As an avid lover of all things that are aesthetic, searching for unique restaurants and trying the most colorful foods around the world is one of my life goals. Since I spent the majority of my time in Taiwan hiking through national parks and exploring mountain towns, I mostly ate Chinese and aboriginal food because it is healthy and affordable. However, when I was in the city I managed to find a lot of interesting food which I will list below:
PLANTS
My favorite vegan restaurant that I discovered in Taipei was this beautiful cafe called PLANTS in the heart of the city. With a rainbow flag hung at its entrance, it has an extremely welcoming atmosphere and the staff can speak almost perfect English. I was amazed at the large range of food they had! I tried the Flamingo Acai Bowl and also ordered the Macrobiotic Tempeh Bibimbap. It was so delicious, I came back here again and tried hummus with pita bread, the Adaptogen Bliss Balls, and gluten free donuts for dessert. This food definitely gave me the energy I needed to explore the city, and I was extremely grateful for the hospitality of the restaurant. It was clean and had a lot of space so I could relax and plan out my day.
I wanted to try Miss Green and a few other vegan places (they are all located around this area), but sadly did not have enough time. I was extremely happy with what I ate here and would come again, however!
J.C.co Art Kitchen
Say hello to my new puppy… before I eat him! J.C.co Art Kitchen in Kaohsiung serves up the most aesthetic ice cream in Taiwan. This crazy work of [ice cream] art is fully edible even though it looks almost exactly like a real dog (especially when photos are taken with certain cameras). The detail put into the fur-like texture of the frozen ice cream is almost unreal. The taste is pretty refreshing on a warm day as well. The cafe asks that you make reservations in advance, but fortunately I was lucky enough to walk in without one and be served. Though some people may have qualms about eating something so realistic, I was actually quite thrilled to eat a work of art.
Giant Avocado Smoothies
You don’t have to walk far around Taiwan to find smoothie and milk bars–they’re literally scattered everywhere, even on beaches and remote places you wouldn’t think they’d be. I’ve been around many night markets in Asia before, but one thing that caught my eye in Taiwan were the giant Avocados. I am an avocado freak so I ordered an avocado smoothie here. It tasted absolutely amazing. I would highly recommend trying a giant avocado here in any form just for the experience.
Vegetable Buffet Platters
While I was in Kaohsiung, I found the most amazing vegetarian buffet called Double Veggie with a huge variety of wholesome food! I tried mini sushi rolls, rice, quinoa, olives, an egg-like pancake, and heaps of salad. These two plates really filled me up and I was satisfied. I had previously biked all of the way from the port to Cijin Island to the Tiger and Dragon Padogas, so I was grateful to eat at a buffet this day! The quality of food here definitely makes it worth the price, and you can eat to your heart and stomach’s content!
Congee
Congee is a type of rice soup widely eaten throughout Asia, and is often eaten with other vegetable and meat dishes. After a wild night out at FINAL, a group of friends and I went to a nearby restaurant and all selected different dishes. I finally worked up the nerve to try stinky tofu (it actually wasn’t even that bad), century eggs (which I thought were very good), and heaps of vegetables. I definitely recommend coming to these restaurants as a group because then you will have the chance to try a lot of different food!
Individual Takeout Sushi
One thing I really liked about the sushi in Taiwan is that you can choose your favorites that are individually wrapped at certain takeout places near the stations! I found this place at Tamsui Station near Laomei Reef and really enjoyed it. Though I would say it’s not as delicious as the sushi in Japan, it still has a lot of flavor and makes the perfect snack on the go. I tried crab, squid, and shrimp and really enjoyed them!
I hope to come back to Taiwan later this year and go to Tainan, which is known to be the haven of foods. Please look forward to my future food articles!