Olive Tree Cafe and Bed & Breakfast 南庄橄榄树户外咖啡民宿

It was nightfall when we meandered our way through the mountain roads in search of Olive Tree.  We couldn't tell what the surroundings were like because it was dark but the lights did make the place a pretty sight.

I insisted on staying here a night because I found out about them roughly 3 years ago and have been wanting to stay here ever since. 

Whatever photos you see online anywhere really do not do the owners of the place any justice.

Why injustice? Because you have to be here to personally feel all the hard work the owners of the place have invested into the place.

A quick walk around the place had me realise that in addition to accommodation, they were also a cafe, and one with quite many tables, too.

Our first choice was the 古旅情 room but it was occupied on the night we asked for. Thus, they suggested for us to take the 童格林 room instead. It could also occupy four persons and since we did not have a choice, we took it. And we were not disappointed, as it was spacious and had little adorable and quirky decorations.

Even their bathroom had an interior that was according to the room theme, down to the tub! I could not wait for morning to come, so that I could see what was outside.

And when morning came, we were so happy! The view from our little balcony was a fruit orchard with sounds of chirping birds and the fresh smell of nature.

Ah, and in daylight we could see what the entrance to our room looked like. And I swear every hostel/B&B in Malaysia should have a water dispenser like this!

The amount of little figurines made of wood, stone and metal found throughout the property - uncountable!

The main building where reception was projected a different feeling in the day time. It felt more cosy than romantic/magical feel that night time produced.

Oh, and they have resident cats! I only managed to capture two of them, as the third one was still sleeping.

I would like to think that Mum liked the place because of all the flowers in bloom. For example, there was this rare orchid plant which Mum kept looking at.

There was a small section of the front garden fenced off for whom who guessed for children, due to the Little Red Riding Hood props. 

An annex building connected by a bridge that acted as the dining area. It was evident that they really like cats...

To the outside of the annex building was an outdoor dining area, which we really liked because of the trees.

As we were up way before breakfast time, we decided to check out the village. According to the map we got at reception, there is a creek nearby and so that was where we went. 

There were proper paths and walkways that enabled the local folk and visitors to safely enjoy their walk next to Pong-Lai Creek (蓬莱溪).

Despite the tranquility of the place, we were taken aback at how many other accommodations there were. I mean, just look at that signboard!

On our walk back for breakfast, we noticed that because Olive Tree was not situated right next to the main road, they had a huge signboard for visitors.

They also had a dedicated parking lot.

As we made our way up the small slope, we were greeted by the sun.

The reception area was colourful and had many knick knacks on sale. We chose to sit inside for our breakfast.

I ordered their cappuccino but after drinking it, I didn't think that it was actually made using the coffee machine on the counter top. Too bad I wasn't watching.

We were quite happy with the toast that was served. Because it only said "toast" on their order chit, we thought it meant literally just toast. My garlic toast was fragrant and I enjoyed the sweet potato and salad that came with it. Looked like many components but it was a healthy start to our day.

We finished our breakfast just when Allie arrived. He helped us with our luggage and we continued our 2nd day in Taiwan.

Nanzhuang 南庄

Hello Taiwan, I am back! Since my first trip here back in 2009, I have been wanting to make a return visit and this year, I finally had a chance to visit the island again. This time, I came with my parents.

I did not choose to join a Malaysian tour agency this time, unlike my previous trip. Instead, I found roundTAIWANround during one of my Google searches and chose to use their services due to three things:

1) My communication with them was entirely in English (well, you know, my Chinese is pretty limited)

2) They went along with my choices of accommodation and places to visit (I do not like how some other local Taiwanese tour groups insist on their choice of accommodation)

3) They were super accommodating and helpful in suggesting places that my parents and I may enjoy, and were very prompt in their replies

If you are like me (a partial or total banana), I totally recommend them so that you could enjoy your holiday in a language that you would understand. They may be a tad pricier than other tour agencies but I would rather pay to stay at places that I want to stay at and visit places that I want to visit.

My parents and I were greeted at the airport by our guide, Allie (阿立), a really friendly and chatty fella with an easy-going personality. Poor guy, our flight had a delayed landing due to the heavy traffic at the airport (we were flying in circles for quite a while), so he had to wait for a bit and was apologetic when informing us that our itinerary may have be be slightly rushed due to the time lost. He did not need apologise though, it was not his fault the airport had too many planes!

First place we stopped at was a place called Nanzhuang (南庄), a township situated in the county of Miaoli (苗栗). After about 1.5 hours of driving, Allie parked the car under a bridge, next to a stone river where locals were seen fishing.

The main reason I asked to make a stop here was because I wanted to try a local dessert called the iced sweet dumpling with osmanthus malt (桂花酿冰镇汤圆) I found out about a few years ago. Fingers crossed, I hoped we were not too late in arriving at Osmanthus Alley (桂花巷).

I saw the first two stalls open and thought, yes, we are in luck!

But once I walked up that little slope, I saw that most of the stalls had their shutters down. Oh no... we were too late.

But we can't come and not try any of their osmanthus produce, can we? I mean, we have come all the way! And so, the one stall that was still open very enthusiastically gave us samples of almost every product on display.

We did not dare buy too many, as it was after all, our first stop. After that, we checked out the place and was introduced to a historical public wash trough still in use today. According to Allie, the water flows in from a local spring.

We passed a temple...

... and the local post office (so adorable!).

We found the town to be peaceful and very much like Bentong, as it is also flanked by mountains and has a river flowing through.

Before making our way to our accommodation, we had dinner at a local restaurant called 客家庄小吃. We wanted to see the difference between the Hakka food here and the Hakka food we have back home.

It took me a while to order because of well, my limited reading ability and so I passed the job to Mum. We ordered the following and found the first three dishes very familiar to us. What we found new were the last two dishes, both which were recommended by Allie:

Braised beancurd 红烧豆腐

Stir-fry Areca flower 炒槟榔花

Hakka Stir Fry 客家小炒

Fried Hakka Ban Tiao 炒客家粄条

Hakka Glutinous Rice Balls 客家汤圆

The ban tiao (粄条) is like a wet char kway teow version of our ban meen. The glutinous rice balls left an impression because unlike the sweet ones that we are used to, these are savoury ones, which were like wow, I can have the entire bowl!

We left satisfied and feeling positive about the rest of our holiday. First meal in Taiwan - thumbs up!