Diary / 2022
I started creating a list of everywhere that I ate and the things that I love. These are in no particular order. Each entry is illustrated with photos so that you can simply scroll through and see what catches your eye. For more information, see my [ introduction to Taiwan ] and check out my [ 4 day itinerary ] that covers the must-see sights.
TAIWANESE BREAKFAST
So this is my usual routine: Get off the plane at Taoyuan Airport around 6 AM local time, drop my luggage at home, and head straight to the breakfast stall. It's always my first stop whenever I arrive. They open at 7 AM and close before noon or whenever they run out. What I eat here: egg omelette wrapped in jian bing, fan tuan, soy milk. You can find these in any older neighborhood - just walk around in the morning and look for a line of commuters grabbing breakfast on their way to the office.
24 HOUR FRUIT STAND
I have so many questions about this fruit stand, which sits on a lonely stretch of highway near my parents house on the way to the beach, and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Like - who is buying mangoes at 4am? (I imagine long distance truckers looking for a healthy snack...) In addition to fresh coconuts, guava, pineapple, they also have fruits like limboo that you can't get outside Taiwan (they spoil too quickly for long distance shipping). Being open 24 hours might seem unnecessary, but on this fruit loving island, they are so popular that last time I went to buy fruit at 10 PM, it was so busy there were 2 workers in the parking lot directing traffic.
DONG GANG FISH MARKET
Warning: This is a fish market, not a bougie food hall. It smells like dead fish (yum), the floor is wet, and you may see large plastic buckets of fish guts. So the question is, how obsessed with sashimi are you? You can get a plate of high quality sashimi for $7 USD (my favorite is Stall 220), and there are also stalls selling a full cooked dinner. The specialty in Dong Gang is bluefin tuna ($40 USD for a big plate with 12 pieces) which is only caught in certain places - one of which is Dong Gang, which hosts an annual tuna festival. Dong Gang is in the countryside, not Taipei, so you'll need to make a trip here via high speed rail - I will be adding information on how to do this!
YONGKANG STREET
One of the most atmospheric and unique places in Taipei. I love going here. The neighborhood is dedicated to all kinds of tea shops, ranging from the traditional (cluttered, cozy, super legit tea) to the modern (bougie, hipster, Insta friendly). Many traditional shops will offer intimate tea tastings just like wine tastings - you will sit down with the shop owner, who brews and pours tea for you as they explain different vintages. Tea is a serious business here - vintages are marked with the year they were harvested and the amount of rainfall that year which affects the flavor, and premium teas can run into the thousands of dollars per brick and are sometimes bought as investments. Update: Yongkang Street was selected as #4 on Time Out's list of "world's coolest streets" in 2022 and seems to have exploded in popularity recently and is now super crowded.
CHUN SHUI TANG
If you love boba, get ready for this... Chun Shui Tang are the original inventors of boba, also known as pearl milk tea. In fact, both Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin Tea claim to be the inventors of boba and actually went to court over it - the court ultimately ruled that no one can establish ownership over boba. Regardless, a visit here is a must for any boba lovers. I've mostly stopped drinking boba for health reasons, but Chun Shui Tang is my weakness. Get the boba in store instead of takeaway so that you can get a frothy top on your drink. The rest of their food is hit or miss, but their beef noodles are standout in flavor. Many locations around Taipei but often small and cramped - my favorite is on the third floor of Eslite Songshan, which is elegantly spacious and has a nice view.
SHIN YEH
The food at Shin Yeh doesn't photograph well - but it doesn't need to. This is as classically Taiwanese as it gets. I have been ordering the same thing for the past 20 years: radish omelette, im xi oh, yam porridge, Taiwanese sausages, pork liver. Im xi oh (stir fried mini oysters) is possibly my favorite Taiwanese dish ever, and I haven't found a version better than the one Shin Yeh makes. Back in the day, my grandpa hosted business dinners here, and as a kid I always wanted to eat here if I ever got to pick for special occasions. Business culture is still alive and well here, and Shin Yeh has since earned a Michelin star for its Taiwanese Signature location (each location has different menus). My favorite location is in the Nanxi Mitsukoshi for its updated decor while still serving the classic dishes, or the original location on Shuangcheng Street if you want to go truly old school.
YUANSHAN
My great-grandmother used to hike this every day at 5 AM along with a group of neighborhood ladies that she met at the temple. Yuanshan is much less famous and not as challenging versus other mountains in Taipei, but I have a special affinity for it because it is so tied to the local community. You will see groups of elderly people hanging out, grilling food, and singing karaoke and pass by small temples set along the mountain. It's a very different experience from hiking in the US (for better or worse) - much more lively and community based.
THE ONE
Out of all the meals I ate in Taiwan this time, The One might be my favorite. You can't tell from the photo, but this fish was honestly the one of the best I have ever eaten - one side was perfectly crisp and the other was meltingly tender - super clean and sweet, no fishy taste at all. They create innovative and delicate dishes with a focus on high quality local Taiwanese ingredients. The first floor has a gourmet food shop with small-batch Taiwanese food products, like fleur de sel harvested in Taiwan and liquor distilled from Taiwanese yams. The One holds a special place in my heart as it encapsulates everything I love when I think about Taiwanese creativity - calm, playful, light, connected to nature, and a little bit melancholy. [Official Website]
ESLITE
If you're looking for high quality items or souvenirs, skip the night markets and head to Eslite instead. One of my favorite shopping destinations, it's a multistory select shop featuring unique items from indie designers in Taiwan - award winning jewelry, leather goods, artisanal snacks and teas, stationery and postcards. Taiwan has a strong culture of craftsmanship and this is a great way to see modern Taiwanese aesthetic and design. They also carry one of my favorite skincare brands - Yuan Soaps, which makes crisp scents from traditional herbs grown at their farm on Yang Ming Shan. Eslite first became famous for their bookstore, where I stock up on all kinds of art and design magazines I can never find in the US - I have fond memories because when I was a kid, my mom would always take me to the bookstore on days out. Several locations of Eslite around Taipei - my current favorite is the Eslite in Songshan District, which overlooks a beautiful park built around a reclaimed tobacco factory that is now home to design shops and galleries. [Official Website]