“No. 7”, said by the waiter as he brought to my table a bowl of ice and six pieces of glutinous rice balls. It looks like a bird's nest. Sprinkled with osmanthus flowers, its unusual appearance made me wonder on what is special about this Taiwanese dessert. It's all white! No jellies. No beans. Just dumplings and ice at first sight. Haha!
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Yù pǐn yuán (御品元) restaurant |
You can find the dessert in Tonghua Night Market or better known as Linjiang Night Market. Smaller than Raohe Night Market, the intersection of Tonghua Road and Linjiang Street in Taipei's Daan District transforms every night into a parade of street food. And look what I have found! The
Yù pǐn yuán (御品元) restaurant. It is open every night from 6:00 pm (5:30 pm every Saturday and Sunday) to 12 midnight. Great for night owls like me.
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The menu. My order is No. 7 |
Visiting the store at 10:30 pm was a wise decision. There was no line but I knew that they have lots of customers during peak hours because of the retractable-belt barrier that stands in front of the restaurant. The staff asked me in Chinese but I could not reply in Mandarin. I just showed to them a photo of my order and they instantly let me inside. I sat on an empty table and waited for ”No. 7” to arrive on my table. The
Sesame and Peanut Tangyuan with Osmanthus Soup flavored fire and ice dumpling.
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The lemon juice is that whitish liquid inside the bottle. |
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osmanthus soup |
After receiving it, I stared at my dessert for a long time imagining what would it taste like. Something must be missing so I observed my fellow customers if they are doing something special. I saw a man stood up and went to the entrance together with his bowl of ice and poured something into it. Eureka!
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An illustration in the restaurant helps explain how to correctly sprinkle the osmanthus and lemon flavors on the dessert. |
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Sprinkle the lemon juice on the ice part only. |
“This is sugar. This is lemon”, the waiter explained to me their special flavoring. Both are liquids and I believed the “sugar” to be something like a mixture of honey with osmanthus flowers floating on it. I poured the liquid both into the dumplings and ice, but I was told to apply only the lemon juice on the ice portion of the dessert.
So the fire and ice dumpling have a magical sweet and sour taste. The fillings of the glutinous rice balls are the tangyuan sesame and peanut butter. The metallic color of the former excited me so much while the latter is just ordinary for me. Both taste great. Adding to the sweet taste of dessert is the “sugar”. The dumplings and honey-like liquid complemented each other, dominating the sour taste of the “lemon” sprinkled ice portions. The combination of flavors is unusual in Taiwan where the thick fructose taste of mangoes dominate most of the island's summer delights.
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The glutinous rice balls slowly harden as it gets soaked in the ice cold water. |
Yehey! I have found another great Taiwanese shaved ice dessert. The glutinous rice balls that were cooked in the fire but bathed in a sweet and sour flavored ice. Highly recommended for international visitors wishing to discover a new craving for their taste buds. Joining the ranks of the
watermelon milk cool balls and
Jingimoo, I give a perfect score for the Fire and Ice Dumpling.
*******************
Yù pǐn yuán (御品元) restaurant
address: No. 31, Alley 50, Lane 39, Tonghua Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
[Google Map]
Open: Monday - Friday, 6:00 pm to 12 midnight
Saturday - Sunday, 5:30 pm to 12 midnight
How to get here: MRT Xinye Anhe Station (
Red Line) -> Go to Exit 4 -> walk 500 meters
My order:
Sesame and Peanut Tangyuan with Osmanthus Soup: NTD 80
(5 out of 5 luomujie stars)
Rapsa is a slang for the Filipino word "sarap" which means delicious. Delicious -> sarap -> "rapsa" (inverted syllable order). The Rapsa Edition of the "My Beloved Taipei" Travel Series will take readers to the tastiest and yummiest foods in Taipei. Get to know the best desserts and local delicacies that Taiwan's capital has to offer, through this subprogram of the luomujie blog. |
Sakura Series - Taiwan
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2025 Forecast
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Taipei 101 first flowers
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Tianyuan Palace backyard
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Taipei Flower Test Center
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Pingjing St. Lane 42
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Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
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Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
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SYS kawazu sakura
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Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
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CKS Memorial Hall
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Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
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Hope River
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Dongfang Temple
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Tianyuan Palace
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Neicou Stream Trail
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Orange Garden Cafe
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Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
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Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
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Huashan Road
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Qianshan Park
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Zhongshan Hall Entrance
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Tenglong Sakura Farm
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Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
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Neihu Creek Trail
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Shulin Land Office
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Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
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Lung Yen Sakura Forest
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Yangming Park cherry stream
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Yangming Park fountain
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CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
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Wugu District Tianyi Road
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CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
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Loving Farm
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Yong Long Farm
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Zhongbaling Sakura Road
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Sun Link Sea
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Tai'an Police Station
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Cherry Hill Slope
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Hsinchu Park
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Taipei 101
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Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
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New Garden City
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Broadwood Park
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Tianyuan Palace backyard
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Pingjing St. Lane 42
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Alishan Ranger Station
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Alishan House
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Alishan Police Station
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Alishan Forest Railway
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Alishan Station
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Alishan Entrance
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Alishan Gou Hotel
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Alishan Magnolia Garden
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Wulai tour
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Wun Chang Elementary School
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Bishanyan
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Sanzhi Sansheng Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
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Nei Cuo Stream
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Orange Garden Cafe
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Sansheng Trail
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Tenglong Sakura Farm
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Yangming Park Cherry Stream
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Yangming Park Fountain
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Flower Test Center
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Broadwood Park
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New Garden City
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Yinghua Park
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Pingjing St. Lane 42
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Yangmingshan Visitor Center
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Taipei 101
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Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
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Kamonyama Park
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Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
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Shinko Park
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Minato-mirai 21 area
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Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
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Onda River
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Tenryuji
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Byodoin
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Kiyomizudera
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Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
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Hōryū-ji Temple
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Nara Park attractions
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Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
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Sumida River
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Tsuruma Park
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Gion
Maple Series
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Taipei Aowanda
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Shimen Dam
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Alishan
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Aowanda
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Shanlinxi
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Taoyuan Valley Garden
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Fushoushan Farm
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Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
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Always in my heart
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MRT birdman
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Valentine's Day
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Tulips Festival
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2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
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City of Azaleas
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Linji Huguo Temple
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Nanjichang Night Market
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Gudetama Chef restaurant
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Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
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Shilin hollyhocks
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Ningxia Night Market
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Ximending graffiti
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Discovery Center of Taipei
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Chunghwa Postal Museum
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Double-Decker Bus
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Shilin Cold Balls
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Jingimoo
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GomanMango
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mud volcanic ice
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Fire and Ice Dumpling
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Opium Fen-Yuan
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Ichiran Ramen
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Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
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hydrangea flowers
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National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
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Taipei on a budget
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Japanese buildings
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Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
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Presidential Office Building
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Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
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CKS and SYS Hall
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City tour
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Beitou ramen
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MRT Monopoly Game
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Winter city tour
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Zhicheng Park
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Shilin Plum Blossom
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Art museums
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Shopping in Taipei
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Summer desserts
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Qingtiangang
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Qixingshan hiking
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2015 Calla lily
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2016 Calla lily
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Beitou tour
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Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
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NTU
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Confucius Temple
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2015 Dadaocheng Festival
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Puppet Museum
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Fantasy Ice World
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2016 Bread Show
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Strawberry picking
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2015 Rose Garden
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Modern Toilet
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Shilin Night Market
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NASA Exhibit
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Raohe Night Market
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Longshan Temple
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2013 Taipei Zoo
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Maokong Gondola
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Lupin flowers
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Taipei 101 day visit
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Taipei 101 night visit
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Tiger Mountain
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Din Tai Fung
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Taipei Story House
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2014 Flower Show
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Chrysanthemum Show
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Miramar Ferris wheel
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Miniatures Museum
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Archery
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1600 Pandas
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Wulaoguo hot pot
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Upside Down House
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2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
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Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
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Elephant Rock SUP/kayaking
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Meteor Garden school
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Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
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Shifen Waterfall
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2017 Sand Sculpture
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Dragon Caves
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New Taipei tour
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2016 Kite Festival
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Pingxi Crags
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Bitou Cape
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2016 Sand Sculpture
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2015 Christmasland
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Juming - Jinshan
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Houtong - Pingxi
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Sandiaoling Waterfall
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Jiufen foodtrip
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Guanyinshan hike
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Yehliu Ocean World
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2014 Kite Festival
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Pingxi Rail tour
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Jinguashi tour
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Vigor Kobo Pineapple
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British Consulate
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Yehliu Geopark
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2014 Sand Sculpture
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Paragliding
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2014 Christmasland
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2014 Pingxi Lantern
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firefly watching
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Yingge Ceramics Street
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Jiufen tour
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