Walking Around Taipei: Longshan Temple and Ximending [Day 2]

Our second day in Taipei was more relaxed than our first day. 

As opposed to our first day, we decided to get breakfast before going somewhere else. We ended up searching for a breakfast place near our apartment. 

Along Lane 71, Section 4, Ren'ai Road, we found a small coffee shop named J Cafe. 

Though Taiwan is much known for its milk tea, there are as many small coffee shops around the city. 

Like any coffee addict, my day will not be complete without a cup of coffee. 

A few meters away from J Cafe is an open-air Taiwanese buffet restaurant, almost like a carinderia. 

As I have noticed, people from all walks of life go to the buffet resto: students, office workers, laborers, and travelers (like us). For NT$100 (Php 145), you can grab anything you want from the buffet, as long as it fits your container. A clean tong is given per customer. 

I had rice, a piece of peppered chicken, veggies, kikiam, and omelet. Mind you, everything was delicious. :)

1. Longshan Temple

After our breakfast, we headed out to Longshan Temple [MRT station: Longshan Temple, blue line].

Longshan Temple (or Lungshan) is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and Chinese deities.

The temple is open to the public and is still used as a place of worship by the Taiwanese, so be respectful while you're within the premises. 

2. Ximending District

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Ximending, called "the Harajuku of Taiwan" and the most popular shopping district in Taipei. It is also the first pedestrian zone in Taiwan.

Global fashion and restaurant brands are mostly located here. 

Also, there are very interesting street food vendors too. 

We spent the whole afternoon roaming the streets, had a late lunch at Modern Toilet, and bought a few things. 

We went back to our apartment and searched for the Da'an district again for late dinner. There are a lot of high-end restaurants in the area (particularly near the Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station), but we ended up with something nice and simple: Chicken Chops! :)

A simple corner tea shop, Lee's Tea Shop Chicken Chops are seasoned with salt, pepper and served with fried basil and onions. The best NT$50 (Php 72) I have spent. :)

Note: NT$1 = Php 1.45