Staying in Hong Kong for ten days I was wondering where I could go for a ‚little excursion’… Hmmm Taiwan is just around the corner! How is Taiwan? Someone recommends it to me… Ok, decided… Just a half-hour flight brings me to Taipei, where I spend four days walking around (unfortunately mostly in the rain) and EATING : )
I wouldn’t say that Taipei is a beautiful city but I loved the vibe there. The food and the people. Everyone is so friendly and helpful, open-minded and ‚laid back’. While Singapore and Hong Kong remind me a bit of New York City, I found in Taipei the vibe of Toronto. Not actually from the look of the streets but rather from the atmosphere. The people here are simply ‚cool’, I think that’s the best description. A lot of young people in fashionable légère style, hipster’ish and arty. Even the older people are not shy to ‚talk’ to a foreigner even if they don’t speak English. They help with a smile, a gesture or simply by standing next to you and placing their umbrella over your head when they see you standing at the red traffic light in the pouring rain. So nice! : )
Also the service in the restaurants and bars is amazing. Everyone seems to be happy in this city! Ready for a chat or a laughter with a stranger. Makes you feel really good and welcome : )
Let me tell you what I did and ate in Taipei:
My first explorations were the little streets on both sides of Zhongshan North Road, south of Nanjing Road, between Zhongshan metro station and Linsen Park. The cute little Lanes are so vibrant with noise and traffic, full of little bars, bistros, shops, massage places etc. In fact that’s where my hotel was – accidentally I ended up in one of the red-light Lanes… (which to be fair is not very obvious). Oops…
From there I went on to discover Dihua Street (former ‚Centre Street’) which has long been known for its Chinese medicine and fabric shops as well as a lively Lunar New Year market. Nowadays the street is still vibrant and attracts young entrepreneurs to open here their cafes, restaurants, antique shops and art studios. A lovely walk along the hustle and bustle of the colourful commercial street.
As for art studios, cafes and cute shops, not to be missed is the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. An early 20th century wine factory (operated between 1916 and 1987) has been transformed into an art center thanks to the initiative of art groups who discovered that the old factory provided the perfect conditions for performances and installations. The old warehouses hosts live music performances, stylish bars and designer boutiques. A cool and retro-chic venue. I personally liked the cosy Shochu Yakitori bar, which in my mind I keep calling ‚the Beatles bar’ because the decor is Beatles themed and also the music they play when I was there was ‚The Fab Four’ : )
Staying on the subject of art, I recommend two places:
The first is The Fine Arts Museum, which kind of reminded me of London’s Tate Modern with its contemporary architecture, expositions and installations.
The second one is a very cute little cafe & museum – Formosa vintage cafe in Xinyi Road (Dongmen metro station). The cosy two room gallery features the private collection of Lin Yu-fang a former dentist turned curator. The collection counts over 10,000 pieces and documents Taiwan’s hybrid social and cultural history. You can admire shell figures, musical instruments, decorative carvings, books, posters & paintings etc. while enjoying your jasmine tea at an antique marble table. Free entrance lets you travel back to the past. Tea & History! Yeah.
I also visited the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall or rather the gardens on the grounds. The monument is surrounded by a nice park. Unfortunately just when I was about to reach the park it started raining… Ironically there is a wall around the gardens and you can actually walk inside of the arcades. So at least I had my little walk ; )
Worth visiting is also the viewing platform from Taipei 101 – the skyscraper in Xinyi District and Taipei’s landmark. It is basically yet another viewing platform but what made the visit interesting was the viewing of the damper construction which helps to support the skyscraper to withstand the typhoon winds and earthquake tremors. Ahaaa, good to know!
What you can’t miss when in Taipei is visiting the night markets!!! And try ALL the food there! Oh my god what strange but yummy creations!
I went to the Ningxia Night Market which is close to the city center and to the famous and apparently largest one in the city – the Shilin Night Market (in Shilin district). Enjoy walking between the colorful stalls full of delicious food, clothes, handbags, electronic etc. Have your camera ready, try the local flavours, have a break on the steps of the Temple or in one of the bars in the side streets. My discovery and an absolute MUST TRY is a taro ball with a hot custard inside. A yummy little desert to round the crazy ‘gourmandise’.
Speaking of food… Here is a small selection of places to eat:
Din Tai Fung for soup dumplings!
This restaurant specialises in Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) and you can even see the chefs making them behind a glass window – fresh, made to order for you! Ahhhhh Xiao Long Bao! It was love at first taste!
Din Tai Fung originates from Taiwan but also has opened branches in other countries (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Macau, South Korea, Dubai and even Australia and USA). Super delicious food, made to order dumplings, quick service. Good price. Michelin starred! Bea loves! : )
Read more about Xiao Long Bao in my Hong Kong article.
I also liked the soup dumplings (and other things from the menu…) in KaoChi, a Shanghainese restaurant. It’s not Din Tai Fung but the Xiao Long Bao are almost as good. Besides them we had pan-fried pork buns and I had a lovely rice cake. The decor was elegant and cosy. Nice place to spend time in.
I would say if you want to go purely for the taste Din Tai Fung is a better address for soup dumplings but at the same time you will get a chain-restaurant-atmosphere. In KaoChi you can enjoy a longer lunch in a date-style ; )
TonChin Ramen was a small Japanese restaurant where I had a lovely and very spicy Ramen for lunch one day. Well, thank god ‚my lunch time’ was later than the local one because that one at around 12pm had a queue running down to the street. My Tokyo-style pork ramen had different flavors and texture in a single bowl. Sliced pork, bamboo shoots, spring onions, kombu, an egg and of course the noodles. The broth was rich in flavour and so spicy (good spicy) that I was happy to have my beer to help my mouth survive it. It’s located just next to KhaoChi in Zhongshan District, Section 1, Zhongshan N Rd.
Another place I liked was a restaurant just across the little street from my hotel. Umeko serves Taiwanese cuisine and the lady who served us that evening was very pleased with our choices congratulating us with a big smile on her face on ‚being brave, for a tourist’ for trying the ‚real thing’. Maybe she says it all her guests? Not sure, but we liked her and we liked our choice: ‘fried white fish’, ‘little fishes with peanuts’ and ‘cold clams in soy sauce’. We also got some chilli and garlic pickled cucumber as appetizers on the house. Nice.
Should you be around the Taipei 101 and have a craving for western food, you could go to 1Bite2Go Cafe & Deli. They have a good selection on craft beer and I had a nice Reuben sandwich in US style (they also have Classic Pastrami, Philly Cheese Steak, etc.).
Surprisingly I didn’t have any cocktails in Taipei.. Huh…Sorry, no recommendations here. Enjoy discovering on your own ; )
