Located at the southernmost tip of Taiwan sits a small but fun area, Kenting (墾丁 / ken ding). Because of its proximity to the equator, the area experiences more wet, tropical weather year round compared to the rest of the island. Due to the harsh winter weather on the east coast, we elected to go all the way down the…
In the US, it’s typical of people to go to a grocery story to pick up food to prepare or cook. Although Taiwan has its share of grocery-type stores, including Carrefour, more of my experience with fresh and dry foods has been through what are called traditional markets (傳統市場 / chuan tong shi chang). Quite simply, they’re like the farmer’s…
In eSports (電子競技 / dian zi jing ji), many Asian countries remain supreme. It wasn’t a surprise, thus, to see gaming references scattered around Taiwan. I wasn’t prepared for the volume though. Where gaming references and advertisements are largely focused on online platforms like reddit and television shows geared towards youth in the United States, these same messages are much…
One of my favorite parts of Taipei has to be the Ximending (西門町 / xi men ding) area, located in Wanhua District (萬華區 / wan hua qu). Before going, I knew it to be the queerest area of the city as well as the “Harajuku of Taipei”—thanks Wikipedia. I expected lots of young people walking around, being themselves. I wasn’t prepared…
In a quest to explore the many night markets around Taipei, I ventured to Raohe Night Market (饒河夜市 / rao he ye shi). Raohe Night Market is one of the oldest in Taipei. It sits right next to the Keelung River in Songshan District. To get there, you can easily take the green line all the way east to Songshan…
Having grown up in Los Angeles with the hype of what many call the best xiao long bao (or soup dumplings), I knew I had to give the original Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐 / din tai feng) a try. Located in Da’an District near Yongkang Park (永康公園 / yong kang gong yuan), the building itself is rather unassuming. It pales…
I previously took you along a journey of one day in Chiayi. This is a continuation of that journey, at night. Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市 / wen hua lu ye shi) is one of the many night markets I visited while in Taiwan. Located in the downtown center of Chiayi City, the market is more humble in size. It…
Three hours south of Taipei is a city rich in culture and history, Chiayi City (嘉義市 / jia yi shi). Known by some as Taiwan’s Peach City, because of its shape, much of Chiayi feels like how Taiwan may have felt years ago. The pace of life here seems a little slower with less distractions overall. People still take as much…
Even some 6,500 miles away, Taiwan hosts many familiar brands including 7-Eleven (7-Eleven 便利店 / bian li dian), McDonald’s (麥當勞 / mai dang lao), and KFC (肯德基 / ken de ji). I was particularly surprised to see Pizza Huts (必勝客 / bi sheng ke) scattered around various metropolitan areas. Intrigued, we dropped by to grab a few pizzas for one lunch….
It’s no secret that Taiwan loves Japanese things. Time and time again, I would see shops and signs about Gundam (敢達 / gan da). We were able to stop by a traveling exhibit showcasing Gundam and its history at a local mall in Taichung. Here are some photos I took from the exhibit: This statue was almost as tall as me….
