Taipei, Taiwan (Spring 2024) - Day 5

Earthquake!

An earthquake struck in the middle of the night that lasted for a bit. It was strong enough to shift the mattress on the bed. Kind of freaky but it was just another Saturday to the locals who are used to it.

Notch Coffee

We changed to another nearby hotel for the last night for cost reasons and after getting one more fan tuan, we stopped at this coffee shop. I had always liked this place for its coffee but also the hipster vibe from being near the university. The main seating area is upstairs and you have to navigate a sketchy narrow staircase to get there.

Taihu Brewing Daan

Taihu is a Taiwanese brewery with a few bar locations around the city. This one was very western centric with its food options with burgers and fried chicken and such. I ordered the most Asian style foods on the menu that I could find. The noodles were actually pretty good. The place is pretty popular and the community style tables were constantly full.

Club Leo

We found this next stop nearby as I continued to lament at the lack of day drinking options around town. I thanked them for being accommodating to our whims. We were the only customers in there as I guess Taiwan is filled with responsible adults.

Le Fumoir

I wanted to try out a new cigar bar and found this place. It was an off hour so we had the place to ourselves and got to chat with the owner while he enjoyed his cigar. He has an above average whiskey offering. I decided not to overpay for a Cuban but he recommended an alternative that was pretty good. He also gave us suggestions for Tokyo whiskey bars which was very helpful.

Chicken Restaurant (鑫耀鑫)

This place has no English name but is was a place that I would eat at often when I lived close by. The location is below:

This block and alley may turn some people off as you may encounter a stray rodent sometimes but the food around these parts are pretty good. There is a university nearby so a lot of the places are also very affordable. You basically get a whole meal for $3. Beware of the hot sauce on the table- use it sparingly as it is very spicy.

Braised Pork Rice (北北車魯肉飯)

This is a spot just down the alley that has fantastic braised pork rice. Unfortunately the place is tiny for seating and I didn’t feel like getting take out so I did not get to eat here this trip.