10 Days in Taiwan - Itinerary and Food Report

 
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This Spring Break, I finally had enough vacation days to take about a week off. So, where to? I thought about India or Bali, but I decided that as I end my stint in Asia, I’d like to go somewhere I would be unlikely to return to do—somewhere that isn’t on the tourism radar as much as, say, Japan or Thailand. I decided on Taiwan and woo boy, that was a good choice. I drowned myself in milk tea, my friends. Drowned.



NAVIGATION

DAY-BY-DAY BREAKDOWN

Taipei

Day 1: Ningxia night market, dumplings and noodles, pub crawl

Day 2: Taiwan museum, laksa beef noodles, National Palace Museum, Elephant Mountain, pork buns

Day 3: Chiang memorial, Taipei 101, Old Taipei walking tour, Ximen area, vegetable curry

Day 4: Left for Jiufen early

For Taipei, I stayed at Flip Flop Hostel - Main Station. The location of this hostel is perfect, literally a 2 minute walk to the main station for TRA and HSR trains and two subway lines. Nearby is the Ningxia night market, which was lively and had lots of options past 5pm. The hostel’s atmosphere was quiet when I went, but I think that was more a product of Coronavirus scares and it being off-season. The hostel workers were pretty friendly, and it’s cheap.

Day 3 was pretty packed, and besides seeing the Memorial, maybe my least favorite day of this whole trip due to the unexpected cold and too many activities. For tours, I went with tourmeaway. I can’t say if I recommend them or not—the pub crawl was expensive ($26 and you still have to pay for drinks after), and the walking tour was a bit boring, but I heard their Longshan temple tour was really excellent from friends who’d done it.


MY FAVORITE EATS:

  • Ningxia Night Market - boba, Taiwanese burgers, noodles, intestines, anything you want

  • Bafang Dumpling - noodle shop that serves various kinds of dumplings; English menu available

  • 羅本家咖哩 - Japanese curry shop with vegetarian options; English menu available

  • 老蔡水煎包 許昌店 - steamed bun shop near Taipei main station

  • Snow King Ice Cream - oldest ice cream shop in Taipei; has unique flavors like basil, wasabi, and chili pepper; English menu available


jiufen

Day 4: Got there around 11am, dropped my stuff off and walked around. Jiufen Teahouse, A-Mei Teahouse (the famous one), nearby temple, ate lots at Old Street

Day 5: Walked around for an hour, left at around 11am

In Jiufen, I stayed at My Story Jiufen. Highly recommend. This hostel is basically a giant open room with huge windows overlooking the gorgeous coast. Each bed has curtains, but you might want to bring earplugs. Luckily, only 2 other people were there when I was. The host is incredibly friendly and helpful. She’ll give you plenty of directions and ideas, including more local and off-the-track suggestions. She also works downstairs at the restaurant, which I recommend for their scallion pancake and soup dumplings!

Jiufen was incredible and like something out of a movie (no wonder, huh? The town is covered in Studio Ghibli gear). It’s also very touristy. For the best experience, I recommend getting there at around noon to beat the crowds. Alternatively, stay the night and see the teahouse lanterns at around 7:30-8pm when most of the tour groups are gone. Or, be like me and do both! It’s absolutely worth it.


MY FAVORITE EATS:

  • My Story Restaurant – local little dive underneath my hostel, their specialty is soup dumplings but I also really loved their scallion pancake with egg

  • A-Mei Teahouse - the famous one, yes. They teach you how to make and drink your tea and it was MUCH cheaper than Jiufen Teahouse (the oldest one in town). Plus, that view

  • Jiufen Old Street:

    • Grandma Lai’s Taro Balls (賴阿婆芋圓) - famous taro ball stall. Comes in hot or cold, I tried their hot version since it was chilly

    • Taiwanese sausage - picked a random stall. Sweeter than normal sausage, not my thing

    • Ah-Zhu Peanut Ice Cream Roll (阿珠雪在燒花生捲冰淇淋) - ice cream and ground peanuts stuffed in a little crepe-like roll, optional cilantro (my absolute favorite!)

    • Zhang Ji Traditional Fishballs - little dine-in with noodles, pork over rice and fish ball stew

    • Other things to try: glutinous rice cakes, steamed taro cake, coffee nougat cookies, ice cream puffs, king mushrooms, stinky tofu, snails, and pineapple cakes

Houtong Cat Village

Day 5: Back to Ruifang, then to Houtong Cat Village at around 11am. Left at 2pm.

Friends told me I should most definitely make it out to the infamous Cat Village while I’m near Taipei. I thought, sure, why not? I’ve got the time. I’m a little bit scared of cats, but I do like them. I headed out bright and early after dropping off my stuff at the lockers in Ruifang train station.

Maybe it was just when I went, but i was VERY busy, and I actually felt a little bit bad for the cats. As many as little felines there are, there’s not enough to satisfy all the petting needs of the visitors, and many of them looked like they wanted to be left alone. Guess that’s probably just how cats are, what do I know.

I’d rate Houtong as a “don’t worry if you miss it” destination, unless you’re super into cats.


MY FAVORITE EATS:

  • 躲喵喵咖啡馆 Hide & Seek Cafe – cute brunch cafe with vaguely Mexican-inspired sandwiches and pancake plates; English menu available

    • (While I didn’t like my sandwich, I think the worker was new and was very overwhelmed by the massive French tour group that had just walked in. I’d give it another chance, so I’m still listing it here)

  • Hou Dong Mao Cun Cafe – little cafe behind the main tourist center. It overlooks the riverbank. Good coffee, quiet, and chill; English menu available.


Taichung

Day 5: Arrived in Taichung late, vegan fried rice

Day 6: Klook Taichung Tour - Miyahara Ice Cream, opera house, Rainbow Village, Gaomei Wetlands, banhi mi from a street stall

I stayed at Loosha hostel, which was the most convenient hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Seriously, every tiny little need you’d think of was met. Great security and very, very clean. Also has a pretty good (free!) breakfast. Again, it was quiet while I was here, but as I said above, that’s probably more of a result of it being off-season than anything else. This one is very close to the TRA station, so I recommend taking TRA trains and not the high-speed rail.

By the time I got to Taichung, I was tired of walking, so I was glad for my bus tour with Klook. We met at Miyahara Ice cream, and I met a new friend. They took us to all the major sights, some of which are pretty far out there. Because transportation in Taichung isn’t as convenient as Taipei, I’d recommend renting a car or taking a tour like this. By far, my favorite part was the Gaomei Wetlands. Absolutely unreal.


MY FAVORITE EATS:

  • Miyahara Ice cream – Famous ice cream, tea, and pastry shop. Has an old-school, almost Harry-Potter-World-esque vibe. Tons and tons of ice cream flavors and topping options. I went for their darkest chocolate and a floral cake topping; English menu available.

  • 观世音有机生活馆 - Vegan restaurant inside a vitamin shop. Large portions. The only thing that isn’t vegan is their okonomiyaki, which uses milk; English menu available.

  • Farm Burger – I had their tofu burger and my friend tried their shrimp burger. Both were delicious; English menu available

  • 茗人茶坊 美村店 - Quinoa iced tea? Sure! Also had all sorts of options, including more lunch-fare for cheap; English menu available


Tainan

Day 7: Got to Tainan early, soufflé pancakes, Confuscian temple, Tainan Art Museum, Tainan Literature Museum, chicken, street sushi, grabbed a beer at Shennang Street

Day 8: Anping Fort, Tainan treehouse, Tainan Old Street, soufflé pancakes again, beef noodles

Day 9: Got breakfast at Ga-yo and left for Taipei at around 11am

I stayed at Caoji Book Inn, which is hands down the most gorgeous hostel I’ve ever stayed at. It’s lined wall-to-wall with books and giant windows. I could’ve stayed there forever. The rooms and bathrooms are clean and well-stocked. It is a little bit pricier than most hostels in Taiwan, but I say it’s absolutely worth it.

Tainan was my favorite leg of the trip. It was warm, sunny, and the atmosphere was just so relaxed. People were incredibly kind (a lady ran after me to return my IC card after I dropped it) and welcoming. The food here was also the best I had in Taiwan. There was a soufflé pancake place by my hostel, and the owner likes to explain the process while he stacks giant pudding-like structures of pancake. Amazing.



MY FAVORITE EATS:


Taipei 2: Electric Boogaloo

Day 9: Back to Taipei at around 2pm, Songshan Creative Park, Elise Bookstore, chicken sandwich, Ximen area, got my hair washed and my ears pierced, hot pot

Day 10: Dan bing breakfast, left for airport at 11am

Back to Taipei, so I stayed at Flip Flop Hostel again. I’m happy with this hostel, but I also think I could’ve stayed somewhere in the Ximen area to see more of the nightlife.

As my last two days in Taiwan, I did everything to wrap up my trip. I got my hair washed (a Taiwanese thing, my friend told me), which was glorious. I also passed a decent piercings shop, and got my second lobe piercing.


MY FAVORITE EATS:

  • Burger Out – Fried chicken sandwiches cooked right in front of you. Their wasabi chicken burger added (or maybe took) ten years to my life; English menu available

  • 沐牧鍋物 MuMu Hot Pot – Little hot pot place near my hostel, and as one of the hostel workers said, “it’s not bad.” It’s not all-you-can-eat like Mala Hot Pot is, so it’s cheaper (I think it was around $10-12USD), and you can get a hot pot for one. Unlimited refills and their milk tea was awesome; English menu available

  • 芳林早餐 FangLin Breakfast - another dan bing breakfast place. Not as good as the one in Tainan (in my opinion), but still very good. Owners are friendly; English menu available


Some Important Tips

Taiwan was a great trip, and I feel really grateful to have been able to spend so much time getting to see the island. It’s an underrated destination, but I think one that’s getting more and more of its due.

Some notes:

  • I bought my train tickets, both TRA and HSR online. I don’t feel that was super necessary now, but it was convenient to have ready.

  • I used Google maps and its reviews to search for places while I was there.

  • If I had more time, I would want to spend a bit more time in Tainan, and definitely see the East Coast—Taroko Gorge in particular.

  • If I had less time, I’d spend fewer days in Taipei and Taichung, but stick with my time in Jiufen and Tainan.

  • Eating alone was pretty comfortable compared to Korea.

Thanks for reading!

 
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