[Trip] One day in Taipei city, Xinyi District to Tamsui District

What to do if you have a day in Taipei city? I will focus on just a few places, mainly the famous Taipei 101 and old street of Taipei.

Xinyi district is a well-known place for shopping and if you have time to spare, you can proceed to Tamsui old street, where you can try out some of the local street food and enjoy the beautiful seaside view. I will be covering on the LINE FRIENDS Cafe & Store (feat. Choco), delicious Japanese buffet and lastly, Tamsui old street for some souvenirs and local snacks.

LINE FRIENDS Cafe & Store

The new store LINE FRIENDS Cafe & Store featuring Choco in Taiwan was opened last year on 23rd December 2016.At Taipei store, they have a huge Choco (Brown’s sister) welcoming the guests at the corner of the shop. Guests can take photo with her, however, do take note, queue might be expected.

Where?

How to go?

For friends who are staying at Taipei Main station, you can choose to alight at XiangShan Station or Taipei City Hall station:

Exit 1 to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Taipei, walking distance is the same if you alight at Taipei City Hall Station:

Opening hours

11:00-21:30

Duration:

1 hour

What to see/have?

Choco theme store is decorated like her character, chic and chill:

Inside the store:

You can grab a coffee or snack at the Line Cafe:

2-Cents Opinion:

Great place for photo taking and fans of LINE products you can get to buy lots of stuff here. Please note that if you are interested in taking photo with Choco, you have to queue up. The café is not as good as its’ sister store in Japan or Korea, and the café itself doesn’t have a seat so you will have to take and go. However, got to give some credit to the Taiwan Exclusive drinks that were added inside the menu, which made the café more unique.

Shinyeh Japanese Buffet Restaurant

This restaurant have garner high rating and good reviews from the locals, moreover, it offer quality Japanese food at an affordable price and buffet style.

Where?
Located in the same building as LINE Store on the 5th Floor:

Operating hours:

	Lunch	Afternoon Tea	Dinner
Monday - Friday	11:30-14:00	14:30-16:30	17:30-22:00
Weekends and Public Holidays	11:30-14:00	14:30-16:30	17:30-19:30 19:30-21:30

Cost:

Monday - Friday	Lunch	Afternoon Tea	Dinner
Cost (NTD):	$680 (Adult) $340 (Child)	$540 (Adult) $270 (Child)	$820 (Adult) $410 (Child)
Weekends and Public Holidays
Cost (NTD):	$820 (Adult) $410 (Child)	$540 (Adult) $270 (Child)	$820 (Adult) $410 (Child)

To note:

*All prices are subject to an additional 10% service charge.
*Childrens’ meal prices are limited to those attending elementary school (Grades 1–6) or kindergarten.
*Children in junior high school or above are subject to adult meal prices.

Duration:

2 hour (Time Limit depend on the crowd)

What to eat?

Sashimi Platter, you can request the chef the sashimi you want:

Sushi freshly kneads and place on the plate right at the spot:

Creme Brulee

Overall:

There are more varieties than what is shown here, please try it yourself as this is the best Japanese Buffet restaurant I have been to. The quality, variety, and speed of the food replenish are superb. Therefore, with the price slightly above the average buffet restaurant which the locals are used to, this place is still worth it. From Singaporean point of view, if you love Japanese food, this is a place to go~. **Remember to go with empty stomach, so that you can eat as much as you can there.

To note:

Reservation is necessary as it is always crowded. Kindly call the restaurant for a reservation.

BELLAVITA寶麗廣場

After lunch, we walked over to the BELLAVITA, a shopping paradise for luxury goods. It is similar to Singapore Ion Orchard shopping mall, but with European design.

Where?

Duration:

30 minutes – 1 hour (if you are not shopping)

What to do?

Look out for the Christmas decoration which will be setup yearly for Christmas. You can visit this shopping mall if you are in Taipei during the Christmas season.

2-Cents Opinion:

It is a beautiful place for photo-taking. However, you do not need to spend too much time here if you are not into luxury goods.

Tamsui/Danshui Old Street

Most of you would have known about Tamsui Old Street, as this place is nearer to the city compared to Jiufen old street. This is the place where locals or tourist will visit for local snacks, shop, and have a walk along the river bank.

Getting there?

From Taipei City Hall Station:

Change train at Taipei Main Station to Tamsui-Xinyi Line:

Duration:

2 -3 hours ( Depend on what you want to do )

What to get?

We always patronize this stall when we are in Tamsui, we love the fish crackers (Yu Shu) here. Of course, you can get some other local tidbits like iron egg (Tie Dan), muah chee, etc.

There are other snacks you can buy back home too:

Some street food to eat there, black pork sausage, fried squid, etc.

Suggestion:

You can spend a whole day here, walking around, shopping and eating street food etc. There is a shopping mall nearby too. If you have time, head down to the fisherman wharf and lover’s bridge. Fisherman wharf is less crowded and more relaxing compared the old street which is always crowded with people.