Taiwan

Please don’t take this seriously. Personal opinions. What everyone likes is subjective.

It is warm but not like Singapore warm. It does get cold from Dec - Feb. Humidity is high so makes you feel cold at 10C.
Win NT$5000 at airport (until June 30, 2025) — Register 7 days before arrival (NOT A SCAM LOL)
Airport to city has good public transportation for both TSA and TPE airports.
You can drink alcohol anywhere.
Use Uber in the city to get around. Use the slightly more expensive option ($3-$5 more per trip) and usually a Tesla Model 3 will pick you up. Cars from this option is usually more clean and they don’t talk to you (which is a feature I like).
Metro, MRT, coverage is great and clean too. No drinks (even water) inside station. You can buy a card or buys ticket each trip.
Food to try: Beef noodle, goose, 滷肉飯 (Formosa Chang chain is decent), stinky tofu (fried for starter, boiled for true lover), noodles (Danzai)
Food to try at Nightmarket: Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐, 豬血糕, 胡椒餅 (pepper bun), 潤餅 (burrito), 地瓜球, 豆花
Dont eat breakfast at Hotel!!!!
Breakfast. People eat breakfast outside. Try [Dan bing] (every western-style breakfast places sell them)
Search 早餐店 on google map around you
火腿蛋餅+蘿蔔糕一片煎焦一點＋巧克力切邊＋大冰奶
ham dan bing + raddish cake a bit burned + chocolate toast + iced milk
Breakfast: Chinese-style: Try 豆漿油條燒餅飯糰
Lunch: Many places sell set lunch (can take out as bentobox), you get a main (meat), rice, some small dishes for $5-$8. 排骨飯、燒臘
Food to try with group
- Go to a 熱炒 — a place you order each dish for $5.
- Go to a Hotpot.
Snacks: 蔥抓餅 scallion pancake, 胡椒餅 black pepper pork buns
Drinks: 50嵐 boba chain, it is everywhere. 10% sugar and normal iced. The sweetness from boba will leak out after 5-10 mins.
Dessert: 豆花 is like tofu for dessert with toppings. Shaved Ice
Night market: Try not to buy fruits there. Over-priced and not very good. There is a brand new modern night market call 南門市場
Trip within Taipei: MaoKong for Tea. Elephant mountain taipei to see Taipei 101 and overview of city.
Day trip from Taipei can go to Jiufen, people always (mistakenly) connect here with spirited away. Take taxi from the city $35 USD / 50 mins.
Day trip from Taipei can go to 淡水. And walk to this place 天使熱愛的生活 and check Fort San Domingo.
There is high-speed train to go to Taichung (middle of taiwan), Tainan (south of Taiwan) in 1 - 1.5 hours.
Hire TaipeiEats if you need paid food tour
黃記魯肉飯 Huang Ji Lu Rou Fan & Coffee Flair

Comfort food. Braised pork belly over rice.

今大滷肉飯

Food: 雄記蔥抓餅 Scallion Pancake
https://maps.app.goo.gl/y9A828ZZBKhQg4Ak7

Food/Snack: 藍家割包
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Zq5FBWtc2oivmExf9

Snack.
It is like a streamed hamburger with pork belly as patty + some veggies for $2.5?

肥: fatty pork
瘦: lean pork
綜合: mix
綜合偏肥: 75% fat, 25% lean
綜合偏瘦: 75% lean, 25% fat

Then walk to 師大夜市 (Shida nightmarket) area.

Snack: 師園鹹酥雞
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DjJtjYvJxd2SYZi88

自由廣場 Liberty square. Famous for military police changing shifts. People practice dance there. The president was memorial of is questionable :p

Food: 金峰魯肉飯 (Lu Rou Fan)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kXxHJmmacHUHgpDJ6

Food: 盛園絲瓜小龍湯包 (Xiao long bao)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/utAWa59ohDoP3yuDA

Food: 龍門客桟餃子館 (Dumpling House)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ENYmEVAmAjUGKxaA7

Food: 鼎泰豐 Ding Tai Fung
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ydhCz6TGZRwvME9R8

Food: 永康牛肉麵
https://maps.app.goo.gl/TntdEiM9fVsvivCRA

Dessert：白水豆花台北永康
https://maps.app.goo.gl/AJbLHw5tfkHAuMoi6

Drink：SOMA 特調飲品永康店
https://maps.app.goo.gl/K65HLTF5PS5r8J249

Drink：東海萊姆園
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vRTEMEeo8kNceJgM6

Food: 師園鹽酥雞（西門店）
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kkh3ejwqHBLMXYgt6

Food: 阿宗麵線 rice noodle
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7sYENuqLoYv5q34w5

Food: 老天祿滷味
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3tWLkkwKV9YinszZ8

Dessert：成都楊桃冰
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WoiuGWWKxSFf9WeK6

Breakfast. Go to Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple.

My limited food recommendations for Taipei (Custom Google Map)¹
The Eater Guide to Taipei, migrationology’s Taipei guide
Breakfast! Try authentic chinese and western-style breakfasts
Drink boba / bubble tea / tapioca
Try local food in Taiwan²; I miss restaurants does Goose.
Go to Night Markets
Convenience Stores are everywhere and really convenient³
The scooters buzz around the streets in the night... Sorry.
Figure out what Für Elise song is for in Taiwan and send me an email
Keep Receipts to win the lottery
Visit NPM HQ, don’s miss the pork and cabbage
Jiufen is NOT the inspiration of Spirited Away (still nice to visit)⁴
Yangmingshan National Park to see live volcano
A lot of mountains over 3000m to hike

I hope everyone you meet will help you out of their way without asking anything in return. Otherwise, send me email for any question: [email protected].

Enjoy!

Not enough time to enjoy all in a trip? Try gold card visa and work remotely!