They sell something they call a “croissant” at Jin San Xia. Other than the general shape, it has almost no resemblance to an actual croissant.
It’s quite good, however.
Here’s something that any traveler who likes to eat should have in his or her arsenal: if you want to order at a restaurant that has no English menu (which is extremely common in Taiwan), and there’s no food near the order-taker for you to point at, you’re not sunk yet.
If you want a breathtaking view of Taipei, you’ve gotta do the Xiangshan Trail (also known as Elephant Mountain).
Bonus: it’s right in the middle of the city and easily accessible via the subway, so it’s a very low-effort hike to get to.
As you’d imagine, bubble tea is pretty huge in Taiwan. It was invented here, after all. I avoid caffeine, which means I’m out of luck. Or am I…?
Come on, Taiwan. I know your food is great, but now you’re just showing off. The pork knuckle I just had at Zheng Pork Knuckle? Ridiculously good. It’s upsetting how good it is. I don’t live here; how am I supposed to go back and eat this a million more times??
Though I think the Keelung night market is a compelling enough reason to visit Keelung on its own (the fact that it’s so easy to get here from Taipei makes this a no-brainer), you might want to do some other stuff while you’re here. I mean, you’re here already, you may as well.
Or you could just eat. That works too.
But if you want to walk off some of that food, there are a few interesting things around the city that you could check out.
Here’s a warning: the line at Tian Jin Flaky Scallion Pancake is probably going to be long, and it’s definitely going to move slowly. It was quite long when I showed up at around 9:30 on a Monday morning, and it was just as long when I finally got my pancake.
Keelung is a small, seaside town that’s a very quick train ride from Taipei, which makes it an effortless day-trip destination. And that’s a good thing, because the night market here is definitely worth visiting.
After eating one mind-blowingly delicious meal after another here, it’s beginning to dawn on me that Taiwan is one of the best countries for food that I’ve ever visited. Everything I’ve tried has been so good, and everywhere I go there’s one restaurant after another with food that looks delicious. And the street food! And the night markets! It’s overwhelming.
There’s a place near Taipei called the Houtong Cat Village, and it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. Do you want to see a whole bunch of cats? Because they’ve got a whole bunch of cats.