How to Spend 3 Days in Taipei, Taiwan: A Quick Guide

Recently came back from a quick trip to Taiwan and this is a short guide of how to speedrun things if you're short of time. For disclosure, this trip from the Philippines costed around  USD 1000 per person for two people. Things may become cheaper or more expensive depending on when and where you book your flights and accommodation, and what food you eat. Mine was relatively more expensive given that this was a last minute trip with booking decided less than a month prior to departure on peak season.

Recommendations before going to Taipei:

Choco-late de Batirol

What is a trip to Baguio without the ubiquitous trip to Camp John Hay?

Some people go for the shopping, I go for the food. It's a good thing that Baguio is much cooler than Manila, especially in summer - so you can best enjoy hot chocolate and other goodies such as suman and bibingka. I had this as a mid-morning snack after the long drive up, and it's the perfect pick me-up to start sight-seeing.

Different sets were available, and what we got came with their signature batirol hot chocolate, suman and bibingka. For those who don't know, a batirol, batidor or molinillo is a wooden implement used to whisk the hot chocolate. This version, while frothy also contains a lot of "grit" which gives it a nice texture as well as flavor. Note that this hot chocolate is not as sweet or as creamy as your standard Starbucks hot chocolate. It does not overwhelm the tongue, which pairs it well with both the bibingka and the suman. The serving of hot chocolate is generous, but the food was not enough for our hungry tummies - we had to order another serving of delicious bibingka.

Suman (F), Choco-late de Batirol (M) and Bibinka (B) at Choco-late de Batirol

It is possible to order a concentrate of the product at their store. However, included instructions were a bit too complicated for me right now. Maybe in the future, or at one of their other branches.

Choco-late de Batirol
Camp John Hay
Baguio City, Philippines

Halo Halo de iloko

Halo Halo de Iloko is a great place to try Filipino dishes. The decor includes bits of old furniture and framed comments of famous (I think) people who've been there.

Out of the dishes we tried, the Sisig Iloko was the best. We tried the okoy, which was also very popular, but liked the sisig best.

Sisig Iloko

We also tried their halo-halo. The deep fried halo-halo is a must try. Though it's delicious, I think a bit more ice cream would have been preferred.

Fried Halo-halo

There were two other halo-halos on their menu, one served in a coconut and one in a glass. By the time we ate, there was no longer any of the former so we had the classic one instead. It did not disappoint.

Fiesta Halo-halo

I wish I got to try the Buko Halo-halo, but we did not have time to return; the restaurant only has a set amount of Buko Halo-halo per day. The night we came (dinner time) was very busy, and there was a waiting time of around 30 minutes before we could get a table. Since it was also very busy, the food took a while to come.

I would suggest going a bit earlier in the day, to best savor the icy coldness of the halo-halo.

Halo-halo de Iloko
San Fernando, La Union

Food Porn!

I've just had a lovely sem break and I'd just like to share some of the places I've discovered up north.

• Olives Restaurant
• Matutina's Seafood Restaurant
• Sea and Sky Restaurant
• Kubong Sawali
• Cafe Isabela

Olives Restaurant is part of the Thunderbirds Resort in Poro Point, La Union. It is really pretty over there! While the hotel is really expensive, you can always content yourself with merienda in their inhouse restaurant and taking pictures while waiting for your meal (like I did). I was able to take a picture of two of the cakes we ordered below. Each cake came with iced tea (I think it costed around P200 on a promo thing).

Blueberry Cheesecake (Olives Restaurant)

Tiramisu Cake (Olives Restaurant)

 The cakes were  yummy and nicely decorated, but the iced tea was the one to seal the deal (my picture is too ugly to be posted so I won't). According to our server, it was a mix of powdered and brewed tea, orange juice, cinnamon and vanilla. The pizza we ordered was also delicious, and was pounced on before I was able to take my camera out, but it was nothing to really write about.

The servers were really attentive and it was a nice hot day, so we sat indoors. The only snag to the entire meal for me was that there were no desert forks for the dessert; dinner forks are fine for me normally but given the location and the fact that their forks were on the heavy side, I'd have appreciated one nonetheless.

On the less expensive end of the spectrum, Matutina's Seafood Restaurant serves good food at great prices. While I was able to take a picture of their sizzling chicken, it's their Crispy Pata that was the real treat (picture unavailable due to hungry people). It was easily big enough for 4 people and costed less than P400, I think. You get a lot more pata then you'd ever get back in Manila. Also, while we didn't order their sinigang, we had some free soup and it was excellent (they also won some sort of best sinigang award). If only we weren't full, we would have ordered some. Matutina has several branches, but we ate at the Tarlac branch. The only con of the meal, the looooonnggg waiting time due to the large number of customers.

Sizzling Chicken (Matutina's)

If however, you want somewhere more intimate, try the Sea and Sky Restaurant in La Union. It's also a hotel restaurant, but not a fancy one! Rooms in the hotel are cheap for those who are budget conscious. But then I'd go to a resort if I went all the way here. The Crispy Pata costed around P200, good for two people and is delicious on the right side of crispy. Like Olives Restaurant, you're actually paying for a great view; while Olives is all landscaped beauty, you can actually hear the waves lapping at you from your table from Sea and Sky.

Crispy Pata (Sea and Sky Restaurant)

 Also in La Union, with a few more branches elsewhere including Baguio is Kubong Sawali. It has excellent sea food, especially with this Tahong Soup Thing (IDK it's real name). The two were bought as a platter for aroung P600 and feeds 4-5 people. Except for the soup, which should feed 2 hungry sillysloths. For smaller parties, you can get 2 starters for P185 which could feed 2-3 people.

Seafood Platter Thing (Kubong Sawali)

Tahong Soup Thing (Kubong Sawali)

Finally, Cafe Isabela in the Bencab Museum is another must see. Mostly for the museum itself! The cafe has a nice view of the surrounding grounds and mountains in Baguio, and rewarding yourself by chilling with a treat after touring the place. The pancake costed P160 with the ice cream at P150. The food is decent, but their vegetables are what make this place appealing (not pictured but eaten - if food comes while I'm eating, it's probably not going to get pictured). My only regret is  that I couldn't try any of their drinks.

Cinnamon Pancake with Banana (Cafe Isabela)

Volcano Ice Cream with Strawberries (Cafe Isabela)

One of the best things about the provinces: good food at good prices.

How was your break?

News: Uniqlo is Coming to the Philippines and Review: Uniqlo Lightweight Pocketable Parka

Uniqlo, which is like the Japanese version of GAP, is coming to the Philippines this June 15 at SM Mall of Asia. I'm excited about it, especially with their Vote and Win application on facebook which gives voters the chance to win free shirts and a trip to Japan(ends on June 10, so vote now!).


While I am excited, I am not as excited as I want to be: I'm expecting a drastic mark-up in price compared to that of Japan like what happened to Muji (Mujirushi). Something to look forward to: they will be having a promo on their Barbie UT shirts for women at P590; shirts like that cost 1500 Yen (P833) normally.


On the other hand, maybe it will be much cheaper: they will be having a Jean sale (P590 instead of P990) as soon as it opens. However, UJ's in the Japanese website cost around 2,990 - 3,990 Yen, making it much cheaper!


What I did end up buying while I was in Japan was their Light Pocketable Parka ($50 dollars in the US catalog or around P2200) I bought for around 3,000 Yen (P1700). I bought this jacket because 1) it was unexpectedly colder and rainier in Japan than I expected and 2) I could still use it in the Philippines (especially underneath my white uniform). I bought the M size with pockets on both sides of the jacket and on the inside two plus the pouch pocket. It's very light and surprisingly strong.

Lightweight Pocketable Parka by Uniqlo (White)

Experience: Getting a Japanese Visa

This is my experience in getting a visa to Japan using Reli Tours Travel Company.