Ben's Guide to Taipei and Taiwan

http://www.gordonbiersch.com Now open in the Xinyi District. They have a nice selection of beers and the pizza is good too. The pizza toppings are very flavorful, only the crust leaves a little more to be desired. The price is a little high, but not outrageous. Beers are $210 per glass, or you can order 6 beers for $999, which makes it significantly cheaper if your party will drink that much. It is on the second floor and they have outdoor seating on the sky walk. If you are coming by MRT, use the Taipei City Hall Station. Walk South to Songgao Rd. and between the Eslite Bookstore Building and the Shin Kong A4 Building there are stairs to the sky walk. When there is a left hand turn you will see the restaurant straight across this bridge, which is the A11 building. Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant 　Xinyi Store Taiwan • 地址：台北市信義區松壽路11號2F (新光三越信義新天地 A11館) • Address：2F,No.11, Songshou Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City 110, Tai...

Official Website The Outback Steakhouse is located next to Ikea at the Asiaworld Mall on the corner of Nanjing and Dunhua Roads. There is also a branch in the Xinyi District .

From the Shinkong A4 Building (next to the Eslite Bookstore Building) you can take the skyway to the theater complex, New York New York, and Taipei 101. There is a staircase from the sidewalk, so you don't have to go inside.

台北市大安區信義路三段 122 號 / Taipei City, Daan District, Xinyi Rd, Sec. 3, No. 122. This is between AIT and Jianguo Rd. on the same side as AIT. It is also near Daan Park. 台北市信義區松壽路 16 號 2 樓 Taipei City, Xinyi District, Songshou Rd. No. 16, 2F. This is located in the food court of the theater complex (Formerly Warner Village) . 美麗華店 台北市中山區敬業三路 20 號 B1. This is in the food court of the Miramar . There is one on Dunhua S. Rd. Sec. 2 at the South-west corner of the Heping Rd. intersection. See the complete list of BKs in Chinese only See the complete list of BKs put through a machine translation

All Hypermarkets such as Carrefour and RT Mart have a grocery section. In general these are the best balance between convenience and finding what you want. Wellcome Supermarkets are found throughout Taipei, and will have certain staples but the selection is not impressive. The exception is the branch at the Miramar in Neihu. This branch has more imports and a better selection in general. There are some specialty grocery stores. Most well known is Jason's Market with a branch in the basement of the Taipei 101 shopping center. They have another branch in Tianmu in the basement of Dayeh Takashimaya Dept. Store, Zhongcheng Rd., Sec. 2, No. 55 忠誠路二 段 55 號 . They have probably the best selection of hard to find western food items. Needless to say, some of their products are expensive. They also have a decent selection of wine and beer . There is a small specialty grocery store in Zhonghe. Another specialty grocery store is the City Super located on Dunhua S. Rd. near the Fareas...

This night market is on Linjiang Street (臨江街 Línjiāng Jiē) which connects with Keelung Rd. near the Keelung Rd. / Guangfu S. Rd. intersection . It is not the biggest night market, but has everything you expect to find at one.

In-House DJ Lounge Restaurant is an upscale bar and restaurant with techno music and back lit bars. The ambiance is good if you enjoy this style. It is in the shadow of Taipei 101 just around the corner from Theater (formerly Warner village) behind the Neo 19 building. Location: Song Ren Rd. #90 /松仁路90號 / Sōngrén Lù 90 hào. Go to main Pub listing page: http://taipeiguide.blogspot.com/2006/05/pubs-bars-nightclubs-in-taipei.html Xinyi District / Taipei 101 area main page with map: http://taipeiguide.blogspot.com/2006/05/taipei-101-and-surrounding-area.html

If you are having trouble finding beer with any flavor this may be the place for you. They have 3 different varieties, lager, wheat, and dark. The food is ok but nothing special and a little bit expensive by Taipei standards. They have dart boards (at least in the Xinyi location). Dart Boards are coin operated electronic boards using plastic tipped darts. The service is friendly despite the fact that the servers have their dignity stripped away and replaced with a German lederhosen style uniform. official website: www.lebledor.com.tw Multiple locations in Taipei and Taiwan. The Xinyi District location is located in the basement of the building that holds the new Eslite bookstore. It is walking distance to the Taipei City Hall MRT Station and Taipei 101 . The Xinyi location has Happy Hour on weekdays from 3:30-5:30 PM featuring half price mugs of beer (up to one liter sizes). Address: Songgao Rd, No. 11, B1 / 松高路11號 B1 / Sōnggāo Lù 11 hào B1 The Neihu location is at the Miramar sho...

Jogoya Japanese Buffet Restaurant 上閤屋 (shàng gé wū) multiple locations in Taipei and Taiwan. Reviewed Location: Taipei City, Xinyi District, same building as Neo 19, near the Theater (formerly Warner Village). Songshou Rd., No. 22, 3F / 台北市,信義區,松壽路22號, 三樓 Hours: 11:00~03:00, reservations recommended. TEL: (02)8789-5678 This buffet features sushi, steak, and much more. It's a very good meal and the price includes unlimited drinks. As with all buffets that include alcohol, it is best to stick with the beer. They also have an assortment of mixed drinks and wines but these taste terrible. They are open later than most of the other buffet style restaurants, so you can have a late dinner and make a night of it. Pricing is determined by the time of your meal and you can stay until the next meal time or if it's not too crowded they won't pressure you to leave. UPDATE 6/2008 : I recently ate here again, and was not as impressed this time. They still offer a wide selection of f...

This is a small lounge bar with sofas and even a bed. They have hookah style water pipes available with flavored smoke, which seems to be a growing trend in Taipei. On Friday and Saturday nights they have a belly dancer perform. Keelung Rd.,Sec. 1, No. 133-2 / 基隆路1段133之2號 / Jīlóng Lù yī duàn 133 zhī èr èr (02) 2749-5495 Reservations can be made if you speak Chinese. Hours: 8 pm-3 am (open until 4 am on Fri, Sat closed Mondays) nearest MRT: Taipei City Hall Their website is in Chinese only: www.playing.com.tw Taiwan Fun: http://www.taiwanfun.com Main Taipei Bar List

Pariss Buffet, in Shin Kong (Xin Guang) Dept. Store in the Xinyi District of Taipei City. Another branch on corner of Guangfu N. Rd, one block North of Nanjing East Rd. Sec 5. As with all buffets that include unlimited alcohol, I advise you stick to drinking the Tiger Beer on tap. Or at least the whiskey, as the house wines and the assorted premixed drinks are crap. The buffet features sushi, steak, crab, and more and alcohol is included. It closes at 10:00 PM, but starts shutting down at 9:30 PM. Pricing is based on the time of day you dine. I prefer the other buffets such as Splendor and Jogoyo, but this is not bad. PARIS Buffet http://www.pariss.com.tw/ http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=10332

Formerly Warner Village there is a theater in the heart of the Xinyi District and in the shadow of Taipei 101. It is a good, modern, comfortable theater, but often has long lines and crowded theaters. I advise going to one of the other theaters as the theater quality is the same but the crowds are not as bad. No. 18, Songshou Road, Taipei Online Tickets in Chinese: http://www.vscinemas.com.tw/index.asp Xinyi District Office, Taipei City: http://english.taipei.gov.tw/xinyi/index.jsp?recordid=802 Living Mall Bade Road, Sec. 4, No. 138, on the North-west corner of Civic Blvd. (Shiming Dadao) 台北市105松山區八德路四段138號 Official Website in English: http://web01.livingmall.com.tw/about.asp?pgid=en0101 map with bus routes: http://web01.livingmall.com.tw/about.asp?pgid=en0109 The Cinemark Theater has a Chinese only website: http://www.cinemark.com.tw/cmspecial.asp Breezecenter Taipei City, Fuxing South Road, Sec. 1, No. 39 on the North-east corner of Civic Blvd. (Shiming Dadao) 台北市復興南路一段39號 The ti...

Taipei 101 and the Surrounding Area For a brief moment in time this is the world’s tallest building . Taipei 101 houses a large upscale shopping mall . Besides the observatory , highlights include the Page One bookstore on the fifth floor. It has one of Taipei’s largest selection of books in English. There is a large food court in the basement which has something for everyone, if you can find a seat. Nearby is a Theater (Formerly Warner Village). This is a large multiplex theater and shopping complex. There are also many other shops and department stores including New York New York, which features a replica of the Statue of Liberty. This is Taipei’s most pedestrian friendly area and doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the city. There are several blocks of pedestrian thoroughfares, and it is one of the few places where scooters and vendors are kept off the sidewalks. This may be because this area is trying to present an upscale image or maybe it’s because it’s next door to Taipei Ci...