Taipei: Taiwan-t to Go Back
Taiwan is a fascinating combination of Chinese + Japanese + Taiwanese culture all cohabitating on the island of Taiwan. It’s a great destination option year-round thanks to its mild weather and wide variety of things to do. Whether you're into city visits or prefer more outdoorsy adventures, Taiwan has it all. I really loved this trip and can’t wait to come back and explore more. But the focus of this article is Taipei.
Fun Fact: Taipei means Taiwan North!
Note: If you’re interested in hearing more about whatTaipei is like at Christmastime, you can find that here in a separate article.
CONSUME
Start your day off right by trying a traditional soy milk. Two good options we tried:
Ding Yuan Soy Milk | Must-try items include iced soy milk, xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), and you can’t go wrong with the any of the pastry options (the sesame and the chive were my faves).
Pro Tips | Table turnover is impressively quick so don’t fret if there isn’t a table available while you’re waiting in line. Visit Nick Kembel’s Taiwan Obsessed site for loads of great information about touring Taiwan
Fuhang Soy Milk | Set in a food court, the best thing I had was the egg / churro combo. Soy milk here comes in a bowl and while it’s good it’s weird to drink milk out of a bowl, so, you do you.
Pro Tip | The wait was about 45-minutes (sometimes even longer) so grab a coffee to drink in line while you wait.
Cup Coffee | I’m not ashamed to say that I stopped by here a few mornings for iced coffee. No shame in preferring the taste of home sometimes.
Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake | I didn’t know this place was even a thing. It just smelled so good when we walked by and the woman working there clearly knew what she was doing. YUMMMMM. Easy (and delicious) local delicacy to eat on the go.
Ay-Chung Flour Rice Noodles | Get noodles here obvi. Line wasn’t too long and it moved quickly since they only sell one thing. Wander the Ximending pedestrian shopping area and eat your noodles while you people watch.
Beef Noodle | The soup here - yum. It’s no frills here and the locals seem to just get in and get out. Another long line, but it moves quickly. Choose the spicy option for more flavor. Fun Fact: They offer my mom a fork because she’s too slow with the chopsticks and they needed to turn and burn the table.
Yo Sushi | Don’t let the name fool you, this place takes its omakase seriously. Even my mom ate everything and she claims to not be a sushi fan. Everything was excellent. Bonus if you’re adventurous enough to try the sperm sac.
24-hour Cantonese Lucky Star Banquet Hall | Despite the fact that this unassuming restaurant is on the second floor of an office building, lit like a library, and has a picture menu, it was very good. Everything we had was really good. Order all the baobab, shumei, and spicy squid.
Addiction Aquatic | Fish lovers paradise. There is a variety of food options to purchase or to eat in. There are also indoor and outdoor dining options so you can choose your own adventure. We did both - started outside and then moved indoors. Everything we tried was fresh and delicious.
Choose Indoor Dining if raw seafood is your jam and you don’t mind standing at a counter to eat. We ordered a sushi platter and sake.
Choose Outdoor Dining if cooked seafood is your jam and you sitting down to eat is important to you. Grab a table and order drinks, then you can go peruse the fresh options. We chose crab legs and some fish, meat and veggie skewers.
Palais de Chine La Rotisserie | Terrible. Don’t go. Here’s a rundown:
Drinks: The only alcohol on offer was Bacardi, so we opted for wine, which was fine but we had to keep asking for it because they wouldn’t leave it on the table
Food: Unripe tomatoe salad; ziti with a hard boiled egg (?) and the ziti was clearly store-bought; food generally not very special for the price
Service: Very slow. Our mediocre food came out at all different times. At the end they asked us how it was, we responded that it wasn’t very good, the server smiled and brought the check. It was almost as if none of the servers had ever eaten at a restaurant.
Night markets are an absolute must. We tried two:
Nanjichang Night Market | Every stand is numbered and specializes in specific dishes. I should have captured the stand numbers, but I was too busy eating, so you’ll have to find these on your own. Don't miss:
Sesame and red bean cakes
Scallion, corn, and pork buns
Stinky tofu (try it fried with pickled cabbage and spicy sauce to take the edge off)
Mini-pancakes
Pro Tip | Try Taiwan’s 18-day beer. It’s non-pasteurized and only has an 18 day shelf life so it’s most often only consumed in bars. Quite refreshing.
Keelong Night Market | Same as Nanjichang - each stall is numbered and specializes. There’s an endless array of food to choose from. The most well-known, and ones that I recommend: the “nutritional sandwich” (bizarro but good), “one bite” mini-sausages (with huge pieces of garlic - yum), and the chicken roll. This is a buzzy neighborhood as well so there’s a quite a bit to explore here.
7-Eleven | Don't miss the convenience store experience. It’s not as good as Japan but when in doubt, grab an onigiri for a delicious, and fairly healthy, on-the-go snack.
EXPLORE
Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial | Climb the symbolic 89 steps for impressive views of the parade grounds. If you time it right, catch the changing of the guards at the top of the hour. Other attractions here:
Def explore the surrounding gardens; they’re small but charming
If you choose to visit the museum, most exhibits are in Chinese, but the photos are still interesting. Bonus: There’s a post office inside if you send postcards like I do.
228 Peace Park | Active little park filled with sculptures, a small temple, children karaokeing (at least when I was there) and picnickers. Nice place to rest your legs.
National Palace Museum | Ok, I’m going to be honest with you - this wasn’t the best museum I’ve ever been to. If you love ancient textiles, then this place is for you. Otherwise, here were my highlights and takeaways:
Skip the audio guide unless you’re deeply interested in Chinese antiquities. While the information is useful, it assumes that you can reasonably spend three full minutes in front of an artifact without having your personal space invaded AND that you have 300 hours to kill in this museum.
The National Palace Museum has a collab exhibit with the Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Van Cleef & Arpels the runs through end of April 2025 that’s small but impressive. Check out a mix of jewelry and sculpture in an intimate setting. The jade bok choi is easily the highlight from a craftsmanship perspective. Note: It can get super crowded and shove-y so steel yourself for that.
The gardens on the edge of the museum grounds are a tranquil delight. Enjoy koi living their best lives, statues, fountains, bridges - the whole shebang. We spent maybe 30 minutes wandering through.
Temples
Confucius temple | Incredibly ornate architecture with unique features like the "Turtle with the existential crisis" hanging out in the little pond.
Dalongdong Baoan Temple | Beautiful traditional architecture with adjacent gardens and fountain.
Lungshan Temple | Known for its turtles and traditional architecture
Shopping / Neighborhood Wandering
The Red House | It was the spot for Taipei’s first public market, now this historic spot houses boutique and craft shops and a small cafe. Worth a walkthrough especially if you want local souvenirs.
Don Don Donki | You may know this as Don Quijote in Japan, this is the ultimate discount store to buy souvenirs, snacks, clothes, electronics….anything you can think of. I personally go for skincare, namely sheet masks, which I highly recommend you stock up on. This is always worth a walkthrough.
Chifeng Street in the Zhongshan District | Love this whole neighborhood so much. Streets line with boutiques, bars and restaurants, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon. We happened to be there when the outdoor market was in full swing and there were so many great vintage, craft, design stalls. For sure carve out some time to wander here.
Xinzhongshan Linear Park | Festive park that decorates for the season. Worth a wander to stop into the shops, bars and restaurants. Similar to Chifeng Street - this is a trendier area of Taipei and def a great place to spend an afternoon.
CRAFT BEER & COCKTAILS
There’s a thriving community for this here, so obvi you have to try a few:
Juup Juup | Pricey by Taipei standards but cozy, with a nice selection of beers and a small menu.
Note: The bathroom here is two doors down and it’s public. It was very clean but there wasn’t any paper.
The Open Door | Not far from Lucky Start Banquet Hall, this cocktail bar is low-key and cozy. Order from their creative menu or they can make you a classic.
Urban Alley | No frills craft beer bar with unique local options; I liked the Tea Ale. Their music choice was to play the entire Aerosmith catalog. I wasn’t mad about it.
The Herbal | Unusual cocktails but worth a try. There was a Sesame Whiskey drink that was the winner for me.
ABV | I don’t even know how to explain this place because it’s doing the most across a wide variety of cuisines and cultures. Excellent selection of beer and sake and the food looked good so it’s worth a try if you’re in the neighborhood but it’s not a ‘go out of your way’ kind of place.
Draftland | Great punch cocktails and vinyl selection. You can drink a dangerous amount of these delicious punch options.
Book Ing Bar | Hidden upstairs venue with study-like atmosphere. It was pretty buzzy when we went and the cocktails were really good. If you’re there alone or just with one other person try and sit at the bar.
Neon Cafe and Bar | In the Chifeng neighborhood, this is one of many cool local watering holes. Enjoy an Orion on draft and mingle with the locals. The bartender made us his first-ever dirty martini, and it was quite good for a first attempt. If you go you’ll have to see if he kept up his newly acquired skill.
Bookstore 1920’s | Part bookstore. Part bar. Serves gelato. No notes.
DAY TRIP
There’s so much to see outside of Taipei so we found an amazing guide - Jack - who picked us up in his luxurious Mercedes and took us to some incredible spots.
Yehliu Geopark | Marvel at the Mars-like landscape. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and it’s fun to wander through and see all the fossils and rock formations. The big draw is the famous Queen's Head rock formation. It’s not earth shattering but she’s not going to be around much longer so you might as well swing by since you’ve come this far.
Shifen Waterfall | Lovingly known as the “Niagara Falls of Taiwan” it is quite impressive as waterfalls go. The journey to the waterfall starts with a walk across a suspension bridge, followed by a stroll through a covered market; and finally, the waterfall. If you’re not super mobile or you’re feeling low energy, you can view the falls from the other side of the market. If you’d like to see the waterfall eye-to-eye and get lightly misted, you can take the stairs down. I think the climb is worth it. Not to mention the photos are way better from that angle.
Pro Tip | There are nice souvenirs and delicious snacks in the covered market. Try the Pineapple custard apple. It’s a Taiwanese hybrid fruit, that’s a cross between a sugar apple (Annona squamosa) and a cherimoya (Annona cherimola).
Shifen Old Street | Picture it: sky lanterns soaring overhead, the smell of stinky tofu in the air… The main draw of this adorable little village is to write your wishes on a sky lantern and release it into the sky from the train tracks in the center of town. But this village also has stores and restaurants all along both sides of the Pingxi Railway Line railroad tracks the split the town in half.
The sky lantern experience is super touristy but so well worth it. Such a unique experience and it operates like a well-oiled machine. So much so, that I can predict that your experience will probably go like this:
Step 1 - Walk across the bridge to the town. Look for an available easel - they are everywhere - and someone will appear and guide you to one.
Step 2 - Choose your lantern color(s); each color combination has a specific meaning
Step 3 - With the black paint provided at your easel, paint your name and your wishes for the year on each side of the lantern
Step 4 - Follow the guide to the train tracks where they will light the lantern, take a million pictures of you as your lantern is prepared for launch, and then send your lantern into the sky
Bonus Step 5 - The train will inevitably come barreling down the track and everyone will scurry off the tracks to avoid getting killed; the guide will take photos of you nervously laughing as you nearly get clipped by the speeding train; the train will pass you can continue having fun.
After your successful lantern launch, wander the shopping stalls and enjoy the wafted smells of stinky tofu smells fill the air, lanterns overhead; Quick walk through the town for magnets
Jiufen Old Street | Drive ~40 minutes up into the mountains to this old gold rush town. According to our guide, the town was originally settled during the Qing Dynasty by nine families. Later the Japanese built up the city’s architecture, but after the gold rush of the 1890’s the town was largely abandoned, until the 1980’s and 90’s when filmmakers put this village back on the map. You can easily spend a few hours here, so here are some things to do:
Enjoy the View! Grab a table at a restaurant with a view of the bay or visit one of the many teahouses
In the main square, wander into the Shengping Theater, the first theatre in northern Taiwan.
Also in the main square, take photos of the famously steep stairs that lead up the to the winding markets on Jiufen Old Street
Take a wander through the markets on Jiufen Old Street to find tons of local treats and souvenirs
Pro Tips |
The drive from Shifen to Jiufen is very windy and hilly so if you get motion sick you may want to take precautions.
It can get seriously crowded here either come around 10am or after 6pm to beat the day trippers. Luckily nighttime in Jiufen can be particularly magical.
There are lots of stairs and narrow winding alleys to manuever, something to keep in mind if mobility is a concern.
After our day trip, our guide was dropping us off in Keelong to visit the Night Market (see above in this article), but before that we had a few more stops to hit that were all largely clustered together. All in all seeing the three of the below sites took a total of about 30 minutes, and that included a bathroom break.
Golden Waterfall | The metal minerals in the soil turn this waterfall into a copper color. This is a quick stop. You pretty much get out of the car, snap a photo, then get back into the car and head to the next stop.
The Remains of the Thirteen Levels | This eerie site was a former smelter plant and refinery that has been abandoned since 1981. A few years ago a pair of artists partnered with the Taiwan Power Company to illuminate the remains. Try and time so you can see it when the interior lights are on each night 18h to 21h.
Two Colored Oceans | Meh. This is directly in front of the Thirteen Levels. The Yinyang Sea’s blue sea water combines with the rust-colored runoff water from the Golden Waterfall to creat this phenomenon. I think you have to catch this on a particularly sunny day to get the most of it.
Dutch Colored Houses | We drove but this at the tail end of our tour but it was dark outside already and the houses weren’t lit so I can’t endorse this. That said, if it fits into your schedule the houses look like they could make for a charming photo.
All in all I highly recommend a visit to Taipei and some of the surrounding towns and villages. I would gladly come back and continue to explore.
THE LOGISTICS
Travel Dates | December 2024
Flights | Cathay Pacific through Hong Kong (MEL > HKG > TPE)
Centurian Lounge at MEL is chaos. Always is. Prepare yourself mentally.
Service from HKG to TPE was most ambitious ever. Hour-long flight and they proceeded to serve steaks for all! Insane, but impressively efficient service.
Lodging | Regent Taipei
Great option for a central location
Hotel bar makes great dirty martini and offers a house-brewed beer
Physical room keys! What a throwback.
Transportation |
The public transportation system is excellent, with clean facilities!
Uber is readily available and reliable for getting around
Pro Tips |
A handful of lunch restaurants are very ‘get in get out’, which I appreciate. These restaurants arely serve anything to drink, that I noticed, so carry water just in case.
Many restaurants we visited had long lines but the lines moved quickly.
Winter weather can be unpredictable - be prepared for rain
Many, many places are cash-friendly or cash-only so have cash on-hand at all times
English signage is common in tourist areas
Temples are active places of worship - be respectful when visiting
