Taipei Day 2: Taipei Zoo // Hello Kitty Cafe

Currently typing this as I sit in a bath tub filled with boiling hot water that soothes my frazzled soul and aching legs. Going on holiday to a new place can be nerve-wracking, especially when you have to take into consideration how far your legs can possibly bring you before giving way. I have a ton of photos from today, so hopefully I get out of this tub and pick some of my favourite photos before the day ends. Be right back; I'm currently battling with the phobia of dropping my phone in.

Ok I have 10 minutes before the clock strikes midnight. I headed for Taipei Zoo at 9AM this morning; it was relatively easy to just take the train there (it's the terminal stop). It's a short walk out of the station to the Zoo, and you can pay for entrance using your EasyCard (Taipei's version of Ez-link). It's only NT60 which is about $3; so affordable that we could not give it a miss. My sister and I are wearing our new NB bought last night from Ximending!

Just including some of my favourite photos in this post; the rest will come later when I've had time to sort through all of them. This koala very kindly posed for a shot; it was right in front of the glass panel! I think it's name is Emily and it was the only active koala. It climbed trees and walked around much to everyone's amazement. The other koalas just slept, because, well, they probably need their beauty sleep too.

This gorgeous lioness was also right next to the glass panel and I could not resist snapping many (MANY) shots of it. It's too bad the lion was dozing off in the sun; I would have loved to see it in action. I honestly wanted to see a lot more animals but they were all in hiding in their enclosures. There were so many enclosures that my legs felt like breaking after covering only half the zoo. It's best to wear long pants! My sister was in a dress and she got bitten by many insects.

THIS. It was my favourite part out of the whole zoo, maybe? The sunlight glistened off the water in dazzling blue streaks and the vibrant plumage of the birds contrasted against the green foliage like a work of art, by Mother Nature, no less. I took so many shots of this scene, and randomly picked one to post here. This was the last place I saw before I left the zoo, and it was breathtaking.

I was VERY stoked to see the red panda but sadly it was completely uncooperative. It refused to stop for photos and continued running in and out of the bushes. I was sorely disappointed!

We got back to the exit/entrance via this "shuttle bus" which cost NT5 for the ride (paid using EasyCard). 

I love going to zoos, so this was fun for me but I don't think my family enjoyed it as much!

We had tangyuan and shaved ice at the basement of SOGO for 冬至. The tangyuan was to-die-for (NT50 for 2); they were LARGE (bigger than a normal plastic spoon) and absolutely stuffed with filling. I had the black sesame and I'm craving for more. This stall had a really long queue and everyone was buying tangyuan so I shall assume it's popular. It's at B2, and it's a stall outside of the food court stalls. Tangyuan is only sold til today though because of 冬至.

Just look at that! I want some now.

The red bean shaved ice with pearls (the yellow stuff at the side) wasn't much to write home about though, but I saw many people eating it. My family really disliked the yellow stuff which just tasted like bubble tea pearls to me.

But the tangyuan. Mmm.

We walked around Zhongxiao Fuxing area for a short while before going to the Hello Kitty Cafe which is just a short walk from Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. There is a minimum spending of NT300 per person, but the portions are HUGE so I would not recommend getting a set per person. Each item on the menu comes in a set. If you get a main course meal it comes with bread, soup, main course, dessert, and a drink. If you get a dessert meal it comes with dessert, the sweet, and a drink.

The meals range from NT300-500 but if you buy one meal I think you'll probably waste a lot of food unless you're starving. My family of four struggled to finish our two main courses and two desserts because we had two soups, two buns, four drinks, and four desserts (two Swiss rolls and two puddings). It was crazy trying to finish it all. I'm quite a stickler for not wasting food, so I really hate leaving food on the plate. This is how I get fat.

The food wasn't the best, but I don't think you can expect much from a place that caters to cuteness and frivolity. I mean, the food was ok and pretty good even, but perhaps it was due to my low expectations (I read many reviews saying the food was bad). It tasted of a similar standard to many cafes in Singapore, and I think for NT300-500 ($15-20) with 10% service charge, it's pretty reasonable. Especially since everything is so cute.

I'm not a huge fan of Hello Kitty, by the way, but I do think it's cute, and since I flew all the way to Taipei already, why not? I actually intended to visit the Rilakkuma Cafe as well but it was fully booked until the end of December. Perhaps next time, then!

I got the Apple Grapefruit drink if I'm not wrong. If you pay NT50 upgrade I think you can get a drink with a Hello Kitty figurine on it, but I couldn't justify $2.50 for that. So I went without. It's fizzy and satisfying but probably also filled with lots of syrup and calories.

I actually ordered the Bacon Mushroom Beef Burger, and I completely did not realize they gave me the wrong order when it arrived. I was just too busy snapping photos. There's no bacon or mushrooms on this, it's a plain beef burger. I think there was some miscommunication because I tried ordering in Chinese and it must have failed quite terribly. The fries were actually quite tasty.

We also got the Fish Steak Burger but I must say I much prefer the beef. By the way, we got two burgers because we wanted photogenic Hello Kitty buns. There are other main courses but they don't come with as many Hello Kitty shaped objects.

Favourite part of the meal (on my Instagram @/itsheyzelnut)! A dark chocolate tart with a solid chocolate golden Hello Kitty. I think my life might be near complete.

I kid, but honestly it was too cute for words. Plus I love anything dark chocolate. The tart crust was a little too crumbly and dry but the tart filling was good, in my opinion. And that's a solid chocolate Hello Kitty, if I may repeat. There's never such a thing as too much chocolate.

The Oreo Cheese Pie (my first photo up above) was chosen by my sister because she loves (and always chooses) Oreo cheesecake. I can't comment much on how it tastes because I really dislike the no-bake style of cheesecake, and all cheesecake hence tastes the same to me. It was a rather large portion though! 

Honestly I wouldn't say no to going back to this cafe again, if ever I am in Taipei with people other than my family and they want to try it.

Hair all pinned up because I was ready to eat and because I kept feeling like I smelt like the Zoo, so I didn't want my hair falling around my face. Needless to say, our original intentions to eat Ximending street food was foiled once again because we were absolutely stuffed from dinner. Ah Chung Mee Sua, and muachee, and Prince Potato and my MiniMelts... I'll be sure to get you another day! Maybe not tomorrow because we are heading to Shihlin. I foresee tight pants in the near future.

Ending off with our new kicks which brought us through the day comfortably. As comfortably as walking from 9AM-9PM almost non stop can be, I guess.

I actually turned back my phone timing by an hour to get all this typed out. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow morning (there doesn't seem to be much to do in Taipei in the day?) so I'll sleep in! Shall relax and chill in my room before I sleep in a while. Goodnight world!

#hazelnutinTaipei