Tag: restaurants

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.

Kaohsiung- the street art capital of Taiwan

Kaohsiung was never on our list of places to visit on Taiwan. We thought there was nothing to see there.

Frankly we ended up picking it when our Airbnb in Tainan got canceled and we couldn’t find any better solution. Kaohsiung was close and cheap enough to be our base to explore Tainan on a day trip basis. The street art and city itself captivated us so much that we ended up staying there every single day…

The Pier-2 art district

I often don’t enjoy twisted modern art galleries. Sometimes they really go too far and conceptual for me. But I love how modern art can be applied into forgotten spaces and bring them back to life, keeping the old vibe and soul at the same time.

That’s exactly why I loved the Pier-2 art district. Situated next to Kaohsiung Port it had all the potential to be useful and beautiful at the same time. Yet it was abandoned for years. Thankfully art came its way and nowadays it’s as vibrant and lovely as it can be.

The neighborhood is divided in 3 areas. Penglai area in the north has the Taiwan Railway museum, exhibition warehouses and a park with steel sculptures…  The park is mostly an oasis of piece except for those unlucky moments when a whole bus of a school excursion unloads.

The central area (Dayong area) has exhibition warehouses, a cinema and a bookstore with beautiful cards and artistic souvenirs from Taiwan. Inside the shop there is also a charming café.

The southern part of the neighborhood (Dayi area) is where all the hungry souls and bellies should go. And that’s where we spend most of our time, mostly window-shopping.

Stunning cafes are combined with art galleries and restaurants, something for the spirit and body at the same time. Except for hip places to eat there is a very colorful flower shop that has the most jaw dropping floral compositions.

Just around the corner there are a few very cool shops, one of which is a fair trade shop with local arts and crafts from all over the world. This one especially has beautiful jewelry, wooden kitchen stuff and piles of things that I just wished I could buy.

All 3 areas are full of murals, sculptures and little art work so we kept our eyes open at all time. We especially loved the 3D train station mural, dogs’ sculptures hanging off the wall and a whale watching over the whole street. As weird as they all sound, they are just terrific!

Cijin Island

We naively thought the word “island” and “ferry” would scare people away from going there. As soon as we saw the massive crowds in the port, we knew we were wrong. After few minutes when we reached our destination a whole flood of people went straight to… the streets of the food market. Leaving the rest of the area deserted. And there is quite a lot to discover.

First we went for a small walk up a mountain to admire views over the city and a small lighthouse. It didn’t take our breath away but we didn’t expect that in Cijin.

Until we strolled along the beach side and found Cijin Seashore Park, calm park just by the beach with beautiful street art. At that point I was wondering how come Kaohsiung was not on every “must see” list of Taiwan.

The Dome of Light

The Dome of Light is the largest glass work in the world and it’s hidden right in the heart of Formosa Boulevard metro station. 4500 glass panels form a massive 30 meter in diameter dome…

I read on Wikipedia that it would be offered as venues for weddings. I can’t possible imagine how it would be possible with metro passengers crossing it all the time and quite poor light. That said, it did not stop quite a few newlyweds from taking their wedding shot over there.