expected it to be just another of those stores I've been to, but since we were nearby (and she told me there's free sample/tea) I decided to go along.

Heh.

Even though there's other tourists here, the crowd seems lesser.

The exterior of this shop looks like a modern cafe and I would not have known it's a store just dedicated to one product - their Pineapple cakes.

There's like several staff in the shop, warmly welcoming you.
They will ask if you would like to have tea, PLEASE SAY YES!
If you answer no, they will just bring you to the section where you buy the boxes of pineapple cake and off you go!
If you answer YES, you will be ushered to empty seats in their beautiful and classy guest area, where they will serve you tea and a pineapple cake.

Look how generous they are in offering their products!
They offer the full sample! And their packaging is so cute and don't look like the normal pineapple cakes!
Some pineapple cakes are too sweet, too dry or the crust part is too thick.
This is just right.
According to my friend, the pineapples they used are different.
Although still sweet, it's not exceptionally sweet.
Coupled with the right amount of crust surrounding it, I think it's almost perfecto!
It's near Singapore's pineapple tart jam's taste, which might explains my love for it.
But I think it differs in terms of the overall size and balance of the taste.
I love the crust of this pineapple cake!
More awesome than our tart version.

What's more, if you don't like it, just leave!
They're confident like that.
And no, the staff will not show you black face at all!!!

I'm sure if you have tried other pineapple cakes, you will notice the difference between this and others!
Also, it has no preservatives added and only can be kept for maximum 2 weeks.
They are also selling pineapple juice which I did not try(regretting now, but I'll definitely go back) but was said to be really good too!!!

Price: 10 in a box for NTD 420
15 in a box for NTD 630
(A little pricier but WORTH IT!!!)
Pineapple Juice: Pack of 6 NTD 300

To get here:
Take metro to Nanjing Sanmin Station and walk 15 mins.
Take metro to Zhong Shan Junior High School Station and take bus 63. Alight 5 stops later at 聯合二村 and walk for 2 mins.

Address: No. 1, Alley 4, Lane 36, Section 5, Minsheng E Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, 105

Other outlets in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore etc

Hurry check them out!!!

(Yes! They've it at Raffles Hotel!)

by Gina

5 things to try(if you haven't) at Tamsui Old Street

23:12

Thank you girlies and boy for embarking on this exciting project together and making this happen!

An awesome post and standard set by PK!

So how do I go about this?

Shall just blog about where I went today.

My 4th visit here, a must if you're visiting Taipei for the first time!

Well, the weather in Taiwan now is getting a lot warmer!

And summer is here!!!

Vastly different from when I came and I miss the nice cooling weather then :(

To get here: Take Metro to Tamshui Station, Exit 1

The old street contains many stalls selling fried squid(can try), Ginger Tea, Ice Cream, Plums, Milk Candy etc.
Basically, most of the things that can be found at other places as well. I will try my best to give my recommendations on things to try...
There's a Hello Kitty Pineapple Cakes and Museum of Strange here too.

Spot a cameraman following this guy and girl, whom I don't recognise. But I reckon, I haven't seen a star on the streets so I guess I can make do with this?

Since it's an old street, expect old school shops selling things from the past and souvenirs/postcards and sort. And of course, games like this.
It's pretty fun, taking turns cheering your friends on while they play.
But since I am alone today, I didn't play.

No. 1

阿婆铁蛋 Ah Po Tie Dan

Quail/Chicken eggs that have been cooked and braised such that the egg white has become a thin layer surrounding the yolk. The external layer is tight and chewy, delicious snack!

I think this is a lot for one person and probably it will add to your cholesterol level.

I would say buy this in moderation and share with others.

No. 2

Quail Eggs with Tiny Fish (is it silver bait fish?not sure)

This is super love! I eat it every trip I go.

Lots of stall selling but I think this is the best!

They even have a guarantee that each stick is free if there's less than 50 of those tiny fishes.

Spread sauce according to your liking. I love the soy garlic sauce and pepper.

Yums!

No. 3

Yeh's Wonton Restaurant

Famous because Jay Chou used to frequent this place during his school days.

There's even a Jay Chou set meal.

The wontons are average but would recommend to try at least once, if you like Jay Chou.

No. 4

Plum Tea

The plum tea is different from Singapore as they are not as sweet. It carries a herb taste as well.

Will be a good choice on a hot day.

No. 5

Ah Gei 阿給

I personally will only try this once.

But, this is supposedly unique to Tamshui so I would say try it at least once.

Maybe you will like it, I don't know~

I feel, the 粉絲 (Tang Hoon) is alright, but for someone that don't like dried beancurd, I don't like the overall taste. In addition, the sauce didn't make it any better.

Try at your own risk!

So here's basically what I think you should try (at least once in Tamsui)!

Also,

Basically, the balls (eg. fishball,meatball) are different from what we have back home.

So, the texture is something that needs getting used to.

Thus, I think you can skip this. But, if you're looking at sharing, you can try 1 each~

Just for fun!

Also, there's many stalls selling snacks and this can be found in many of them!

I recommend this prawn crackers! Even though I can't take spicy, this spicy flavour is manageable and is the best of the three flavours!

Hope this helps you!

Stay adventurous!

About

Who Are We?

11:01

Hi peeps!

Let me kick start this travel blog by introducing to you who are Girlies Bring é Boy Out! (ps. I'm new to blogging, so please bear with me if my posts sound boring or strange because of my poor english) Basically we are 5 ordinary Singaporean girls in our early twenties, who are currently pursuing our individual dreams and passion abroad. Though we are 5 really different girls in terms of personality, interest and background, but we all have one common passion: TRAVELING!!!

If "fate brought us together" sounds too cliché, then "airplane brought us together" sounds the most relevant. We met during our diploma days years back studying aviation (it sounds cool, ikr!), since then, we became each other's best gal pals! Of course, being aviation students, we love all kinds of airplane related thing and absolutely enjoy traveling (very fortunately we are able to travel quite often too). Ever since we've graduated from poly, we all have been busy working hard in life, some of us went on to pursue our dream career and some continued to pursue a degree.

But for this year, 2015, is a year where we go "International", we are no longer trapped in our small tiny red dot, going for occasional short getaway only to nearby countries, but each of us were granted the chance to travel far away from home to explore more of this world. Therefore, we created this blog to record all our wanderlust moments and to share some insights of places we have been to.

Sorry, I tend to be quite long winded most of the time... I shall move on to telling you more about each of us.

Joslyn

If you are wondering who represents the Boy, quite obvious, is her. (I'm so gonna get virtual punch by her)

Joslyn is one extraordinary girl who's worth all of our respect. Her passion and dream was always to be a pilot. Therefor, after diploma, she made the toughest decision and signed on to Singapore Air Force as UAV pilot and serving our nation as a soldier. *Salute*

This year, she set off to Canberra, Australia to pursue her 4 years long aviation degree under scholarship in University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy. Joslyn loves adventures and outdoor activities, so be sure to you will get some insight tips on visiting outdoor attractions in those exciting Oceania cities!

Joslyn's AFDA moments

Sunrise in Perth's Meelup beach

Fireworks in Canberra

Bell Rapids in Perth

Gina

Gina is currently a final year Business student in Singapore's prestigious Nanyang Technology University, majoring in Human Resource. This girl definitely has a heart of gold and a bright mind (NTU leh~). Despite missing out on the chance to go for an overseas exchange, which is what most uni students do, she went through a hell lot of ups and downs, and was blessed for an opportunity to do an overseas internship in Taipei, Taiwan. She finally managed to set off for Taipei early this year in January for her six months long adventure.

Gina loves exploring interesting food places and has a superior taste bud. Stay tune for her critics and reviews on various street stalls, cafes and restaurants in the land of night markets!

Ceramic cup making in Tainan

Softie in Tainan

Railway tunnel at Fulong

Famous bubble tea at Gong Guan Flea Market

Maggie

"You only live once" is the best quote to describe her carefree personality, her free spirit always inspires the rest of the girlies to go after what they want in life. Despite being really retarded at times, she definitely is the one who will always bring laughters to people around her. Her childhood dream was to be a air stewardess, traveling around the world. Therefore, during our diploma days, she had a glimpse of a cabin crew's life from her internship in Tiger Air. This opportunity allows her to explore almost every Tiger destination in SEAsia.

After diploma and her degree on Events, she headed on to pursue this childhood dream of being a air stewardess. This year, she started her full-time stewardess career in Japan's national airline and left this sunny island for Tokyo, Japan for her 3 months intensive training.

Being a fashionista, Maggie loves shopping and has a distinct sense for fashion. But as a traveller, she enjoys doing all sorts of things like cafe hopping, visiting theme parks, sight seeing. Yolo you see, die die must get the best out of everything. Now, Maggie has started her flying career, I guarantee you Maggie will provide you with all the essential information and tips for Tokyo, New York and many more destinations that her airline flies to!

For tips on her other trips within SEAsia, please visit her personal blog www.maggielala.blogspot.com!!!

Tokyo Disney Land

Waterfall at Nikko

Cherry Blossom at Shinjuku Gyoen

First Apple Store in NYC

Jane

The girl who carries all the good personalities; adventurous, bold, smart, kind, out going, encouraging and the list goes on. Being an enthusiastic student leader back in poly days, Jane is always the figure head (big one) in school. Always go all out for things that she is passionate about. Hence, after diploma, through perseverance, she managed to get into one of every singaporean girl's dream airline as stewardess and was a Singapore Girl for the past 3 years.

She might be the only "stay home" girl for this year, but she definitely has seen sooooo much more of this world than any of us!

(she is so gonna kill me too for digging this out)

Being such a globetrotter, Jane has stepped foot on many cities across USA, Europe, Asia, or basically, the whole world. She loves food and the nature (like forest and cliffs hahaha), and has a adventurous spirit to explore unique and interesting places where normal tourist might not have heard of. Be sure that her posts will be full of exciting and interesting information on many destinations where most people dream to go!

Random dam in Amsterdam

Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransico

Red Square in Moscow

Gyeongbokgung in Seoul

Pui Kei

Last but not least, this is me. In case you don't know how to pronounce my name, my girlies call me PK, and my current friends call me Kay (thats exactly how Kei is pronounced as but i step one angmor).

Not going to self-praise but I guess everyone knows I carries all the qualities I have mentioned about other girlies. KIDDING~ I'm a humble girl, and live by the moto "If not now, then when?". Used to be an unadventurous girl, but all I can say is, I am fearless now. So, since young I always like to travel, not that I travel often as a kid, but I just love the excitement of going for a holiday. Together with other girlies (exclude the boy), I interned at Tiger Air as cabin crew too and continued on as a part time crew. This opportunity gave me so much exposure to the world outside. I travelled like mad in my 4 years of Tiger part-time career, this has also ignited the wanderlust spirit in me.

So after diploma, I pursued a degree in Tourism and Hospitality under University of Sunderland which based in Singapore and currently I'm in my final year now. This year, I decided to head over to main campus in Sunderland,UK for my last year of my degree life.

I love to eat, I mean who doesn't right?? However, besides food, I do love to travel around to experience each destination's unique culture and nature as well. Being quite a picky person, I must say, I am a good trip planner because very particular on certain things. Because I am so difficult to please and doesn't like to please others, I often rather travel solo. So stay tune for my yolo and solo travel tips around UK and Europe!