View of the Taipei 101 from the NTUgrounds.
As I have said a couple of posts back, I had an impromptu snacks tour during my trip to NTU. And rightly so, my guides ushered me to where the locals buy two (2) of the most popular snacks/treats inside NTU before leading me to the Gongguan Night Market.
Me and my tour guides, Ms. Annick and Alice, walked towards the right side of the Main Library until we came to a small, cottage-like store packed with people. The guides told me that NTU sells some produce from the NTU Farm and their by-products, including NTU's very own ice cream! And they're selling like hotcakes! When we got into the NTU store, the ice cream wafer/sandwich was sold-out and there were no more ice cream on cups left in the freezer. Good thing we waited for a while because the staff restocked the ice cream on cups, about half a pint each, and they wiped out in mere minutes!
The NTU store.
See how the locals spend their Sunday afternoons: outdoors!
After buying the ice creams, we faced a little challenge finding an empty table where we could eat and chill. There were tables and chairs outside, al fresco style, and a couple of picnic tables. We found a vacant picnic table, and I had the opportunity to hang out as the locals do. Not long thereafter, I met the cutest and the smartest Taiwanese I've ever met, pictured here:
This boy's parents shared our table and the kid and I hit it off immediately. All he did at first was to glare at me but after some time, he relaxed and even played with me. He's just 2 years old but he can recite the English alphabet and can count in English. So cute! And smart!
While playing peek-a-boo with the toddler, I ate my ice cream, which was vanilla, and it was creamy and delish. Then after an hour, I quickly forgot about the waffle my guides volunteered to buy. Apparently, you buy it from a nearby store, if I remember correctly, or is it at the same store? I forgot because I was buying the ice cream when the guides bought the waffle. Anyway, our number was in the hundreds and it had a time for pick-up. Yes, you buy the waffle then wait for an eternity because there are about a hundred people ahead of you. It was worth the wait, though. The waffle was perfectly done: it was crisp outside and soft inside. It almost melts in the mouth.
After we finished off our ice cream and waffles, my guides brought me food tripping at the Gongguan Night Market! Yay!
Ms. Alice asked me if I have ever eaten any of the famous Taiwanese snacks. I told her no, with the exception of the Hot Star Chicken and the waffle that we just had. She was so shocked! So, she and Ms. Annick dragged me to what they tell me is a very famous stall at the Gongguan Night Market selling a thick misua soup of some sorts and stinky tofu. They swore to make me eat stinky tofu, which I did, and I even ordered the misua soup. The stinky tofu was not so bad. It was delicious but the odor is mildly off-putting. I say mildly because apparently, the stinky tofu served at the stall was not as stinky as the ones I smelled at Jiufen. I was not able to consume the soup because it was so heavy and the stinky tofu was filling by itself.
The popular stall selling stinky tofu.
The delightfully delicious stinky tofu and soup.
After eating, for the second time in about two hours, we rounded up the streets of Gongguan Night Market and a lot of snacks along the way, including roasted duck heads:
As the day went darker, the throng of people and cars got thicker. And yes, there are a lot of young people at the market since it's so near NTU.
Finally, we reached our ultimate destination, to a hugely popular bubble tea shop. It's easy to spot. Just look for rows of some more than 50 people and that'll be it. There's even chalk marks on the ground to let people know where to line up. Yes, if you see people lining up in Taipei, it's probably for some famous snacks.
The guides told me that it's arguably the best bubble milk tea, and the secret? Brown sugar for the tapioca. I was like, we've been doing that back home since like, forever. So, the taste was way too familiar for my buds. And the shop sign has a crazy long explanation why the written logo is long or something.. It's also on the plastic cups, like a logo. The guides told me that it's a strategy to deter copycats to copy the store's logo. Anyway, the bubble tea was yummy and worth the 30-minute wait.
My order being prepared.
My bubble tea.
After finishing off our bubble teas, we went back to the Gongguan MRT station. I had to board down a stop ahead since it's nearer my hostel. And after saying my goodbyes and gratitude to Ms. Annick and Ms. Alice, I got off my station. Sigh. That officially ends my free Taipei city tours.
