Taipei, Taiwan (Spring 2024) - Day 2
The first full day in Taipei starts with breakfast.
Rice Ball King (飯糰霸)
There are many great little stalls within walking distance of Taipei Main Station and this is one of the gems. Probably my favorite morning food in Taipei, this is a small stall that only does fan tuans (rice balls).
This place is on the radar now so you may see some tourists in line but it is usually not too long a wait. I have seen blocks long lines at night markets for fan tuans and this place is just as good as any you will find without the hassle.
They are also ridiculously cheap (about $1.50 - they are about $8-$9 here in the US). Once you get to the tiny stall, you just tell them what kind you want and throw money in the tray while they have a few people around the table assembling.
Some of the places I go to in Taipei are not easy to find so here is a map below:
Taipei Breakfast Foods
In general, if you go walking around, there are many shops and stalls that sell cheap and delicious wraps or sandwiches for a little more than $1. A lot of locals grab a little something on the way to work so you have a lot of convenient places to have a quick bite in the morning. A lot of these shops and stalls are people making some money in the morning before they work a second job in the PM.
Below is an example of what you find around town in the morning.
Xinyi District
Our next destination was the Xinyi District which is the land of the fancy malls and skyscrapers. There are some very opulent malls in Taipei and they are great places to get a break from the heat or rain.
We headed there to shop because another thing about Taipei is that eyeglasses are also very cheap for some reason. You can bring a prescription (can be expired) or you can also just get a free eye exam on the spot (although it would be very helpful to be able to speak Mandarin for that).
Had some fancy mall coffee after eyeglass shopping.
Another amusing Taipei thing is the green man walk signal who walks when the light turns green and as the time gets short starts to run to let you know to get moving
Yong Kang District
We headed over to the Yong Kang district for some afternoon snacks. This area is pretty popular with tourists. It is essentially about 10 blocks of concentrated storefronts with some very popular snack shops and a small park in the middle of it all.
Smoothie House (思慕昔本館)
A must have in Taiwan for me is the mango shave ice. Since it wasn’t mango season yet, the mangos you get are frozen but still very tasty. The portion is massive and even splitting it seems like a meal in itself. Since it was a cooler day, we managed to get this without having to wait in a long line.
Tian Jin Onion Pancake (天津蔥抓餅)
Across the street from the shave ice, this little shack has become pretty famous for their spring onion pancakes. You can get filling in it such as eggs or ham. A splash of hot sauce is a must to round out the flavor.
Morton’s The Steakhouse (Xinyi)
Back in Xinyi, the reason to go to this Morton’s is the view. You go to the top of a business building across from Taipei 101 and you get a great view of the building and the city. They have a State Street Manhattan that comes with a piece of steak as the garnish. You even get a good view from the men’s bathroom! Even though it’s a bit on the fancy side, they have a happy hour that makes the price reasonable.
The Malt (麥村)
I would count this as one of my favorite whiskey bars in the world. They have moved to a new location since COVID but I’m glad that they are still around. When you walk in, you are surrounded by walls full of whiskeys from all over the world. Each bottle has the tasting price listed on the bottle so you just pick out what you want and bring it to the front and they pour it for you.
I think the fact that you can wander around the bottles makes it more fun that scanning a whiskey list.
Prices are great as well. Bottles of the Taiwanese whiskeys like the Omar Cask Strength or that Kavalan Solist shown above are pretty expensive but the tasting price here is very reasonable for them. Even the Weller Full Proof was relatively cheap for a pour. The owner also poured me a glass of that scotch when he learned it was my birthday.
Bar Mood
We were looking for one more spot within walking distance of The Malt and found this place. It was very upscale but quiet on this weeknight. There was a substantial food menu as well but we were just here for drinks.
The menu was basically a full picture book of their house cocktails.