It feels surreal to say we’ve just returned from a week in Taiwan because I was just there last December in 2023, so being there again this December 2024 felt so fast! And on top of it, Michelle and I added a week in South Korea afterward to celebrate Christmas together. We did so much in both places in terms of food, shopping, and experiences. If you’re reading this and planning similar trips, I hope it helps convey a bit of our experience!
Taiwan, mostly in Tamsui
Tamsui (淡水) in Taiwan would make a good daytrip or a stay-out-of-the-city locale if you’ve already visited Taipei plenty, and is about a one hour drive away from Taoyuan airport (~35 minutes from Taipei) along the river. We spent most of our time here this year because the intent of the trip was mostly for Michelle to be able to see and spend time with her family. I thought it was really special because her parents spent so many years in Taiwan that they are a local’s local; pointing out nostalgic spots they’ve been going to since college thirty years ago, or even places that have exploded in popularity with celebrities visiting. We ate a new thing (more like three new things) every day. Here’s a summarized version of what I would do if I had just one day in Tamsui.
Recommended itinerary for a daytrip out of Taipei to Tamsui
Morning/afternoon (skip depending on bandwidth and interests)
- Walking or busing up the hill to see the Aletheia University campus, and walking down toward Fort San Domingo, these will work up your appetite!
- Make your way to get Agei (the rice noodles in tofu) + fish ball soup. Eat some cheesey spongecake if you’re feeling up to it!
- Walk along the riverfront or bike toward Shalun beach if you want some beautiful views of the neighboring residences + clear Tamsui skies
- Eat at Chien Yen for all you can eat individual hot pot
Evening
- Walk along the wharf as the cafes, shops, and food stalls begin setting up. You should see a lot of young folks just hanging around, casually chilling near the many cafes. Take a break and enjoy the water.
- Go through Tamsui Old Street northwest of the subway station or just north of the subway along Yingzhuan road. You’re sure to find some interesting food and shopping stalls to stop by. Here you can find stinky tofu, various meat buns, milk tea, and the douhua tofu pudding dessert.
It was about 50F or 10C in Taiwan in December this year (vs. like 60F/15C last year) so be prepared for chilly but not super cold weather. It can also be rainy/misty often in Tamsui, so be prepared just in case. Go hungry, and with an adventurous attitude, since there can be a lot to see and do!
Here’s a more detailed rundown of our itinerary:
- Day 1: Settling in, we had to drive an hour from Taoyuan Airport to Tamsui. In a few years, this drive should be less than half the time because there is a new bridge that should be completed connecting the two towns across the river. Locals have been waiting ages for this thing to be open, and you can see the anticipation in all the high rise real estate being built in Tamsui. For now, you have to cross the Guandu bridge if you’re driving, or the Red Line if you’re taking the subway.
Food recommendations near Tamsui subway station
- ⭐Individual all you can eat hot pot is the rage now, apparently, so Michelle’s parents took us to Chien Yen. This was delicious (fresh lamb slices + lu rou fan were my favs). This would be the first of three all you can eat restaurants during our week here.. I was not prepared.
- Tang yuan (汤圆) here. We were there during the winter solstice, and apparently a tradition for people is to have this sweet, glutinous dessert on that day because the circular shape represents reunion, and on days like this, family tries to gather.
- ⭐Dou hua (豆花) dessert here. While we were walking the area near Tamsui station, we stumbled onto a dou-hua shop that has been open for nearly 50 years. Meesh’s dad was particularly impressed, saying he hadn’t had tofu pudding like that for many years. It was a delicious not-too-sweet treat, and I would go back.
- Day 2: We went to the local college, now called Aletheia University (真理大學) is where Meesh’s parents met during their school days. The college is located at the top of the hill which is also where the elementary, middle, and high schools are located for Tamsui. Those kids have to bus/climb this hill every day to go to class! Meesh’s dad talked my ear off about the history of Taiwan, starting with Dutch and Spanish colonization, the ROC escape to Taiwan, Japanese colonial rule, and finally the Taiwan that we know today. Later, we went to Fort San Domingo to see the actual site of some of these political changes. I hadn’t realized Taiwan had so much multi-cultural influence over the last 400 years, so it was pretty interesting.
Food recommendations near the university and Fort San Domingo
- Agei (阿给) at Tamsui Agei. This one is a Tamsui specialty. They’re basically rice noodles wrapped in a tofu skin with mild spicy sauce on top. While it wasn’t one of my favorites, it’s Meesh’s #1 requested stop after getting to Taiwan. For her, it is super nostalgic because she grew up eating it during vacations back.
- ⭐Fish ball soup (鱼丸汤) at 可口鱼丸. This place was actually semi-famous because some prior TW president may have eaten here and liked it (per Meesh’s parents). I’d recommend their combo fish ball + wonton soup and add a meat bun on the side (包子)
- Cheesey spongecake here. This was a really weird one before I ate it in my opinion. It’s like a soft spongecake with a slice of American cheese melted in the middle. Meesh’s parents insisted we try this, since apparently its a dessert that a lot of people get. Surprisingly, it was pretty good! We had another piece each for breakfast the next day.
- Day 3: I spent my morning at a cafe while Meesh visited her paternal grandparents, and then we all went to another historical street to try more local foods. Honestly there’s even more than just in this list, and a lot of them were hawker stalls or local businesses that had been around for many years. Sometimes, just finding these places on Google Maps was a bit difficult, so I try to approximate if needed. You can probably find many of these foods at any given stall or street, these are just the locations we went to.
Coffee near Taipei 101 and Food in Shen Keng, a district southeast of Taipei 101
- ⭐Simple Kaffa in Taipei 101- instead of paying for the Taipei 101 observation deck, you can make a reservation ahead of time or in the lobby for this 86th floor cafe! The owner won the Barista World Championships in ~2016 and has a few stores around Taipei. There’s a table minimum depending on if you get a window seat or not, and you should expect a ~30 minute wait if you don’t make a reservation, even on a weekday morning.
- Curista Coffee in the A13 mall- I had this at the mall waiting around, and they have another flagship cafe that is super cute around the Xinyi area as well. Would recommend just for the ambiance and pictures.
- Instil coffee - the vibe inside was nice and the baristas spoke english! I forgot to clarify I wanted my drink hot but that was my bad.
Food in Shen Keng
- Stinky Tofu at Jindading Fragrant Tofu (fried) and 老地方 (boiled). Meesh really wanted me to try some stinky tofu. The first place fried it (it reduces the smell a bit) but even the boiled stinky tofu we found wasn’t stinky enough for her and her family! They think they made it more palatable to tourists.
- Tofu ice cream here. Even though it was raining, Meesh’s dad wanted to have some of this tofu-based ice cream. Honestly, it was pretty good, and I couldn’t tell the difference.
- Sausages here. I’m not totally sure if this is the right GMaps link, but I got a sausage from the stall vendor at the end of the street near the fried stinky tofu. It was a great, quick snack. You can find these types of sausages all over Taiwan, and I’d def recommend trying them out!
Ending the day at Costco
- Pizza at Costco is different in different countries! The BeiTou location in Taipei had a seafood pizza (shrimp and clams among other veggies as toppings) as well as a mushroom chicken alfredo. They were just okay, and I wouldn’t get them again. Visiting Costco was more fun than expected though; we ended up buying big bags of snacks to try at home later.
- Day 4 was a day spent with friends. Meesh’s parents had some errands to run so we were let loose for the day. We met up with friends who were living in Taipei/also visiting family and got together to catch up over tea, a sushi omakase, and drinks. Each of these were so cool, and I felt like they’d be places I’d go if I was an expat in Taipei. Each place had a decent amount of english speakers as well.
An evening with friends around Taipei!
- The Master Spicy Noodle in Zhongshan. It was a separated broth and dry noodle but it was soo good, the noodles were soft and chewy, it was delicious. Totally worth the 20 minute wait we had!
- ⭐Tea at Wangtea Lab in DaTong. Think cafe but only tea. They had espresso making equipment and a lot of interesting methods (e.g. nitro) to make tea both cold and hot. Definitely a great place to chill if you want to catch up with friends. They have a connected tea shop in case you want to buy any.
- Sushi here. This was an okay omakase in my opinion. We had lemon zest on squid, nikiri on scallop, torched sawfish, among a few other rolls. My favorite was the planehead file fish with liver + green onion on top, as it was the most unique and tasty.
- Drinks at Lab (no GMaps link, but we were directed here 1 block away after being turned away from unDer Lab, which is surprisingly not affiliated) and ⭐Bar Mood. Both of these places made great cocktails. Bar Mood is a bit more famous since it won a spot in “Asias top 50 bars” so there are a lot of people here, would recommendation snagging a reservation or being prepared for a long wait.
- Our last few days was a scattering of visiting more spots around Tamsui. It really helped to have a car but it’s easy to call taxis or Ubers around Taipei. Here are a few suggestions:
Things to do around Tamsui
- Bike or walk along the river, toward the beach during the day
- Visiting a temple, like Wuji Tianyuan
- Learning about the history of Taiwan at Fort San Domingo
- Taking a stroll along the Tamsui Wharf all the way down toward the subway station. The old street is bustling with activity, food stalls, and other passersby. Would recommend going at night for most activity.
All in all, it was a super fun time to get to know the place that Meesh’s parents call home for a big chunk of every year. Super juxtaposed with my experience in Taiwan last year, I feel like I got to know a bit more what it would be like to actually live near Taipei, rather than just visit for a party. I’ll probably be visiting a lot more often to tag along with Michelle as she sees her family every year. If you have any Taiwan favorites, let me know, would love to try them when I’m there!