Tag: bubble tea

Where and what to eat and drink in Taipei? Our favorite spots and dishes

  1. Tiny dumpling place

Unfortunately we have no idea how the place was called, if it even had a name but we know exactly where it was 🙂 we tasted so many dumplings everywhere on Taiwan but this little spot had the best ones by far. They were also pretty cheap, served in a very cozy place and the ladies working there were really sweet, although none of them spoke a word of English. After some time we also got fond of their water with floating jelly. I guess in a country where bubble tea is a religion, you just have to end up liking things like that. It helps that it was included in the service 🙂

  1. Mouthwatering gua-bao

This humble steamed bun with pork belly turned out to be our favorite dish. And after trying many around the island we unanimously decided one night market won. It had the best quality of meat, least amount of fat and most coriander and grounded peanuts. From our experience the quality of food on night markets was lower and lower the bigger the night market was. So in places where it was really crowded, the food was mediocre while smaller spots maintained high quality and often prepared the food fresh on the spot. The same night market had also the best barbecue with the most variety of veggies and meats and the most decadent sweet chilly sauce. Just next to that stand there was another one with spectacular roti with either eggs, bacon or just veggies. You will find it on our map below.

  1. Chinese food at its finest

Liu Pin Xiao Guan Chinese Restaurant was by far the most amazing restaurant we have visited on Taiwan. In this case looks are very deceiving, it seems like a so-so spot and the food doesn’t look very fancy but the taste is out of this world. They had a spectacular clam soup, noodle dishes, stir fries and fish. I honestly can’t believe they would have something disappointing.

  1. Get fruity everywhere

The whole island has an insane selection of all sorts of fruit. The availability changes with seasons but in general you can get passion fruits, dragon fruits both red and white ones, lychees, white pineapples and so much more. I have never made so many smoothies in my life. And I really miss those.

  1. The best fruit sorbet

With such a variety of fruit available, there are many spots offering juicy sorbet's. Nothing helps coping with the heat of the island better than a cool refreshment. After a very in-depth research we concluded that the ones sold at the Songshan Cultural Park were the best!

  1. Beef noodles worth queuing for

Taoyuan Street Authentic Shandong Beef Noodle might look humble from the outside but their beef noodle soup is worth standing in the queue. It’s delicious and full of flavor and their beef is soft and tender.

  1. Bubble tea EVERYWHERE!

Bubble tea is THE thing to drink on Taiwan. This tea based drink was invented on the island and rocked the whole world. There are so many varieties that the best way is to try them all and choose your favorite one. Give a chance to small businesses as well as big chains. I especially loved assam black tea with milk and tapioca balls. Jandirk was more a fan of a sweeter, fruitier type of teas with balls and fruit jellies 🙂

  1. More traditional tea

The island is famous for its teas especially for oolong and assam black tea. For more traditional tea tasting there is just one number one in Taipei- Wisteria Tea House. It’s a beautiful spot that looks like a Japanese tea house with our favorite tatami floors. Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to visit them. We were unlucky to find it either closed or too busy to serve us. We were more than happy with lovely number two –C-tea-loft. This is a bit more modern tea house with an insane selections of teas and a very friendly staff that will eagerly tell you all about those.

  1. Coffee stop

Although tea is the national drink, coffee game is getting stronger and stronger especially in the capital. There are quite some popular and nice chains like Cama Cafe where they roast their own beans at the spot or Louisa Coffee with stylish interior and more delicate coffee. Our favorite one turned out to be the very artistic Artalley Cafe. Maybe the staff was a bit clueless but the coffee was good and the interior was stunning with super comfy chairs and a massive book selection.

Taichung in a day

Taichung is the 3rd largest city on the island and a perfect stop on the way to the Sun Moon Lake. It offers amazing street art, stylish cafes and a true Taiwanese experience but without the crowd of the capital. Even better... all of the spots are reachable by public transport and buses are for free!

Morning at the Rainbow Village

The Rainbow Village is the absolute must see and the only busy spot in Taichung. But early morning is pretty peaceful even there. Later in the day it's only busy when the tour buses unload and storm in there but after 15 minutes of chaos they are mostly gone and the village goes back to its calm state.

15 minutes sounds like very little time for a whole village but in reality it’s not that much of a village. It's just a small area of few houses with a square and few little streets. But still it’s worth the visit and I would even dare to say: a slow one:) 

Rainbow Village has been created by a veteran who goes by the name of Rainbow Grandpa. Those houses were dull and practically on the edge of ruin when he decided to give them a new life. He started painting everything from walls to floors, including details like lanterns. Although the patterns look childish, together they create a unique, colorful and heartwarming feeling. There is nothing like to wake up in the morning and have a rainbow of colors bringing you to life.

Rainbow Grandpa still hangs around there so you can definitely spot him in the village... we did 🙂

A stroll full of art in Stock 20

Although the area is not very big, it’s situated next to the central station which provides a very convenient location. It still needs a lot of work, there is just one café and the opening hours of the ateliers are not clear but… it’s just such a charming place full of art and murals. When the ateliers are open it’s even more interesting with some amazing stainless glass beauties, paintings and other handicrafts. It’s hard to believe that those were just some old warehouses used during the Japanese occupation and left for decades since then.

Coffee and a cake at Fermento

Fermento is a really lovely café with hip furniture and art. Not to mention the joy of light coming through glass walls. It’s a perfect spot to have a cup of coffee or taste some of the delicious Taiwanese teas. To go with it they have a selection of cakes. If that wasn’t enough Fermento is situated in a very nice neighborhood with plenty of nice restaurants and artistic shops. There is even a shop dedicated to masking tape with millions of designs. That one is a true art on its own that is now extremely popular on the island. From there it’s nice to walk around on the Greenway. The most popular green area in Taichung that offers so needed shadow at any time of the day.

Read a book in the National library of Public Information

Taiwanese love reading. In fact I don’t think I ever saw more people reading in my life. Even bookstores are actually encouraging their clients to stay and read with nice tables, stylish lamps and comfy chairs. We were told they try to earn money on other merchandise and in house restaurant instead.

It made us wonder how a library would look like so we decided to visit one in Taichung. It was quite an experience, people were reading everywhere and it looked more like a stylish café than a dull library. Not to mention the building itself is futuristic and worth a visit even without a book in your hand.

Cool off with a big cup of bubble tea

Coffee might be the new hip thing but its still tea that leads the way. Taiwan produces 20% of world’s oolong tea and it proudly grows also green and black varieties. What better place to try some bubble tea than Taichung, where it was invented in the '80s.

Bubble tea comes in a variety of flavors, it can be green, black or oolong, with fresh or powdered milk, with tapioca or other kinds of pearls. They often even put jellies in it. We tried many different shops but only one made us come back over and over again. Europa served in our opinion the nicest tea bubble or normal. Although the guys preparing it looked clueless, what came out of their hands was delicious.

Explore some fine art for free in the National Taiwan Museum of Fine arts

The museum itself is not an architectural pearl like many others are. But it offers a variety of interesting exhibitions and it’s actually for free. When we were there it presented amazing work of an artist creating moving art with light installations on it. It was literally the most soothing exhibition I saw in my life as the objects were almost floating above and next to us. Another room was all about explaining gravity in a beautiful, approachable way. 

Get some dinner at one of the night markets

Taichung just like any other place on Taiwan is all about night markets, they are literally everywhere and they vary in size and quality. The biggest one is Feng Chia. Although not as good as in Kenting or Taipei, it’s still satisfying especially if you pick up their barbecue meat and veg with a decadent sweet sauce. It’s not exactly picture perfect so you will have to see it with your own eyes:)