A Taipei Story; Brought to you by Brew&Post (Part 2)

fOur Taipei trip with the Brew&Post team was extra meaningful because on top of celebrating the formation and launch of Asia’s first Style Blog Network, we were also having one last gathering before the kids of ZTYLISTAS, Derek and Melinda, were about to depart for London to finish off their last year at Central St. Martins.

Goodbye Melinda! Seen below at Park Hotel with Carmen.

The second day of the trip was marked with a last epic meal with the stylish duo of ZTYLISTAS at Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園 (as per Derek’s request), an amazing and popular Taiwanese Beef Noodles shop and then some a few doors down from the Park Hotel where we were staying. For the rest of the day the crew checked out the exciting new CBD (Central Business District) surrounding Taipei 101 as we went to visit Eslite, Taipei’s epic giant bookstore and gifts mall. Carmen and I then took a short cab ride to Simple Market, Taipei’s own version of the Weekend Market in the vicinity. That night we chilled out at one of Taipei’s most popular Food Markets, the Shida Night Market 師大路夜市, for some fresh bao and street food!

But first we spent the morning exploring the quaint low rise residential neighborhood around the hotel. Taipei’s streets are defined by lush trees, open sitting spaces, parks, and small scale road networks.

I was envious of its quiet urbanism. So many places here I can take my bicycle for a spin, whereas in HK you’ll die riding a bike because everyone will be honking a horn at you, which never happens in Taipei.

It was a great time to take my new light-weight Palladium shoes out for a spin. Also, I was wearing my new comfy shirt from UNIQLO x Jun Takahashi/UNDERCOVER Collection.

Taipei’s buildings make heavy use of red bricks and if not bricks, clay colored ceramics which blend easily with buildings which use traditional bricks to clad their facade. This is also a nice change from the crazy use of “bathroom tile” aesthetics that HK buildings rely so much on. 

My stomach was feeling weird from the previous night’s hotpot… thank goodness for Yakult… the traveller’s best friend. Thanks Denise for the snapshots.

But soldiering on, if you only have to eat at one place in Taipei, it would definitely have to be Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園. The ZTYLISTAS kids are in heaven. We were full on all the appetizers before we even got to the main course! Additionally you can get noodles in soup or dry without soup. It was heaven.

At foodie blogger, Charmaine Mok’s recommendation, Carmen and I went to check out the historical buildings of the Xinyi Assembly Hall House near Taipei 101 for some coffee at Good Cho’s and crafts market shopping at Simple Market. Needless to say, we were impressed by the variety of goods and foods sold at the market, as well as the great live music by local singer-songwriters entertaining the crowd that day.

Here you can enjoy the contrast of old and new since the Taipei 101 tower cant be missed from the market’s grounds.

Good Cho’s sold tons of amazing muffins, cookies, cupcakes, and great coffee to help people relax after a busy day of market shopping. I really appreciate the natural design sensibilities of the Taiwanese. It’s evident in how everything was laid out and presented here.

Be sure to stop by midori homecrafted ice cream before you leave!

The rest of the evening we explored the Shida Night Market 師大路夜市 to get our dinner, food stall by food stall!

We all began with fresh Bao Burgers! I had Ham and Egg. Soooo Delicious!

Mr. TOUGHLOVE had this really awesome grilled corn next!

While I had garlic sauce hot dog on a stick…

This lady made me a freshly baked potato with all the fixins.

Carb fest anyone?

Thank you Taipei!

Check out these great shoes I got from Taiwanese bespoke cobblers, Vanger at Eslite. #ONLYINTAIPEI

Can you tell i’m happy with my purchase?

For more photos of my Taipei Trip, check out my FACEBOOK PAGE, http://www.facebook.com/theWanderlister.

EAT Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園 / DRINK Good Cho’s / SHOP Simple Market / EAT Shida Night Market / WEAR Palladium / WEAR Vanger Shoes / STAY Park Taipei Hotel

JJ.

A Taipei Story; Brought to you by Brew&Post (Part 1)

Our not-so-little blog network, Brew&Post, is now in business, and within a week of our celebratory launch party, this band of bloggers jetted of to Taipei, Hong Kong’s cuter and quite charming next door neighbor, for a bit of much needed rest and relaxation.

Taipei, the capital city of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is home to more than 2.6 million individuals, most of whom are quite fashion savvy in their own way, and who love shopping and eating in trendy establishments defined by current styles and interiors which reflect a fusion of the latest in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean design culture… but all uniquely Taiwanese.

Taipei 101 Tower, shot from Simple Market (via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

The energy and the development growth visible in Taipei’s urban and rural fabric represent an economic progress present all over Asia, which is very much evident when you’re on the ground seeing things for yourself around this generally low-rise city.

Road to Taipei from Airport (via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

 

Taipei’s close proximity to Hong Kong, inexpensive flight and hotel options, and its stature as a regional pop culture and design capital made it an easy choice for a Special Brew&Post group weekender.

We decided to catch a very early flight in order to get started in Taipei as soon as possible. Unfortunately we spent a long time at the airport because we overestimated the departure time as hardly anyone was checking in so early in the morning. Moreover the flight was delayed by about an hour so it was direct to to the Plaza Premium Lounge where we were invited to just chill out and have a warm snack before the flight.

People were NOT happy about the delay. There were a few Youtube worthy customers having end-of-the-world-tantrums spotted… and rightly so… everyone wanted to get to Taipei ASAP including us!

The last time I went to Taipei was about a three years ago. And for sure the airport didnt look like this when I last visited!

(via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

Finally the gang settled in at the Park Hotel, a nicely designed contemporary hotel that is big on service, perfect for location, good enough on design, and overall more than a great value for the price. We were surrounded by strong free wifi in every space and room… it was heaven.

Around the corner from the hotel was a mom and pop beef noodles operation that came strongly recommended by the concierge. A good thing too, the meal was absolutely divine.

Every meal came with unlimited amounts of grass jelly drinks. The noodles were Taiwanese style, very chewy and thick. The beef tendons were superb.

Food is a big deal in Taipei. Everyone who visits the city knows that you cant say “no” to any and every offering available. Derek of ZTYLISTAS was super excited about this pastry shop which served all types of Taiwanese/Japanese Sesame Flaky Shortbread Pastries. They gave out unlimited amounts of free samples to try. It was intense.

The shop, in english called RED SAKURA, is filled with sweets and treats, from Hello Kitty themed buns, to pastries stuffed with anything from almond paste to yams. Plenty of gift boxes to bring back home to friends and loved ones.

I was such a big fan, I bought loads of boxes, and was willing to even hold up the free tastings sign out front.

Trip Advisor and general guidebooks will tell you to go to shop and hang out at Ximending Japanese style shopping district. But if you read this blog and you generally like what I like and hate what I hate, chances are, you’ll hate Ximending. So don’t waste your time there and check out the neighborhoods and side streets that branch out Zhongxiao East Road instead, home to Taipei’s coolest and newest independent clothing boutiques.

Taiwanese people love to dress up and get their photos taken on the streets here in Zhongxiao.

Western shops that want to make a name for themselves yet keep their “it” factor, operate flagships in this neighborhood. Justin Timberlake’s WilliamRast store has a flagship here.

I love this shop. It’s a boutique outlet that sells everything from high concept fashions to homewares. French scented oil candles from Cire Trudon, were dirt cheap this weekend. The store is called WOW Outlet and is located where the old TaipeiUC (Undercover by Jun Takahashi) store and noodle shop used to be.

A few doors down, is a boutique wasteland of cool art and design books, plus knickknacks and goods, cheesy yet sublime, called VVG Something.

The amount of vintage wares in there was completely impressive. In addition the books were mostly of the intellectual coffee table variety with subjects focused on style, art, design, and photography, titles which are generally hard to find and source in Asia.

A copy of Visionaire to the left, as well as a Ryan McGinley book to the right. You may remember the cover of the McGinley volume was used for a Sigur Ros album cover.

ChristingC. was exhausted.

For the rougher gentlemen, we discovered the Red Wing Shoes flagship store around the corner. Jason Lam TOUGHLOVE was ecstatic.

Taiwanese shops and boutiques have a very good sense of aesthetic focus. Most all places we’ve seen don’t rely on faux flash and pizazz to make a statement. Palettes are generally kept neutral and clean with barefaced concrete and timber finishes. All keeping a down to earth yet natural vibe.

This is the Red Wing Shoes store facade. So nice.

After a long walk around, we settled into one of the coffee shops in the district, Coffee Tree, for a re-group and a general team meeting.

The space was clean, nice, domestic, and very much a Taiwanese coffee bar experience.

I had the rose lychee tea.

Jason had a manly mango slushy drink worthy of the moniker “TOUGHLOVE”.

We ended the first day at a famous hotpot joint, Tai Ho Dien, with ChristingC and her cousin, a popstarlet named, Katie of ROOMIE, a girl pop act.

The yin-yang style hotpot was extremely delicious. One side was served with a spicy pig’s blood and the other was a non-spicy house stew.

Delicious. We filled the hotpot with dumplings, tofu, beef tendons, and steaks. It was a perfect way to end our first day, in true Taiwanese fashion.

However a day in Taipei doesn’t end without a nightcap drinking local-style! The hottest place at the moment is apparently Fourplay were the city’s party crowd go for a quieter and more intimate drinking atmosphere.

We were treated to shots of caramelized pineapples, oranges, and strawberries, and cocktail concoctions that at this point, I cant even remember what they were. I was beyond my limit for the night.

A few shots of some B&P’ers on the streets… Denise of SUPERWOWOMG and Jason of TOUGHLOVE.

And a great one I took earlier of my roommate Carmen of HIMYS.

Other images… I love Taipei’s low rise urbanism. It’s a really refreshing change compared to Hong Kong.

And lastly viral KPOP video, Gangnam Style, hits Taipei’s taxis.

What a perfect city.

REFRESH Plaza Premium Lounge @ HKIA / STAY Park Hotel Taipei / GIFT Red Sakura Pastries / SHOP VVG Something / SHOP Red Wing Shoes / DRINK Coffee Tree / EAT Tai Ho Dien / DRINK Fourplay

JJ.