Taiwan:Jiufen 九份

After departing from Shifen, we headed over to Jiufen for lunch + sightseeing. Jiufen used to be a prosperous gold mining town, until the 1950s. The town then went into sharp decline when mining was discontinued. Today, the quaint streets, tea houses and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean made this town a popular tourist place. It was drizzling by the time we arrived and visibility was extremely low, resulting in slight jam. 

Cars lining up & driving at slow speed. 

 The famous 7-11 shop which every visitor recognized, it was also the drop-off point for tourists to begin their journey of Jiufen.

Even though it was raining, it was still crowded in the streets of Jiufen. We headed for lunch at a nearby shop.

Simple fare of rice, vegetables, meat & noodles. 

After our lunch, we took a walk around the area. During the first years of the Qing dynasty, the village here housed 9 families, thus the village would request for "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later, this village became known as Jiufen.

 
 When in Jiufen, the most famous is Grandma Lai's Yuyuan, 賴阿婆芋圓 (taro balls)
 
The texture is similar to Tangyuan, except that these had no fillings. Inexpensive and good comfort food especially in the cold weather. These are available in hot or cold version. 
  
Available for takeaways too, to prepare your own taro balls @ home. 

賴阿婆芋圓

143 Jishan St, Rueifang District, 

New Taipei City, Taiwan 224 

Another unique snack that we didn't get to try - meat ball with red vinasse. Certainly looked yummy!

Shopping for "self-healing" rings, lol!
 

Candy is all sorts of shapes - lil twin stars, pikachu, ultraboy etc. I used to like these when I was younger, but now, I find that these are too sweet for my liking. 

The supposedly famous Jiufen peanuts, which I bought a couple back for tasting.

Jiufen boasts numerous teahouses that offer great views over the Pacific Ocean. We didn't check into any tea houses this time round, for there wasn't any stunning views that we can see in this weather. 

The town of Jiufen is built ito the side of the hills slightly inland from Pacific Ocean's coastline. Jishan street (基山街) & Shuchi street (豎崎路) are the main 2 area of interest to visitors, which is small enough to cover by foot.