Taipei travel guide

Address:

No. 6, Section 1, Gaotie North Road, Zhongli City, Taoyuan County

Phone:

00886-2-40660000

Opening hours:

7：00—23：45

Address:

No. 3, Beiping West Road, Taipei City

Opening hours:

6：00—24：00

An established snack stall that became even more famous after the TV drama *Love Around the Corner* became a hit.

Address:

Shilin Night Market Tourist Market

The long queues outside this shop every day show how good its beef noodles are. Visitors are encouraged to give them a try.

Address:

No. 274, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei City

Phone:

00886-2-27522556

Opening hours:

11:00–03:00 (next day)

A shop specializing in seafood, though its danzai noodles and crab meat with luffa are the signature dishes. Popular with locals.

Address:

No. 79, Jilin Road

A restaurant that eel lovers must not miss. It also serves authentic Tainan dishes.

Address:

No. 89, Changchun Road, Zhongshan District

For decades this shop has refused to cut its chicken cutlets, so they are very large, crispy outside and tender inside. It is one of the most popular stalls at Shilin Night Market, with long queues every day.

Address:

No. 113, Wenlin Road, Shilin District

Not stinky at all! The best part is the sauce made with kimchi brine, which is savoury and fresh and goes especially well with rice.

Address:

Shilin Night Market Sightseeing Market

Only available at Shilin Night Market: glutinous rice sausage wrapped around black pork sausage, a flavour that is widely praised.

The original shop of snow ice. The best options are honey bean ice, snow ice and shaved ice.

Address:

No. 1, Anping Street, Shilin District

• What to Drink When Thirsty Besides food, night markets never run short of drinks. Stalls selling honey bitter melon tea, bitter tea and grass tea are everywhere, and you can also choose iced drinks such as pearl milk tea and 'Frog Lays Eggs' (青蛙下蛋).

Unlike self-service barbecue, this izakaya has dedicated chefs who grill the food, so guests can simply eat and drink. Besides barbecue, there are several signature side dishes. Music plays in the restaurant, creating a lively atmosphere of eating meat and drinking heartily.

Address:

1st–3rd Floor, No. 175, Shimin Avenue, Songshan District

Phone:

00886-2-25787248

As the name suggests, the garden is planted with pine and bamboo everywhere, and it also takes advantage of its location to grow mountain vegetables and wild greens. Its signature dishes are mainly Chinese cuisine, including free-range mountain chicken, Hakka stir-fry, Hakka large intestine, Wuxi spare ribs, mountain sea bass and pineapple shrimp balls.

Address:

No. 546, Yonggong Road, Yangmingshan, Shilin District

Phone:

00886-2-28616261

In Taiwan, this is a great place to enjoy wild game, home-style dishes and traditional Taiwanese cuisine. The tables follow the slope of the hillside, with a stream running beside the seats, so you can enjoy the cool mountain breeze and sweet floral scents. Recommended dishes include white-cut chicken, stir-fried clams and sweet potato soup. The bamboo chicken soup, which is very popular with guests, is fragrant and savoury, and is said to be good for the complexion.

Address:

Beside No. 55-12, Zhuzihu Road, Beitou District

This is a shop that has been around for 60 years. You can see staff grinding beans at the entrance and smell coffee wafting from inside. The restaurant keeps a traditional, retro style, and the staff are warm and polite. The chicken biscuits and walnut crisps are must-buys and must-tries. Breakfast portions are very generous. If you're tired of pour-over or specialty coffees, return to the origins of coffee appreciation here and rediscover the original spirit of enjoying coffee.

Address:

About a 5-minute walk from Ximending, very close by

Phone:

00886-02-23719577

At 43 storeys, the Shangri-La lets guests look down over all of Taipei from inside the hotel. Nearby large shopping centres house international brand boutiques with a dazzling array of clothing.

Address:

No. 201, Section 2, Dunhua South Road

Phone:

00886-2-23788888

My Way Taipei Hostel) Run by a group of backpackers who love to travel, this hostel has clean, bright and comfortable rooms. The 3rd floor is reserved for female guests only.

Address:

No. 82, Guangming Road, Beitou District

Phone:

00886-228910230

Xinyi District is Taipei's most fashionable upscale shopping and leisure area. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is at No. 9 Songshou Road; Taipei 101 stands 508 metres tall with 101 floors, at No. 45 Shifu Road; New York New York Shopping Centre has a strong American flavour and is at No. 12 Songshou Road; and Breeze Center, besides being a massive department store, is also a gathering place for food and entertainment, at No. 138, Section 4, Bade Road.

Centred on the intersection of Dunhua South Road and Zhongxiao East Road, the department stores SOGO, Mingyao and Breeze Center are the go-to shopping spots for Taipei's professional women. Street stalls along the roads often turn up distinctive, affordable clothing and accessories. The flagship Eslite Bookstore on Dunhua South Road greatly raises the cultural appeal of the East District.

Without question, Ximending belongs to young people, and it is Taipei's 'fashion showcase'. Red House, Tattoo Street, Movie Street, KTVs, Wannien Building, Wan Guo Department Store, Eslite Bookstore and all kinds of boutique shops can be found here. Ximending is also a paradise for Japan lovers, with magazines, records, clothing and toys related to Japan everywhere. In Ximending, there are almost always small concerts, record release events, film promotions and street performances on weekends.

Much like Beijing's Nanluoguxiang, the distinctive boutiques selling trendy small goods and the cafés lining the street have become the hallmarks of Yongkang Street. Here you can not only taste Taiwanese dishes and snacks, but also buy exquisite handicrafts that will leave you satisfied.

Because this was once the residential area of foreigners and overseas Chinese, the whole street has an exotic charm, and many foreign schools were once based here. Today Tianmu has become a fashionable area for young people to shop and eat, and is a favourite gathering place for handsome guys and beautiful girls.

Bookstore Street, on Chongqing South Road, is home to a concentration of major bookshops and publishers. It has a wide range of local and foreign books, and is a neighbourhood that book lovers adore.

Dihua Street has the feel of old money in Taipei. Old streets, markets, creative culture and history blend together seamlessly. The architecture includes Minnan-style, Southeast Asian-style, modernist and Baroque buildings. There are many creative shops and cafés along the road, with a strong sense of nostalgia. The street has plenty of food, so remember to come early, as things may sell out.