Tai Yi Milk King

(photo via 5daysintaipei)

Site: None available
Phone: 02-23623712
Address: Lane 82, Section 3, XinSheng S. Road, Taipei (across the street from main entrance of TaiDa)
Price: $
Time: 10:30AM to 12AM
MRT: Gongguan

My uncle took me here for the first time and told me this place was really good. He used to come here a lot when he went to TaiDa and said that everyone came here. When we got there, it was crowded. I've come to expect anywhere my uncle takes me is amazing. He has yet to prove me wrong.

We ended up getting three things because each person wanted different things. I wasn't too partial to red bean, but my uncle insisted that we had to get it. We also got grass jelly with ice (not the best, I'm afraid) and mango with strawberry shaved ice. The mango strawberry one was average. The red bean with tang yuan was pretty good. I did my best to avoid the red bean and ate some of it. Delicious! I will have to go back again some time to try different flavors. There's a LOT of them.

I definitely recommend this place!


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Smith and Hsu

Site: http://www.smithandhsu.com/en/intro.php
Phone: 02-27474857
Address: 臺北市忠孝東路五段33號 (No.33, Section 5, Zhong Xiao East Road, Taipei)
Price: Depends what you get, $$-$$$
Time: 10AM to 10:30PM
MRT: Taipei City Hall Station, Exit 1 and turn around and walk the other way and Smith & Hsu will be across the street on the left

This was a pleasant surprise. A friend brought me here and I wasn't expecting English tea, but that's what it was. It has a modern look and the food was really good. You can also buy things from the store.

We got the English Garden Cream Tea, now called the English Afternoon Tea Set. Here's a pdf of the full menu!

First, we had to choose our teas. They brought out these little sample cups where you can smell and pick which one you wanted. I went with English tea because I really like English tea. Next time I think it would be fun to pick a fruit tea.

The afternoon tea set came with a ton of food and the three of us couldn't even finish it all and had to take it home. The jams and spreads that came with the scones were made incredibly well. I LOVED the spreads.

Overall, I really liked this place. Some sets are more reasonably priced. It's a nice place to come to. It was quiet and seems like a nice studying place, especially with a pot of tea and some scones!


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YoFroyo

Site: http://www.yofroyo.com/Yofroyo_first/index.aspx
Phone:(02)2365-0188
Address: 台北師大路59巷9號1樓
Price: $-$$
Time: Sun-Mon: 11:30AM to 11PM
         Fri-Sat: 11:30AM to 12AM
MRT: GuTing

It's a relatively small store. I actually just wandered around ShiDa Night Market until I stumbled upon it. There's not a lot of space to sit down inside, but there's a small counter, so it's easier to sit alone and read, but I don't think this place is actually meant for those types. Maybe for a meetup with a friend.

The menu was convenient as it was both in Chinese and English, so it was easy for me to decide what I wanted. The thing that I like about this yogurt place was that it was different than the ones in Cali. They had things in the yogurt that I never thought about.

This is my yogurt! I ended up getting the "Guiltless Indulgence" which consisted of: original froyo, raspberry, aloe, and konjac (which is this clear jelly). It was pretty good, I guess I wasn't actually expecting it to be that good, but I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.


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Alleycat's

(picture via TripAdvisor)

Site: http://www.alleycatspizza.com/
Phone: 02-27315225
Address: 台北市忠孝東路4段248巷2號 (No.2 Lan 248 XhongXiao E.Rd.)
Price: $$
Time: Mon - Thurs & Sun: 12PM to 10PM
         Fri - Sat: 12PM to 12AM
MRT: ZhongXiaoDunHua, Exit 3 and go straight until you see Kingstone and then turn right and walk a bit and you'll see Alleycat's on your right.

The thing about this place is, it's known as the best pizza in Taiwan, but I will forever love So Free SO MUCH BETTER! Something to think about. ;)

This pizza place has multiple locations throughout Taipei, so it's more convenient to find.

I will say that I really did enjoy their Cesar Salad, but maybe it's because I haven't eaten salad in so long and I miss it. I'm not too sure. The pizza was thin crusted and too crunch to be good. It was fine, but not my idea of the "best pizza ever". That category goes to So Free. Also, this pizza was more expensive with less topping. However, it's not terrible.


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So Free Pizza

Site: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/sofreepizza
Phone: 02-2364-3351
Address: 台北市大安區羅斯福路三段283巷28號
Price: All pizzas 120NT
Time: Saturday and Sunday - 11:30AM to 9PM
MRT: Between Gongguan and Taipower

This is the best pizza place in Taipei. Alleycats can't even compare. This small pizza place is all vegetarian, but it's so good. It is crowded most of the time and the wait can get as long as an hour. If you want to sit after getting your pizza, the chances are slim. I recommend buying the pizza and then going to the park across the street to eat it.

This was strange tasting. I'm not too fond of vinegar flavored things, so personally I would not recommend it.

My favorite pizza would be the mushroom asparagus. They're all 8 inches, so each person can buy one and then try different flavors. The dessert pizzas are actually pretty good. The Korean Kimchi one was not bad, but I'm not a fan of Kimchi, so I didn't love it. However, it was ok.

This is my favorite pizza place in Taiwan. Or maybe ever!


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Yu's Almond Tofu

Site: http://www.yustofu.com.tw/
Phone: 02-25702587
Address: 台北市八德路三段200號4F之1
Price: $-$$
Time:
MRT: XiMen Exit 4, it's right there

This place has the best Almond Tofu. No joke, this place is great. Another thing (besides the almond tofu) that's famous here is their Almond Shaved Ice. I haven't tried it, but I will eventually!

This place is different from other places. They give you the almond tofu and they also give you almond milk (I think it's milk?) for you to pour into your almond tofu. It's almost like a weird dessert soup.

The almond tofu is silky smooth and not overly sweet. It's subtly sweet with a strong almond flavor. If you like almonds, this is definitely for you! Next time I go, I will definitely try the shaved ice!


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La Douceur

Site: http://www.ladouceur.com.tw/
Phone: 02-33222833
Address:台北市大安區金華街223號1樓
Price: $$$
Time: M-Thurs: 1PM to 9PM
         Fri-Sun: 1PM to 10PM
MRT: 15-20 min. walk from GuTing Station

This little pastry cafe is small and sweet. There's limited room, but you can call ahead and have a spot saved for you. Luckily when I got there, someone was about to leave, so I got a seat.

In front of the store, there's a little girl statue sitting there. Isn't it the sweetest?

They have different kinds of pastries from cakes and macaroons to teas and coffees. The macaroons here are amazingly delicious. They're just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness.

I ended up getting a milk tea and this specially made pastry. I read about this place online and heard about their apple caramel pastry cake that I was interested in trying. The cake is not shown in the case because it is made to order. Special, no?

This cake was so good. The crust was flaky and light, the caramel was whipped and not overly sweet while the apples did not overpower the entire cake. I definitely recommend trying this. It was a bit pricey, but I think it was actually worth it because it was so good.

As I was searching for this pastry shop, I actually passed it because it wasn't very noticeable. Once you hit YongKang Street, you've passed it. It's a little before, so not too bad.

If you feel like splurging, I definitely recommend this place.


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AJ Burger

Site: http://aj-burger.blogspot.com/

Phone: (06)2095171

Address:台南市成大里育樂街200號1~2F

Price: $$

Time: 11AM to 9PM, Tuesday through Sunday

After not having good burgers for quite awhile, being an expat in Tainan, I found this place through a coworker.

Seriously, the hamburgers here are amazing. They use Australian beef and it is delicious. Seriously, the best hamburger I've had in Tainan. And the size was huge, especially with the combo, I could not finish it. I got the Cheese and Mushroom Burger and I cannot emphasize how amazing the hamburger was. Delish!

Here's a copy of the menu. They have everything in English, which was very convenient!

All pictures from this post are from this blog and the AJ website.

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Sophisca

Site: http://www.sophisca.com.tw/
Phone: 06-221-4933
Address: 台南市中正路286號
Price: $-$$, depends what you buy and how much you buy. It's all by weight.
Time: M-Th: 10:30AM to 10PM
         Fri: 10:30AM to 10:30PM
         Sat: 10AM to 10:30PM
         Sun: 10AM to 10PM

There are many branches of this store, but I went to the one in Tainan on ZhongZhen Street. It's a tiny store, but there's a lot of candy. There are many varieties from gummies to sugar in different colors to hard candies to chocolate. They also have slightly inappropriate types of candy such as chocolate in the shape of breasts or the such. I was quite fond of the sugar candies.

I definitely liked this store and frequented it when I went to this area.

I'm ashamed. I did not take pictures here either.


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Shanghai Dumpling

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. I totally forgot to take pictures that day for some reason.

Site: http://www.skm.com.tw/index.asp?s=320
Phone: 06-3031063
Address: (新光三越, B2F), 台南市西门路一段658号 (Ximen Road, Section 1, No. 658 Tainan, Taiwan)
Price: $$$
Time: Closes at 11PM, I think

Located in Shinkong Mistukoshi, the restaurants in the mall are a bit more pricey than eating out normally. However, the food here was pretty good. We mostly got dim sum and noodles, but it was pretty darn good. I definitely recommend going here if you want good dim sum. I'm sure you can find a cheaper dim sum place, but this place is pretty good.


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Robi In House Curry and Eggs

Site: No website

Phone: 06-2981536

Address: 台南市安平區 文平路506號

Price: $$$

Time: 8AM to 10PM

There are actually a couple of these in Tainan, but I prefer the cuter one with rabbits around the store, it's more quaint. I also did not take pictures here for some reason, so the pictures I use in this post are borrowed from this blog.

The food here is more Western. There are rabbit dolls everywhere, so it's pretty cute.

I'm not totally in love with this place, but I did like the atmosphere. Other than that, the food wasn't all that special. They had a lunch deal where you got a three course meal. That was fun, but still more pricey than I would usually pay for food.

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BOG

Site: There doesn't seem to be a site
Phone: 06-213-8078
Address: 700台灣台南市中西區南寧街2號
Price: $
Time: Not sure

This place has the most amazing drinks!

The drink I usually get has pearl boba, large boba, ai yu, and tapioca, all in a lemony drink. It is amazingly good. They also serve food here. I ate here once with a coworker and it was alright. It wasn't too special, so I would stick with getting the drinks here. BOG is all around Tainan, but some are just small stores while some are actually sit down cafes.

I would definitely recommend this place.


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Almond Ice Shavings

Site: http://www.almondice.com.tw/ (apparently the site isn't working anymore..)
Phone: 06-2212795
Address: No. 214 Qingnian Road (Cingnian 青年路), West Central District, Tainan City
Price: Around 30-40NT for almost everything
Time: I went at night around 9PM, so maybe open late. Not positive with time though.

I definitely do not recommend this place. The almond tofu was not very good. The ice clumped together. There was way too much sugary syrup. However, maybe I did not give it a fair chance because I took it to go.

All pictures in this blog post borrowed from this blog.

7-11

Site: http://www.7-11.com.tw/ (English Version: http://www.7-11.com.tw/en/index.htm)
Phone: 886-2-27478711
Address: There are 7-11's everywhere
Price: Varies
Time: 24/7

The most convenient thing about 7-11's are that they are open 24 hours every day. If you need something at 3AM, they will be there and they will probably have it. The prices are pretty reasonable and I go here almost every day just to pick up something or other. There are also hot foods!

Room Cafe

Site: There is no site, but this blog has better pictures of the place.
Phone: 06-2097979
Address: 701台灣台南市東區長榮路一段234巷17號 (A Room)
Price: $$
Time: 1PM-11PM

This is a quaint coffee shop hidden in an alley. It has a really nice interior and exterior. The room is surrounded by bookshelves and it has a homey feeling. At night, the cafe turns its lights down and shows a movie.

This place is a bit more pricey than most coffee shops you can find in Tainan, but the atmosphere makes up for it. The coffee here is also pretty good and not too sweet at all. However, the menu is all in Chinese and they don't have an English menu.

I definitely recommend this place as a quiet area to study or just soak up the atmosphere. It's really a cute cafe.


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Deep Blue Cafe

Site: http://www.deepblue-cafe.com.tw/
Phone: 06-2387722
Address: 55 Fulian East rd. 台南市府連東路55號 Taiwan
Price: $$

The layered cake is what the cafe is known for. Personally, it was not all that special to me. The coffee was quite good though. The area is pretty nice and a good place to study. There's a park right across the street and there are seats outside the cafe for you to enjoy the nice outdoors. The area is also not very crowded. Down the street, there's a bookstore (Eslite), so it's a nice place to walk around as well.


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