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  • Taipei is considered the food capital of Asia but besides food

  • this city has actually a lot to offer these are my 30 hidden secrets and

  • best places to visit in Taipei. Now what better than to start off your Taipei

  • adventure with an epic Taiwanese breakfast. Fu Hang Soy Milk is the most

  • popular breakfast joint in town and it's so popular that people will wait hours

  • in line just to get that fresh batch of bread. Breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk is

  • very affordable and the quintessential breakfast for many locals here for 110 NT

  • roughly $3.60 USD this is an incredible

  • breakfast deal. Breadstick sandwich which is one of the highlights here so it's

  • deep fried bread, deep fried bread on a bun I don't know how to come up with

  • but it is actually really good. Yeah, I can see what the hype is all about this

  • is amazing! All right so we're gonna top it off with some Dou Jiang which is the

  • soy milk oh yes oh this works great with the bread and the pancake, that's an

  • ideal breakfast here in Taipei. Now before we dive into the city take a

  • quick day trip to Jiufen, a former gold mining town just an hour east of Taipei.

  • This cute little mountain town has gorgeous scenery and delicious foods

  • you must try like peanut ice cream rolls and stinky tofu, it is stinky because

  • it's fermented tofu. Wow that is so good, it is a bit stinky but in the end it's

  • well worth it. Just make sure to top off your Jiufen adventure with a little tea

  • ceremony at the A-Mei teahouse, the most beautiful tea house in all of Taiwan.

  • Fried chicken is one of the most popular street foods here in Taiwan so I had to

  • drop by the famous fried chicken founding headquarters to pick up a batch

  • of fried snacks I decided to enjoy these snacks at the Zhishan garden located

  • right next to the National Palace Museum. True serenity outside the bustling

  • city of Taipei.

  • Alright guys so we're here at the National Palace Museum park and it's

  • time to try the authentic Taiwanese chicken nuggets. Now one thing about the

  • chicken nuggets these are completely different from McDonald's chicken

  • nuggets, the main difference being is they keep

  • little pieces of bone inside the chicken nugget so the meat stays nice and tender

  • compared to the really dry taste you may get from McDonald's or KFC chicken

  • nuggets. And they season it a little bit with basil. Oh oh I like this I like this a

  • lot! Why McDonald's? Why can't you just do it right?!

  • As you can see the inside looks just like a regular chicken nugget, oh my god!

  • Another popular snack is rice sausage, I've never heard of it... wow, Taiwan really knows

  • their snacks, nice and wet inside as a sticky rice should really be.

  • The National Palace Museum has a permanent collection of 700,000 pieces of ancient

  • Chinese artifacts and it is one of the largest Chinese art collections in the

  • world encompassing 8,000 years of Chinese history. The nationalist leader

  • Chiang kai-shek tried to safeguard these Chinese treasures during the

  • Communist revolution on mainland China and have been here on Taiwan ever since

  • 1949 and that's why this museum is considered very controversial.

  • All right, time to go back downtown for some dinner!

  • Taipei is the food capital of Asia but with that reputation comes a lot of

  • strange foods and restaurants as well so what better than to have a delightful

  • beef curry in a toilet bowl at the toilet restaurant. It's a toilet full of curry

  • at least I hope it's actual curry, let's get it nice in there and

  • into the curry sauce and scoop it out of the toilet.

  • oh this is great that's actually really good curry. Don't forget to try their

  • poop meatballs and poop ice cream as well. Another strange dinner activity

  • is prawn fishing, here you can fish your own prawns

  • at this bizarre indoor pool, once you captured a bunch, throw them on the

  • barbecue and enjoy! And this is the final result, the first catch of today

  • some of these prawn fishing shops are open 24 hours and the record holder at

  • this place caught 43 prawns in one hour, my attempts to break this record we were miserable

  • if you really want to step up your dinner party, head towards snake alley

  • at the Huaxi night market, here you will find the most bizarre restaurants

  • in the world but I came here specifically to try snake venom, snake

  • blood and snake skin salad, but for that video you'll have to watch my complete

  • snake alley episode. Supposedly there's a lot of health benefits to this...

  • That was like a really strong alcohol but venom, VENOM! Moving on to the cutest

  • cafe in Taipei the Rilakkuma cafe another famous themed cafe here in Taipei

  • 00:05:24,449 --> 00:05:29,139 This cafe offers super cute lunches and dinner experiences.

  • I ordered the omelet with rice and a coffee doesn't this just look adorable.

  • "Don't you drown me!" As expected the meatballs and the omelet were rich and

  • delicious, they also sell a bunch of cute desserts and merchandise. Top off all

  • this madness with an incredible shaved ice dessert at the Ice Monster.

  • Ice Monster is one of the best shaved ice shops here in Taipei, now they were

  • about to close so I had the whole place to myself, usually you can expect

  • long waiting lines, so either come super early or right before closing time. My

  • recommendation, the almond shaved ice, which set me back 220 new Taiwan dollars.

  • Dessert time, this thing looks amazing it's red beans, almond jelly and almond

  • shaped ice, it's not even like icy it's more like flaky, flaky bits of almond. I'm

  • digging a cave right here, I just want to live in it. The most iconic building in

  • Taiwan is Taipei 101 and the best place to observe this Marvel of a building is

  • the Elephant Mountain but to get to the top you'll need to take these super

  • steep stairways so make sure you take many breaks to catch your breath and

  • drink plenty of water especially during the scorching summer heat but once you

  • reach the top you can enjoy these mesmerizing views of Taipei 101 as you

  • can see it's an absolute boiling day it I think it's like 36 degrees with an

  • insane humidity, sweat is literally dripping off my skin here next up the

  • observatory deck of Taipei 101. Did you know Taipei 101 used to be the

  • world's tallest building between 2004 and 2010 from Taipei 101 you can take in

  • these stunning views of the entire city although the entrance fee is a bit

  • pricey, 600 new Taiwan dollars per ticket which is roughly 20 US dollars so make

  • sure you come and visit on a very clear day otherwise it's not worth your hard-earned

  • dollars. In the basement you will find Michelin star dumpling restaurant

  • Din Tai Fung, this place is absolutely massive notorious for its Xiaolongbao

  • better known as soup dumplings so this is the Xiaolongbao, you pick it up from

  • the top and you put it in your little spoon then you poke a hole, so the

  • soup base will fall in your spoon.

  • Oh that's so good, almost like creamy pork but it's delicious the heat and

  • temperature is absolutely on point. So another way to eat the dumpling is with

  • soy sauce, vinegar and ginger.

  • Wow Taipei, you nail it out of the park!

  • This is incredible! This place may be a bit pricey but trust me you'll be blown

  • away by the most delicious dumplings in Taiwan, quality over quantity.

  • If time permits, check out the bizarre Core Pacific shopping mall which looks

  • identical to the Death Star. Because it looks exactly like a Death Star.

  • Even the entry points, that's just nuts.

  • Kick off the next day with a seafood adventure.

  • Now I am really big into seafood so I had to venture out to the most high-end

  • fish market in town, the Addiction fish market. This fish

  • market has an incredible selection of fresh seafood, so fresh that it may even

  • run away. You won't find this level of freshness in most parts of the world so

  • time to try out this fresh batch of Taiwanese seafood products. I'm super

  • stoked, it's morning, I'm having some lunch. All right, time to

  • start off with the fresh sashimi, look at this box my god what a presentation.

  • salmon sashimi

  • oh my god that literally melts on the tip of my tongue that is absolutely perfect.

  • Really good tuna is usually really hard to come by. oh wow, that is so juicy for fish.

  • It's not dry it's absolutely perfect, like it literally

  • just came fresh out of the sea they nailed this out of the park. I'm really

  • impressed with this sashimi. Spicy fish eggs this is the part of the salmon

  • where she stores the eggs. Whoa, that's a very unique taste all the little eggs

  • popping in my mouth. I can see why this is one of the best fishery markets in

  • the country. Nothing beats grilled eel, BBQ grilled

  • eel. Oh man, it's still warm, it's still warm. I just, I want to eat this whole thing.

  • I am little heaven heaven, unagi heaven. This gorgeous place is the Chiang kai-shek

  • memorial hall. Chiang kai-shek can be considered the founder of modern Taiwan.

  • He took the Chinese Nationalist government from mainland China to Taiwan

  • during the Communist revolution. This is the main plaza in downtown Taipei. We got the main

  • memorial of Chiang kai-shek in the background and this is the national

  • theater. Moving on to the Ximending shopping district which many have compared to

  • Tokyo's Harajuku district for its funky fashion and youth culture. Inside

  • of the Ximending district you will find the Ay-Chung rice noodle shop. This

  • place is always packed with customers which is a good indicator for quality.

  • I got myself a small portion 450 new Taiwan dollars which is around $1.60 USD.

  • Thick gravy, thin noodles and bits of pig intestine making this

  • snack a must try and Ximending, oh that's hot but it's delicious, that

  • broth is so good it's so thick and the pork intestine really adds quite the

  • flavor. Another good spot in Ximending district is Laotian Lu for its wide selection

  • of braised duck from duck tongue, duck feet, duck hearts, duck intestines to duck

  • head. Go watch my entire duck episode for my complete braised duck review, the link

  • will be in the description box below. Oh man, this is pretty intense.

  • What am I doing? Now a hidden secret here in Taipei is ice cream shop Snow King

  • especially if you want to challenge yourself. One thing guys the ice cream

  • flavors are quite expensive, around $4 bucks a scoop. Chili pepper, pork

  • knuckle, how about some soybean curd. Hey, and if you're at it

  • some Taiwan beer @ 3.5%, not that bad. I'm gonna get drunk off ice cream today.

  • They have 73 flavors, check these out this is Taiwan beer @ 3.5%

  • and Kaoliang @ 58%. Kaoliang is a strong distilled Chinese liquor with an alcohol

  • percentage ranging from 38% to 63% that's why Kaoliang smells extremely

  • strong. Stings the nostrils. That's just insanity, so you wanna get

  • wasted this is the right place to come to.

  • Oh man, those are puke reflections kicking in, that's too strong I don't think I can

  • take much more of that.

  • You can always settle for some sesame oil chicken ice cream. Oh, I'm not liking that.

  • I'm not liking that, it's like big pieces of chicken are in the ice cream.

  • You can 't make you stuff up, I give them a 10 for at least trying. So yea guys after all

  • those crazy ice creams let's top it off with something nice, the custard apple

  • ice cream. Mmm oh that's nice, the good thing about this place is the

  • ice cream in general isn't as sweet this is actually real ice cream. If the

  • alcohol drenched ice cream was an extreme enough for you how about a

  • knife massage. All right guys we're doing a little

  • warm-up here, before we go into the knife room. The zen is coming to me, now it's time

  • for the knives! I consider this another hidden secret

  • here in Taipei most tourists do not know about. Enjoy a one-hour knife massage

  • with a knife massage practitioner. So here are the knives, they're real cleavers

  • Don't try this at home you may injure yourself. Luckily, their training is very

  • strict they required to be vegetarian and meditate on a daily basis although

  • when it came to my skull I got a little freaked out. So another procedure will

  • involve the skull, let's see how that's gonna go.

  • My bum feels great, my bum feels absolutely great!

  • This is actually really

  • enjoyable I had no idea!

  • After all these mind-blowing experiences

  • you may be in a need for a bit of zen, so visit one of Taipei's many temples

  • Longshan is the most popular temple here in Taipei and it's often visited by

  • many locals praying to a specific deity. This temple is also called the meeting

  • place of the gods that's why you'll see many offerings here with rituals taking

  • place every single day.

  • Alternatively you can check out the temple of Hsing Tian Kong, you'll be able

  • to find many businessmen here looking for good fortune. To really take some

  • time to relax rent a bicycle in the northern tip of Taipei and cycle along

  • this gorgeous waterfront next to the Keelung River. So yeah guys, so why not rent

  • yourself a bike and go biking in the northern parts of Taipei, on a nice sunny

  • day like this, this is where a lot of people from Taipei spend their weekends.

  • These Ubikes are available all over the city plus they are super cheap to rent

  • just 20 NT per hour, that's 60 cents USD, that's crazy!

  • not YouTube but YouBike. If it is a hot and sunny day you need to take a pit

  • stop at the Moonlight Riverside Cafe for an epic mulberry smoothie

  • one of my hidden secrets here in Taipei. Wow, that's amazing, it's like

  • raspberry but better, way better! Only 80 Taiwan dollars for this massive

  • amount of mulberry smoothie. Nearby you can find these bizarre century eggs

  • which gotten their green color from fermentation, these acts can take up

  • to four to five weeks to make. Traditionally these eggs were made with

  • the mixture of salt, lime and ash. So make all your fantasies a reality at this

  • little tea egg shop. The century egg, fermented duck egg. Quite the delicacy here

  • Yeah, actually really good, it still tastes the same as the yellow chicken

  • egg but the gelatin base around it actually adds as a certain smoothness.

  • A very unique building just north of downtown is the Grand Hotel one of the

  • world's tallest Chinese classical buildings and a great place for

  • photography, fun fact this building has been decorated with two hundred thousand

  • dragons.

  • For dinner you should consider A-Cheng Goose one of the best goose restaurants

  • here in Taipei for a quick delicious bite of chopped goose, my order consisted

  • of Chinese cabbage, a very strange duck blood soup and of course delicious

  • chopped goose. But no meal is complete without a refreshing Taiwan beer.

  • This is actually very good, it's really good. Taiwan is most famous for its many

  • night markets which run from the late afternoon until midnight every single

  • day. At these night markets you should try the hot star large fried chicken, an

  • oyster omelet, delicious pig blood cake,

  • pepper pork buns and some fun street games. These night markets are so massive that

  • they required their own Reformatt episode so make sure you check out my full

  • review by clicking the link in the description box below. One thing that

  • truly blew me away was the Taipei nightlife, I have no idea Taipei had so

  • many great bars and nightclubs I will go as far to say that this was the best

  • nightlife scene I've ever experienced at great nightclubs like VIBE, Electro, Babe18

  • and Omni.

  • With an epic after-party meal at HaiDiLao but for that video go watch my

  • entire Taipei nightlife guide, again the link is in the description box below! Now

  • it is finally bedtime and where better to stay than at Hotel Royal in Beitou.

  • Hotel Royal is best known for its incredible hotel rooms complete with

  • their own private hot springs bath.

  • Taiwan has a lot of tectonic activity which is why Taiwan has the highest

  • concentration of thermal hot springs in the world making the Beitou region pure

  • hot springs heaven. Now i still have a bunch of bonus tips but first navigate

  • to Reformatt.com to download a detailed map of all the places i mentioned in

  • this video complete with the exact addresses, prices, photos and all my

  • personal advice. OK, now here are my bonus tips, since I'm

  • Dutch I found this particular restaurant really interesting, a poffertjes

  • restaurant downtown Taipei, which are mini Dutch pancakes, what are odds?!

  • Not your average Dutch pancakes. Oolong tea poffertjes. Speaking of Dutch...

  • Did you know that Taiwan used to be an old Dutch colony called Formosa, expect a

  • full Reformatt episode on the Dutch colonial history of Taiwan. And this is

  • the guy that kicked out the Dutch, Koxinga. If time permits,

  • check out the South Village where the soldiers of the nationalist army were

  • relocated after escaping the Communist revolution on mainland China.

  • South Village is nowadays a museum and cultural center easily walkable from

  • Taipei 101. For transportation consider either renting Ubike, a cheap taxi or

  • use the super efficient Taipei MRT to get around town. The Taipei MRT is one of

  • the best metro systems in the entire world. Also, make sure you watch my first

  • episode on Taiwan to learn more about this wonderful island nation.

  • In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised during my stay here in Taiwan the

  • Taiwanese are nothing less than exceptionally friendly,

  • helpful and full of energy, making Taiwan one of the most incredible

  • places I've ever visited. Sadly, I could not cover all the cool

  • things to do here in Taipei in just one video that's why I created an entire

  • playlist of all the videos I recorded in Taiwan so make sure to check out those

  • episodes as well now. If you have already been to Taipei let me know what your

  • favorite spot was in the city by leaving a comment in the comment section below.

  • Now hit that like button if you think this video was useful and make sure to

  • share this video with all your friends that are considering a visiting Taiwan.

  • Thanks for watching guys and make sure to look out for next week's episode I

  • believe it's going to be my best episode yet

Taipei is considered the food capital of Asia but besides food

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