We went to Taiwan in December 2015. There were 7 of us on this trip, my parents in their 70s, DH and I and our 3 kids, DS1 (18 yo), DS2 (16yo) and DD(9yo). We had a driver to take us around Taiwan for the first 12 days of the trip.
Day 1. Singapore-Taipei
We took a late morning flight to Taipei. Arrived at 4.30pm. First thing was to get our local SIM cards. We bought from Chung Hwa. Unlimited 4G data for 15 days plus NTD200 free calls for NTD800 if I recall correctly. We bought 2 cards so that when we spilt up we can call each other. It was a good deal.
After that we headed straight to Wulaoguo (Elixir Beauty Pot) at Taoyuan for dinner. This is one of the popular hot pot places. They have outlets in Taipei too. Their popular item is tofu ice cream which you can see in my photo below.We had made prior reservations. I called them from Singapore a few weeks before our trip and as I did not have a Taiwan local number then, they gave me a reservation number. Otherwise, they will just take your Taiwan mobile number.
We had the yuan yang pot, i.e. Both the spicy soup and the non spicy “beauty” soup that comes with their speciality “ice cream tofu”. Both soup base were good. The “beauty” or “elixir” soup is herbal based. The spicy soup base was not oily at all which was great. We ordered beef, pork, various meat and fish balls and dumplings and YouTiao (recommended with the spicy soup) etc. All was enjoyed by the family. We love the free flow of coagulated duck blood cubes and bean curd. I love the coagulated duck blood cubes with the spicy soup base. Can’t get this in Singapore.
At the end of the meal, we were served complimentary dessert of passion fruit shave ice. A small tequila glass per person, but you can ask for second and third helpings. It was refreshing!
Wulaoguo Elixir Beauty Hotpot
Service throughout our meal was prompt and good. Never once did I find it intrusive. We definitely enjoyed our meal. We spend NTD4400 for 7 pax which we thought was reasonable for the food quality, service and restaurant ambience.
After dinner, we headed for our minsu (B&B), The Olive Tree at Nanzhuang, Miaoli County. We arrived around 8 plus. The minsu is located deep in the mountains and the kids who fell asleep during the ride woke up and asked why we were in the middle of the forest! I chose this place because I liked the country style deco and wanted something in the forest different from normal hotels or B&Bs. The Olive Tree was really pretty. It did not disappoint. We fell in love with it the moment we arrived. Glad we stayed there. In fact for our entire Taiwan trip, the minsus were an attraction themselves and we were looking forward to each and everyone one of them. They were also something my dad had requested which he never could experience in large group tours.
The Olive Tree minsu (B&B)