I am a Blogging Daddy of four. Our kids are roaming Singapore to bring you FUN,
This blog is use to capture our kids' growing up phases, and we want you to leave our blog with a smile :)
I am dreaming about my next date with Pizza Hut’s Cheesy 7. As the name implies, there are whopping 7 different types of cheese packed into their latest pizza!
Cheese Lovers rejoice 🙂
To fulfill my cheesy dream, I signed up Boon Xin for a Parent-child Pizza Hut workshop. Maybe one day, our little chef will be able to whip out some tasty pan delights 🙂
Pizza Hut workshop is opened to public and $25 registration fees apply. We heard some lucky schools were invited to make pizza as part of Pizza Hut’s outreach campaign .
Pizza making was easier than we thought. The kitchen tour oriented families about pizza workflow from Order to Preparation, Baking to delivery. We saw all the Cheese used to prepare our delicious Hawaiian Pizza.
Boon Xin remembered the three ingredients for making a good dough, flour, oil and yeast.
For our workshop, we still need to rely on our hands to mold, stretch (repeat) until our dough fill up the pan. Just like PlayDoh 🙂
Pizza Hut workshop
It was an interesting session, parents had Fun interacting with the kids.
Boon Xin enjoyed the baking session so much, I had minimum opportunity to dirty my hand, so I concentrated on taking photos, and eating.
Add in cheese, ham and tata, our finished product. Looks nice right, only missing some greens :p
I love capsicum but girl hate vegetables, the chef has the final say.
Boon Xin is proud of her masterpiece. Daddy is proud of Boon Xin.
One more photo before we bake our pizza.
While waiting for our own pizza to be ready (7 minutes baking), we were served Cheesy 7.
Wow! Look at the yummy cheese oozing down, we could stretch it 30 cm long. We heard cheese 7 is the same delightful “Hawaiian Pizza” base, but upsize with more cheese.
However, the cheese can be a bit overbearing, would recommend more friends to share the guilt heh heh 🙂
Girl got her “Pizza Hut Apprentice” certificate, I am one step nearer to enjoying our own Diy Cheesy 7 in our home.
Although our own-styled pizza is inferior to cheesy 7’s taste, I would eat Boon Xin’s homemade pizza anyday. Nothing like preparing and baking your own pizza, the sense of achievement makes us happy and proud.
Thank you Pizza hut for the Fun Invite. The staff were so enthusiastic to help families baked their own limited-edited crust. We are confident many more families will enjoy the bonding session over pizza .
Pizza Hut’s baking sessions are available for kids 4 to 10 years old. One parent can join in the session. More details here.
When friends saw the view of Taipei 101 from 象山 Elephant Mountain, they were curious to know more.
Where is Elephant Mountain?
Can anyone hike up Elephant Mountain?
Nearest MRT station is “Xiang Shan”, literally 象山. From here, it is a short walk (850m) to the Trail head (base)
Alternatively, you may wish to walk 1.3km from Taipei 101, but beware, it is easy to get lost in the small winding lanes (you will need GPS navigation!)
Most will hike from trail head (steps picture, GPS 25.027377 121.570769).
Elephant Mountain trail head
Even after 5 min climb, you can already see Taipei 101 from different perspective. This is a motivation for you to climb higher and get a better view.
Steps can be steep and seem endless, but go slow and everyone can make it to the top. Can you spot the “elephant hill” outline below?
As an estimation, we took about 20 minutes to reach the top, hop and walk and rest. For first time hikers, aim for 30 to 40 minutes slow walk and have frequent rest.
Hiking in Taiwan is different from Malaysia (read our Gunung conquers). Taiwan treks and trails are well paved with steps and pavements, you do not need to crawl on on fours and get muddy.
Elephant Mountain is actually part of a ‘animal mountain range” called 四獸山 (Four beasts). You got Elephant, Leopard, Tiger and Lion. Conquer these four beasts to reach the peak at “九五峯” (this will require 1/2 day).
For casual tourists( you and me), we would recommend to aim for the “6 boulders” at Elephant Mountain, you will reach a few huge boulders along the climb, but who is counting the stones?
There will be platforms for visitors to take photos and enjoy the splendid Taipei metropolitan landscape view.
Day or night, you can expect some nice scenes. If you want some unique experience, hiking elephant Mountain will provide you the thrills, perspiration and sights.
In my previous solo trip, I climbed up the huge rock for some “epic” photos. the best view would be normally around sunset, this is also the most crowded period.
The girls did not joined us, they were shopping at 五分埔 Wu Fen Pu (GPS 25.048103, 121.580061) .
From Song Shan station (松山車站, GPS 25.049504, 121.578211), we had earlier plan to meet at 饒河夜市 Raohe for dinner and supper 🙂
Wu Fen Pu is just 5 min walk from Song Shan station. Wholesale shopping awaits shoppers and visitors.
If you love shopping and finding unique designs, Wu Fen Pu might be your cup of tea. There are endless rows of niche shops and merchandise.
Map below, Song Shan Station is in the middle of our activities. Elephant Mountain is South. Those heading to Ruifang, Keelung, Jiufen, Shifen will also have to transfer at the same train station. (Check out the other cities’ blogs on out 10D9N Taiwan Itinerary here)
The highlight for the night is food again, and 饒河夜市 (Raohe) is one of the popular night markets in Taiwan.
Raohe GPS 25.050917, 121.577669 , and there is a famous Mascot dog too 🙂
胡椒餅饒河 Black Pepper Bun (pork filling) is one of the most famous snacks. The buns are sticked to the side of the oven (urn?), heated to perfection and piping hot. The juicy pepperish taste will stun your tongue.
The original stall always has queues 20 minutes long! I tried the smaller stall outside which claims “Not Nice Eat for Free haha!”
Seriously, I cannot tell the difference between the two stalls 🙂
Just grab smaller portions and share with families, that is the way to enjoy Taiwan Night Market street food.
December weather is cool, so anything soupy or fried would warm our tummies.
The torched beef cube are available at many night markets. The one at Raohe is over-rated.
This one is good too, deep fried ribs. No bones and crunchy chewy.
Raohe is niche and small compared to Shilin night market 士林夜市. But you can easily spend 2 hours eating, shopping and exploring 🙂
Games for kids, and we did not do the traditional Face massage (With strings).
Good range of souvenirs, for humans and pets :p
There are a lot of dogs lovers in Taiwan.
Do take a photo at the famous 松山慈祐宮 Ciyou Temple just outside Raohe Night Market too.
You have seen the popular Night scene of Raohe Night Market. Cross the river and visit the LOVE bridge too, this bridge is beautifully illuminated in the evenings.
In the day time, the meandering river offers a panoramic view.
We would recommend renting a YouBike to cycle along the scenic river way too. The design is similar to Singapore’s Park Connectors, but Taipei’s cycling tracks are much wider. (you will need a local Taiwan number to rent a YouBike)
Besides the bridge and Elephant Hill, I have two other less common attractions to recommend.
a) I ran 13km to/fro from Raohe to Songshan Airport (Domestic) for some cool plane spotting too. 濱江180 (Binjiang) is super happening if you are plane lover. Many folks will YouBike here too. (GPS 25.070849, 121.538490). More aeroplanes photos on Facebook album.
b) If you are visiting in December, take note the most-happening Christmas decorations and countdown activities are not around Taipei 101.
Everyone in Taiwan knows this, but visitors will always assume Taipei 101 is the spot (maybe due to New Year Fireworks countdown images?)
Head South-West to outskirt Banqiao 新北市板橋區 (GPS 25.013666, 121.464886). More details here.
All our 10D9N photos are in our Facebook album, do pop by to select your best activities.
Photo albums :
–Day 1 Aowanda, Cing Jing
–Day 2 Cing Jing
–Day 3 Xitou Nature Education Area, Monster Village, Sun Moon Lake
–Day 4 Taichung (Zhongshe flower, ShengXin station, Cycling, Fengjia)
–Day 5 Taichung (Animation Lane, Rainbow, Miyahara)
–Day 6 Keelung 基隆 -Day 7 Ruifang, Jiufen and Shifen
–Day x Taipei HomeAway and Neighbourhood
–Day 8 永康, Xi Men Ding, 象山, 饒河 Raohe
–Day 9 and 10 北投 Beitou, Toyshop, 士林 Shilin
