Celine Chiam
I want to bring you readers through this seemingly small but actually very long stretch of street called 九份 (Jiu Fen or Chiufen) in the mountain area in the Ruifang District of New Taipei City. It may looks like nothing in the above photo but there’s actually more than a hundred shops inside and of course, hidden within is the precious local taiwanese cuisine that is actually really famous.
As mentioned, 九份 Jiu Fen street sells a lot of taiwanese food and even delicacies for you to bring back home. Here are some of the snapshots I took while at the same time eating and eating the street food non-stop!
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| Souvenirs |
Buying local delicacies for relatives back home:
Since we’re here, we cannot miss the most famous (that’s what I’ve observed) shop that sells you the popular local tidbits that tourists usually buy home – 阿信的店. What you can find here are common snacks like almond biscuit, mochi (assorted flavours!), peanuts (black in colour), jellies and so on.
The best thing is that because this shop is so used to tourists patronising them, they always prepared testers and are readily available as long as your tour group arrives at the shop. You probably won’t be entertained much if you come alone, unless you request for the tester yourself.
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| These are the testers I’m referring to. The mochi are cut in bite size for quick testing. |
The mochi taste great! They aren’t too soft nor hard, and cost only SGD4 per pack. They come in assorted flavours in a packet, or just a specific flavor, like yam for example, my favourite flavour ^_^
So yes this is the black peanuts I’m referring to.
Where to eat Braised Pork Rice, 卤肉饭?
Right here at Jiu Fen 九份, there is exactly one small eatery which seats about 50 people. But this small humble eatery actually sells one of the most moist and fragrant Braised Pork Rice I’ve tried in Taiwan. Give it a try if you’re here!
This is how packed it gets!
The eatery is also famous for its drunken chicken. This plate costs NT160 (SGD7), which isn’t really that cheap. It’s cold and the amount of alcohol in it is definitely tolerable.
This bowl of Braised Pork Rice (胡须张 卤肉饭) costs only NT25 (S$1) !!!
Though it is indeed a small bowl, who really cares when the aim is not to fill your stomach with only one type of food? I’m here to try out everything, and a small petite bowl is perfect.
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| That’s my nephew and brother photo-bombing me |
This TARO puff was really good as well. No matter how thick the outer crust layer may look, it still managed to give a very crispy texture for its multi-layered crust.
Ice cream popiah
It was undoubtedly unique and refreshing.
Cute cartoon shaped 麦芽糖 for SGD1 only.
This stall sells the fried squid. It is different from the rest because of the seasonings sprinkled over the fried squid, which added flavour to the normal fried squid although it tasted a little salty.
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| Adorable pencil box for NT100. I bought the mario one for myself haahha. |
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| 九份老街 |
My mum got herself bitter-gourd juice and…….. oh my it was awfully bitter.
But it also serves as a drink that reduces heat, especially for all of us as we were eating so much fried food in Taiwan.
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| 九份老街 |
If you see this small humble store, you should stop and grab a few packets! I bought the normal peanut flavour and wasabi flavor, and it was pretty good! It is so soft it melts in your mouth.
Another stall to recommend is this stall that sells beancurd dessert. They have several kinds of dessert that has to do with bean curd.
This is actually 芋园西米露豆花, Taro and beancurd with sago.
The taro was sweet enough and the bean curd was extremely smooth. Much better than Lao Ban bean curd in Singapore!
The other famous eatery is none other than the beef noodles.
A bowl of beef noodles 牛肉面 cost NT100, about S$4.
For such a price, they give generous amounts of beef meat. The soup is even more authentic as it really taste like broth that has been boiling with the beef meat/bones for a very long time, giving it the taste that is obviously not resulting from MSG, but authentic ingredients.
So hope you’ve liked Jiu Fen 九份老街!
Celine Chiam
Also Read:
Xi Men Ding 西門町 Food on Foot! Must-Try Street Snacks of Taiwan
Eat, Shop, Repeat! Wu Fen Pu 五分埔 and Raohe Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市 Guide
Street Food Mania at Gao Shiung 高雄 六合夜市 (Liu He Night Market)
Contributed by Celine Chiam.
