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FujinTree355
DESTINATION GUIDE
Taipei Personality 3 gateway experiences that will have you hooked on the Taiwanese capital. By Ric Stockfis
Raohe Night Market
Keelung River
T
Move on to: SomethingAles (195 Roosevelt Rd., Section 3, Shida District), a simple neighborhood bar, open till 1am, with a loyal army of followers and a great selection of American beers. Or KidSorrow (B1, 26 Lane 131, Yanji St., Shilin District; +886 2 2872-9993, www. facebook.com/kidsorrow), a cult spot in the far north of the city serving rare ales and lots of Mikkeller.
aipei might just be Asia’s most underrated city—a beguiling combination of the best of the rest. Like Shanghai, it rewards aimless exploration on foot or by bike; like Bangkok, gritty and glam coexist side by side; like Tokyo, there’s an intoxicating sense that you’ll never quite know it all; and it’s surrounded by stunning green mountains that rival Hong Kong. Everyone comes here to eat (it even edges out Singapore in the street food stakes), but once you’re done with the night markets—of which Raohe (beside the Songshan MRT station) is the current foodie darling—there’s plenty more to keep you busy.
Street Style
Taipei is a great place to wander at will, but to cover more ground it’s well worth renting a bike. The public YouBike system (www.youbike.com.tw) is easy to use (just NT$10 (40 cents) for four hours), and there’s a huge network of cycle paths across the city, with the riverside routes among the most rewarding. Start with: Dihua Street, one of the city’s oldest thoroughfares. This grubby lane of crumbling shophouses and Chinese medicine vendors close to the river is no secret. But long-established fabric retailers and tea merchants are now competing with cafes, galleries and co-working spaces, making it a great mix of old and new. It’s especially packed around Chinese New Year. Move on to: Fujin Street, a quiet, leafy boulevard tucked away near Songshan Airport. It’s home to—you guessed it—a host of charming cafes, galleries and design stores. FujinTree355 (355 Fujin St.; +886 2 2765-2705, www.facebook. com/FujinTree355), which stocks colorful, lightweight womenswear and gorgeous Japanese-inspired homeware, is a great place to start—there’s even an offshoot cafe at no. 353. Other worthwhile stops include FunFunTown (No. 2, Alley 1, Lane 359 Fujin St., www.facebook. com/funfuntown), full of retro toys and traditional woodwork, and 3,co (377 Fujin St., www.3co.com.tw), which serves up artisan coffee and a range of beautiful tableware.
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SG MAGAZINE FRIDAY, march 13, 2015
Day Hikes
Look down any street in Taipei and chances are there’ll be mountains looming on the horizon, meaning easy access to both well-trodden routes and some worldclass hiking.
Essentials YouBike
Start with: The Four Beasts. On the south east edge of the city—only a 15-minute walk from Taipei 101—are Tiger, Elephant, Leopard and Lion Mountains. Its proximity to the center and the fact that the paths are paved, well-signposted, well-lit and (relatively) easy-going, means there are few better places for an evening stroll looking over the city. The annotated Google Maps at is.gd/fourbeasts are pretty helpful, too. Move on to: Maokong, where a glassbottomed gondola from the Taipei Zoo MRT station in the south whisks you up to tea country (NT$50 ($2) for 3 stations), with stunning views across the city. As well as tramping around the plantations, hillside temples and wooded slopes, you can put your feet up in one of dozens of charming teahouses, though be warned they get overrun at weekends.
Craft Beer
Off-the-shelf beers aren’t up to much here, although draft Taiwan Beer, only served for up to 18 days after production, is worth seeking out. But the first hints of a craft beer revolution are afoot. Start with: Beer&Cheese Social House (169 Jianguo South Rd., Section 2, Daan District; +886 9 1654-9373, www.
Tigerair
Maokong
facebook.com/beerandcheese), a popular spot near Da’an Park, with eight brews on rotation on the taps (from NT$180 ($7.80)), a stacked fridge with plenty more and a delicious array of grilled cheese toasties (from NT$250 ($10.80)) as well as beers from local microbrewery 886 (www.facebook.com/886brewing). They recently partnered with gypsy brewer Jeppe-Jarnit Bergso of Evil Twin to produce a Made-in-Taiwan IPA and a local edition of the ironically named Hipster Ale.
Insider travel tips
GETTING THERE We flew with Tigerair (from $260 return; www.tigerair.com), which has two or three flights a day leaving Singapore, including a Friday afternoon flight which gets you in for early evening. China Airlines, EVA Air, Scoot and Singapore Airlines also offer direct flights. A taxi into the city from the airport takes around 45 minutes and costs NT$1200 ($52). VISA More than 40 countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, are part of the visa exemption program, meaning no visas needed for visits of up to 30 days. Check www. taiwanembassy.org/SG for the full list. EXCHANGE RATE NT$24 = $1
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