Taipei in 48 Hours: Incredible Food, Temples, and the Kindness of Taiwanese People
- Nicoletta Dasara
- 2 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Last fall, during our trip in Asia, Reid and I decided to fly from Hanoi to Taipei for a 48-hour stopover. Yes, it is an incredibly short time to visit the capital of a new country, but the opportunity was too juicy to pass up: cheap flights and 2 days in one of the best places in Asia for food? We were sold. When else would we have the chance to visit Taiwan? Even though it was short, it was absolutely worth it. Those 48 hours turned out to be some of the best of the entire trip.
In this article, I'm going to describe our experience and how we visited Taipei in 48 hours. I hope it encourages you to visit Taipei, or if you're already planning a trip, that it provides you with some ideas or inspiration for things to do!
First stop: Taipei 101
When you think of Taipei, the first image that comes to mind is without a doubt Taipei 101, the most iconic skyscraper in Taiwan. We started our morning early, taking advantage of the sunny day, and headed up Elephant Hill. The hike is fairly easy, and at the top there’s a stunning viewpoint where you can see the entire city, with Taipei 101 rising above the skyline.
After heading back down, we walked all the way to Taipei 101 itself. Inside, there’s a massive shopping mall and an incredible food court, with every kind of food imaginable: from noodles to dumplings and pastry, everything looked delicious! And here we had xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) from Din Tai Fung. They were the best of our lives — yes, even better than the ones we had in Shanghai!
We didn’t go up to the observation deck, but continued in the surrounding area. One thing that really struck me is how the whole district is connected by elevated walkways. Instead of walking at street level, you move across bridges linking one building to another. It’s so unusual that at one point we couldn’t even figure out where to go down to reach a restaurant we were trying to get to!
The Food was... Incredible
If there’s one thing Taipei does exceptionally well, it’s food. The whole reason why we came here. And we ate. so. well! I already love Asian food, but Taipei took it to another level.
Beyond the Taipei 101 food court, a must-do is visiting a night market. We went to Rahoe night market next to Songshan metro station. It's a long street, filled with stands and shops selling all sorts of foods: all kinds of barbecue, fried things, skewers of meat and fish, fruit drinks, and plenty of things that looked… visceral. 😅
At times, we passed by a stall selling one of Taiwan's most famous street foods: stinky tofu. It's fermented tofu and let me tell you, it's called stinky for a reason! The smell was enough to discourage us from trying. Instead, we tried Fuzhou Pepper Bun, an oven baked bao filled with pork, which is also listed in the Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand. It had a very long line, but it moved fast and it was totally worth it!
Other than that, we tried oyster mushroom in wasabi and black garlic sauce, some grilled squid, and corn cakes.
Ximending is also a fantastic neighborhood for food.
Here we had the famous beef noodle soup, probably the most iconic dish in Taipei. We tried the one from Du-Li Beef Noodle and it was delicious.
Ay-Chung is another popular noodle shop, a sort of fast food stall where they prepare the bowls right in front of you. They are so fast, it's like a factory machine:
Then, almost by accident, we found a small hidden spot, Papa Chiang, serving black bean noodles and sesame paste noodles. It was hands down the best thing we ate in Taipei!
In the same area, I also tried one of the strangest (and most fun) food experiences of the trip: a DIY instant noodle shop. You pick a packet of instant noodles, cook it yourself, and add whatever ingredients you want — vegetables, eggs, toppings. I was ridiculously excited about it!
Of course we couldn't miss Taiwan's most famous drinks: bubble tea and mungbean milk.
It was my very first time trying bubble tea. We went to the popular Xing Fu Tang, where they prepare the drink right in front of you. The boba is dipped in brown sugar, which makes them gloriously sweet. On top of that, they add thick white milk, and then burnt brown sugar on top of it all. Watching the whole process was fascinating, though for me it was incredibly sweet — maybe too sweet.
Another drink that I appreciated was mungbean milk, made from blended, slow-cooked mung beans. It tasted very similar to red bean but slightly sweeter.
Learning about Temples and Local Rituals
We visited a couple of temples, but one in particular really stayed with me: Longshan Temple, located south of Ximending. It was stunning: richly decorated, colorful, and with a small waterfall at the entrance. Here we learned that the temple was bombed in WWII, but the Buddha statue inside stayed intact. If that's not a sign from the gods, I don't what is!
What fascinated me most, though, was watching people pray. People of all ages and styles: elderly locals, young people, and office workers still in jackets and button-down shirts. We observed them as they performed a traditional Taiwanese practice called “bwa bwei”. People used a pair of crescent-shaped wooden or red blocks to communicate with the gods and receive guidance. They knelt in front of the deity statue, said a few words for a prayer, and then asked questions to the gods by dropping the blocks to the ground. Depending on how the blocks landed, they received an answer. An everyday oracle, practiced with such natural ease.
We also visited the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, dedicated to the founder of modern Taiwan. The square is vast and impressive, flanked by the National Theater and Concert Hall. We were lucky enough to attend a classical music concert there — a beautiful experience, made even more special by the setting.
Order, Kindness, and Small Cultural Shocks
After spending two weeks in Vietnam amidst chaos, noise, and constant traffic, Taipei felt like the complete opposite. Clean, orderly, quieter. Exactly what we needed!
As evidence of this order, one of the things that amazed me most was seeing people line up for the metro. There are guiding lines on the floor to indicate where to queue, and everyone did it so calmly and diligently. It really blew my mind!
And then there was the kindness of the people. Every time we looked lost or confused — especially because we didn’t understand Chinese — someone would approach us and offer help, in English. And many spoke English really well. Everyone was incredibly friendly and genuinely eager to help. It left a very strong impression on us.
Final Thoughts
48 hours aren’t nearly enough to truly know Taipei, but they were more than enough for us to fall in love with it.
Even if you’re short on time, Taipei is perfect. And if you have more time… it has so much to offer that it's impossible to get bored!
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