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Shifen (十分) Travel Guide – Visiting the waterfall (十分瀑布) and lighting paper lanterns (放天灯)

Shifen (十分) is a small town located to the east of Taipei. Tourists flock to this quaint place to witness the majestic Shifen waterfall (十分瀑布) and light paper lanterns.

SEE

Before you get to the waterfall, have a look around the main town centre. There’s an array of souvenirs and food stores. You can also walk along the train track which runs right through the middle of the town!

Getting to the waterfall is an easy 20 minute walk, make sure you take in the scenery as you cross the bridge.
The waterfall is quite a sight to behold, I was especially lucky to witness not one but two rainbows when I visited!

Eat

The best places to eat in Shifen would have to be the street food stalls that dot the main roads of the town.

Candied tomatoes and prunes are a great sweet to snack on while you explore the streets of Shifen.

If you are a fan of chicken (who isn’t), you are in luck. There’s quite a few stalls selling skewers of every chicken part you can imagine. I had some chicken butt (the skewers in the top row of the picture above). It’s actually chicken tail, more commonly known in Taiwan as Qi Li Xiang (七里香).

One stall was selling their home made dish — grilled chicken wings stuffed with rice. A finger licking, protein and carb filled parcel.

Do

A very touristy thing to do at Shifen is to write your wishes and prayers on a paper lantern (天灯) and set it afloat. There are several stores selling these paper lanterns, they will provide ink, brushes and help you float your wishes into the sky.

Get to Shifen 

Shifen is easily accessible from Taipei by bus, train or taxi. I personally chose to take the train for the scenic views!

Bus:
From Muzha MRT Station (捷運木柵站) catch the No. 15 Taipei Bus (台北客運15路公車).

Train:
Take a train from Taipei Railway Station to Ruifang Station (瑞芳站). Alight at Ruifang station and switch over to the Pingxi Line (平溪支線). Take that train to Shifen Railway Station (十分火車站).

Taxi:
Taking a taxi to Shifen from Ruifang station will set you back approximately NT$480. Many taxi drivers offer packages to Shifen and surrounding tourist areas such as Jiufen (九份) and Jinguashi (金瓜石). Be sure to settle on a final price with the taxi driver before getting in!

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Taiwan Travel

Salon de The de Joel Robuchon – Taipei

Sometimes I impulse eat. A few years ago when I was in Taiwan, I impulsively walked into Salon de The de Joel Robuchon. Yes, that Joel Robuchon. I looked at the extensive menu and decided to have a high tea for two for myself. That’s right, I devoured everything you see in the above photo by myself. It was so indulgent and so delicious. The high tea menu lets you pick your own sandwich, two pastries and two macarons. 
I opted for a ham, gruyere cheese and mustard sandwich, which was fairly normal. 

For my first pastry I went with a French classic – Mille Feuille. Also known as the Napleon, it consists of two layers of pastry cream sandwiched by three layers of puff pastry. Boy, was this Mille Feuille good, the pastry layers where crisp, the pastry cream sweet but not over the top and the chocolate dusting provided some richness.
I was in awe when I saw this little red ruby of a dessert. Le Rubis is a stunning chocolate cake with a passionfruit and banana filling, coated in a berry flavour chocolate mousse, topped off with decorative gold and slivers of pistachio. It tasted as it good as it looks!

I ended my meal with two macarons, vanilla and chocolate. Delicate shells with smooth filling. 
Look at that foam. How perfect the circle is. Seriously, how did they do that. The coffee was well made and full of flavour.

After my meal, I was served a pot of Earl Grey French Blue. The first thing you notice about the tea is the citrusy notes. This is followed by the familiar Earl Grey flavour and the sweet scent of cornflowers. 
Will I Return?
Yes. But probably with a friend next time haha.
Have you ever impulse eaten?Let me know in the comments below!

For more information, head to:
http://www.robuchon.com.tw/salon/main.html