The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
We mainly stayed in Airbnb during our trip to West Malaysia from 25 May to 4 June 2024. That’s because we don’t want to be split into two hotel rooms and a quadruple room is usually quite expensive. In this post, I’ll share our reviews …
Yilan is a great place to bring young children. Some of our memorable experiences include DIY fun with scallions, the Crayon Factory and the petting animal farms at Ah Mei and Bambi Land. In this post, I will share more about our experience with scallions …
We stayed in Yilan for a week and had so much memorable food in Yilan! I’ll be sharing all the yummy food to eat in Yilan. The first five foods in this post are foods I will likely eat again when I return. Other food choices at the end of the post are also places with good food even though they didn’t make it to my top five.
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Steak
Call to reserve because it’s packed even on weekdays. Otherwise, have an early dinner before the dinner crowd arrives. Arriving early meant parking outside the restaurant, otherwise, you got to walk for a distance from the nearby car park.
Heaven Kitchen is a steakhouse and the steak was memorably mouthwatering. The roast chicken was delicious too. It’s a child-friendly restaurant and my children love the food. It’s so yummy that we wanted to return if it wasn’t our last day.
Smoothies
A local uncle recommended this to us and he often buys them too. Go to the shop early to try their popular flavours (green bean and yam), especially weekends and holidays. When we went around 3.30 PM, many flavours were sold out. I’m glad we still managed to get the yam flavour. All of us love it. I wish they open a shop in Singapore!
Scallion Pancakes
The scallions (similar to spring onion) in Sanxing Township of Yilan are famous because they are cultivated well due to the optimal weather, water and soil conditions. They are also known as the 三星葱（Sanxing scallions), a synonym for tastiness and high quality.
We plucked some scallions and made scallion bread. It was soooo delicious. The key is to eat in when piping hot. We wanted more of the scallions and thus bought the scallion pancake sold outside our lunch place even though we were having lunch soon. It was nice, but I think the ones we made were better. I don’t recommend you go out of the way to this shop (details below). But if you need a quick fix, this should do. :)
Later on, we tried a free scallion pancake from another attraction. Also meh. The ones we made were still the best! Try your hand at it with this scallion DIY experience.
There are popular stalls selling scallion pancakes in Yilan, but they’re too out of the way for our tight schedule. If you buy from them, let me know if it’s good after you try. Be sure to eat a scallion pancake when you go to Yilan!
Fried Prawn Pancakes
Walking around Nanfang’ao (南方澳), a small port town/fishing centre, south of Yilan, we saw a queue at a roadside stall. I googled it and found good reviews about its fried prawn pancakes (蝦餅). So we queued and didn’t regret it! This blog has good photos and information on the stall: gururunews.com/nanfang-ao
By the way, Nanfang’ao is a relatively small port town with narrow and busy roads. So you might sweat a little navigating the place – there’s a big paid carpark where you can park with less stress.
Meatballs
A food van (周仔肉圓) was parked on the main road of our Yilan accommodation. We were looking for a light dinner and their meatballs were a great choice. They had three items on their menu: minced pork meatball, prawn meatball and a soup, Si Shen Tang (四神汤).
The meatballs are not the usual steamboat type, but more like a dumpling with mochi skin. The meatballs are slightly spicy with chilli and garlic. The owner was kind enough to separate one of the three balls and put them into another box without the spiciness for my daughter. There’s still a little garlic kick though.
The Si Shen Tang I drink in Singapore is like a typical herbal soup for nourishment. So I was apprehensive. However, I wanted some nourishment for my daughter who had not been eating home-cooked food when we were in Taiwan. So I bought and it turned out to be super delicious! Thicker and sweeter.
Anyway in December 2023, the shop upgraded to a storefront in Luodong! The expansion of business shows how good the food is.
Of course, we had many other foods in Yilan. We had the popular crispy roasted chicken at 基隆甕仔雞 (羅東分店). They serve the whole chicken and it’s worth a try if you haven’t tried it before. We also had it previously in another part of Taiwan.
The meat shop (味珍香卜肉店) behind the spring onion pancake shop was not very nice for us – we had meat and some noodles.
While searching for food in Nanfang’ao fishing harbour (南方澳渔港), we came across a super crowded seafood place (富美活海鮮). However, we skipped it because of the long queue and the food seemed too much for our family of four, so we went to another crowded restaurant nearby. We took a queue number from the counter at Ah Fen Fish Soup (阿芬鲜鱼汤) and waited for some time. The peppery soup was not really to our liking.
While at Nanfang’ao, you might want to get bubble tea from Comebuy. It has a high rating on Google and is satisfying, just not very memorable.
The air-conditioned restaurant at Jim and Dad’s Brewing Company (吉姆老爹啤酒工場) was a respite for us in the hot weather. However, its pizza and fish & chips were average and over-priced. Their beer bottles had pretty designs and descriptions sounded tantalising. However, we were more impressed by Suntory Horoyoi Hapikle Sour than their beers.
We braved the rain to Yilan’s Qinggou night market (清溝夜市) and found ourselves among a crowd carrying umbrellas. The night market is open every Wednesday from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Even in raincoats, my girls had fun playing “jackpot” at the night market – a metal ball game but it’s called hitting marble – 打彈珠 (夜市).
A snack from the night market, 状元糕, reminded us of the tutu in Singapore, and we prefer tutu. Nearby, we had duck sticky rice (鸭肉油饭) for dinner and it was our best pick from the night market. We joined in the queue for crispy pork cutlet at 康拔无骨排骨酥 and it was delicious, but I wouldn’t say mind-blowing. The Taiwan sausage from a random shop was also good enough to satisfy our cravings.
There are many other shops we didn’t try, like the pizza cooked on the spot and dim sum displayed nicely. There’s also a long queue at the beginning of the market, but a few local friends told us, it isn’t worth the wait.
We had McDonald’s and tried items unavailable in Singapore. They were delicious! It’s a comfort food in any case. The Taiwan breakfast in this small shop (食至名亀) did not let down too.
Surprisingly the lunch at the National Center for Traditional Arts was satisfying for us. We ordered bee hoon and lu rou fan at 呷七碗 and wiped the dishes clean. By the way, the place is fun with DIY activities and has quality performances – the ticket is indeed value for money! Get an even better deal when you buy from Klook!
At 好2食堂, we felt like we were having homemade meals. It was good because we ate out daily and needed some healthy servings. Lastly, in the summer heat, the shaved ice shop (冰雪 宜蘭爾本店 雪花冰.刨冰.冬季甜湯) opposite Jimmy Park was a big hit with the girls and my husband.
Do you have any good food recommendations for people visiting Yilan? Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :) Before you go, you might also want to check out my other posts on Taiwan.
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There are so many food recommendations from friends and social media. However, we didn’t eat all but those near where we were staying or hanging out. I’ve listed down the food we ate in Taipei, along with a short review. I’ve also pinned these places …
Yilan is a favourite weekend getaway spot for people living in Taipei. So consider including Yilan in your itinerary for a change in scenery (aka more greenery). It’s a fun place to bring your children to as well! There are many options for getting to …
I used to visit the Shilin district for the Shilin night market. Turns out, Shilin has quite a few children-friendly venues. There’s the Taipei Astronomical Museum (“Astronomical Museum”) for space-loving children. Just next door, the National Taiwan Science Education Center (“Science Center”) excites those with scientific minds. And all children will definitely love the dose of fun at the nearby Taipei Children’s Amusement Park (“Amusement Park”).
You can buy a combination of tickets at Klook, from the day pass of the Amusement Park to the combo ticket for the Astronomical Museum and Science Center.
We spent half a day at the Astronomical Museum. I guess it’s the same duration for the Science Center, hence the combo ticket for you to spend a day around the area.
Find out how we spent our time at the Astronomical Museum. Jump to the relevant section:
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My plan was to go for one show at the Dome Theatre and then explore the exhibition. But we ended up watching both shows at the 3D Theatre and Dome Theatre and spent less time at the exhibits. This plan turned out well because Grace preferred the shows over the exhibition.
We went for two shows because I bought the wrong ticket and went for the 3D theatre show at 10:00 AM instead. We were given disposable 3D glasses which we could keep as souvenirs.
Grace picked Superpower Dogs over the Antarctic, but sadly there were not many scenes that had the 3D wow effect. Perhaps only one to two scenes made the children in the audience gasp. Basically, I wouldn’t miss much even if I took out the 3D glasses and watched it in 2D. Note that the characters are Caucasians but the show is dubbed in Mandarin. In any case, the documentary content is still good.
Film duration: ~50 minutes.
I was buying tickets when Grace showed me a publicity postcard with a cartoon hamster on it and said “I want to watch this show!” I didn’t see the title on the show list and told her the museum was not screening it. Turned out I saw the wrong show list. I was looking at 3D and not Dome shows.
When we came out of the 3D theatre, we realised that the show Grace wanted to watch was starting soon at the Dome Theatre. We still had time to buy and be seated before the 11:00 AM show started.
The ticket price at the Astronomical Museum is much cheaper than in Singapore. It’s about S$2 and S$4 for children and adults respectively. Later I realised that Science Centre Singapore was screening the same show at the Omni theatre: www.science.edu.sg/visit-us/omni-theatre/3-2-1-Liftoff, except it’s English while it is dubbed in Chinese in Taiwan.
The Dome theatre has a wide curved screen that allows for an immersive movie experience. However, do note that young children and some adults might find the show too giddy. A young child, about 3 years old, burst out in tears and the dad carried her out. Grace nursed a headache after the show too. The ticket is meant for a 50-minute show, but the show lasts about 35 minutes.
So for the remaining 15 minutes, one staff displayed the view of a starry night sky and explained star constellations like in a lecture. We sat in awe under the blanket of the stars, but we left halfway during the lecture because it was difficult for Grace to understand. Moreover, because of personal beliefs, I wasn’t comfortable with the explanations constantly linked to astrology/horoscope signs.
In any case, the show is educational through a fun and interesting story-telling format.
Cosmic Adventure is like a ride at Disneyland with special effects. Hop on to the vehicle and journey through outer space for about 10 minutes. I skipped this ride because of the appearance of aliens during the ride. I’m not a fan of feeding her with images for nightmares, especially since she’s still young.
There are interactive exhibits and models about space across the three floors — from learning about the earth, solar systems, constellations and galaxies. We also saw and learned about ancient astronomy instruments. Grace even got to sit and pose on a rover.
When we were done, we left the Astronomical Museum through the wrong door. We had to go back in to exit another way. Grace didn’t know that and thought we were going back in – so she said, please don’t go in again. She was having a slight headache from the Dome show and the dimly lit museum made it worse.
For me, I enjoyed the parts where they explained the solar system but I felt there were too many exhibits on the big bang, evolution and horoscopes which my Christian belief system didn’t quite agree with. So for Grace, I had to filter out the descriptions a bit and at times explain why I don’t agree with/believe what’s displayed.
I think the Astronomical Museum is more suitable for older kids in primary school or those children who are really interested in space. You could still give the Astronomical Museum a try. And if your child is not that interested, simply walk over to the nearby Science Center (they have good reviews too).
My suggestion would be to go for the combo ticket. Go to the Astronomical Museum for the shows and a quick tour around the exhibits. Then, go to the Science Centre and continue the fun. The ticket prices are not expensive, so this can be a good alternative.
We didn’t know there was an observatory on the top floor because the lift we took didn’t allow us to go further than the 3rd floor. We probably took the wrong lift, because one observatory is used for research and not open to the public, while the other is for the public for limited hours. It is also open to the public during special astronomical events, such as the blood moon.
Apparently, there’s a 20-cm Coude refractor to view sunspots, the moon, planets, nebulae and star clusters.
For some light after spending time in the dimly lit museum, children can run and play around Meilun Park outside the museum. There’s a playground, water play and other play features such as sound tubes. It rained when we left the museum so Grace didn’t get a chance to play outdoors under the sun.
For more information on the Taipei Astronomical Museum (臺北市立天文科學教育館), visit their website at https://en.tam.gov.taipei/.
Closed on Mondays, except for public holidays
Exhibition and Theatres
Observatory
Cosmic Adventure
Name: Taipei Astronomical Museum (臺北市立天文科學教育館)
Address: No.363, Jihe Rd., Shilin, Taipei City, Taiwan
Public Transportation:
We alighted at MRT Shilin Station. After we exited from Exit 1, we walked all the way straight and crossed the road. The bus stop is near the traffic light. We then boarded Red 30 and it brought us to the bus stop right outside the Science Centre. It’s about a 3-minute walk to the Astronomical Museum.
If you are driving, there’s parking available at the museum.
Exhibition
Theatres (Dome & 3D)
Cosmic Adventure
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Thank you and have a great time!
Before you go, you might want to check out my other posts on Taiwan. Leave your comments or questions below. Love to hear from you. :)
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support too. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. An affiliate link means I’ll get a small commission if you make a purchase. There’s NO extra cost to you. I appreciate your support in maintaining this website so that I can share more tips with you. Thank you!
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