Hey guys. It’s me again. This is going to be a relatively informal, unstructured post because I’ve been meaning to write this for a long time now and I’m just now realizing that I don’t have the mental capacity and determination to do it. If I’m perfectly honest, whenever I try to write these posts, I always copy in a dozen paragraphs of lorem ipsum and then just spend hours editing and arranging my photos to the words. It takes me another 2 weeks to conjure up the determination to actually write…
0. Various Places to Hang Around In
Before I start on my actual post, I just want to recommend some places to visit if you ever have a 1-weeker in Taipei. For me personally, some of the best places to walk around in are: Ximending for night festivities, Huashan 1914 Creative Park if you’re hipster and bougie, Zhongshan Metro Mall and Taipei Main Station for shopping, and Yongkang Jie for good food.
Other popular places to visit: Shilin Night Market, Roahe Night Market, Taipei 101 area, Dansui Fisherman’s Wharf, Bitan, Maokong Gondola and Taipei Zoo, and Beitou Hot Springs.
(I have to say that my all-time favorite place is Huashan Creative Park. The little shops feature handmade items from local artists and there’s a movie theater that screens the latest indie films — not to mention 2 of my favorite coffee shops are in the park as well!)
1. ACME Breakfast CLUB
I mostly eat “street food” (aka everyday meals for the locals) when I go back to Taipei but this recent trip I’ve been trying to go to actual restaurants so I can stay hip and modern with what’s going on in the culinary world. The rest of this post is about the restaurants I visited during my last week in the city.
I had bookmarked about 20 or so restaurants (mostly brunch places) because they were, like, so instagrammable. I don’t have an Instagram, by the way, but I do love the aesthetic of living a more lavish life than you actually are. Unfortunately I soon found out that the restaurants were more or less the same, and ACME Breakfast CLUB (ABC) embodies every single one of them: the cute furniture, the garnishes on the dishes, the 20% premium on the food, the obligatory avocado toast, etc. On the left, you’re looking at a grilled cheese & truffle sandwich, french toast with strawberries and figs, and coffee with coconut milk (not just regular milk!). I got the cheapest dishes and it was around 250–300NT each, which is about $10. For reference, you can buy a decent meal in Taipei for $3 . After visiting ABC, I couldn’t summon up the energy — or the cash — to visit my other 19 saved brunch spots.
2. Brasserie
This is Taipei’s most famous buffet, located inside the Regent. Probably the classiest buffet I’ve ever been to. Which makes sense because it’s roughly $50 a person! (Keep in mind that you can get a meal in Taipei for $3.) It’s only $22 if you opt for the afternoon tea buffet after 2pm, but there’s no seafood selection —still obviously the better choice in my opinion, because I’m too lazy to peel shrimps and de-shell crabs.
If you want the seafood, however, there’s 4 types of crabs, fresh shrimp, mussels, octopus, squid, sashimi, and amazing sushi. There’s also just about every cuisine you can think of: Japanese tempura, Szechuan spicy fish fillet, Italian truffle risotto, French madeleines… When we got there at 11am, there was already a line snaking around the hotel. If you’re lucky, you can get one of the beautiful tables next to the glass walls! (We weren’t lucky.)
3. Maokong CAFE Alley
I assume this place is pretty popular because it’s always bustling when I pass by it, but I’ve only ever gotten fries and tea here. It’s a convenient stop for a quick meal if you take the Maokong Gondola up the mountains since it’s one of the more “modern” restaurants up there.
We also witnessed an old woman kill a mountain wasp with her bare hands here. Just swatted at it like it was a mosquito, no biggie.
4. Sunny Hills
There are two famous brands of pineapple cake in Taipei: Sunny Hills and Chia Te. My family personally prefers Chia Te, but I decided to go to Sunny Hills because I heard that you get a free pineapple cake and a cup of tea when you enter, which is absolutely wild since most places just give you tiny samples on toothpicks. I’m not well-versed enough in pineapple cakes to discern average from good, so I thought Sunny Hills was delicious. My friend decided to buy a box, and it was packaged in a cute little tote. I definitely recommend stepping in here if you’re hungry and pining for free dessert like I was!
Anyway, I need to fill this paragraph up with more words in order for the photos to flow properly, but I’ve run out of things to say about pineapple cakes so I guess I’ll just ramble on about my life.
After being in London for almost a week now, I really miss Taiwan and NYC. London used to be one of my dream cities to visit because I grew up on Harry Potter, but it’s a lot more like America than I would’ve thought. I would say it’s sort of like Philly/Boston because of the old buildings, but London is pretty spread out — not as compact as NYC, which is how I like it. I have noticed that British people love hanging flower bouquets on their storefronts and apartments, though. London is expensive as well — everything is priced the same amount as America nominally (like a sandwich is 8 pounds instead of 8 dollars), except 1 pound is worth ~1.3 USD, so it’s like I’m paying a 30% surcharge. I really want to visit Paris or Amsterdam or somewhere with a more “European” vibe. I wandered into Somerset House today and it was breathtaking (minus the gray skies), but most of London’s streets are replicated in America in my opinion. Just some rants from yours truly! Still grateful to be here though :)
5. Thaï.J
Honestly, who named this restaurant? Why does it look like hieroglyphics?? My grandmother took us here to celebrate my sister’s birthday, and it is hands-down one of the most gorgeous restaurants I’ve ever been in. My photos don’t convey it well enough. There are flowers EVERYWHERE, and you know I love that sh*t. I also love the delightful color theme of purple and yellow and how the dining chairs are cushioned like sofas. Although the portions are small, the dishes are surprisingly average-priced and actually pretty tasty for a restaurant inside ATT 4 FUN (a Taipei department store).
The dish above is one of their best known dishes — some sort of Thai salad with flavored rice and a bunch of other stuff mixed in (green beans, grapefruit, cucumber, pork floss, fish sauce, etc.).
One warning: you have to make a reservation here and there’s a strict 2-hour eating window. The only time slot they had available on a Saturday was 6pm (everyone eats late in Taiwan), and when we exited the restaurant at 8pm, there was a huge line at the entrance.
6. Untitled Workshop
I can’t believe this coffee shop remodeled! I thought I went to the wrong place because it was so different from the pix on Yelp and Instagram. Untitled Workshop used to be known for its colorful pineapple wallpaper, but the owner remodeled it to look extremely minimalistic. I kinda dig the new look more, but I know Instagram loves colorful wallpaper!
The journey to get this avocado toast — another thing Untitled is known for — was downright horrendous. I got my period that day so my stomach was in shreds, but it tricked me into thinking it was a bit better so I decided to venture out alone to get some brunch and snap some photos. My stomach started cramping a bit after the toast, but it wasn’t until I got on the MRT (subway) back home that I felt faint. Long story short, I had a heat stroke.
I almost passed out on the train and my face had gone white and I was shaking and could barely move my arms or legs. I was also literally moaning in pain in public and had to spread myself out across three seats to lie down because I felt like I was going to throw up or black out from the pain. That MRT ride back home was the LONGEST ride of my life. I texted my mom to fetch me and I clung onto her for dear life while she walked me out of the station. I kept puking up avocado toast on the walk back home.
Even though I couldn’t keep it down, I have to say that this was probably one of the best avocado toasts I’ve ever had, though. Everything was done right: the toasted sourdough, the chili flakes, the chives and honey drizzle… Go try it now and try not to get a heat stroke!
7. Suntay Teppanyaki
Last but not least is a teppanyaki place — probably one of the most expensive restaurants I’ve ever been to. We had a private room and terrace. Suntay Teppanyaki is known for its locally sourced veggies & meat as well as seafood flown fresh from Japan; their gimmick is that everything is cooked without oil (even the fried eggs and popcorn!).
One of the dishes (see above) was literally a giant succulent leaf. The main course was beef slices wrapped around salmon roe, foie gras, or shishito peppers that just melted in your mouth.
8. Succuland
Technically not a restaurant, but I really like this store! Well to be honest, I really don’t know anything about it other than the fact that it’s aesthetically pleasing and expensive as hell. If I lived in Taipei, I would definitely get my succulents from here. Speaking of succulents, what is with the recent popularity of “urban jungles”?? I’ll admit I got caught up in it as well and have been planning out the plants that I’m going to get when I move into my new apartment in NYC. There are so many greeneries in NYC that sell upscale, expensive indoor plants (upwards of $100!), but I’m just gonna go to IKEA and scout out their selection. I’ve already bookmarked the plants I want and made sure that they’re all available in the Brooklyn store — I’m thinking 2 large floor plants and 3 medium desktop plants. I’m so tempted to buy from Greenery NYC because their planters are just beautiful, but I don’t think I can shell out $100 for a single plant yet…
Anyway I’m done writing this post and refuse to edit it so here goes nothing!
