Baby Y's birth story

After a long while, I have some spare time to sit down and blog about my baby Y's birth story. Memory will gradually fade away, blogging is the best way to remember some of the details.

We chose to do prenatal check-up and delivery at Tropicana Medical Centre (now rebranded as Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara) simply because it is the nearest to where we live, haha. All check-ups and delivery done under Dr. Hoo Mei Lin and we were very happy with her. 
Up till around 30 weeks, baby Y seemed to be a small girl, and doctor estimated that her birth weight is going to be around 2.8kg and I was hoping for a natural birth. The baby dropped since 32 weeks, and everybody estimated she might be born a bit early. I was anxiously waiting for her arrival since 35 weeks mark, got hospital bag ready and was quite prepared for baby's arrival. Who knows the princess doesn't want to come out up until her due date. By that time, the baby already weights around 3.5kg++ and doctor gave us an option whether we want to induce the baby. My mom-in-law said I am likely to have a condition known as CPD (Cephalopelvic Disproportion), which in layman term is something like, pelvic bone being too small for baby's head to descend. So, we asked doctor whether she suspected CPD in me, and what is the failure rate of induction. Since doctor confirmed the failure rate of induction can be quite high, we agreed for a planned caesarean section at 41 weeks. 

The operation theatre charges are double on public holidays, so we chose one fine Wednesday for the delivery. The doctor helped us book the OT and anaesthetist, and issued us an admission letter. The operation time is 8:00am, so we were supposed to get admitted to hospital by 5am. I was too nervous the night before and couldn't sleep. Baby Y seemed to be too eager to come out, she kept hitting my pelvic bone with her head which made me feel very uncomfortable the whole night. I was still optimistic that she will be born naturally on that night haha.

The next day at 5am, we went to emergency department for hospital admission process. The hospital charged RM10k as deposit. I was much annoyed during admission when we were told that all the single rooms were occupied and we only had an option for either 4-bedded room or a suite room. We thought of booking rooms earlier, but the doctor told us that usually rooms are available and didn't really need pre-booking. (We found out only later that since the day before our c-section was a public holiday, many mothers choose to get induced on that particular day. Hence, almost all ward rooms were occupied.) We ended up taking the suite room which was RM600/night x 2.5 nights, this was one of the reason our bill went out of budget :(

Anyway, thanks to God, the whole operation process went very smooth. I always had an extreme phobia for needles and injection, the C-section being a major surgery was a nightmare for me. I had to keep telling myself to be brave for the sake of baby as this was the scariest thing I had ever faced in my life. The operation theatre was so cold, I couldn't find my husband anywhere until after the anaesthetist came and gave me a general anaesthesia. Nurses were helpful, they alleviated my fear and a big shout out to my anaesthetist Dr. Navin for cheering me up throughout the whole surgery. Fear aside, I felt quite secure to have Dr. Navin and Dr. Hoo performing the surgery.

The surgery started around 8:10am; under general anaesthesia, half of my body was already numb. They allowed my husband to come in just a short while before the baby was taken out, I am not sure why he couldn't be with me from the start, it would have been much easier to deal with my fear :'( I was too scared up to the point that I told myself, I am never going to deliver another baby again. However, the whole surgery was very fast, all my fears and worries vanished once I heard baby Y's first cry at 8:26am. The paediatrician informed me the baby is very healthy, but I only had a glance of her. Out they went, and disappeared again :D Later I was placed in a recovery room for about half an hour which was very cold and I felt so helpless. I couldn't wait to see my baby. During that time, the paediatrician was doing checkup for the baby, and husband was sent back to the room. Only around 10am, they send me back to my room.

On the first day, I could barely move. Not sure how long did it take until general anaesthesia wears off, but i was still under heavy pain killers. Later nurses brought baby to me and a lactation consultant came to help with breastfeeding. I wasn't well-equipped with breastfeeding knowledge and it was so stressful. With the C-section pain, it was very difficult to turn sideway to breastfeed her. We tried to feed her every 1-2 hours. Baby was good at latching but my supply didn't kick in yet so we had to struggle a lot. Eventually we were worn out and sign the consent form to allow nurses to feed formula milk on the first night. I felt quite guilty but it was the only way me and my husband could catch some rest, and baby won't be too tired crying for food.

The gynae came to check on the next morning and asked me to try to walk around. She told me that if I can bare the pain on second day, I am good to go. The nurses helped me to walk down from the bed for the first time after 24 hours lying down. It was scarier than the surgery itself! ๐Ÿ˜ญI couldn't remember much details except the fact that no words to describe how painful it was. So, for expecting moms who will be going through c-section, the most terrifying day is day 2! ๐Ÿ˜…

The struggle with breastfeeding continues on day 2 as well. I still couldn't figure out the best way to hold my baby, some nurses were helpful, some were not. The c-section pain become quite bearable on day 3, doctor allowed us to discharge and we went home around 5pm.
hospital food
I'm not a fussy eater, so the hospital food was basically fine with me. They serve 4 meals a day, you will get to choose from three different types of food.
This is the list of items that hospital suggested you to bring. Since C-section patients need to stay in hospital a bit longer, I suggest you to bring extra newborn diapers and baby wipes too.

The hospital scheduled baby's check-up with paediatrician at one week after and mother's check-up with gynae at two weeks post-delivery. Baby Y had jaundice, she got pricked at her feet for blood test for 2 times (each 1 week apart). Luckily she was a hungry baby who drinks and poo diligently, so her jaundice level went down fast. 

Baby Y is already four months now, we faced a lot of challenges as first-time parents. I shall elaborate more some time later. Parenthood is both fun and difficult at the same time, but our family become more complete with our new bundle of joy!


Halal food alternatives in Taiwan - Vegetarian meals

Since finding halal food can be quite cumbersome in Taiwan, you can go for vegetarian meals as an alternative. Most Taiwanese practice Mahayana Buddhism which recommends a strict vegetarian diet, and you can surprisingly find a lot of vegetarian eateries around Taiwan. (Some Muslims might have opinions about calling it as an halal alternative since the food were prepared by devoted Buddhist. I'm not going to discuss this, everyone has a choice.) The vegetarians in Taiwan refrain from alcohol too, so to my standard of "halal", it is sufficient. In order to survive in Taiwan, I regularly opt for vegetarian food, and I will share you some reviews and what to expect.

Before I continue, I need to emphasise the importance of asking whether any food is vegetarian (็ด ) or not. Because the Taiwanese put lard (pig oil) and rice wine (alcohol) in most of their food, so, unless they specifically claim the food is "Vegetarian". You might think that there should not be a problem to eat the Taiwan's famous street food onion cake (่”ฅๆฒน้ค…) or the oyster omelette (่šตไป”็…Ž), chances are, most of those stalls use lard as the most basic ingredient. So, please be cautious.

The only irritating fact (for me) is that the Taiwanese vegetarian diet refrain from eating onion, garlic and chili too! It makes our choices less attractable, to be honest I don't think I can survive on them for life. But eating once in a while is still very delicious. In fact, you should slot in at least one vegetarian meal in your travel itinerary to truly enjoy local Taiwanese cuisines.

Pay-per-weight Vegetarian restaurants

Most of the vegetarian restaurants here in Taiwan charge you based on the weight of the food you eat, but the bill always come out reasonable. As of the time I am writing this, it is about 25NT$/100g of food. Two of the largest pay-per-weight Vegetarian restaurant chains are "Minder Vegetarian Restaurants (ๆ˜Žๅพท็ด ้ฃŸๅœ’)" and "Quan Guo Vegetarian Restaurants (ๅ…จๅœ‹ๅฅๅบท็ด ้ฃŸ)". Both have many branches around Taipei, for a full list of locations, please check out the map I have shared previously.

The shop logos: Minder (left) and QuanGuo(right)

The branches nearest to major tourist attractions are :
1. Minder branch at Xing Kong Mitsukoshi (ๆ–ฐๅ…‰ไธ‰่ถŠ) Block A8 Food Court (if you are shopping around Taipei 101 area)
2. Minder branch at Eslite XinYi Store (่ช ๅ“ไฟก็พฉๅบ—) Food court (if you visit the 24 hour Eslite bookstore)
3. Minder branch at QSquare Mall (ไบฌ็ซ™ๆ™‚ๅฐšๅปฃๅ ด) Basement 3 Food court (when you shop around Taipei Main Station or Taipei Underground Mall)
4. Minder branch at Eslite Dunnan Store (่ช ๅ“ๆ•ฆๅ—ๅบ—) Food court (when you are around the so called "East District" of Taipei (ๆฑๅ€))
5. Quanguo branch: few minutes walk from SoGo ZhongXiao Store (ๅฟ ๅญ) (This one in East district too)

Let me some pictures to share with you so that you roughly can expect what the food more or less resembles:
After you select your food, you can add white rice/brown rice or porridge. This will be on a day when I am very hungry, the bill will come out around NT$200.
Some shops provide free soup, some shop doesn't. Something like this would cost less than NT$100.
The above is from one vegetarian buffet restaurant. The must eat item every time I go to these shops is turnip cake(่˜ฟ่””็ณ•)!
You will find vegetables in Taiwan is really fresh, besides, that island is blessed with many different types of mushrooms too.
You will be spoilt for choices, I promise! ;)

Vegetarian Fine Dining

If you fancy a vegetarian fine-dining experience, I highly recommend SuFood. They offer 4 course vegetarian meal for NT$398 (with 10% service charge). There are different choices for entrรฉe, soup, main course, dessert and drink. Check out their website for more details. The restaurant ambience is very nice, food are quite appetizing too.
Photos are from my different visits to SuFood. They have a default menu, and some are seasonal items. They used to have more branches, but currently only left with two outlets in Taipei, here are the addresses:

1. SuFood Chongqing branch
Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€้‡ๆ…ถๅ—่ทฏไธ€ๆฎต58่™Ÿ3ๆจ“
Address: No. 58, Section 1, Chongqing South Road, Zhongzheng District
Operating hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-21:30 (open till 10pm on public holidays)
How to get there: NTU Hospital Station Exit 4 (Actually very near to Taipei Main Station area too)

2. SuFood Banqiao branch
Address in Chinese: ๆ–ฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆฟๆฉ‹ๅ€้ ๆฑ่ทฏ1่™Ÿ
Address: No.1, Yuandong Rd., Banqiao Dist, New Taipei City
Operating hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-21:30 (open till 10pm on public holidays)
How to get there: about 8 mins walk from MRT Far Eastern Hospital station

Kind reminder, please double-check whether the shops are still there prior to your trip planning because businesses in Taiwan come and go in the blink of an eye. They frequently close down some branches and open new branches.

Wherever you visit in Taiwan, you are likely to find a vegetarian restaurant. Just try to remember the word "็ด ้ฃŸ" (Su4 Shi2 - don't pronounce 'su-shee'), if you don't know how to speak Mandarin, just print out that two characters, and show them to any passer-by. Taiwanese are friendly enough to help you find nearest one. Next post I shall write about food that you can actually enjoy in night markets. 

Other related posts:


Taiwan Halal Food Review - Beef Noodles

Prior to moving to Taiwan, I lived in Malaysia for about 10 years thus I was spoilt for choices of halal food, which makes surviving in Taiwan a little hard for me. Here, I frequently cooked at home but I am also constantly looking for halal restaurants and Muslim-friendly street food. The most budget-friendly and special halal food in Taipei is none other than "Beef Noodles".

This entry will be all about beef noodles, for a full list of other halal and vegetarian restaurants in Taipei, please refer to my previous blog post: The halal food hunt in Taipei, Taiwan

In Taipei, there are 2 halal beef noodle shops near XiMenDing shopping district, one near Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall and another one near Taipei 101. 

1. ๅผตๅฎถๆธ…็œŸ้ปƒ็‰›่‚‰้บต้คƒๅญ้คจ(Chang's beef noodles shop)
Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€ๅปถๅนณๅ—่ทฏ21่™Ÿ
Address: No. 21, Yanping S Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100 
Phone: 02-2331 2791
Business Hours: 10:30am-8:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.045669, 121.510750
How to get there: MRT XiMen Station Exit 5, walk about 5 minutes

 These photos are from my many trips to this restaurant over the year.
You can ask for menu in English. The price may have changed a bit by now, but this two shops remains the most economical eat-out place in Taipei for us ๐Ÿ˜‰
Top Left: Beef Noodle in clear soup(ๆธ…็‡‰็‰›่‚‰้บต), Top Right: Dumpling soup(ๆนฏ้คƒ) 
Bottom: Braised beef Noodle soup (็ด…็‡’็‰›่‚‰้บต) 
The dumpling soup is my all-time favorite. The original braised-beef noodle soup (็ด…็‡’็‰›่‚‰้บต) is a must try here, the noodle, the beef, the soup, everything is just perfect. (But, I once tried their spicy-sour noodle (้…ธ่พฃ้บต), it was terrible for my taste, so don't bother trying that one.๐Ÿ˜€)
Fried Potsticker (็…Ž้คƒ/้‹่ฒผ) 
Potsticker is another name for fried dumplings, it probably is a direct translation of ้‹่ฒผ ๐Ÿ˜… I am not really a fan of Taiwanese dumplings, the outer flour layer is too thick, I prefer Japanese gyoza. We usually order beef soup (without noodles) to eat with potstickers.
Side dishes (ๅฐ่œ) 
You can pick your own side dishes at the counter near the entrance. They are TW$ 25 each by the time I am writing this post. Most of the side dishes are vegetables except the fried anchovies. I loved all of them: the cucumber salad, seaweed strips (ๆตทๅธถ็ตฒ), tofu strips (่ฑ†่…็ตฒ), dried tofu(่ฑ†ไนพ), fried bean sprouts, etc. The side dishes are very traditional Taiwanese recipes, I find them quite special. Besides, you can also order Taiwanese traditional Onion Prata (่”ฅๆŠ“้ค…) and dumpling with leek filling (้Ÿญ่œ็…ŽๅŒ…). Drinks option at this shop is quite limited, they only have soy milk and iced tea. In fact, Taiwanese don't really drink during meals, we usually go and drink bubble tea after meal.

2. ๆธ…็œŸ็‰›่‚‰้บต้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop) 
Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€ๅปถๅนณๅ—่ทฏ23่™Ÿ
Address: No. 23, Yanping S Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
Phone: 02 2331 8203 Business
Hours: 10:30am-8:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.045669, 121.510750
How to get there: MRT XiMen Station Exit 5, walk about 5 minutes
Braised beef noodle soup (็ด…็‡’็‰›่‚‰้บต) 
This shop is right beside the first shop and serves very similar menu. The beef noodle soup is a bit oily, but the dumpling soup (ๆนฏ้คƒ) here is much better, unfortunately I don't have much photos of food from this shop.

3. ๆธ…็œŸไธญๅœ‹็‰›่‚‰้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop) 
Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๅคงๅฎ‰ๅ€ๅปถๅ‰่ก—137ๅทท7ๅผ„1่™Ÿ
Address: No. 1, Alley 7, Lane 137, Yanji Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Phone: 02-2721 4771
Business Hours: 11:30AM - 2:30PM, 5:00PM - 9:00PM
GPS Coordinates: 25.042147, 121.554966
Nearest MRT Station: MRT Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall Station Exit 1 (ๆท้‹ๅœ‹็ˆถ็ด€ๅฟต้คจ็ซ™)

 4. ๆธ…็œŸไธญๅœ‹็‰›่‚‰้บต้ฃŸ้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop) 
 (This one is a branch of the shop #3 above, near to Taipei 101)
Address in Chinese: ๆ–ฐๅ…‰ไธ‰่ถŠไฟก็พฉๆ–ฐๅคฉๅœฐๅบ—A8 B2
Address: Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store, near Taipei 101, Block A8, Basement 2 Foodcourt
Phone: 02-2721-4771
Business Hours: 10:00am-9:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.038199, 121.566796
Nearest MRT Station: MRT City Hall Exit 3 (ๆท้‹ๅธ‚ๆ”ฟๅบœ็ซ™), opposite block from H&M

Shop #3 and #4 have similar items on their menu. The #4 is very near to Taipei 101, so if you are around the area sight-seeing, or shopping, you can consider dining there.&nbs
the shop at Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store Level B2 Food Court
beef noodle, quite a big portion

ๆ–ค้ค…,ๅˆ่œ็Žณๅธฝ,ไบฌ้†ฌ้ปƒ็‰›่‚‰็ตฒ 
This two shops is more of Northeastern Chinese-style cuisines. We ordered set meals with another beef noodle. The set meal includes some bread like roti prata (they called it Jin Bing), assorted vegetables in a fried egg, and beef strips fried with soy sauce. The Jin Bing taste pretty nice, quite chewy, so you are supposed to wrap fried beef and some leeks inside the Jin Bing and eat (like how they eat peking duck). Quite a memorable taste.
Steamed dumplings 
The best food in this shop is their steamed dumplings. It's about NT$150 for eight pieces, the beef filling is very tender and juicy. Compare to the first two shops, the shop #3 and #4 are about double the price so we eat here less frequently. There are many others in the menu to choose from, but i haven't tried much, so I can't really recommend others.

 Enjoy food hunting in Taipei ~

Other Related posts:



The halal food hunt in Taipei, Taiwan

Halal food hunting in a non-Muslim country is always challenging, Taiwan is no exception. You need to plan well not to get starved. This post is long overdue since I promised my friends to compile a list of halal food options, I will write up brief food reviews later :) 

Note: Some of the restaurants doesn't open all day long, they have separate opening hours for lunch and dinner. Please note the time and plan your meal time accordingly. The numbering below is not in any particular order, most of the shops have menu in English translation. Print out the addresses in Chinese too, trust me, it will be useful when you take taxi here in Taipei ;)

Halal Beef Noodles

1. ๅผตๅฎถๆธ…็œŸ้ปƒ็‰›่‚‰้บต้คจ(Chang's beef noodles shop) 

Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€ๅปถๅนณๅ—่ทฏ21่™Ÿ 
Address: No. 21, Yanping S Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100 
Phone: 02-2331 2791
Business Hours: 10:30am-8:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.045669, 121.510750
How to get there: MRT XiMen Station

2. ๆธ…็œŸ็‰›่‚‰้บต้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop)

Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€ๅปถๅนณๅ—่ทฏ23่™Ÿ 
Address: No. 23, Yanping S Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100 
Phone: 02 2331 8203
Business Hours: 10:30am-8:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.045669, 121.510750
How to get there: MRT XiMen Station Exit 5, walk about 5 minutes 

3. ๆธ…็œŸไธญๅœ‹็‰›่‚‰้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop) 

Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๅคงๅฎ‰ๅ€ๅปถๅ‰่ก—137ๅทท7ๅผ„1่™Ÿ 
Address: No. 1, Alley 7, Lane 137, Yanji Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Phone: 02-2721 4771
Business Hours: 11:30AM - 2:30PM, 5:00PM - 9:00PM
GPS Coordinates: 25.042147, 121.554966
Nearest MRT Station: MRT Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall Station Exit 1 (ๆท้‹ๅœ‹็ˆถ็ด€ๅฟต้คจ็ซ™)

4. ๆธ…็œŸไธญๅœ‹็‰›่‚‰้บต้ฃŸ้คจ (Halal Beef Noodle Shop)

(This one is a branch of the shop #3 above, near to Taipei 101)
Address in Chinese: ๆ–ฐๅ…‰ไธ‰่ถŠไฟก็พฉๆ–ฐๅคฉๅœฐๅบ—A8 B2
Address: Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store, near Taipei 101, Block A8, Basement 2 Foodcourt
Phone: 02-2721-4771
Business Hours: 10:00am-9:00pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.038199, 121.566796
Nearest MRT Station: MRT City Hall Exit 3 (ๆท้‹ๅธ‚ๆ”ฟๅบœ็ซ™), opposite block from H&M

*You can read my review on beef noodle shops here.

Halal Yunan-Thai Fusion restaurants

5.  ๆธ…็œŸๅชšๅŠ›ๆณฐ (Beautiful Thai)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๅ’Œๅ€ไธญๅ’Œ่ทฏ26ๅทท3่™Ÿ
Address: No. 3, Lane 26, Zhonghe Rd, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City
Phone: 02-8242 3802
Business Hours: 11:30-14:00;17:00-21:00 (Close on Fridays)
GPS Coordinates: 25.00159, 121.49959
Nearest MRT Station: Not in a walking distance from MRT station, suggest you take a cab from MRT JingAn Station or NanShiJiao Station. 

6.ๆณฐๆ—บๆณฐๅผๆ–™็† (Thai Wang)

Address in Chinese: ๆ–ฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๅ’Œๅ€ๅ—่ฏ่ทฏ50่™Ÿ
Address: No. 50, Nanhua Rd, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 235
Phone: 02-2242 6188
Business Hours: 11:30-14:00;17:00-21:00 (Friday noon off)
GPS Coordinates: 24.99689, 121.50437

Nearest MRT Station: MRT JingAn station, about 8 mins walk

7.ๆธ…็œŸๆณฐๅฏŒ่ฑช (Yunus Halal Restaurant)

Address in Chinese: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆพๅฑฑๅ€ๅŒ—ๅฏง่ทฏ36่™Ÿ
Address: No. 36, Beining Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Phone: 02-25790528
Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:00-22:00
GPS Coordinates: 25.04946, 121.55279
Nearest MRT Station: MRT Taipei Arena Exit 3 (ๆท้‹ๅฐๅทจ่›‹), 3 mins walk

8.ๆณฐ้„‰้›ฒ้คๅปณ (Halal Bismilla Restaurant)

Address in Chinses: ่‡บๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆพๅฑฑๅ€ๅŒ—ๅฏง่ทฏ40่™Ÿ1ๆจ“(่ฟ‘่‡บๅŒ—ๅฐๅทจ่›‹)
Address: No. 40, Beining Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Phone: 02-25779271
Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:00-22:00
GPS Coordinates: 25.04971, 121.55278
Nearest MRT Station: MRT Taipei Arena Exit 3 (ๆท้‹ๅฐๅทจ่›‹), 3 mins walk

Indian/Middle Eastern/Chinese Fusion

9.  ๆ˜†ๆ˜Žๅœ’ (Kunming Islamic Restaurant)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆพๅฑฑๅ€ๅพฉ่ˆˆๅŒ—่ทฏ81ๅทท26่™Ÿ
Address: No. 26, Lane 81, Fuxing N Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Phone: 02 2751 6776
Business Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30-14:00, 17:00-21:30 (Saturday and Sunday: only open in evening 17:00-21:30)
GPS Coordinates: 25.05114, 121.5453
Nearest MRT Station: MRT NanJing FuXing Station (ๆท้‹ๅ—ไบฌๅพฉ่ˆˆ็ซ™), 5 mins walk

North Western Chinese Cuisines

10. ๅ›ž้คจ ๅ›žๅ›ž็งๅฎถ่œ (Hui Guan Chinese Muslim Cuisines)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆพๅฑฑๅ€ๅ…ซๅพท่ทฏไธ‰ๆฎต12ๅทท51ๅผ„9่™Ÿ
Address: No. 9, Alley 51, Lane 12, Section 3, Bade Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Phone: 02-25779851
Business Hours: 11:30~14:00, 17:30~22:00(Close on Monday)
GPS Coordinates: 25.04624, 121.55113
Nearest MRT Station:  MRT ZhongXiao DunHua Exit 1 (ๆท้‹ๅฟ ๅญๆ•ฆๅŒ–), 10 mins walk

Turkish Restaurant

11. ็•ช็ด…่ŠฑๅŸŽๅœŸ่€ณๅ…ถ้คๅปณ (Safranbolu Turkish Restaurant)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๅฑฑๅ€ๅ—ไบฌๆฑ่ทฏไบŒๆฎต60่™Ÿ
Address: No. 60, Section 2, Nanjing E Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 104
Business Hours: 10:00am-10:00pm
Phone: 02-25222939
GPS Coordinates: 25.05172, 121.52995
Nearest MRT Station: MRT SongJian NanJing (ๆท้‹ๆพๆฑŸๅ—ไบฌ็ซ™) exit 1, 5 mins walk

Indian Restaurants

12. ้˜ฟ้‡Œๅทดๅทด็š„ๅปšๆˆฟ (Ali Ba Ba Kitchen)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๅฑฑๅ€ๅ—ไบฌๆฑ่ทฏไบŒๆฎต56่™Ÿ2ๆจ“ 
Address: No. 56, Section 2, Nanjing E Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 104 
Phone: 02-2567 7163
Business Hours: 11:30am–3:00pm, 5:30pm–10:30pm
GPS Coordinates: 25.05188, 121.52984
Nearest MRT Station: MRT SongJian NanJing (ๆท้‹ๆพๆฑŸๅ—ไบฌ็ซ™) exit 1, 5 mins walk

13. ้˜ฟๆ‹‰ไธ็š„ๅปšๆˆฟ (Aladdin Indian Kitchen) 
Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๆพๅฑฑๅ€้ฅ’ๆฒณ่ก—101่™Ÿ1ๆจ“ 
Address: No. 101, Raohe St, Songshan District (Inside RaoHe Night Market)
Phone: (02)2765-9991
Business Hours: 5:30pm to midnight
GPS Coordinates: 25.05034, 121.57335
Nearest MRT Station: MRT SongShan Station (ๆท้‹ๆพๅฑฑ็ซ™),walk towards RaoHe Night Market

14. ้ฅ—ๅฐๅฐๅบฆๆ–™็†(Khana Khazana Indian Restaurant )

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไฟก็พฉๅ€ๅŸบ้š†่ทฏไธ€ๆฎต366่™Ÿ
Address: No. 366, Section: 1, Keelung Road, XinYi District, Taipei
Website: www.khanakhazana.com.tw
Phone: 02-8786 9366
Business Hours: 11:00AM - 2:30PM, 5:00PM - 10:30PM
GPS Coordinates: 25.03536, 121.56074
Nearest MRT Station: MRT Taipei 101/Word Trade Centre (ๅฐๅŒ—101/ไธ–่ฒฟ), 10 mins walk [Across the road from Grand Hyatt Taipei]

15. Taj Indian Restaurant
Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๅคงๅฎ‰ๅ€ๅธ‚ๆฐ‘ๅคง้“ๅ››ๆฎต48ๅทท1่™Ÿ (ๅธ‚ๆฐ‘ๅคง้“่ˆ‡ๅคงๅฎ‰่ทฏๅฃ)
Address: No. 1, Lane 48, Sec.4, Civic Blvd., Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 
Business Hour:  12:00noon-14:30,  17:30-22:00
Phone: 02-8773 0175
GPS Coordinates: 25.04474, 121.54589
Nearest MRT Station: MRT ZhongXiao FuXing Station (ๆท้‹ๅฟ ๅญๅพฉ่ˆˆ),7 mins walk

Moroccan Cuisine

16. ๅก”ๅ‰ๆ‘ฉๆด›ๅ“ฅๆ–™็† (Tajin Moroccan Cuisine)

Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๅคงๅฎ‰ๅ€ๅŸบ้š†่ทฏไบŒๆฎต144ๅทท3่™Ÿ
Address: No. 3, Lane 144, Section 2, Keelung Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2732-7296
GPS Coordinates: 25.02827, 121.55626
Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 18:00-21:00 (Close on Monday)
Nearest MRT Station: MRT LiuZhangLi Station (ๆท้‹ๅ…ญๅผต็Š),about 10 mins walk

Fried Chicken 

These two shops recently acquired Halal status in 2017 May, news source 

17. ็‚ธ้ท„ๅคง็…,ๅ…ฌ้คจๅบ— (Fried Chicken Master, Gongguan branch) 
Address in Chinese: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ไธญๆญฃๅ€ๆฑ€ๅทž่ทฏไธ‰ๆฎต158่™Ÿ 
Address: No. 158, Section 3, Tingzhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 
Phone: +886 2 2368 2551 
Business Hours: 1:00pm-10:00pm 
GPS Coordinates: 25.0135443,121.53415 
How to get there: MRT Gongguan Station Exit 1, walk few mins 

18. ็‚ธ้ท„ๅคง็…,ๅ—ๆธฏๅบ— (Fried Chicken Master, Nangang branch) 
Address: ๅฐๅŒ—ๅธ‚ๅ—ๆธฏๅ€็ถ“่ฒฟไบŒ่ทฏ1่™Ÿ 
Address: No. 1, Jingmao 2nd Road, Nangang District, Taipei 
Phone: +886 2 7746 2978 Business Hours: 7:00am-4:30pm 
GPS Coordinates: 25.0561342,121.6154006 
How to get there: MRT Nangang Station Exit 1 (Just outside of Nangang Exhibition Hall 1)

===== * Insider tip: If you happened to be at Taipei Grand Mosque for Jummah prayer, there are food stalls inside the mosque compound where you can purchase a variety of food and snacks before and after prayer. 
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My On-going Google Map Project:



Other Info


Some Chinese Vocab to sound like a pro in food hunting
  • ๆธ…็œŸ (Qing Zhen) - Halal
  • ็ด  (su) - Vegetarian
  • ๅ…จ็ด (Quan Su) - Vegan
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It will be kind of a waste if you didn't get to enjoy street food from Taiwan night markets because there are no Halal Vendors. I will share about Muslim-Friendly street food hunting guide in the next post. ;-)