Page 15 - Taste_and_Travel_International

TASTE;5TRAVEL JOURNAL

The Beitou district is noted for its
natural hot springs and the lush
landscapes of the local parks, and
the cool Gaia Hotel harnesses
those geological attributes for
its spa. Its QiyanONE restaurant
is also a true hotspot in that the
kitchens don’t skimp on spice
and seasoning. Still craving street
The guides at Taipei Eats know food? Soups and sides at Jinchun
their stuff. The first stop on the Made Beef Noodles, a few blocks
four-hour Songshan tour is a local from Gaia, hit the spot. www.
wet market and from there the tour thegaiahotel.com ; Jinchun Made
continues to mine savoury and Beef Noodles !*0. (ƫ +.0$ƫ PLACE: TAIPEI
satisfying treats, from breakfast + Čƫ +ċƫāćĊƫ !%0+1Čƫ %,!%ƫāāĂ
pastry with scallions, to #1 ġ + DATE: October 2017
(Taiwanese pulled-pork WEATHER: A sultry 30ºC
sandwiches), stinky tofu, soup
dumplings, Earl Gray boba tea and TRAVELLERS: Elyse Glickman
ice cream with flavours mirroring COUNTRY: TAIWAN
the produce of the morning market
— no plain vanilla in sight.
www.taipeieats.com
:++6+* /4 8+':/</:?
YòĄø a tòY Ąø At the Marco Polo Lounge at the Shangri-La Far Eastern
Although Din Tai Fung is Plaza Hotel, high tea is an explosion of colour offsetting
conquering the world, KaoChi the subtlety of the teas — many produced just outside
Shanghai Cuisine & Dim Sum (.)6 .&)%"' , Taipei’s city limits. Tiers of a tower resembling Taipei 101
(serving Taipei since 1949), (clearly visible with the lounge’s panoramic views) are
presents a calmer and more local covered with rainbow-hued sweets and savouries.
way to enjoy hand-crafted French pastry chef Gregory Doyen enlivens the
dumplings and other mouthfuls of Mandarin Oriental Taipei’s high tea with a seasonal
joy. It’s part of the food court at the delights inspired by the world’s great cosmetics
eclectic Eslite Spectrum shopping companies. Fine teas also make their way into the bar
centre, adjoining the trendy menus of the above hotels as well as those at the W
Songshan Cultural Art Park. This Taipei, and independent bars including WooTP, Dig Out,
fashionable expanse is studded Trio, and Ounce Taipei which reinvent the classic cocktail
with coffee, tea, gourmet food bar — be it tiki or speakeasy — in delectable ways.
shops and bakeries where people www.Shangri-la.com/taipei/fareasternplazashangrila
watching is as fresh as what’s www.mandarinoriental.com/taipei; www.wtaipei.com
coming out of the kitchens. www.woo-life.com/wootp; www.facebook.com/
www.facebook.com/kaochi.family Digouticaffe; www.facebook.com/williamsworks;
www.songshanculturalpark.org ") "6 -, www.facebook.com/OunceTaipei

JANUARY–MARCH 20185 TASTE;5TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 13