Best of Taipei

Established in 1934, Taipei’s first Western-style restaurant.

Address:
308 Minsheng W. Rd.
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2559-1251

Outstanding Sichuanese cuisine. Be sure to order the wontons in chili oil, the dry-fried green beans, and the stir-fried cabbage with pork, served with shaobing, a sesame-seed bread.

Address:
250-3 Zhongxiao East Rd., Section 4
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2721-6088

The original—and best—outlet of the legendary dumpling chain.

Address:
194 XinYi Rd., Section 2
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2321-8928

With jade-green tiled roofs and yellow walls that loom dramatically out of a mountain valley north of downtown Taipei, the museum holds one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts and artwork in the world, including the famous Jade Cabbage—a piece of jade carved to resemble a head of cabbage—and a boat carved out of an olive pit.

Address:
221 Zhishan Rd., Section 2
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2881-2021

Built by the Japanese in 1908, the red-brick octagonal building was recently renovated, like many old structures in Taipei. Stylishly dressed young people fill the café on the first floor and the theater on the second.

Address:
10 Chengdu Rd., Ximending
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2311-9380

Frequent host to visiting dignitaries, with sweeping city and mountain views from most of the 420 rooms as well as the 43rd-floor rooftop pool.

Room to Book: Ask for rooms above the twentieth floor for the best views facing the Taipei 101 building. Doubles from $313.

Address:
201 DunHua South Rd., Section 2
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2378-8888

Shida Night Market is less crowded and offers everything from Cantonese dim sum to Yunnanese lamb noodles.

Address:
Taipower Building Metro station
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

One of the more famous night markets, where snakes are sold as food.

Address:
Longshan Temple, Metro Station
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Architect: C.Y. Lee and Partners Architects

Why It’s Cool: For years, Taiwan, like much of eastern Asia, shunned skyscrapers over worries that earthquakes or typhoons might topple them. But new, high-grade mineral-flecked concrete that allows buildings to grow tall without sacrificing strength was put to ample use in this 2004 dart.

How to Visit: Shops fill the lower levels, but the views are the reason to come. Take the elevators—the world’s fastest—to the 89th floor to see a Volkswagen Beetle-size pendulum that keeps the building from shaking. Open 10-10 daily; tickets cost $12 for adults.

Address:
No. 7, Section 5, XìnYì Rd.
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-8101-8934

A sleek hotel with spacious, well-appointed rooms.

Address:
297 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Section 5
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2528-8000

Minimalist chic in Da’an, the city’s poshest neighborhood.

Address:
200 Guangfu South Rd.
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2773-1515

Music from Chinese lutes floats through the room; sunlight streams in from wood-framed windows and skylights and bamboo curtains create dappled patterns on the tatami mats. Green moss clings to the dark red-brick walls. In the small Japanese garden at the back, a spring bubbles quietly amid little ponds and stone tables. The teahouse’s owner, Chow Yu, who resembles the wispy-bearded sage of Chinese landscape painting, performs a serving ritual, mixing teas and warming miniature pots and bowls with delicate and elegant gestures. Teahouses in imperial China, he explained, were places where the literati gathered. No other traditional culture venerates writers and intellectuals as much as the Chinese. Chow uses only the ceramic ware favored by the scholarly class in old China: Yixing, which best retains the flavor of tea. Wistaria is connected as much to Taiwan’s eventful modern history as to the classical past. Built in 1921, the two-story building was originally Chow’s family residence. “Many writers and intellectuals would gather here in the 1950’s to talk about art and politics,” he said. “It was dangerous, because Taiwan was under martial law and we could have been accused of sedition.” After Chow turned the building into the Wistaria in 1981, it became the favorite watering hole of intellectuals and politicians who participated in the movement for democracy in 1987.

Address:
1 Ln. 16, Zinsheng S. Rd.
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2363-7375

A classic breakfast spot.

Address:
102 Fuxing S. Rd.
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China

Phone:
886-2-2703-5051

The city’s most revered site has fantastically gilded and lacquered pillars and walls.

Address:
Taipei
Taiwan, Province of China