Taiwan may be an island, but it has so much going on that one can never finish exploring it. Although I go almost every year, my couch-potatoism has gotten the best of me. Friends often ask me for advice on where to start out on planning their trip, and I start with Taipei, the heart of Taiwan. There are new hotspots every year that aren’t guaranteed to last, so I wanted to focus on a list that may be ‘touristy’ to some but is certainly tried-and-true. Here’s a lazy list of places that’s probably a good start for your trip to Taipei.
What to Eat
Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉麵
Yong Kang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵: This is the perfect spot for some classic beef noodles. Beefy, spicy, and thin noodles (what I typically prefer over fat noodles). Plus, Yong Kang St. is pretty much a foodie’s dream. There are a few restaurants mentioned in this post that are only a few steps away (Din Tai Fung, Kao Chi, Smoothie House)
Ling Dong Fang 林東芳牛肉麵: Ling Dong Fang focuses more on having a more clear and light broth. It may not seem like your typical dark beef noodle soup, don’t doubt its flavor quality. They use thinner slices of beef rather than the typical chunks and thicker egg noodles. If you fail at your foodie journey only having space in your stomach for 3 meals a day, come here for a 4th meal after the bars because they close at 3am. Woo!
Lao Deng Dan Dan 老鄧担担麵: They have the THICKEST and the BEEFIEST spicy soup. Yes, there’s a reason why I wrote them in caps. THICC. But not just that, their Spicy Wontons are the best I have ever had anywhere. It’s seasoned well and is not just drizzled with a dash of chili oil like other places. So.. win-win situation. Also, like their store name suggests, they are known for their dan dan noodles. Sadly, I haven’t tried it yet but…next time!
Mee Sua 麵線
Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle 阿宗麵線: I can literally eat this at any given time, whether i’m feeling under the weather, hungover, or hunting more food even though I just said I was “soo fulll”. It is my holy grail of comfort foods. The soup is gravy like, making the noodles go down nice and smoothly, with flavors of garlic, bonito flakes, and soy sauce. Mee sua typically comes with pork intestines and/or oysters, but Ay-Chung only puts intestines in theirs. They have a little station on the side for you to add extra garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili (DO IT) if you want.
PRO TIP: Everyone goes to the one in Xi Men Ding. Lines are long but they go by fast and there are no spots to sit. I go to the one next to SOGO Fuxing (MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, Exit 4). It’s directly to the left if you’re facing the department store. There are tables and seats too, yay!
Lan Jia Gua Bao 藍家割包: I walk by this place a lot since it’s close to where I stay, but accidentally discovered it because I just happened to be craving some mee sua and there it was answering my prayers. As their name suggests, they are actually really famous for their gua baos, so here’s a 2-in-1 for you foodies! Order the corn sparerib soup while you’re at it too.
Pork Chop Rice 排骨飯
Emperor Foods 君悅排骨: Pork chop rice is a standard “lunch box” style meal that typically comes with deep fried pork chop, pickled cabbage, braised egg, and rice. The pork is juicy, tender, crispy and peppery on the outside. What else is not to love about that?
Jin Yuan 金園排骨: This place is similar to above. Emperor Foods is a little more well known. I have no favorites for pork chop rice haha.
Braised Pork Rice 滷肉飯
Jing Feng 金峰魯肉飯: Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯) is the beloved simple comfort food of Taiwan consisting of braised pork and rice. The pork here has just the right a little bit more grease and just the right about of fat that melts in your mouth.
Formosa Chang aka Hu Xu Zhang 鬍鬚張滷肉飯: Formosa’s pork contains a little bit more fat than Jin Feng, and is a little bit more expensive also. Still worth it to try because one can never have too much fat, right?
Huang Ji Braised Pork Rice 黃記魯肉飯: They do their braised pork rice just right for those who are afraid of some good ol’ grease and fat. It is not as greasy as Jing Feng and not as fatty as Formosa. Everything is in moderation.
Soup Dumpling 小籠包
Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐: Can’t make a soup dumpling section without the most talked about soup dumpling restaurant I guess. I personally think this place is a little overrated, but that’s only because I had life changing XLB’s in its original birthplace of Shanghai. Their soup dumpling skin is thin and the meat is nicely flavored, but it wasn’t as soupy as i’d liked. I do think they’re unique with their dessert xlb’s that come with taro or red bean fillings. Line’s are long at the original DTF, so be prepared!
PRO TIP: Although the OG one is on Yong Kang St, i’d go to the one at Shinkong Mitsukoshi (Building A4 , Floor B2) if you don’t want to wait. It is the only one out of the 3 in Taipei where you can make reservations as far as I know.
Kao Chi 高記: This is my grandpa’s favorite place and since he’s from Shanghai, he clearly knows what’s up. The soup dumpling skin is a tad thicker than DTF, but the soup dumpling is overall more flavorful… with more soup! Although they have great XLB’s, I think what really takes the crown here is the lesser known Pan Fried Pork Buns 生煎包
PRO TIP: Since a lot of people don’t want to wait in line at the OG DTF, they end up at Kao Chi since it’s right around the corner for it. My family and I typically go to the one next to SOGO Fuxing.
Dessert
Smoothie House 思慕昔: Mango shaved ice is LIFE in Taipei. This is another restaurant that brought Yong Kang St. to its fame. Previously occupied by “Ice Monster”, people line up to order mango shaved ice topped with mango chunks, condensed milk, and nice fat scoop of mango ice cream. If you’re crazy and don’t like mango, I guess there’s a lot of smoothies for you…
Ice Monster: As mentioned above, Ice Monster used to be on Yong Kang St., but has since moved and expanded to multiple locations. Word on the street is Smoothie House was the product of a nasty divorce. The husband kept the Yong Kang location, and the wife took the name. Ice Monster’s ice is a closer to the snow ice, which is more finely shaved like ribbons, rather than shaved ice, which I prefer.
Eastern Ice Store 東區粉圓: I love coming here as a little pit stop for a dessert that isn’t too heavy or too much. This is the OG shaved ice of Taiwan, but it’s probably not what you’re thinking with the typical mounds of ice drenched in syrup. It’s more like a dessert soup (sounds gross but I don’t know how else to describe it), where you can pick 4 toppings in syrup water with ice thrown in to make it cold (or hot without ice if you prefer). It’s like bubble tea…but in a bowl.
Bubble tea
50 Lan (50嵐): This is everywhere so you can’t not try it. In addition to the traditional bubble teas, they serve some of the more hip and exciting drinks as well.
Ten Ren 天仁茗茶: Ten Ren uses premium and healthy tea to solve all your diabeetus worries. They serve more of the traditional drinks and are usually attached to renowned store that sells quality boxed tea and ginseng products. ‘Tis fancy.
Chen Shui Tang: Legend has it they were the ones that invented bubble tea back in 1983. The place has a more vintage tea house vibe. The tea is a little more strong because they pride themselves on the usage of high quality tea leaves.
Yi Fang Tea 芳水果茶: This is the stop for all your fruit lovers or if you just want a “healthier” option.
Tiger Sugar 老虎堂: The latest hype in the boba world is none other than the “Brown Sugar Milk”, a concoction consisting of caramelized brown sugar, milk, cream, and tapioca pearls. No caffeine! Get a picture of the insta-famous “Tiger Stripes”, which is created from the brown sugar that streams down the inside of the cups.
Drunk food
Yong He Dou Jiang 永和豆漿: Classic Taiwanese breakfast spot! I come here late night more often than early mornings though…haha. I typically order a mix of hot soy milk and peanut milk, rice rolls, soup dumplings, and egg crepe.
Liu Mama Liang Mian 劉媽媽涼麵: Hands down the best drunk food to eat at 4am that I will never throw up. Liang Mian (cold noodles) is simply coated in a silky sesame sauce and julienned cucumbers, but my favorite part about Liu Mama’s is it give me garlic breath for days (scares away the predators in the AM y’know). You must get it with the egg drop and meatball soup.
Xiao Li Zi 小李子: A buffet for congee? Why isn’t this a thing in the states yet? They basically serve a base of sweet potato porridge with a wide variety of toppings and Taiwanese small dishes.
Cash Box 錢櫃: Let’s be real. No one goes to KTV to sing. Okay…maybe just me, I’m just here to nap and eat. While out, I never fail to hear about how excited everyone is to eat some bomb ass beef noodle soup here. I can proudly say it did not disappoint.
Where to Go
Taipei 101: Taiwan’s most photographed landmark and once the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 is a sight to see. It is a mall at the bottom, office in between, and an observatory at the top that is super worth checking out to get a complete view of Taipei from above. The elevator takes only 37 seconds, traveling at 60.6 km/h or 1,010 meters per minute seconds to get from the 5th floor to the 86th floor.
Elephant Mountain: Catch another great view of Taipei 101 and the city from above at the peak of Elephant Mountain. Take the red line on the MRT all the way to the end at Xiangshan Station (象山). The hike is easy and takes about 20 minutes to get to the main viewpoint.
National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial: A beautiful landmark that is a tribute to Chiang Kai Shek. They do a little show changing their guards every hour from 9-6. Soak in the history or hang out on the steps late at night.
Night Markets
Shilin Night Market: The king of all night markets. Shilin is good for trying all of Taipei’s top street foods and shopping. However, my favorite past time as a kid is shrimp fishing near the Shilin Market at Chuen Cheng 春城釣蝦美食廣場. Chill, catch your own shrimp for dinner, salt those little ones, grill em’ and enjoy all your not-so-hard efforts.
Rao He Night Market: Rao he is less of a maze than Shilin, but has one long strip of all of Taipei’s best street foods. Come here to try the famous Fuzhou Shizu Black Pepper Buns 福州世祖胡椒餅! I probably wouldn’t come here to shop unless it’s for small souvenirs. Not far from Rao He is a whole sale garment district called Wu Feng Pu. I like to come here from time to time to find cute clothes.
Xi Men Night Market: The Time Square of Taipei, Xi Men Ding is where all the hip kids chill at. It’s more of shopping area but still has some worthy restaurants and food stalls. If you really want to go to a shitty restaurant, the infamous Modern Toilet, where everything is poop themed, is just a short walk off the beaten path.
Tam Sui/ Dan Sui: I mostly come here for some waterfront views, but they also have some seafood stalls and nice restaurants to catch the sunset at. There is a street behind the path along the water with more street food stalls.
Night Cap
Frank: Pretty much every bar is located in the ATT4FUN building in Xin Yi district. Start the night here with a drink or two while enjoying some serious terrace and rooftop views of Taipei 101 from below.
Barcode: Good spot to pre-game also or if you just want a sophisti-ratchet night at a nice lounge.
R&D: One of the best speakeasies that plays with some of Taiwan’s local fruits, spices, and herbs.
Alchemy: Another speakeasy where you’ll feel like you’ve been thrown back into the prohibition era.
Ounce: A speakeasy that brings New York’s cocktail culture to Taipei. They often invite award-winning guest mixologists, so you know they’re good.
Omni / Kor : Wanna go ham? Omni and Kor are separate joints but attached. Omni is more of your typical club that blasts EDM all night long with sweaty ABC’s all over the place, and Kor is the swanky club / lounge filled with pretty people. Kor is probably my favorite out of the list, but it ain’t Taipei nightlife if you don’t go to more than 2 places in one night. So on to the next bars.
Chess: I honestly haven’t been here since they moved, but this is where I usually head after when I should be going home at 5 am haha. They spin more hip hop tracks, which is a nice break from EDM.
Day Trips
OIA Art Cafe: WHO LOVES ALPACAS? If you don’t, get outta here. On top of my obsession with alpacas, there’s also Savannah cats here to fuel my crazy cat lady side! *faints*. It takes about an hour NW from Taipei to get to Sanzhi.
Jiufen 九份: Get lost in the many alleyways of this old gold mining town nestled in the mountains. Jiufen is most notably known for being the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Spirited Away’. However, Miyazaki has actually denied Jiufen as his muse in an interview, but you can’t deny the similarities. Because of the rumor, many stalls are Spirited Away themed, which still makes it a great place to visit if you loved the movie.
Shifen 十份: Not far from Jiufen, Shifen’s hotspot is centered around a train track. The most insta-worthy thing to do here is to write your prayers and wishes on a paper lantern and setting them into the sky knowing they’ll never come true. Alright, i’ll stop crushing dreams. Just 20 mins away is a beautiful waterfall to marvel.
I hope this helps you plan your first (or 100th) trip to Taipei! Ask me any questions on specific spots. I’ll be happy to help.