30 Secrets & Best Places in Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan

Published on Jun. 11, 2018 by Matt van Vuuren

These are my carefully selected 30 secrets & best places in Taipei which I've visited twice and includes gems like the Snow King, Laotian Lu, Knife Massages, Snake Restaurant, Din Tai Fong, Taipei Night Markets and Taipei Nightlife tips.

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I went to Taiwan with no major expectations but let me tell you, the country, people, food and nature truly blew me away and now I understand why people consider it a hidden gem in Asia. I started my Taiwan adventure in Taipei, often called the food capital of Asia for its wide assortment of cuisines and uniquely themed restaurants like the toilet restaurant, snake restaurant and turtle restaurant. For a brief introduction to Taiwan, go watch my first episode!

Places

The best way to start your Taipei adventure is with an epic Taiwanese breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk, the most popular breakfast joint in town but do come early, lineups can grow very large. I ordered the deep-fried bread stick, egg pancake and a delicious cold soy milk soup for 110 NT, roughly $3.60 USD. There is a good reason why locals wait hours in line to get their hands on this stuff.

mesmerizing views of Taipei from Elephant mountain in Taiwan

After your Taiwanese breakfast hike up the Elephant mountain for the best views of Taipei and the Taipei 101 building just make sure to take many breaks and drinks lots of water, especially on a hot summer day.

You will be able to find one of world's largest Chinese art collections at the National Palace Museum having over 700,000 ancient artifacts on display, I do recommend bringing a bunch of Taiwanese fried chicken snacks from the Chicken Founding Headquarters to the nearby Zhishan garden.

almond shaved ice at the Ice Monster in Taipei

Hilarious places for dinner include the prawn fishing restaurant where you'll be able to capture your own dinner but also the Modern Toilet Restaurant where you can eat beef curry out of a toilet bowl. For dessert, indulge yourself into a delicious shaved ice delight at Ice Monster, my favorite flavour, the almond shaved ice, red beans and almond soft tofu.

After your dessert, head over to the Rilakkuma Cafe. The cutest cafe in Taiwan, including the cute cookies hanging off my coffee cup. On a sunny day, consider a bike ride along the Tamsui river by renting a super cheap Ubike, found all over Taipei for just 20 NT ~ $0.60 USD, that is a steal!

attend a knife massage in Taipei, one of my most favourite massages yet

One of the most incredible experiences was getting a knife massage by knife massage practitioners who require to be vegetarian and meditate daily but don't worry the cleavers used are blunt, it is quite satisfying getting hammered by blunt metal to a point where I fell asleep from relaxation.

For ancient temples, visit the breathtaking Longshan temple also known as the 'meeting place of the gods' where you can witness daily rituals, offerings and many locals praying to the many deities.

century eggs and fermented duck eggs in Taipei, Taiwan

One of the strangest foods I tried were the fermented duck eggs which were traditionally made by a mixture of lime, salt and ash turning the egg white base into a gelatin texture and the egg yolk green from fermentation, to my surprise, this was a delicious snack. Alternatively, there is a Dutch poffertjes cafe in downtown Taipei. Running into these mini Dutch pancakes on the other side of the planet was a great surprise.

As a giant lover of seafood, the Addiction Aquatic Development fish market is the ultimate destination. A high-end fish market with some of the best sashimi, grilled eel and other fish products I have ever tasted, a great spot for lunch!

ready to eat epic seafood! at the high-end Addiction Fish Market

Another bizarre place is ice cream shop Snow King where you can enjoy the most bizarre flavours from Taiwan beer, Kaoliang (58%), Brandy (40%) to sesame chicken ice cream with real bits of chicken. I double dare you to try the Kaoliang ice cream, it is an experience you'll talk about for the rest of your life.

In conclusion, Taipei left a lasting impression on me to such an extent that I returned to Taipei a second time in less than a month time to record even more incredible footage of this mesmerizing city. If you are considering of visiting Asia, do not skip Taiwan. As for the Taipei Night Markets like Shilin and Linjiang, go watch my special episode on night markets but the best part of Taipei has to be the Taipei Nightlife, I had no idea Taipei has so many amazing bars and night clubs with lots of positive, energenic and kind locals, do not forget to watch my Taipei Nightlife episode either. If you want to make new friends in Taipei, you will eventually be asked to be added to WeChat. WeChat is 'the' chat app in Taiwan, so if you do not have DATA on your phone during your stay, make sure to rent a dirt cheap pocket Wifi station at the airport. You can take these pocket Wifi stations all over the country and connect all of your devices (laptop, tablet, phone). It even fits in your back pocket. Luckily, there is a 10% discount on a pocket 4G Wifi station on Klook ($1.45 USD per day). I rent this device everytime I visit Taiwan to avoid any stressful situations. 

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